Professor Emma Wood

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing body of knowledge which intends to make event studies more critical through a focus on the under researched demographic of the over 70s. Our discussion is centred on the socio-psychological impacts of arts events on older adults with the development of a conceptual framework drawing upon critical gerontology within the context of event studies. The value of this paper is threefold. Firstly, studies drawing upon critical gerontology and the potential benefits of planned events in relation to the over 70s are limited particularly within event studies literature. Secondly, only a limited number of papers have connected the particular issues and opportunities that the over 70s have with most choosing to present areas such as loneliness and isolation as separate rather than interconnected concepts. This paper debates the specific challenges around understanding and researching the potential socio-psychological benefits of participatory arts events for the over 70s. The wellbeing outcomes are particularly important within this demographic where there is a greater risk of isolation and loneliness and of lower self-esteem and self-worth. These key areas of literature set the context of our paper in relation to arts event participation and the theoretical debates within critical gerontology. Thirdly, our paper proposes a conceptual framework to guide further studies in this area. We aim for this to stimulate the development of a more cohesive body of knowledge and much needed critical dialogue around this under researched but highly important demographic within events.

Festival experiences extend far beyond the event itself. This chapter emphasizes the importance of considering not just the festival's design but also the pre- and post-event experience. Fostering post-festival memory sharing can significantly enhance customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth promotion, and future attendance. Key objectives include understanding: • The value of memories over experiences. • The unique significance of shared collective memories. • Festivals as powerful memory creators. • The connection between memory sharing, well-being, and festival value. • Strategies for encouraging memory sharing to shape positive attitudes and future behaviours.

