Making space for art: a spatial perspective of disruptive and defensive institutional work in Venezuela’s art world

The physical and material aspects of space, such as geographical distance or boundaries, have social and symbolic consequences that impact how people influence and are influenced by institutions. Social actors can however contest how space is conceived, perceived and lived, thus making space a crucial lever in the disruption and defense of institutions. However, we lack understanding of the spatial aspects of such institutional struggles. In exploring how space is leveraged in institutional work, our study foregrounds the socio-political nature of space, building on and expanding the theorization of Lefebvre. We draw on an in depth longitudinal analysis of the material, social and symbolic aspects of the spatial dimensions of disruptive and defensive institutional work over the past twenty years in Venezuela’s art world. Following the Bolivarian Revolution in the late 1990s, the incoming government transformed the organization of the national cultural landscape, resulting in a prolonged period of institutional disruption and defense. We demonstrate that actors use the material, social, and symbolic dimensions of space to challenge and maintain their key values and practices, and that those three dimensions are intertwined

Art Fairs as a Medium for Branding Young and Emerging Artists: The Case of Frieze London

While previous researchers have attempted to explain the uncertain quality of visual arts with reference to branding theory, they have overlooked the role of art fairs. Socio-cultural approaches to branding allow us to explore the function of intermediaries in valuing contemporary arts. This article aims to analyze the role of art fairs in the process of branding young and emerging artists. In particular, a prestigious art fair, Frieze London, serves as an instrumental case study for developing a systematic understanding of art fairs in terms of valuing and branding contemporary art

Development of the Australian Dominant Drug Discourses Scale

There are a limited number of dominant discourses available to frame drug use within Australia. These dominant discourses play an important role in policy debate and development, and also drug use behaviour. We describe the development of a psychometric instrument that is hypothesised to measure the degree to which individuals internalise dominant drug discourses. Sixty items were developed to reflect six dominant discourses of drug use. A substantive validity analysis was conducted. The highest loading items were included in a 27-item measure that was administered to 370 people seeking substance use treatment in Perth, Western Australia. In addition, participants completed the Locus of Control of Behaviour Scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis tested the fit of a predicted six factor model, in addition to three other plausible models. The best fitting model was the predicted model. Internal locus of control was correlated with medical and legal discourse. The Dominant Drug Discourses Scale appears to measure internalisation of six dominant discourses. The tool has utility in research examining policy development and drug use behaviours. To establish the construct validity of the tool and better understand the constructs being measured, further research is required

The new “dual osteotomy”: combined open wedge and tibial tuberosity anteriorisation osteotomies

The high frequency with which medial compartment osteoarthritis is associated with patellofemoral osteoarthritis makes the addition of tibial tuberosity anteriorisation to high tibial osteotomy an appealing solution, despite the discouraging previously reported long-term results when tubercle anteriorisation was combined with a Coventry closed wedge technique. We conducted a prospective study of a new osteotomy combination: “the dual osteotomy”. An open wedge high tibial osteotomy was combined with 1- to 1.5-cm Maquet-like tibial tuberosity anteriorisation. Thirty-four knees in 30 patients underwent surgery, including ten knees in nine male patients and 24 knees in 21 female patients with a mean age of 45 years (age range 34−58 years). All patients had varus medial compartment osteoarthritis and patellofemoral osteoarthritis with preoperative anatomical tibiofemoral angle exceeding 5°. Twenty-four months after surgery, final evaluation detected improvement in the Knee Society clinical rating system function score from a mean of 61.3 (range 30−80) preoperatively to a mean of 87.3 (range 50−100) postoperatively and in the knee pain score from 27.3 (range 10−30) to 47 (range 30−50) postoperatively. Based on the rating system, at final follow-up, 70% of patients experienced no pain, 13% had mild or occasional pain, 10% had pain on stairs only, and 7% had pain during walking and on stairs. Anatomical tibiofemoral angles from 0 to 10° valgus were achieved in 91% of operated knees, and union was achieved in all cases within six to twelve weeks after surgery. The dual osteotomy was effective in the short term in cases of medial compartment osteoarthritis associated with patellofemoral osteoarthritis