Daily Archives: September 19, 2025

White Paper: Jane Austen’s Letters and Juvenilia as a Long Apprenticeship in Writing

Executive Summary Jane Austen’s surviving letters and juvenilia provide a unique case study in the gradual cultivation of literary expertise. Far from being the polished novelist of Pride and Prejudice and Emma, Austen was a writer in apprenticeship for nearly … Continue reading

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White Paper: Gatekeepers of Innovation: The Historical Role of Those Who Normalize Outsider Genres and Groundbreaking Ideas

Abstract Throughout history, groundbreaking innovations and outsider genres have rarely been embraced directly by the mainstream. Instead, they first emerge in marginalized, experimental, or niche contexts. What determines whether such movements remain underground or become transformative is often the presence … Continue reading

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White Paper: Owning Intellectual Space: Motivations and Behavioral Consequences

Abstract This white paper examines the psychological and sociological motivations underlying the drive to “own” intellectual space rather than to open new vistas for collective exploration. It investigates how intellectual ownership—understood as the staking of exclusive or dominant claims over … Continue reading

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White paper: The costs borne by USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington in leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten—and why they went anyway

Executive summary Between June 2022 and August 2023, four flagship Pac-12 members—USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington—accepted invitations to the Big Ten, with competition beginning in the 2024–25 academic year. All four schools incurred tangible new costs (travel, athlete-welfare spending, governance-imposed … Continue reading

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