David Wright

taylorfrancis.comCreative and Cultural Work in Europe | Bård Kleppe, Jaka Primorac, MiiThis book gathers evidence and case studies from various parts of Europe and across the different sectors that comprise the creative industries, including the

Out today, from editors Bård Kleppe, Jaka Primorac, Mikka Pyykkönen and me. The book combines cross-national writing teams and focussed case studies across Europe to examine the rhetoric and reality of creative work. A contents thread 👇 www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...

Woke up to an email from Loic Waquant (addressed to 'users and abusers of Bourdieu') and feel pretty cool. Clicked on the attachment, confident that this would be quite a niche way to spread malware.

democracyforsale.substack.comReform's £4m donor "thumbed his nose at the law", US prosecutors saidBen Delo has called his US conviction a "non-crime". Prosecutors said the Farage-backing crypto billionaire was a “leader of a criminal enterprise”.

12 Sept

It was a bit weird that it took John Curtice to drop this truth bomb in the Today piece on this earlier, as opposed to the BBC correspondent.

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social

The Ben Delo who has just given Reform £36m is the same Ben Delo who US prosecutors said was the leader of a ‘criminal enterprise’ But hey ho, it’s fine for him- and any other crypto bro - to buy British democracy lock stock and barrel democracyforsale.substack.com/p/reforms-4m...

Times Higher Education (THE)

30 Aug

Excellent. Bit of a long walk to the gag at the end but worth it. 3*

Wonkhe@wonkhe.bsky.social

NEW on Wonkhe: New science minister Chris McDonald loves brass bands. Will he grow to love the REF in the same way? buff.ly/CMrX5Db

David Wright reposted

Mariana Mazzucato

@mazzucatom.bsky.social

28 Aug

New research position: bringing arts and culture to the centre of the economy. Research Fellow at UCL IIPP, working with me and the team, and partners in the UK and Brazil on how cultural value is measured, governed and funded. Closes 11 September ➡️ www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

David Wright reposted

@timeshighered.bsky.social

28 Aug

AI policies are repeating every mistake of plagiarism policies: AI use is being framed as a binary of permitted or cheating, when for second-language writers it is a question of learning, says Özgür Çelik https://ow.ly/MhSY50ZG4rN

@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

20 Aug

After a near two decade career teaching and researching a range of topics at a top ranked global university, the question I'm asked most - and which I still struggle to answer - is 'Does the word count include the bibliography?'

David Wright reposted

Margot Finn

19 Aug

'A Russell Group university will no longer use ubiquitous anti-cheating tools provided by Turnitin because of concerns that the company might use students’ work to train artificial intelligence.' Maybe time for UK universities to develop and commercialise their own tools?

timeshighereducation.comSouthampton dumps Turnitin over use of students’ work to train AIAcademic integrity giant denies accusations as university declines to renew contract in favour of ‘other options’

David Wright reposted

Endless Screaming

@infinitescream.bsky.social

6 Aug

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

youtu.beDo you intend to abolish first class rail travel?YouTube video by Tom Cleaver

22 June

This is what I want to hear when Burnham gets off that train youtu.be/vgI9hjRzmq0?...

14 June

Tune!

BBC Radio 6 Music Now Playing Bot (Unofficial)@bbcradio6musicbot.bsky.social

BBC Radio 6 Music Cerys Matthews Now Playing Gil Scott‐Heron I Think I'll Call It Morning

wrap.warwick.ac.uk Literary taste and list culture in a time of "endless choice" - WRAP: Warwick Research Archive Portal

17 May

Given the Guardian best books brouhaha, here's a thing I wrote (in 2012!) about lists and literary taste. Still kind of stands up. The history bit is interesting if I say so myself 🤔 wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/51...

jstor.org From Codex to Hypertext: Reading at the Turn of the Twentyfirst Century on JSTOR The start of the twentyfirst century has brought with it a rich variety of ways in which readers can connect with one another, access texts, and make sense of w...

17 May

And here's a link to the book it is in www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt...

theguardian.comArts and cultural engagement ‘linked to slower pace of biological ageing’Research from UCL suggests visiting art galleries or museums, singing and painting can help improve health outcomes

12 May

No shade on the research itself which no doubt is careful and rigorous on its terms but I always find coverage of studies like this a bit depressing. As if we're only allowed beautiful things when there is a grimly utilitarian reason. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

22 Apr

And people say this platform is in decline.

GHOSTopher Bird@mightygodking.com

we all know I have no life, so:

David Wright reposted

Tom Gauld

@tomgauld.bsky.social

21 Apr

My latest cartoon for @newscientist.com

19 Apr

God bless the cultural intermediaries, I say.

