Museums and the ‘new museology’ : theory, practice and organisational change

The widening of roles and expectations within cultural policy discourses has been a challenge to museum workers throughout Great Britain. There has been an expectation that museums are changing from an ‘old’ to a ‘new museology’ that has shaped museum functions and roles. This paper outlines the limitations of this perceived transition as museum services confront multiple exogenous and endogenous expectations, opportunities, pressures and threats. Findings from 23 publically funded museum services across England, Scotland and Wales are presented to explore the roles of professional and hierarchical differentiation, and how there were organisational and managerial limitations to the practical application of the ‘new museology’. The ambiguity surrounding policy, roles and practice also highlighted that museum workers were key agents in interpreting, using and understanding wide-ranging policy expectations. The practical implementation of the ‘new museology’ is linked to the values held by museum workers themselves and how they relate it to their activities at the ground level

Origins and destinations: representation in the theatre of Romeo Castellucci

This thesis: Origins and Destinations: Representation in the theatre of Romeo Castellucci, investigates the working methodology of the Italian theatre director, Romeo Castellucci and his company, Societas Raffaello Sanzio. It provides an account of Societas Raffaello Sanzios history, working methods, a detailed reading of the thematic and philosophical landscape in their works especially Genesi: from the museum of sleep, and the cycle: Tragedia Endogonidia, and a discussion on the companys artistic process towards the formation of its compositions and performances. This research and investigation is based on numerous viewings of most of the companys theatre works created in the last six years, interviews with Romeo Castellucci as well as other participating artists, two privileged periods of observation (residencies) in Italy of the rehearsal and creation processes of three shows, and the analysis and discussion of some of the key critical and intellectual responses to the work of Romeo Castellucci. The thematic focus of the thesis is the notion of Origins and Destinations, and its relationship with the language of representation in Romeo Castelluccis theatre. The theoretical discussion in the thesis is organised around Giorgio Agambens notion of Potentiality within the composition and content of Castelluccis theatre. This concept provides a link between the key ideas of Origins, Destinations and Representation. Castelluccis application of Agambens Potentiality deconstructs dramatic structure, narrative and action down to the fundamentals of the act itself, separated from its meaningful context. It is the conclusion of this thesis, that in the instant of this singular act, Romeo Castellucci manages to represent a point where origin and destination meet, or a point where they both are, for an instant, one and the same thing

Making the Car ‘Platform Ready’: How Big Tech Is Driving the Platformization of Automobility

“Big Tech” platform companies like Alphabet (Google), Apple, and Amazon are deeply invested in the future of automobility—from developing car-specific interfaces and self-driving technology to establishing business partnerships with automakers. Far from business-as-usual, we explain how Big Tech is reshaping the traditional automotive industry by making the car “platform ready,” as imposed on the web before it. The article considers how this novel transformation of automobility is increasingly significant for critical scholars of social media, platforms, and platformization, as bespoke forms of mediated, datafied, and platformized, sociality emerge. Specifically, we identify six levels upon which this platformization of automobility is unfolding and through which Big Tech is reorganizing the automotive industry according to platform logics concerning programmability, modularity, connectivity, data collection, and developmental partnerships. We do so by analyzing academic and technical literature, industry reports, and initiatives with a stake in platform automobility. Finally, we suggest directions for further research into Big Tech’s stake in the future of automobility, as these new dynamics begin to reshape the automotive industry at large

Creative differences? Measuring creative economy employment in the United States and the UK

This paper compares the creative economies of the US and the UK regions and nations using high-quality administrative microdata spanning the period 2011–13. The creative industries are highly urbanized in both countries. However, important differences are found in the size, density and diversity of creative activity between the two countries, which reflect differences in both urban systems and industrial organization. By testing the ‘Creative Trident’ approach in a comparative international context, the analysis adds to the literature on definition and classification of creative economies, as well as to discussions of regional economic development through the creative economy

The Maker Movement and Urban Economic Development

Problem, research strategy, and findings: The maker movement is placing small-scale manufacturing development on mayoral agendas across the United States and promises to reinvigorate production economies in central cities. To make effective policy, planners need more knowledge about the entrepreneurs at the center of this phenomenon. Here we present a qualitative investigation of urban maker economies. We draw on semistructured interviews with firms and supportive organizations in Chicago (IL), New York City (NY), and Portland (OR). A limitation of our approach stems from the unavailability of population parameters; we cannot confirm that our sample reflects the universe of maker enterprises. We find that makers draw on ecosystems comprising mainly for-profit firms. The public and nonprofit sectors are important in areas where markets do not provide the resources that fledgling makers require. We find 3 distinct types of maker enterprise: micromakers, global innovators, and emerging place-based manufacturers. Each makes a different contribution to local and regional economic development. Takeaway for practice: Planners can maximize the potential of the maker movement by distinguishing among the 3 types of maker firms. Practitioners focused on employment creation should prioritize emerging place-based manufacturers, helping them build supply chain connections and ensuring that they have affordable space into which to expand. Artisanal micromakers also generate economic benefits, as do global innovators focused on product design and prototyping. But emerging place-based manufacturers have the highest potential for employment creation, both directly and via the business growth they stimulate