Economic Lives of Artists : Studies into Careers and the Labour Market in the Cultural Sector

The economic aspects of the lives of artists already puzzled classical economists such as Adam Smith and Alfred Marshall. Their theories provide the background for this book, which presents a number of empirical studies into careers and the labour market in the cultural sector. Leitmotivs are two modern theories in Cultural Economics: work-preference, which focuses on the overriding preference of artists to work in their own occupation in spite of the low earnings and winner-take-all or superstar theory, which aims to explain the extremely skewed income distribution in the arts. These theories are studied in detail in five chapters that cover diverse topics such as the relation between wages and labour supply among artists; the impact of the extensive system of grants and subsidies of the Dutch government for the careers of visual artists; the earnings and artistic achievements of a cohort of graduates from arts education during the first years of their career; the exhibitions of visual artists in museums, galleries and other locations and the determinants of the prices of works of visual art in Dutch modern art gallerie

Snitches get stitches: On the difficulty of whistleblowing

One of the most critical security protocol problems for humans is when you are betraying a trust, perhaps for some higher purpose, and the world can turn against you if you're caught. In this short paper, we report on efforts to enable whistleblowers to leak sensitive documents to journalists more safely. Following a survey of cases where whistleblowers were discovered due to operational or technological issues, we propose a game-theoretic model capturing the power dynamics involved in whistleblowing. We find that the whistleblower is often at the mercy of motivations and abilities of others. We identify specific areas where technology may be used to mitigate the whistleblower's risk. However we warn against technical solutionism: the main constraints are often institutional.Thales e-Securit

Interpersonal Antecedents to Selective Disclosure of Lesbian and Gay Identities at Work

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) employees' sexual identitymay be considered a concealable stigmatised identity. Disclosing it to others at work could potentially lead to discrimination and rejection, hence threatening their inclusion. Therefore, they may hide their sexual identity instead, which may then come at the cost of, e.g., guilt for not living authentically. However, disclosure is a continuum - rather than a dichotomy - meaning that LGB workers may decide to disclose selectively, i.e., telling some, but not all co‐workers. Most literature on disclosure focuses on the interplay between intrapersonal (e.g., psychological) and contextual (e.g., organisational) characteristics, thereby somewhat overlooking the role of interpersonal (e.g., relational) characteristics. In this article, we present findings from semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews with nine Dutch lesbian and gay employees, conducted in early 2020, to gain a better understanding of interpersonal antecedents to disclosure decisions at work. Through our thematic analysis, we find that LGB workers may adopt a proactive or reactive approach to disclosure, which relates to the salience of their sexual identity at work (high/low) and their concern for anticipated acceptance. Other themes facilitating disclosure include an affective dimension, being in a relationship, and associating with the employee resource group. We demonstrate the importance of studying disclosure at the interpersonal level and reflect on how our findings relate to literature on disclosure, authenticity, belonging, and social inclusion of LGB individuals at work

Evolution of Debris‐Flow Initiation Mechanisms and Sediment Sources During a Sequence of Postwildfire Rainstorms

Wildfire alters vegetation cover and soil hydrologic properties, substantially increasing the likelihood of debris flows in steep watersheds. Our understanding of initiation mechanisms of postwildfire debris flows is limited, in part, by a lack of direct observations and measurements. In particular, there is a need to understand temporal variations in debris-flow likelihood following wildfire and how those variations relate to wildfire-induced hydrologic and geomorphic changes. In this study, we use a combination of in situ measurements, hydrologic monitoring equipment, and numerical modeling to assess the impact of wildfire-induced hydrologic and geomorphic changes on debris-flow initiation during seven postwildfire rainstorms. We predict the impact of hillslope erosion on debris-flow initiation by combining terrestrial laser scanning surveys of a hillslope burned during the 2016 Fish Fire with numerical modeling of sediment transport throughout a 0.12-km(2) basin in southern California. We use measurements of sediment thickness within the channel to constrain numerical experiments and to assess the role of channel sediment supply on debris-flow initiation. Results demonstrate that debris flows initiated during rainstorms where hillslopes contributed minimally to the event sediment yield and suggest that large inputs of sediment from rill and gully networks are not essential for runoff-generated debris flows. Simulations suggest that both the gradual entrainment of sediment and the mass failure of channel bed sediment can increase sediment concentration to levels associated with debris flows. Finally, postwildfire debris-flow initiation appears closely linked to the same rainfall intensity-duration threshold despite temporal changes in the sediment source, initiation processes, and hydraulic roughness.U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landslide Hazards ProgramPublic domain articleThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