Richie Daiches Barlow@thedogwalker.bsky.social

As an author who also happens to have a book in @waterstones.bsky.social, I at least know the difference between paperback and hardback books, which he’s standing in front of…

David Wright reposted

taylorfrancis.comConclusion | 22 | Supporting Creative and Cultural Work in Europe | DaThis concluding chapter summarizes the arguments, evidence, and analysis presented in the previous chapters. It focusses on how questions of definition and

Replying to @davwright.bsky.social

We conclude with reflections on what the evidence tells us. Notably, it indicates that challenging conditions of creative work are not inevitable. If states consider the creative economy important, then there are routes to supporting this work and these workers. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

David Wright reposted

Liz McFall

@allartmarkets.bsky.social

28 Mar

This makes me happy and incredibly sad for what we let go … for how impossible it would be to set up anything with the intellectual, pedagogic, democratic vision of the OU now www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.ukMilton Keynes statue honours Open University founderThe statue celebrates the life of an MP who was behind the creation of the university.

David Wright reposted

Replying to @davwright.bsky.social

Thanks to our contributors, reviewers and to @bookseditorial.bsky.social and team at @routledgebooks.bsky.social for their help. If you work at a university, why not order a copy for your library? And if you don't, and you want to read anything, drop me a line. www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...

taylorfrancis.comEcologically Sustainable Creative Work? | 20 | Rethinking Cultural PolThis chapter explores the role of creative work in the green transition, focussing on how cultural policies shape its relationship with ecological

Next, Višnja Kisić, Miikka Pyykkönen & Goran Tomka challenge the view of creative work as immaterial and emphasise its environmental impacts. To address this, they advocate an ‘ecological turn', supporting collective, locally rooted creative practices. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comNavigating Symbolic Boundaries | 21 | Migrants' Artistic Practices andMigrants and their descendants are increasingly shaping the cultural landscape of many European cities across multiple fields such as music, theatre,

Finally, @michaelparzer.bsky.social examines the challenges faced by artists who have experienced migration. Using data collected in Austria, the chapter focusses on the role of recognition in 're-starting' an artistic career in a new country. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comCreative Labour as Platform Work | 18 | Structural Inequalities and DiThe chapter examines the evolving nature of work in the cultural and creative sectors within the global platform economy, highlighting in what ways online

In 'Creative Labour as Platform Work', Heidi Ashton & Jaka Primorac examine how the demands of platform-mediated cultural production often contribute to precariousness, intensify existing inequalities, and add to unpaid labour demands for visibility. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comUniversal Basic Income and the Future of (Creative) Work | 19 | CreatiThis chapter uses the emergence of policy proposals for Universal Basic Income (UBI) for artists to contribute to debates about the value of creative work. The

Then, Heidi Ashton, Chris Bilton and I use the emergence - and implementation of - policy demands for Basic Income for artists to reflect on how the state might see creative work - and work in general - in the contemporary economy. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comThe Creative Middle Class | 15 | Between Neoliberalism and Commonism |Over the last decade, the concept of the creative class has gained substantial recognition, celebrated by academics, policymakers, and industry leaders.

Next, @trust1970.bsky.social identifies 'the commons' and 'commonism' as routes to address the precarization of 'The Creative Middle Class'. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comHow to Move Things with Unions? | 17 | Labour Organizing of Art WorkerThe chapter examines labour organizing among art workers in the post-Yugoslav context, focussing on Slovenia and Croatia, where freelance art workers, facing

Katja Praznik's chapter on labour organizing among freelance artists in Slovenia and Croatia underscores the need for worker agency and collective action, rather than advocacy alone, in changing the conditions of creative work. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comFrom Precarity to Security? | 13 | How Can Cultural Policies Tackle thAs is well known, self-employed workers in the creative industries, such as freelancers and sole entrepreneurs, face many challenges in their work and working

Next up, Miikka Pyykkönen focuses on policy initiatives that attempt to address the specific challenge of free-lance creative work, in Finland and elsewhere around Europe. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comThe Trajectory of Film Work as Precarious Project Work | 14 | From OrgThis chapter explores the precarious nature of film labour, using Croatia as a case study to examine how the project-to-project approach has become deeply

Jaka Primorac examines film and labour legislation from the socialist era in Yugoslavia and into present-day Croatia. She argues that the globalised film industry needs a safety net for workers vulnerable to the unstable, project-based nature of their work. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comWelfare Policy as Cultural Policy in the UK | 11 | From Enterprise AllThis chapter considers how welfare policies constitute an alternative form of cultural policy, allowing cultural workers to develop creative skills and

Next, Heidi Ashton, Chris Bilton and I consider UK welfare policy as cultural policy. We contrast the welfare schemes of the 80s and 90s, which artists were able to use to subsidise their work, with the far tighter conditions of Universal Credit. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comBuilding Creative Careers through Working Relations | 12 | The Case ofPursuing a career as an artist is inherently challenging; however, the competition is particularly intense and unpredictable within the visual arts sector.

