Are VAT reforms an effective tool for promoting culture? A quasi-experiment in Spain

Sponsoring culture is a long-term profit-generating investment that public policy makers can achieve by means of Pigouvian subsidy or tax schemes. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the three VAT reforms implemented between 2012 and 2018 (one tax raise reform and two tax cut reforms) in the cultural sector in Spain. We first provide visual evidence and empirical estimates of the tax shifting and the distribution of the VAT burden between consumers and producers. We then use a regression discontinuity design to assess the causal effects of these VAT reforms on performing acts and cinema consumption (both in the extensive and the intensive margin). Several interesting findings arise from our results. First, we find that producers only passed through 45% of the VAT cut to consumer prices. Second, the effect of the 2017 VAT reduction on performing arts slightly increased the number of households consuming these cultural services, whereas the 2018 tax cut on cinema had no significant effect in the number of moviegoers (extensive margin). Third, the cultural spending per household conditional on participation (intensive margin) increased after the two VAT rate reductions. Finally, we test for asymmetries in pass-through with respect to the 2012 tax raise and we find (i) no evidence of prices responding more strongly to increases than to decreases in VAT, (ii) a symmetric response of the number of households consuming these cultural services, and (iii) an asymmetric response of the average cultural spending conditional on participation.     

Preventing Domestic Violence by Changing Australian Gender Relations: Issues and Considerations

ABSTRACT

In recent years Australian governments have significantly refocused domestic violence policies to prioritise primary prevention strategies. The objective of such strategies is to change how Australians perceive, acknowledge, and respond to domestic violence as a gender-based problem. Recognising the value of these efforts to address oppressive cultural practices, we draw attention to limitations inherent in shifting culture as a means to prevent domestic violence. We demonstrate how governments may improve policy approaches by addressing the structural inequalities that have historically forced women into positions of subordination. This will help us move toward more effective and long-term solutions to domestic violence.

IMPLICATIONS

• Australian domestic violence policy must include structural and systems changes prioritising women’s equal rights in addition to equal opportunities.

• To change cultural attitudes and behaviours, we must alter the environment in which oppressions and opportunities are located.

• Social workers can shape the debate to ensure that changing culture to prevent domestic violence is conceptualised as part of a wider social and policy change agenda.

     

Making sense of nuclear war: narratives of voluntary civil defence and the memory of Britain’s Cold War

In interviews with members of Britain’s Civil Defence Services, experiences of Cold War voluntarism are recalled in different ways. Some remembered their desire to help defend their nation and local community. Others remembered making a leisure choice that had little connection to the potential nuclear war the organization was ostensibly preparing for. No one provided a well-developed account of civil defence’s ability to provide a defence against the effects of a nuclear war. Popular memory theorists suggest cultural discourse limits the ability of individuals to narrate stories that do not align with culturally valued frameworks: in this case, dominant understandings of civil defence as at best ridiculous or at worst dangerous were established in the 1980s. This article argues that memories of civil defence voluntarism in the 1950-60s have been shaped by these discourses, but that individuals were able to express the different meanings civil defence had in their lives in ways that provide a more nuanced and holistic picture of the intersections of leisure, service and sociability that made up civil defence. As such, it argues that oral history allows us to understand the various ‘horizons of possibility’ that made up individual experiences of the Cold War.     

Placement Educators’ Experiences and Perspectives of Supervising International Social Work Students in Australia

International social work students in Australia have reported difficulties in finding quality placement opportunities and dealing with issues such as language and cultural barriers. While placement issues have been mostly investigated from a student perspective, this study explores the experiences and perspectives of placement educators towards supervising international social work students. It draws on an online survey of 83 placement educators working for an Australian university. The majority of placement educators reported that they supervised international students differently to domestic students. These differences were negatively framed as challenges involving students’ language competence, their understanding of cultural norms, and knowledge of Australian welfare systems. This framing implies that cultural and linguistic differences between international students and placement educators are viewed in terms of student deficiency rather than as a positive opportunity for mutual learning and professional development.     

