Our research addresses strategies for increasing cultural resources for less privileged groups in society, in particular focussing on low-income people, ethnic minorities and the inhabitants of sparsely populated territories. Already half a century ago, P. Bourdieu demonstrated a correlation between cultural taste and cultural consumption practices from one side, and the processes of social exclusion and inequality from the other side (Bourdieu 1973, 1984). This established a research tradition on the linkages between cultural consumption and power relations and social hierarchies, where researchers in various contexts theoretically and empirically uncover the potential of cultural participation to foster more inclusive and socially cohesive communities (Warren and Jones 2018), as a way to achieve greater democratic legitimacy (Wilson, Gross and Bull 2017 etc.). Simultaneously, researchers have posed questions on the role of cultural policy in regulating cultural accessibility and diversity in seemingly meritocratic societies. In this vein, the Latvian medium-term cultural policy planning document “Cultural State” (the Cultural Policy Guidelines for 2022 – 2027) emphasises that one of the solutions for the expansion of the cultural offer is the revisiting of the concept of the so-called “cultural services basket”. This would establish the groups of cultural services that have to be provided to the population within a specified distance from their place of residence, as well as the areas of state and municipal responsibility in ensuring the accessibility of the cultural services. The appearance of the problem of access to culture in the policy agenda was substantiated by data on the models of Latvian population’s cultural consumption. Researchers have been carrying out comparative cultural consumption measurements since 2007 every two years (the last data is from 2022), conducting a representative survey of Latvian population (N1004). The analysis of this data testified that there are statistically significant differences in cultural consumption and participation. These differences are evident 1) in various income groups (with a markedly lower level of consumption for lower-income people), 2) in various ethnic groups (with a markedly lower consumption for Russians vs. Latvians), as well as in various regions, where the lowest level of activity is in the sparsely populated regions bordering with Russia. In this territory, the intensity of cultural consumption and the average indicators of priority cultural choices reveal statistically significant differences and risks of exclusion. For instance, the above indicators of inequality (low income, predominance of Russian-speaking population) characterise the population of the cultural-historical region of Latgale. Therefore, we pose the following research questions: 1) What cultural policy instruments can be used to decrease the gap in the intensity of cultural consumption and participation and access to cultural services in various income, ethnic and territorial groups? 2) What are the conditions for defining the cultural consumption basket, as a solution to the above problem? What decision-making strategies are the most suitable for the introduction of the model of cultural consumption basket in concrete territories?
Analysis demonstrates that so far there have been problems in attempting to define the cultural consumption basket, concerning the elements that should constitute the basket. Firstly, the formulation of the cultural consumption basket is complicated, as the cultural offer is characterised by the indeterminacy of value. The cultural value that is important to a specific community, cultural operators or policy-makers may appear of little value to another group. Thus, it is necessary to substantiate the inclusion/exclusion of specific elements. Secondly, the basket should be standardised, well defined, and diverse. It has to be sufficiently representative, so that there is unanimity with regard to the relevant representation of the cultural needs of the population (MacDonald & Potts, 2011). Thirdly, the offer included in the basket should be accessible in all locations both in terms of costs and in terms of infrastructure, which poses special responsibility to the policy-makers in territories with a low intensity of cultural consumption. There are very real differences, depending on the place of residence, that is, the place determines the direct and indirect costs of the product, as well as it may pose the barriers for the diversity and quality of the offer (MacDonald & Potts, 2011).
To carry out the selection of the elements of the basket, an essential precondition is the existence of participatory and inclusive forms of cultural governance. It is important that instead of planning on behalf of local actors, the emphasis should instead lie on enabling local actors in a pluralised cultural governance with distributed and discursive strategies of public decision-making for more effective policy-making (Warren and Jones 2018).
To test the possibility of the introduction of the cultural consumption basket, the research used the method of Exploratory Scenario Planning. Within five case studies, the researchers simulated the practice of Iterative Decision-Making, whose goal was to develop the stakeholders’ flexibility and adaptability in decision-making, allowing for adjustments based on feedback and changing circumstances. The researchers implemented workshops in five purposefully selected territorial spots, modelling the content of the cultural consumption basket. The research applied participatory action research design, where population of Latgale region, cultural operators, national and local level policy-makers developed discursive strategies of the formation and introduction of the cultural consumption basket. The effectiveness of these strategies will be determined in the next cultural consumption measurement in 2024.

