Recognising Networks in cultural Field. Network models in real and virtual sphere

En el presente artículo se definen las redes de trabajo y su evolución hasta la actualidad. Con la incorporación de las nuevas tecnologías a la sociedad y su aplicación al sector cultural, ha permitido la multiplicación de los recursos culturales. Se analizan los distintos tipos de redes, principalmente la cultural, y se concluye que, ésta última, no se trata sólo de una estructura, si no, también, de un método de trabajo

Digital Cultural Goods in the Information Society between the Public Sphere and Private Ownership

Rad analizira kako kontekst koji uvodi digitalizacija i mrežna struktura mijenja rad kulturnog sektora koji se mora prilagoditi novim ciljevima, te načine distribucije i uporabe kulturnih dobara u mrežnom okruženju. Prije novih informacijskih tehnologija i Interneta autorska su prava imala jasniji doseg, no u novoj situaciji koju definira otvorenost informacija na Internetu odnosi se mijenjaju. Virtualizacija informacija kod koje nije potrebno imati različite fizičke kopije nego korisnik ima pristup određenom resursu na svoj zahtjev i može mu pristupati istodobno kada i drugi korisnici, promijenila je situaciju. Promijenjeni kontekst utječe i na neka načela koja osiguravaju ravnotežu između autora i korisnika, poput poštene uporabe i prve prodaje, što može imati dalekosežne posljedice na mogućnost izbora građana. Autorica upozorava da su nas mreže i digitalne tehnologije suočile s novim mogućnostima i izazovima. Trend komodifikacije kulture pretvara velik dio naše kulturne baštine u robu, a mreže i digitalne tehnologije, osim što mogu omogućiti lakšu komunikaciju i suradnju, s druge strane mogu uvesti sustav jačih kontrola nad distribucijom informacija i digitalnih kulturnih dobara. Izbori koje u različitim zakonima i politikama napravimo odredit će arhitekturu Interneta, što će imati posljedice i na kulturna dobra u digitalnom okruženju, na načine proizvodnje, distribuciju i potrošnju kulturnih dobara, kao i na građanska prava općenito, te posebice na slobodu govora, stvaralačku slobodu i mogućnost izbora građanaThe rapid development of ICT and Internet affects the work of the cultural sector. The article analyses how the new context that was brought about by extensive application of digital technologies and networks affects the work of the cultural sector and what implications this has for the distribution and consumption of cultural goods. The new situation is defined by different elements that shape concrete services – not only at the level of software applications whose possibilities define them, but also the changed characteristics of digital information (new media), as well as the legislation on copyright that has to resolve new issues that the digital context creates. The digital environment enables users to simultaneously access the same information resource, and information providers have established a new practice of licensing instead of selling. This has an effect on legal principles, such as fair use and first sale that protect our public domain. The author warns that networks and digital technologies have posed new challenges – they can facilitate exchange of information and cooperation or enforce tighter controls over access to information an cultural goods. Commodification of culture changes the way creators work, but it could also affect civic liberties, like the right to information, free speech and creative freedom. The choices we make through legislation and policies will affect how culture is produced and consumed and consequently in what kind of information society we can be expected to live

CULTURENET CROATIA – WEB CENTRE OF CROATIAN CULTURE PROJECT

The first Croatian portal in the fieeld of culture (CultureNetCroatia) was initiated by the Ministry of Culture and the Open Society Institute - Croatia and has been accessible to users since 2001. The aim of the Project was to pool all the available information sources on Croatian culture, encourage its elaboration and enable professionals in culture to Þ nd in one place all the information they may need as well as Þ nd partners for their projects. Accordingly, the project was geared at promoting cultural co-operation both within Croatia and with foreign countries as well as enhancing better communication between Croatian cultural institutions, between institutions and artists and between all of them and the broader cultural public. As a joint project it has been accessible on the Web since April 2004 and since then, the project is a responsibility of the Ministry of Culture. A large number of existing websites and portals does not necessarily guarantee the networking that exceeds the exchange of links and development of new joint virtual projects, an issue the cultural sector has been deliberating on for quite some time now. We will analise our four-year experience regarding the operation of the portal and services developed in order to deÞ ne the role of the portal today and whether it has succeeded in networking and initiating cooperation between professionals in culture as well as establish what kind of relationship it has achieved with its users. Along with a review of the project scope to date, the presentation will also contain elements for its evaluation in the context of the changes on the Croatian cultural web scene in the four years of the project’s operation. Given that the project has become part of the regular activities of the Ministry of Culture its developmental possibilities within national and international developments in the e-culture sphere need to be reassessed

