Purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of a new cultural institution, "medialab". Media laboratory is an interdisciplinary institution that combines the tasks of scientific, educational, cultural and artistic institutions. They are spaces in which technology and digital media are...

What can studying the creation of knowledge tell us about how new technical fields emerge and develop? This paper shows how a knowledge community may be necessary to support the legitimacy of new products that undergo performance evaluation before purchase. Using historical and ethnographic data...

This paper provides evidence of a consistent gap in the value of cultural goods exported from Italy and the value declared by its trading partners in official trade statistics for the period 1994-2021 and discusses it in the context of the literature on illicit trafficking in cultural property,...

Why are certain movies more successful in some markets than others? Are the entertainment products we consume reflective of our core values and beliefs? These questions drive our investigation into the relationship between a society's oral tradition and the financial success of films. We combine...

This short essay takes stock of H.L. Mencken's portrayal of Samuel Johnson as the quot;first Rotarianquot; and as nothing more than a mouthpiece for the prejudices and defender of the authorities of his time. I suggest by contrast that Johnson was fully appreciative of the need for the writer to...

This article examines the conflicting views about whether to consider artwork as a financial asset and suggests a modified museum finance strategy that would not raise stakeholder concerns about selling art in the permanent collection. By encouraging museums to begin a separate investment...

The Korean wave has become a global phenomenon whose effect has been widely studied in Asia, Europe and the US. However the presumption of cultural distance makes it appear unlikely that the Korean wave could gain traction among African consumers of cultural products. As such, a dearth of...

The objective of this paper is to explain how ‘nudge theory', as formulated by Thaler and Sunstein, can be successfully applied to alleviate the incidence of terrorism. It briefly explains ‘nudge theory' and associated concepts, provides evidence of its successful application in recent times...

This paper considers the relevant weightings of 'media-centrism' and 'society-centrism' in theories of the media. Among the theories discussed are Stuart Hall's theory of hegemony, the debate between Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhan about technological determinism, and theories of mediatization

Recent studies in psychology and neuroscience find that fictional works exert strong influence on readers and shape their opinions and worldviews. We study the Potterian economy, which we compare to economic models, to assess how Harry Potter books affect economic literacy. We find that some...