人类学仪式理论视角下文化产业“神圣游程”体验模式

文化产业是对现代性的"好恶交织"。消费者在日常生活与文化产业之间进行"逃离—回归"的往返循环,相应地产生"世俗—神圣—世俗"的转换体验。该过程可表示为文化产业的"神圣游程"体验模式,由分离、阈限、聚合三个阶段构成。该模式与旅游"神圣游程"体验模式在异质性体验和人际互动方面存在明显区别,但本质上同为"体验差异"的现代性生存哲学的体现。     

十四年来内蒙古非物质文化遗产保护成就述评

内蒙古非物质文化遗产延续着内蒙古各民族的精神根脉,闪烁着各民族智慧之光,彰显了我国民族文化卓殊的创造力和生命价值。十四年来,内蒙古自治区本着对国家、民族文化传承发展的责任意识相继采取了一系列保护措施,在保护机制、名录体系、传承场所、传承人保护制度、宣传教育、区域性保护等方面的建设取得了积极的进展。这些成就为自治区民族文化遗产的有效保护、活态传承、可持续发展创造了良好的社会环境,也有助于提高自治区民族文化自信、增强民众的保护主体意识,具有突出的现实意义。     

华文夏令营对华裔新生代中华文化认同的影响及思考

华文夏令营通过提供文化知识和中国阅历来影响和增强华裔新生代的中华文化认识、认知、认同,从而增强其与中国的向心力和凝聚力,并能够在世界舆论场中对所在国受众更好地讲述中国故事。华文夏令营在实际运作中的确起到了增强华裔新生代中华文化认同的作用。因此,应该正视夏令营举办中的不足,总结经验,改进创办模式,通过运用新媒体和新技术手段保持与华裔新生代的长期联系,巩固华裔新生代对中华文化的认同。     

场域转换与文化反哺:青年群体与变迁社会的信息互动

以布迪厄场域理论来考察不同社会形态下青年与社会的信息互动实践,发现青年与社会的信息互动在具有“位置-权力”关系的场域中展开,“位置-权力”关系通过信息资本的占有而建构。社会形态随技术变革更迭,青年与社会信息互动的场域逻辑与运行机制发生相应转变。从农耕社会到工业社会再到信息社会,青年与社会的互动场域变得多样,并且发生着从家庭向学校再向网络空间的偏向性转换,场域运行的推动力量也从时间权威向结构权威再向认同权威转换。可以说,青年与社会信息互动场域的转换,正是人类在不同社会形态下对“用时间消灭空间”的信息传播时空观的生产实践与社会表征。     

中国古代科举的发展阶段及其文化特征

本文旨在对中国古代科举制度的形成及其发展阶段进行描述说明,并在此基础上,总结科举在不同历史阶段体现出的创新和发展,以及在不同朝代体现出的文化特征。选拔官员是中国古代统治阶级巩固政权的必要手段,选拔官员的方式经历了一个漫长的探索过程。不同的人才选拔方式在不同阶段起到了不同的作用。科举作为我国古代封建社会选拔官员的重要方式,起源于隋朝,经历1300多年的历史,同时也为不同朝代选拔除了各种适应当时社会统治所需的人才。科举在发展的过程中,随着科举实践中出现的各种问题及不同统治者利用科举选拔官员的不同需求,科举制度处于一个不断完善的过程,科举科目从繁到简,科举规则从宽到严,科举内容由多样到统一,体现了科举制度在发展过程中的不断优化,也逐渐地使科举演化成了封建社会荼毒读书人的一种腐朽社会制度。从客观的历史角度,科举的出现确实为不同朝代的统治者选拔出诸多的优秀人才,为当时社会的进步发展和统治发挥了不可替代的作用,也为现代社会人才选拔积累了历史经验和借鉴。