Issue and argument
In our everyday conversations, we often use mental health pathology names as adjectives in a figurative way like "psycho," "schizo," or "bipolar". Even when used metaphorically, such of “abuse of language” can reinforce negative stereotypes, stigma and perpetuate misunderstandings about mental health conditions. Moreover, in today's rapidly evolving media landscape, the role of media in shaping public perceptions and understanding of diverse and often marginalized groups is sizable. The representation of neurodivergent individuals in newspapers or neurodivergent characters in cinema, has become a critical aspect of societal discourse. It holds the power to either reinforce stereotypes or promote empathy, understanding, and inclusivity through ethical narratives.

This research paper embarks on an exploration of media's ethical responsibility in shaping inclusive narratives for a diverse society, with a particular focus on the representation of neurodivergent pathologies in newspapers and neurodivergent characters in cinema. We pose the following research question: How do media, both through the news we consume and the movies we watch, portray neurodivergent individuals in society?

Our research employs a two-step method of data collection that combines film and newspaper analysis. By examining the interplay between newspapers and cinema, we illuminate the dynamics of media's role in the legitimization and representation of neurodivergent individuals. We anticipate that our research will shed light on the ethical responsibilities of media in portraying diverse and underrepresented communities, emphasizing the importance of accurate and inclusive storytelling.

Research has shown the importance of media in shaping ethical and moral structure of our society (Rauf, 2021). Media contribute to process of legitimation, defined as how ideas or representations gain acceptance in the society (Dowling and Pfeffer, 1975). Humphreys and Latour (2013) explain that legitimacy evolves through cultural representations and individual responses. Media contribute to this process by shaping and disseminating cultural representations that impact the legitimacy of ideas and stereotypes in society. Media's role in legitimacy encompasses cognitive (knowledge dissemination) and social (groups of stigmatized individuals) processes as outlined by these authors.
Media, particularly newspapers, through the tone and framing of their articles, can foster the stigmatization of neurodivergent individuals or promote empathy, understanding, and inclusivity. The inappropriate choice of language and portrayal in these publications can reinforce misconceptions and biases, contributing to a lack of understanding among the general public about neurodiversity and mental health. Previous research has focused on importance of mental health literacy in maintaining positive mental health, understanding disorders and treatments, decreasing stigma related to mental illness, and enhancing one’s knowledge of resources for mental illnesses so that one can manage a mental illness successfully (Kutcher, Wei, and Coniglio, 2016; Crowe, Mullen, and Littlewood, 2018).
In a similar vein, movies have the power to legitimate ideas within their audience by inducing feeling of intense emotions and narrative transportation (Green and Brook, 2000), a process where viewers become so immersed in the story that they may occasionally blur the lines between reality and fiction, making them more receptive to the ideas conveyed on screen. Therefore, repeated exposure to stimuli in narrative environments such as films has multiple impacts on audiences such as legitimating negative stereotypes (e.g., Behm-Moravitz and Mastro, 2008), creating habituation to stimuli (e.g., violence – Slocum, 2000) and, thus, decreasing emotional responsiveness to those stimuli in real life (the desensitization theory) or changing the behaviors (e.g., reducing domestic violence - Mahapatro and Prasad, 2022).