"It's Not Always Possible to Live Your Life Openly or Honestly in the Same Way" - Workplace Inclusion of Lesbian and Gay Humanitarian Aid Workers in Doctors Without Borders

In this exploratory study, we present findings from semi-structured interviews with 11 self-identified lesbian and gay (LG) humanitarian aid workers of Doctors without Borders (MSF). We investigate their perceptions of workplace inclusion in terms of perceived satisfaction of their needs for authenticity and belonging within two organizational settings, namely office and field. Through our combined deductive and inductive approach, based on grounded theory, we find that perceptions of their colleagues' and supervisors' attitudes and behaviors, as well as organizational inclusiveness practices play a role in LGs' perceived authenticity, but not belonging, in the workplace. However, these organization-level characteristics do not account for between-participant differences in perceived authenticity. Therefore, we inductively construct a typology of three groups, which we coined conscious first-missioners, authentic realists, and idealistic activists, based on how LG humanitarian aid workers assess and deal with not being able to be their authentic selves when they are in the field, because homosexuality is illegal in many project countries. Conscious first-missioners are separated from the other two groups based on having gone to the field once, whereby they felt in control over the decision on how to manage their sexuality. Alternatively, authentic realists and idealistic activists alike felt they did not really have a choice in how to manage their sexuality, but handled that differently. We find the importance of one's sexuality as well as adherence to the overarching organizational mission relevant individual-level factors herein. Furthermore, we find disclosure of sexual identity to be strongly context-dependent, as participants are 'out of the closet' in the office, but go back into the closet when they enter the field, with different country contexts even leading to different decisions concerning self-disclosure, thus demonstrating the importance of careful sexual identity management. This so-called disclosure dilemma, we find, may not be merely an individual choice, but rather a shared dilemma involving multiple stakeholders, such as the organization and fellow team members. We discuss the findings' contributions to existing literature on LGs' workplace experiences and implications for future research on inclusion of sexual and other invisible minorities in the workplace

The influence of large woody debris on post-wildfire debris flow sediment storage

Debris flows transport large quantities of water and granular material, such as sediment and wood, and this mixture can have devastating effects on life and infrastructure. The proportion of large woody debris (LWD) incorporated into debris flows can be enhanced in forested areas recently burned by wildfire because wood recruitment into channels accelerates in burned forests. In this study, using four small watersheds in the Gila National Forest, New Mexico, which burned in the 2020 Tadpole Fire, we explored new approaches to estimate debris flow velocity based on LWD characteristics and the role of LWD in debris flow volume retention. To understand debris flow volume model predictions, we examined two models for debris flow volume estimation: (1) the current volume prediction model used in US Geological Survey debris flow hazard assessments and (2) a regional model developed to predict the sediment yield associated with debris-laden flows. We found that the regional model better matched the magnitude of the observed sediment at the terminal fan, indicating the utility of regionally calibrated parameters for debris flow volume prediction. However, large wood created sediment storage upstream from the terminal fan, and this volume was of the same magnitude as the total debris flow volume stored at the terminal fans. Using field and lidar data we found that sediment retention by LWD is largely controlled by channel reach slope and a ratio of LWD length to channel width between 0.25 and 1. Finally, we demonstrated a method for estimating debris flow velocity based on estimates of the critical velocity required to break wood, which can be used in future field studies to estimate minimum debris flow velocity values.</p

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707