Biological and molecular characterization of lineage III strains Toxoplasma gondii isolated in Serbia

Toxoplasma gondii, protozoa iz filuma Apikompleksa, patogeni je endoparazit svih homeotermnih vrsta koji se prenosi ingestijom kontaminirane hrane i vode i uzročnik je toksoplazmoze. Na osnovu podataka o visokoj globalnoj prevalenciji i saznanju da patologija koju prouzrokuje infekcija može biti ozbiljna i kod imunokompetentne populacije, T. gondii je po značaju za javno zdravlje rangirana kao globalnom nivou na 4., a u Evropi na 2. mesto. Intenzitet patologije uslovljene specifičnim interakcijama sa imunskim ćelijama domaćina, velikim se delom zasniva na genotipu parazita, kojih ima preko 300 u globalnoj cirkulaciji. Iako su mnogi geni markeri virulencije identifikovani, fenotip virulenije je teško utvrditi isključivo genetikom, te se istraživanja fokusiraju na mehanizame virulencije. U ovom radu je ispitana virulencija četiri različita varijantna genotipa T. gondii loze III koja čini 25,3% populacione strukture T. gondii u Srbiji, na in vivo modelu Swiss Webster miševa, dok su mehanizmi ispitani in vitro u VERO ćelijama i kroz ekspresiju gena u mozgu i slezini u ranoj i kasnoj infekciji. Utvrđeno je da su genotipovi EQ40 I K1 intermedijarno virulentni dok su EQ39 (ToxoDB#54) i G13 nisko virulentni. Pokazano je da su mehanizmi virulencije stopa proliferacije i litički kapacitet, koji su posledica više metaboličke aktivnosti, pokazane kroz povišenu ekspresiju ENO2. Ovi mehanizmi uslovljavaju intenzivan proinflamatorni odgovor koji je u ranoj infekciji evidentan kroz povišen nivo IL-12p40 i IFN-γ mRNK u mozgu i slezini. Uprkos različitim karakteristikama imunskog odgovora na genotipove intermedijarne i niske virulencije, imunizovani miševi preživljavaju re-infekciju RH (ToxoDB#10) sojem, što ukazuje na to da kvalitet imunskog odgovora ne zavisi od virulencije genotipa.Toxoplasma gondii, the etiological agent of toxoplasmosis, is a food and waterborne Apicomplexan protozoan endoparasite of homeothermic species transmissible by ingestion. Due to a high global prevalence and the fact that infection can cause serious pathology in the immunocompetent individuals, T. gondii was ranked globally as the 4th and in Europe as the 2nd parasite of significance to public health. The severity of the pathology, which follows from specific interactions of the parasite with immune cells, depends on the parasite’s genotype, over 300 of which circulate globally. While many virulence conferring genes have been identified, the virulence phenotype is difficult to predict by genetics alone, thus the focus is on discovering the underlying mechanisms. In this study, the virulence of four distinct lineage III variant genotypes, which constitute 25% of the population structure of T. gondii in Serbia, has been determined by cumulative mortality of Swiss Webster mice, while mechanisms were analyzed using VERO cells and through gene expression in the brain and the spleen in early and late infection. Genotypes EQ40 and K1 were found to be of intermediate, while EQ39 (ToxoDB#54) and G13 were of low virulence. Virulence mechanisms included high proliferation rate and lytic capacity, supported by enhanced metabolic activity, evident in sustained higher ENO2 expression. This results in an intense proinflammatory response in early infection, characterized by high levels of expression of IL-12p40 and IFN-γ mRNA in the brain and spleen. However, despite distinct characteristics of the immune response to genotypes of different virulence, immunized mice survived RH (ToxoDB#10) challenge, which implies that the quality of the immune response is independent of virulence

European Union and Challenges of Cultural Policies: Critical Perspectives. An Introduction

This introductory article contextually frames the contributions to the special issue gathering articles critically addressing the key questions and challenges that the European Union (EU) and national cultural policies are facing in the 21st century. Interdisciplinary contributions in this special issue point to the diverse understandings of culture, the complexity of the EU governance system, and the discrepancy and mismatch of the national and EU levels that regulate the field of culture. The authors detect the inconsistent development strategies on different policy levels, and point to the democratic deficits of the EU governance system and EU policies. Selected contributions address a further focal shift of EU culture policies toward an economistic orientation to culture, while others address the need for a more critical approach that moves beyond predominantly positivistic and normative approaches to cultural policy research in Europe