Methodology
A two-step method of data collection has been implemented, comprising film analysis and newspaper analysis. The objective is to explore how the topic of neurodivergence is portrayed in newspapers—recognized as a primary source of legitimization of a given topic for the general public. Concurrently, movies, with their substantial audiences, play an influential role in contributing to this legitimization through their narrative representations.
In a first step, a dataset of 200 movies and shows portraying neurodivergent characters spanning the period from 1932 to 2023 was compiled. The dataset was constructed using information available on IMDb & IRIS Center. Movies were identified and included if they featured characters (main or side) who are explicitly portrayed as neurodivergent, such as individuals with autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, behavioral disorder, PTSD, intellectual disabilities. Data analysis was then performed on the different features of each data point, which included: the gender of the neurodivergent character, the neurodivergence portrayed, the genre associated to the movie or show, its year of airing and its IMDb rating.
In a second step, a sentiment analysis was performed on a collection of articles related to mental illness, from the most popular UK and US Newspapers, was gathered from the Factiva database. The articles were selected by using the different pathology names as keywords. The last three years of publication were taken into account (from 2020 to 2022 included). To gauge the prevailing sentiment in the newspaper articles, a fine-tuned version of the language representation model called BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers) was used. It was pretrained on a dataset of 30k newspaper headlines in various languages, including 6k in English from popular newspapers such as The Times and The Guardian. This tuning of the model allows for an increased accuracy of our sentiment analysis conducted on newspaper articles, rather than the one a more generic model would have. The analysis was performed on article titles and headings, as they often encapsulate the primary themes and sentiments conveyed in the articles, categorizing them as positive, negative, or neutral.

Takeaway and results

Four key findings can be highlighted:
Result 1: Numerical disparities in newspaper articles of neurodivergent condition representation
Over a span of three years, our analysis unveiled significant disparities in the number of articles dedicated to specific mental health conditions. Notably, PTSD garnered the highest coverage, with over 60,000 articles, closely followed by autism, which amassed more than 55,000 articles, and schizophrenia, with around 40,000 articles. In contrast, bipolar disorder received just 20,000 articles, while intellectual disabilities were discussed in a mere 5,000 articles. These numerical imbalances underscore the unequal exposure of the general public to different neurodivergent conditions and, consequently, contribute to varying levels of public literacy regarding these diverse pathologies.
[INSERT FIGURE 1]

Result 2: Sentiment analysis reveals stigmatization of neurodivergent conditions in mainstream newspapers
Over the course of three years, the sentiment analysis allowed us to understand the general sentiment surrounding mental health and neurodiversity as presented in mainstream media. In newspapers, our findings revealed a consistent trend of negative representation across all neurodivergent conditions. Among these conditions, schizophrenia, intellectual disabilities and PTSD stood out as the most stigmatized, consistently garnering the highest negativity scores and the lowest levels of positive sentiment. In contrast, while autism and bipolar disorder also displayed an overall negative tone, they appeared to be depicted in a relatively more neutral manner compared to their counterparts.
[INSERT FIGURE 2]

Result 3: Gender and neurodivergent conditions inequality in film representation
The film industry has witnessed a rising number of productions centered on neurodivergent conditions. However, the character gender dynamics stays unchanged. Since as far back as the 1930s up to the present day, male characters have overwhelmingly dominated these portrayals. Drama emerges as the most commonly chosen genre as it explores complex human relationships, and personal struggles. A closer examination of neurodivergent representation reveals autism as the standout category, featuring the highest number of films spanning the widest array of genres.
[INSERT FIGURE 3]

Result 4: Misleading representation of neurodivergent conditions in the film narratives for more dramatic effect
The representation of neurodivergent conditions in film often falls short of accuracy, as filmmakers tend to amalgamate symptoms from various conditions within a single character, distorting reality for dramatic effect. Additionally, there's a tendency to emphasize extreme and rare cases within specific conditions, such as portraying autistic individuals as savants exhibiting extraordinary skills or abilities in specific areas, such as mathematics, art, music, or memory (e.g., Rainman, The Good doctor) or individuals with schizophrenia as violent assassins or serial killers (e.g., Split, Glass, Shutter Island). This skewed portrayal perpetuates misconceptions and stereotypes. Some studies have suggested that approximately 10% of individuals with autism may have savant skills and it is a common misconception that individuals with schizophrenia are more likely to be violent or become killers.
To this extent, our result shows that films tend to depict mental health conditions by using sensationalized stereotypes for a dramatic effect.

