Artfilms, Handicrafts and Other Cultural Goods: The Case for Subsidy

Though widespread, the practice of public subsidies for cultural activity lacks a rigorous and consistent economic rationale. We analyze a canonical market structure that characterizes much cultural activity: the competition of mass-produced goods with heterogeneous non- standardized goods that are imperfect substitutes. We analyze several types of market failure: uncertainty about preferences (we do not know what we like, and we do not know what we might like in the future); endogeneity of preferences (we like what our neighbors talk about, and we like what we're accustomed to); and externalities associated with production (future production costs are determined by current production). The model provides a basis for cultural subsidies to promote social welfare and economic development.

Virsa: The Contemporary Value Chain

Handicraft means a useful or decorative object made by a craftsman who has direct control over all stages of production. Handicrafts have always had a greater value, an identity of their own that is reflective of their place, culture and materials, as well as a sense of belonging to a particular place and time. With the ever-growing mass production that followed the Industrial Revolution, we lost those crafts to multiple reasons: one being cheaper, industrial-made products reducing the demand for handicrafts, and another being a shift in consumer tastes. Most craftspeople hardly earn enough to survive and fulfill their basic needs, and naturally seek greater economic stability. In hopes of making a better future for their children, they send them to schools to gain knowledge that could help them gain employment and be able to make better livings for themselves and their families, halting the passing of knowledge. Hence, the heritage of skills that had been passed for generations in a family comes to end. This risks the loss of a craft that once was a source of pride and joy for these artisans – and for the larger community There are a number of efforts going on around the globe to preserve the indigenous crafts of different cultures, and to allow that knowledge to be passed down to new generations. My focus in this paper is a specific object (the charpai) from the Jandi craft, and its preservation through innovation. My work seeks to advance and preserve the skills and traditions of the artisans, while designing a new set of products inspired by the craft that hope to reconnect more artisans to the craft and empower them in terms of knowledge and finance

Model Ecotourism-Based Tourism Development Strategy and Empowerment of Local Communities in Merauke Regency

The research objectives are to produce a strategy model for ecotourism development that supports the empowerment of local communities in Merauke Regency.The research method uses Research & Development to create a model of empowerment through community-based learning, by evaluating the implementation of tourism strategies, which are realized in the form of activity guides and training, for the tourism community in Merauke Regency, by involving the Tourism Office, Tourism Business Actors, and traditional community managers tourist village.The results of the study explain the stages of ecotourism development and empowerment strategies including Strategy development of concepts, vision and mission to become guidance in implementation by providing an impact on the emergence of motivation and clarity of types of profitable tourism businesses and expanding access in accordance with their potential.Strategy for capacity building and participation is a lesson for participants in doing business based on groups, understanding how to maintain customers, how to manage a more productive business that results in community participation that supports tourism businesses. Commitment consolidation strengthening strategy embracing all stakeholders and external carrying capacity in the process of empowering and developing eco-tourism, so that the acceleration of the world of tourism is quickly obtained.Strategy for Strengthening Environmental Carrying Capacity is the internal carrying capacity and potential that exists in tourism objects based on the carrying capacity of culture, socio-economics and the carrying capacity of natural resources so that sustainability and natural conservation are achieved

The Handweavers of Modern-Day Southern Appalachia: An Ethnographic Case Study

One of the most prominent traditions associated with the Southern Appalachians is the art of weaving. Extensive research has focused on the history of Appalachian weaving, but there is little on the current weaving community. Today, the region still serves as an axis for weaving, and many practicing weavers, weaving instructors, and learning institutions can be found in Southern Appalachia. The core of this study is the interviews with ten weavers that reside and practice their work in Appalachia. Using concept coding, the transcripts of the interviews led to the development of four major themes that highlight the weavers’ discovery of their weaving passion, what continues to be a source of motivation for weaving, how today’s weavers use weaving as a source of income, and how weaving continues to be deeply connected to Southern Appalachia’s art and craft making traditions

The Future of the University in the Digital Age (1.1)

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88267/1/ALN_Article_1.1.pd

THE TRANSFORMATION OF PESANTREN TAHFIDZ AL QUR’AN EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT

The research purpose is to describe the transformation of education management which focus is on memorizing Al Qur’an in Jawa Tengah. The research is qualitative of ethnographic approach to observe the Pesantren Yanbu’ul Qur’an Arwaniyyah Kudus in Central Java which had been conducted in 2016.Data were collected by a series of observations, in-depth interviews and document analysis and archival research. The uniqueness and the consistency in memorizing Al Qur’an can be clearly seen from a series of transformation to the learning system such as its curriculum, methods, materials, teachers, media and evaluation system. Institutional development is in accordance with the type of the Pesantren, education level and management cooperation which expectation is to be able to serve students from a wide segmentation. Predominance leadership style relies on the charismatic Kyai as delegated to the Pesantren institutional unit leadership system and professional assistances.ThePesantren able to manage such transformation without sacrificing the character as a traditional pesantren well known for its special culture as an institution in which knowledge of Islam is transmitted and transferred, Islam values and tradition reservation and ulema reproduction. Keywords:       Pesantren, Reciter, Tranformation, Education Managemen

The Role of Time for the Competitiveness of SMEs in the Service Sector

This paper aims to highlight the analysis of the integrated role of time and knowledge factors for the SME competitiveness in the service sector, in the perspective of an intersystemic co-evolution. Particularly, it refers to hotels. The analysis is developed from a conceptual base emphasizing time value in its subjective (i.e. socio-cultural) perspective, in the recursive setting of firm knowledge, here synthesized within the time-knowledge binomial, and cal-led co-evolutionary time. The appropriateness of this analysis is motivated by the observation of the evolutionary dynamics emerging in this sector. The paper combines theory and practice thanks to the case study of the Sextantio “albergo diffuso”, a hotel appreciated throughout the world for its innovative business.Time, knowledge, Systemness, Co-evolution, Competitive Advantage, hotel SME

Technical Efficiency in the Sheep Dairy Industry: an Application on the Sardinian (Italy) Sector

Sardinia (Italy) is one of the most important European regions for sheep dairy and sheep milk cheese production. However the Sardinian sheep dairy industry is currently going through a dramatic crisis, and verifying whether it can recover part of its profitability is now a priority. Attention is now focused on estimating whether the sheep dairy firms can improve their productivity by more efficient use of their available technical resources. This paper aims to estimate technical efficiency in the Sardinian sheep dairy industry. A stochastic frontier analysis approach was used on panel data from 36 sheep dairy firms over the period 2004-2009 in order to assess whether there are some margins for technical improvements in productivity, given the existing level of technology. A comparative analysis of private firms and cooperatives was also carried out, in order to establish if there were differences in the technology they used and/or their efficiency in using technical inputs. Our findings suggest that there is technological homogeneity among the firms and between private firms and cooperatives. Technical efficiency is equal to 0.905 and it is significantly different between private firms (0.933) and cooperatives (0.877). Our findings have certain implications for what policies should be implemented in order to improve efficiency in the sector and on the orientation of decision makers strategies.Sheep dairy industry, technical efficiency, stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), private firms and cooperatives, Sardinia, Livestock Production/Industries,