Pristup kulturi u digitalnom prostoru: aktivni korisnici, ponovno korištenje sadržaja i kulturne politike

Access issues have been placed in cultural policy focus with the aim to contribute to cultural development, social inclusion, quality of life, etc. and the digital domain opportunities have been looked at as a way to ensure delivering content to interested users. The issue of access to culture in the digital context is understood in terms of reducing obstacles, as well as, fostering opportunities. The concept is understood as the dynamic and social process and not a simple oneoff act of provision. This article outlines the challenges brought about for access to culture in the digital era and addresses policy frameworks concerning: a) the role of users and their participation opportunities and b) regulatory issues such as intellectual property rights (IPR) and re-use policies that enable or limit what kind of services cultural sector can offer in the digital domain. The article analyses both explicit and implicit policy approaches to regulating digital culture, as both remain relevant in ensuring that cultural content reaches its intended users. This provides the background for the investigation of the results obtained through the comparative policy analysis executed in the project ‘Access to Culture. Policy Analysis’ where different policy approaches to digital access in six selected countries (Austria, Croatia, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Turkey) are presented and interpreted. This is done with the aim to provide better understanding of the digital access issues that have to be taken into account in effective policy making for the inclusive and open digital culture.Pitanja vezana uz pristup kulturi ušla su u fokus kulturnih politika s ciljem da doprinesu kulturnom razvoju, kvaliteti života građana, društvenoj uključenosti, i sl., pri čemu su razmatrane i mogućnosti koje digitalni prostor pruža kulturnom sektoru za omogućavanje pristupa kulturnom sadržaju. Pitanja pristupa kulturi u digitalnom kontekstu podrazumijevaju aspekte vezane uz uklanjanje prepreka pristupu kulturnim resursima kao i poticanje i promicanje mogućnosti građana za participaciju u kulturi. Koncept se defi nira kao dinamičan društveni proces, a ne kao jednostavno infrastrukturno omogućavanje pristupa. Pristup kulturnim resursima u digitalnom kontekstu suočava nas sa novim mogućnostima i preprekama na koje kulturne politike moraju adekvatno odgovoriti kako bi potakle razvoj digitalne kulture. U članku su analizirani pristupi eksplicitnih i implicitnih kulturnih politika u reguliranju digitalne kulture koji predstavljaju relevantan okvir koji omogućuje da kulturni sadrž aji stignu do korisnika. Opisani su izazovi koje digitalni kontekst predstavlja za pitanja pristupa kulturnom sadržaju te su analizirani aspekti kulturnih politika koji razmatraju a) prava korisnika na korištenje kulturnog sadržaja te b) postojeću regulativu koja se odnosi na intelektualno vlasništvo i pravo na ponovno korištenje sadržaja jer takva regulativa omogućuje ili ograničava digitalne usluge koje kulturni sektor može pružiti građanima. U drugom dijelu članka predstavljeni su rezultati istraživanja projekta ‘Pristupi kulturi – Analiza javnih politika’ te su analizirani pristupi kulturnim politikama u reguliranju digitalnog pristupa kulturi u šest odabranih zemalja (Austrija, Hrvatska, Norveška, Španjolska, Švedska i Turska). Istraživanje je provedeno s ciljem da se omogući dublji uvid u pitanja vezana za digitalni pristup kulturi kako bi kulturne politike mogle adekvatno odgovoriti na izazove koji proizlaze iz digitalnog konteksta

The Place and Role of Culture in the EU Agenda. Policy Implications of the Culture Sub-programme of the Creative Europe Programme

The article looks at the policy implications of the changing position of culture, analysing shifts in understanding the role and position of culture in the broader EU agenda. Following short analysis of the changing European Union’s discourse pertaining to culture and media sectors, authors analyse wider policy context of the Culture Sub-programme of the Creative Europe Programme adopted in 2013. The analysis approaches the subject from two main angles; fi rstly, reviewing the policy architecture of the Programme and its feasibility; and secondly, focusing on the terms of the stakeholders’ agreements. Authors investigate whether the instrument is well adjusted to the current situation and how it responds to the needs of these sectors. By investigating the proposed and adopted instruments of the Programme, the authors show the trajectory of the ‘competitiveness’ discourse in the creation of the Programme and its’ further strengthening in the most recent policies for the cultural sector