In conclusion, this research emphasizes the critical role that media (press and cinema) plays in shaping public perception and acceptance of neurodivergent individuals. The findings reveal significant disparities in the portrayal of neurodivergent conditions, both in newspapers and cinema, highlighting the pressing need for a more inclusive and empathetic approach. Professionals have an ethical responsibility to challenge stereotypes and stigmas, and actively work towards the creation of more diverse and authentic narratives.
[INSERT REFERENCES]

Issue and argument

During recent decade the cultural policy scholars have adopted the concepts of co-production and co-creation. In cultural policy discourse the concepts are connected to participatory approach. One viewpoint determines audiences as co-producers of experiences that take part in the co-production of artistic value (Boorsma, 2006, 76). Simultaneously, recent literature in cultural policy has related these concepts to citizens participatory activity emphasising the citizens co-creative role in societal development and in the public decision-making processes (Campagna et al., 2020). The trend of co-creation reflects the evolving role of the audience in the creative process (Walmsley 2013), rather than a much broader consideration of networks of different actors. According to Lund (2018) the concepts of co-creation and co-production are sometimes also used interchangeably. The concept of co-production refers to service- and product-orientation, while co-creation is understood as individual’s participation in certain activity (Lund, 2018; Sokka et al. 2021).

However, the close examination of the use of these concepts in cultural policy discourse seems rather vague and deserves a lot of attention. More in-depth understanding is required to consider what are arts and cultural organizations’ ability and goals to engage in participatory activities and elaborate the discourse in the cultural policy research as well (Evans, 2016).

To respond to the demand presented previously, we adopt here the recent conceptualisations of the theories networks and Service dominant Logic (SDL), particularly from the perspective of arts and arts management (Vargo & Lusch, 2004; 2008; Becker, 1974; 1982; Boorsma, 2006; Jyrämä, 2002; Luonila & Johansson, 2016) and attempt to relate these discourses to recent research of cultural policy.

In the literature of arts management, the structure of production, consumption and distribution of arts and culture is defined as network, and the artistic product is a result of human experience and perception (Boorsma, 2006; Jyrämä, 2002). Becker (1974, 767) already proposed in his seminal study that “art works can be conceived as the product of the cooperative activity of many people” and conceptualized that cultural production builds on a network of various actors and artists creating a framework for participation and co-production and simultaneously, opportunity for co-creation and inclusion (Jyrämä, 2002). Luonila and Jyrämä (2020) go forward and argue that the environment of value creation in the arts and culture can be better considered through different network relationships, enabling better identification of actors and their roles (see also Möller & Halinen, 2017).

The purpose here is to contribute to the literature of cultural policy by examining how co-production and co-creation processes explain the two important dimensions of cultural policy, namely participation and inclusion. The context of co-production we understand as networks, where concomitantly and situationally the actors in network bring different competences to the co-creation processes specific to participatory activities. This set creates a dependency between the different actors in networked context. We propose that co-production as a mechanism enables us to examine value co-creation. At the same time, co-creation allows us to understand the mechanism of co-production creating a conceptual loop for capturing the value co-creation. (Luonila & Jyrämä, 2020).

The approach permits us to find out the ways when and how individuals and other actors can be active participants in the arts and artistic processes (Boorsma, 2006; White et al., 2009) and how these activities relate especially to the idea of cultural participation. As White et al. (2009, 775) have stated in their seminal study, “organisations may benefit from devising strategies to encourage greater dialogue and connection between all stakeholders involved in co-production and co-creation.” Bearing this in mind we capture the practical approach to this qualitative exploratory study and draw on the managerial perspective of arts organisations. Basing on the interview data gathered among the experts specialized on participatory activities in established Finnish arts and cultural organizations we set following research questions:
- how co-production in cultural productions is manifested in the arts institutions?
- how co-production in the cultural productions relate to the policy domain of participation and inclusion?

Methodology

In this study we adopt a qualitative research approach. The paper presents the results of the exploratory study. We adopted a multiple case study approach because of the complexity of the phenomenon under study and with the aim to explore the various manifestations and understandings of co-creation and co-productions in empirical setting (Stake, 2000).

The case organizations were selected based on analysis of the publicly announced organizational activities in either public engagement, participation through webpage analysis. The cases presented also diverse fields of arts, with different organizational size and locational context as the aim is to gain multiple perspectives and examples of the phenomena under study.

