Dr Julia Calver

In the UK, the creative sector has been identified as a key strand in the economic recovery strategy. Composed of mostly micro and small enterprises often grouping together for particular commissions and projects, there is a tendency to operate primarily through a series of networks made up of peers. This paper presents the outcomes of a ‘peer-to-peer business programme’, or action learning set, involving 10 participants from the creative sector over a period of 6 months. The programme was based on a ‘Six-Squared’ model where participants would address their own needs alongside participating in, and developing further understanding of, action learning sets in order to establish sets with others. Assessment of outcomes indicated that the programme allowed participants to develop new skills with peers, network and strengthen relationships and collaborate in a university programme. The paper concludes by suggesting that, within the context of a growing and vibrant creative industries sector and increasing pressures on universities to engage with the business community, it is essential to develop flexible, peer-led and innovative models of collaboration.

This semi-ethnographic research is an exploration of the creative process from the unique perspective of the circus business. It examines from an interpretivist perspective how circus companies collaborate in the generation and manifestation of ideas, balancing the demands of maintaining a strict physical training regime with devising the circus aesthetic for an expectant audience. The focus of the research is a retired aerial trapeze artist and company director supported by contributions from semi-structured interviews with nine contemporary circus directors and an arts policy officer. Issues were identified from attending three circus network events providing an opportunity to conduct an online questionnaire resulting in thirty-nine responses. Following thematic analysis across all data, key themes emerge identifying networked creativity, productive creativity and intrinsic creativity which correlates to conceptual models of creativity and innovation in organisations. Preliminary findings suggest that networks, skills and intrinsic motivation are integral to creativity within the circus business environment. Whilst this may not be unique to circus, the depth to which it is experienced and its inter-relationality to the form, is readily apparent. This has potential interesting implications for further research within a circus context as well as implications for further exploration of practice in other creative sectors.

In the UK, the creative sector has been identified as a key strand in the economic recovery strategy. Composed of mostly micro and small enterprises often grouping together for particular commissions and projects, there is a tendency to operate primarily through a series of networks made up of peers. This paper presents the outcomes of a ‘peer-to-peer business programme’, or action learning set, involving 10 participants from the creative sector over a period of 6 months. The programme was based on a ‘Six-Squared’ model where participants would address their own needs alongside participating in, and developing further understanding of, action learning sets in order to establish sets with others. Assessment of outcomes indicated that the programme allowed participants to develop new skills with peers, network and strengthen relationships and collaborate in a university programme. The paper concludes by suggesting that, within the context of a growing and vibrant creative industries sector and increasing pressures on universities to engage with the business community, it is essential to develop flexible, peer-led and innovative models of collaboration.

This article reports on the outcome of a Future Search Conference in the UK to consider human resource development (HRD) in 2020 and beyond. We firstly consider themes from the past into the present. This includes the persistence of solutions in HRD that are systematic, predictable, how apprenticeships in the UK have had to accommodate government policies to ameliorate youth unemployment and the long-standing difficulty for HRD of failing to demonstrate a return on investment (ROI) on activities. We then present four scenarios based on key questions for the future relating to value of HRD and whether this will be a future for HRD. Reponses to the questions form scenario logics which we present against the theme of city tour. Each scenario is explained against the presented logic with positive, negative, ambiguous and uncertain implications for HRD. We suggest that each scenario carries a glimpse of what might be.

This article reports on the outcome of a Future Search Conference in the UK to consider human resource development (HRD) in 2020 and beyond. We firstly consider themes from the past into the present. This includes the persistence of solutions in HRD that are systematic, predictable, how apprenticeships in the UK have had to accommodate government policies to ameliorate youth unemployment and the long-standing difficulty for HRD of failing to demonstrate a return on investment (ROI) on activities. We then present four scenarios based on key questions for the future relating to value of HRD and whether this will be a future for HRD. Reponses to the questions form scenario logics which we present against the theme of city tour. Each scenario is explained against the presented logic with positive, negative, ambiguous and uncertain implications for HRD. We suggest that each scenario carries a glimpse of what might be. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Traditional Big Top Circus has experienced a decline in popularity due to changing attitudes to its former elements and to the competition from other accessible forms of entertainment. Our study explores how childhood memories of circus experiences are retold and how these are revisited in the light of changing social values and life experiences. Data was generated through sixteen discussion groups with a total of eighty people over the age of 65 who had experienced circus in their childhood. Thematic analysis found that the circus experience still creates vivid memories decades after. These memories are based around emotions engendered by the sights, sounds and smells of the circus but also the fear of danger and the unknown. Our participants fondly remembered who they were with, highlighting the importance of the relational and social aspects in such leisure experiences. These factors induced a strong sense of nostalgia, but this was tainted by the recognition that what was enjoyed then may no longer be socially acceptable. We conclude that for traditional circus to remain relevant it needs to harness the strength of nostalgia but separate this from guilt at what circus once included. In a highly competitive live experience environment circus needs to create heightened sensory experiences (including fear), alongside family togetherness appealing to multiple generations with potentially different values.

Cultural Entrepreneurship in Theory, Pedagogy and Practice Olaf Kuhlke, Annick Schramme, Rene Kooyman. Embracing New Theories, exploring New Pedagogies and Fostering New Skills therefore separating it from the literature on ...

In this methodology research letter, we describe the development, piloting and large-scale trial of an experimental concurrent group discussion approach. Specifically, we detail how we used provocative 2050 scenarios to ‘open up’ future thinking, facilitate multiple polylogues and efficiently collect large sample qualitative data. The method was trialled with 120 business tourism professionals at the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) conference in Glasgow in 2023. We conclude by reflecting on our learning from the large-scale trial and consider how this method can be developed for other tourism research applications.

This paper critically examines how future thinking is positioned in the mindset of event professionals through the lens of provocative far future scenarios. In debating these far future scenarios within a polylogue (multiple voices) framework, we explore how dianoetic (discursive reasoning) approaches can facilitate long-term ´civilisational´ thinking and capture stakeholder reactions and emotions to future event environments. As such, our study contributes comparative qualitative insights into how current and future industry professionals respond to the contradictions and complexities of event futures. Our findings have implications for industry resilience and strategic thinking at a time when Covid-19 pandemic recovery has coincided with other global economic challenges and unpredictable threats such as climate change. Our findings highlight the importance of developing effective tools to overcome emotional barriers to thinking about the future. They also reveal the importance of engaging a broad stakeholder demographic and learning from other sectors to diversify conversations about the future.

The field of events management has been critiqued for being overly focused on operational and managerial concerns to the detriment of critical analysis of power and representation, of which equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is an important aspect. This paper reports on an audit of the four leading events management journals over the period 2011-2021 to assess the current state of play in relation to engagement with EDI issues and consider whether this critique remains justified. After screening, 49 articles were included. Findings reveal that EDI remains a marginal issue in events management journals, often confined to special issues, with no evidence of increasing engagement over the review period. EDI needs to become more integrated in the core body of knowledge of events management to ensure that events research is socially useful to students, other researchers and practitioners, contributing to the development and reputation of the field.