In 'Building Creative Careers through Working Relations' Mari Torvik Heian and @aasnevje.bsky.social analyse the Norwegian Artists Assistant Scheme as a practical route to ease the route from training to professional practice. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.com“Oh My God, What Have I Done All Day?” | 8 | Challenges of Measuring tThis chapter considers the experiences of freelance creative workers in the UK and Finland following the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting some challenges in

In 'Oh my God, what have I done all day?' Chris Bilton and Miikka Pyykkönen use interviews with artists in Finland and the UK to identify the limitations of terms like 'input', 'output' and 'productivity in understanding creative work. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comBarcelona Creation Factories | 10 | Improving the Support for CreativeWithin the framework of the creative city, cultural policy has been aimed at increasing the capacity of cultural sectors to generate cultural value in the form

Then, Joaquim Ruis-Ulldemolins analyses support for the creative industries in Barcelona. The chapter highlights the challenges for regional authorities in taking on the role of job creator in such sectors in ways that are accountable to their publics. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comClosing the Gap? | 6 | Gender Differences in Norwegian Artists' Work aThis chapter examines gender differences in work and income among Norwegian artists, drawing on four extensive quantitative studies conducted between 2006 and

In 'Closing the Gap', Bård Kleppe and Mari Torvik Heian draw on Norwegian data spanning nearly two decades to examine how cultural policies impact gender differences in income in artistic professions. Disparities persist, but this is a solvable problem. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comPatterns in Artists' Careers | 7 | Adapting to Uncertainty, OpportunitThis research offers a case study-based analysis with theoretical conclusions on the dynamics of artistic career development, focusing on the period between

Next up, Ieva Zemīte and Kristaps Ancāns use case studies of artists from Latvia, Romania and the UK to evaluate the role of social networks and cultural capital in early career development and preparing artists for a precarious labour market. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comCreativity and the ‘Work' of Art | 4 | Visual Artists' Perspectives |The policy drive to conceive of the creative economy as a site of job creation has meant that distinctive elements of different forms of creative work have been

Next, Simone Wesner and I use Arendt's concepts of 'work' and 'labour' to understand the motivations of visual artists in Germany. A key theme of the book is whether creative work is 'different' from other types of work - and the policy implications if it is. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comOn the Heterogeneity of Creative Work | 5 | Exploring Effects of the CThis chapter discusses varying ways in which cultural workers have experienced and been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is based on the data collected

Then, Goran Tomka and Višnja Kisić analyse the experience of creative workers in the Balkans during Covid-19. The challenges faced, and the variety of coping strategies they deployed indicate a need to re-think how such workers are trained and supported. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

taylorfrancis.comMeasuring Matters | 3 | Mapping Cultural and Creative Work in Europe |The chapter analyzes how cultural and creative work is mapped in Europe. Firstly, it critically assesses currently available data on the European Union level,

In 'Measuring Matters', Bård Kleppe, Jaka Primorac, and Heidi Ashton evaluate creative economy jobs data from Norway, Croatia and the UK. The chapter examines the 'what' and 'why' of measurement in different territories with different policy priorities. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

David Wright reposted

Margot Finn

@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

21 Mar

Fully-funded AHRC Collaborative Doctoral PhD Studentship at UCL and the V&A: 'Invisible Hands: Migrant Labour and British Craft in the 18th Century' Ignore the 'top ten' hype; focus on the ace resources, environment and support. Deadline 15 April. #Skystorians

ucl.ac.ukUCL – University College LondonUCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

21 Mar

This is a really important point. No-one has been able to explain to me how we can fairly and consistently distinguish between an AI generated essay (formulaic and generic in its structure, phrasing and contents) and...

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

'It inverts a common anxiety about AI and assessment integrity. The students using AI most heavily are not cutting corners – they are the most ethically engaged, the most attentive to institutional guidance, and the most conscious of whether they could defend their work.' 4/4

bbc.comGerman philosopher and social critic Jürgen Habermas dies at 96One the most influential thinkers in post-war Germany, he linked philosophy and political action throughout his life.

21 Mar

...one of that's just 'okay' produced by someone working in difficult circumstances, or even writing in a second language but following guidance in good faith.

David Wright reposted

Andrew Parkin

@parkinac.bsky.social

15 Mar

If you’re wondering what the big deal is about Jürgen Habermas (who died yesterday), or if you’ve never heard of him until now, you’re not going to learn much from the short newspaper obituaries, which are focusing on more on what he said about current events than his philosophy. 1/

Andrew Parkin@parkinac.bsky.social

😪 www.bbc.com/news/article...

David Wright reposted

Brian Groom

@groomb.bsky.social

14 Mar

Burnden Park, Bolton, 1946: the deal that cost father and son's lives in 'forgotten disaster'. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.ukThe deal that cost father and son's lives in Burnden Park disasterA family remembers how their loved ones never returned from the fatal 1946 stadium crush in Bolton.