This issue of Cultural Trends contains three research articles and numerous reviews. All the articles – “Highbrow cultural participation of Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands: Testing an identification and social network explanation” by Gerbert Kraaykamp, Natascha Notten and Hidde Bekhuis, “Professional mobilities in the creative industries: The role of ‘place’ for young people aspiring for a creative career” by Caitriona Noonan and “Frequency and attendance at popular music concerts in the US: Does facility age matter?” by Geoffrey Propheter – are concerned with place. While each piece of research focuses on one specific place, it is likely that their findings are transferable.
Kraaykamp, Notten and Bekhuis, for instance, consider the relatively neglected area of ethnic differences in the consumption of highbrow culture. Focusing on people of Turkish and Moroccan descent, they found that strong identification with Dutch society moderated the relationship between their subjects’ educational attainment and cultural participation. In short, highly educated people of Turkish and Moroccan descent, who strongly identify with the Netherlands, participated more in highbrow culture than their highly educated counterparts who identified less with the Netherlands.
Noonan's research investigates the relationship between place, education and young people's professional aspirations. She explores the tangible and symbolic value of place within young people's career development focusing on media studies students in Higher Education, in particular.
Last but not least, Propheter considers some of the issues around the provision of popular music facilities in the USA, which are perceived as valuable community amenities. Both the state and local governments often encourage concert development by subsidizing the construction and operation of concert venues. Public policy arguments often maintain that concert frequency declines as those facilities age, necessitating their replacement. Propheter considers the relationship between the magnitude of the age effects and the need for significant subsidies. For the reader, the implication of this research must be to raise questions about whether communities or construction companies are likely to benefit most.