The main data collection method was in-depth interviews among the experts specialized on participatory activities represented eight established arts organisations in Finland. To complement the data, we used organizational publicly available information and stories in media to facilitate an understanding of the phenomena under study (Flyvberg, 2006). This allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the cases (Yin, 2009). The rich case data provided us with multiple examples and understandings on co-creation and co-production. Figure 1. presents the data of the study.

Figure 1. The data.
[Figure 1 here]

Takeaway and results

Basing on the data we propose that the variety of practices that allow co-production might be found at organisational level. Additionally, the idea of co-production is generally linked to the strategic choice of organisation. The arts organisations build networks with other organisational actors to develop new artistic contents for audiences, to find out new customers or innovative ways to produce arts, for instance. The relationships between the organisations create a context for co-production where the actors are depended on the skills and capabilities (i.e. resources) offered by the other actors that exist in the network.

We argue that regarding to the co-production and co-creation, the networks and the competences provided by different actors and basing on the different roles is needed. Analysis of the co-production processes of arts institutions show that the actors of cultural productions can be both individual (professionals) and organizational ones, unlike commonly interpreted in participation frameworks in cultural policy (Lund, 2018; Sokka et al., 2021). The starting point for co-production is to intertwine broad spectrum of knowledge and skills together to reach the momentum for value co-creation, that is the final phase of networked cultural production. In other words, co-creation necessitate co-production as means to encompass the needed skills and competences and art organizations rarely can internalise to their organization but access through networks.

In cultural policy channelling funding for arts organisations is not good enough basing on exact policy goals. Indeed, more depth knowledge is required to understand the networked structures and roles occurring in cultural productions and recognize the organisations’ capacity and professionals’ skills to carry out and implement the policy objectives.

References:
Becker, H.S. (1974). Art as collective action. American Sociological Review, 39(6), 767–776.
Boorsma, M. (2006). A strategic logic for arts marketing. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 12(1), 73–92.
Campagna, D., Caperna, G. & Montalto, V. (2020). Does Culture Make a Better Citizen? Exploring the Relationship Between Cultural and Civic Participation in Italy. Social Indicators Research, 149, 657–686.
Evans, G. (2016). Participation and provision in arts & culture – bridging the divide. Cultural Trends, 25(1), 2–20.
Flyvberg, B. (2006). Five Misunderstandings about Case-Study Research. Qualitative Inquiry. 12(2), 219–245.
Jyrämä, A. (2002). Contemporary Art Markets - Structure and actors: A Study of Art Galleries in Finland, Sweden, France and Great Britain. International Journal of Arts Management, 4(2), 50–65.
Lund, D. H. (2018). Co-creation in Urban Governance: From Inclusion to Innovation. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration. 22 (2), 3–17.
Luonila, M. & Johansson, T. (2016). Reasons for networking in institutionalized music productions: case studies of an opera house and a music festival. International Journal of Arts Management, 18(3), 50–66.
Luonila, M. & Jyrämä, A. (2020). Does co-production build on co-creation or does co-creation result co-producing? Arts and the Market, 10(1), 1–17.
Möller, K. & Halinen, A. (2017). Managing business and innovation networks—From strategic nets to business fields and ecosystems. Industrial Marketing Management, 67, 5–22.
Sokka, S., Badia, F., Kangas, A., Donato, F. (2021). Governance of cultural heritage: towards participatory approaches. European journal of cultural management & policy. Vol. 11, Issue 1, 4–19.
Stake, R. E. (2000). Case Studies. In Denzin, N. K & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2. edition, USA: Sage Publications, Inc., pp. 435–454.
Vargo, S. L.& Lusch, R.F. (2004). Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68(1), 1–17.
Walmsley, B. (2013). Co-creating theatre: authentic engagement or inter legitimation? Cultural Trends, 22(2), 108–118.
White, T.R., Hede, A.-M., & Rentschler, R. (2009). Lessons from arts experiences for service dominant logic. Marketing Intelligence and Planning. 27(6), 775–788.
Yin, R. (2009). Case Study research: Design and Methods, 4th edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.