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.     

Enhancing the social capital in industrial workplaces: Developing workplace interventions using intervention mapping

Social capital in the workplace has been found to be associated with employee wellbeing and work engagement. Yet, evidence of effects of interventions to enhance the social capital are lacking. The intervention mapping method has been described as a useful tool for developing workplace interventions but it is very resource consuming. We aimed to develop an adapted version of the intervention mapping method which is more practically feasible to apply. To get insight into strengths and weaknesses of the adapted method, we applied it and conducted interviews with staff at six companies. The interviews revealed that the action plans developed using the adapted intervention mapping method were generally perceived as relevant and that the action plans had a positive effect on the social capital. However, the implementation of the action plans had been a challenge. In conclusion, the adapted intervention mapping method appears to be suitable for developing interventions to enhance the social capital in the workplace. However, more attention to the implementation of the action plans needs to be incorporated into the method. Suggestions to enhance the implementation included the involvement of the management in the implementation and monitoring of the implementation of the action plans as well as integrating the action plans into existing procedures in the workplace.     

地域文化研究的开拓创新

《阴山文化史》是地域性文化史研究中一部值得关注的开拓创新学术著作。本书在学术界第一次以阴山这一特定地域的文化史作为研究对象,提出了"阴山文化"这一学术范畴并对其进行了全面、系统、深入的论述,构建了阴山文化史研究的崭新体系。     

Charisma as signal: An evolutionary perspective on charismatic leadership

We present an evolutionary perspective on charismatic leadership, arguing that charisma has evolved as a credible signal of a person's ability to solve a coordination challenge requiring urgent collective action from group members. We suggest that a better understanding of charisma's evolutionary and biological origins and functions can provide a broader perspective in which to situate current debates surrounding the utility and validity of charismatic leadership as a construct in the social sciences. We outline several key challenges which have shaped our followership psychology, and argue that the benefits of successful coordination in ancestral environments has led to the evolution of context-dependent psychological mechanisms which are especially attuned to cues and signals of outstanding personal leadership qualities. We elaborate on several implications of this signaling hypothesis of charismatic leadership, including opportunities for deception (dishonest signaling) and for large-scale coordination.     

汉语年龄指称词的类型及文化意蕴探析

年龄指称词是专门用来指称年龄的词，一般可归纳为借代型、隐喻型、字迷型、白描型、衍生型、综合型等基本类型。透过蕴涵于年龄指称词中的传统文化事象与民族文化心理，可以窥见汉语深厚的文化意蕴。     

On Cultural Identity of Youth in Modem China

当代中国青年的文化认同问题，可以从历史的、社会的、心理的等多维视野和知识学架构来把握。青年事实性文化认同中的差异和矛盾以及建构性认同中的关系性特征是当前青年文化的重要议题，当代中国的青年文化认同是多层次、多维度的，并不存在各种青年群体共有的、贯穿诸领域的实质性认同。     

论《子夜》中的颓废色彩

《子夜》是茅盾先生的长篇力作,《子夜》中的颓废色彩,在茅盾所描述的城市——上海、文中的主人公吴荪甫身上都有深刻体现,茅盾用独特的颓废视角对繁华的都市及都市人的文化心理进行了深度剖析。《子夜》中的颓废色彩不但为我们研究茅盾作品的文化内涵另辟了蹊径,也为当代文学创作提供了丰富的资源。     

立体的文化自觉与文艺规律

文化自觉是对事物正确的认识和感悟。没有文化自觉就没有文化的建设和文化的创新。文化自觉靠学习和研究来获得。要提高对保护非物质文化遗产的文化自觉，提高文艺的社会本质和艺术本质的文化自觉。要用六维的立体思维去观察和认识文化，提高对文艺规律的文化自觉，实现社会主义文艺的大繁荣。     

叶麟思想和著作面面观

叶麟，法国里昂大学博士。曾参加四川辛亥革命。对无政府主义有过简明扼要的介绍。其治学，以心理学为专攻，并翻译《阿朵耳夫》等多种心理小说。教育教学方面，亦有精彩的论说。叶麟好文，其人物特写，形神具备；其诗词创作，情深语妙。     

在碎片中破土——从“震惊”看《发达资本主义时代的抒情诗人》

本雅明《发达资本主义时代的抒情诗人》一书充满了形形色色的人与物,但在纷繁复杂的意象中,"震惊"一以贯之,成为探寻问题的一个起点和动因。文章从"震惊"的心理溯源开始来梳理本雅明的美学思想和社会学思想,以期从这一特定角度对本雅明的现代性思想有一个较为明晰的理解。心理层面,人们以牺牲事物的完整性和鲜活性为代价,发展出一套针对"震惊"的戒备机制。美学领域,"震惊"剥夺了传统艺术的"光晕",而波德莱尔的伟大之处正在于把"震惊"引入了抒情诗。"震惊"还引发了新的社会现象,这就是以游荡者为代表的人群,以及以摄影为代表的物象,人的异化不可避免地产生了。