The ‘noughties’ saw a surge in conferences and publications exploring festivals and events management, for example in 2005 the LSA Conference at Napier University focused on festivals and events and during 2006/7 the LSA, added to the literature by publishing three books: Festivals & Events: culture and identity in leisure, sport and tourism (2007) Events and festivals: education, impacts and experiences (2006) Case studies in festival and event marketing and cultural tourism (2006) Despite the growing body of literature in the festival and event management field we still have limited understanding of the nature of individual and collective festival and event experiences and the emotional and symbolic meanings and potential transformative experiences attached to them. In order to go some way to addressing this paucity of research the LSA hosted a seminar, ‘The Festival & Event Experience’, held at Middlesex University in November 2013. The variety of approaches, differing perspectives and lively debate presented at the seminar inspired us to put together this collection of papers. As lecturers in festival and event management we recognise the need for a resource, such as this, for practitioners, events management students and lecturers which explores the actual experience of festival and event goers from a variety of academic disciplines. From an initial conversation the seminar took shape, being very timely with regard to Emma’s work with colleagues piloting new methods for measuring the event experience and The Audience Agency’s project, Audience Finder, an ambitious England-wide initiative commissioned by Arts Council England to better understand audiences across the arts, including festivals. The lively seminar took place on a surprisingly sunny November day in North London, and from this a collection of thought provoking papers emerged. Although not all of the contributors to the seminar chose to submit papers, those which have been included in this book encompass the three themes that the seminar was structured around: The transformative effects of events The role of ‘place’ in the event experience The measuring of the event experience The types of events which contributors explore are varied, from the North London Literary Festival held at Middlesex University to more traditional outdoor events, corporate events and an event in Australia exploring mental health issues. This diversity is appropriate given the nature of the events industry and we trust readers will enjoy the range of contributions. Contributions to this book We have organised the chapters into three sub-sections based on the themes: the role of ‘place’ in the event experience; the transformative effects of events; and measuring the event experience. We begin the publication with Anne Torreggiani, Executive Director of The Audience Agency’s chapter which presents some initial findings from the Outdoor Arts study within Audience Finder. A cornerstone project for the recently merged The Audience Agency, Audience Finder is an ambitious England-wide initiative commissioned by Arts Council England which seeks to bring real insight and change practice in the cultural sector. In essence, it is a: · National framework for collecting and sharing comparable audience information; · Set of key industry metrics and artform benchmarks; · Development programme promoting use of evidence to better effect; · Network of regional and artform data-sharing collaborations; · A free/ affordable toolkit for organisations, combining user-friendly reporting, audience profiling and “audience finder” analytics pinpointing potential audiences. Thus, in contrast to some of the other contributions in the book this example is not trying to offer new approaches to understanding the event experience or to provide a depth of understanding of the individual experience but apply methodologies that cut across art form and situation to provide a (fairly) big data exercise which can reveal new insight though scale and comparison. This chapter focuses on outdoor events, non-ticketed events not in a dedicated arts venue (in contrast to festivals) and are a particular priority for the initiative, given the aspirations of funders and makers for outdoor arts as a channel for a more inclusive kind of engagement, and a catalyst of civic collaboration working closely with partners ISAN (International Street Arts Network) and their networks of festival and outdoor arts producers. Dr. Adrian Guachalla’s case study of Covent Garden resonates with Anne’s chapter as it focuses on a historically important square in London which has become a destination for both Londoners and tourists due to the atmosphere and vibrancy of the area which includes a pedestrianised market frequented by street performers, a type of outdoor event. In contrast to the previous chapter Adrian looks at the individual event experience in some depth, how the physical environment, street performances and the presence and interaction of ‘others’ influences individuals’ experiences of Covent Garden. This concept is rooted in Urry’s (1990) notion of the ‘collective gaze’ which suggests that the appeal of places results from others being there and more recent literature (e.g. Hogg et al. 2000 in Harvey and Lorenzen, 2006) which focuses on how tourists influence and share the experience providing others with cues and behavioural parameters often becoming part of the performance or enhancing it for each other. Whilst Covent Garden is crowded and this has negative psychological impacts on tourists, this to some extent also makes the area appealing. The data suggests that individuals differentiate Covent Garden from other places in London and respond to both the physical environment and others’ behaviour in both conscious and unconscious ways, slowing down their walking pace and immersing themselves in street performances. Thus, in this instance is seems that place does have an impact on the event experience. In Chapter three we continue to explore the event experience but in contrast to the previous chapter, the author brings together the arts and health promotion literature and focuses on the impact of an immersive arts event on an individual’s knowledge and behaviour, thereby introducing us to our second theme, the transformative effects of events. Although the health benefits of participation in the arts have become widely recognised there remains a paucity of studies which assess the impact which events have on individuals taking part in the events (in contrast to audiences). Dr. Eliza Hixson fills this gap taking us to Adelaide in Southern Australia where she explores changes in young people’s perspectives, attitudes and behaviours on dementia through participation in a theatrical health promotion event. Eliza’s case study indicates that a more immersive experience such as performance in a play enables participants to gain knowledge about an issue, and by experiencing it first-hand by meeting the characters they were going to play their perceptions and behaviour were changed. This was particularly evident prior to the performance when the young people were learning about dementia and some were also able to relate it to their own personal experiences with family members. This stage of the theatrical process appears to have had a transformative effect on them with the performance consolidating this and enabling them to communicate the issues to their audience and stimulate discussions about dementia. In the fourth chapter we stay with arts events and young people but return to the UK to explore the transformative effects of organising a literary event on a group of undergraduates. Like Eliza’s work Josie’s approach is unusual as we have not previously seen the pedagogic benefits of organising events explored in the literature. Although Josie’s past experience of lecturing and teaching in more informal settings has shown her that participation in creative writing can enhance skills in other areas, the transferable skills that a cohort of University of Middlesex students developed organising the North London Literary Festival 2013 (NLLF13) were more diverse than anticipated and surpassed both Josie and the students’ expectations. Josie draws on Kubler and Forbe’s (2005) student employability competences, Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle and her past experience to analyse these employability and creative writing skills which will be useful to anyone thinking of evaluating or developing work based learning incorporating event management into formal or informal student, training or volunteer programmes. This chapter is particularly pertinent when employability has become a key issue in higher education and academics and policy makers are seeking to enhance employability and core skills such as literacy and in particular writing amongst young people. In chapter five creativity remains a central strand but within a business rather than education setting. Jackie Mulligan presents a critical review of the literature in the business meeting sector once again highlighting a gap, the lack of focus and measurement of the value of meetings which are often explored conceptually rather than empirically focusing on their marketing, participants’ motivations for attending, perceptions of destinations and site selection –thus, their economic, professional and educational roles are trivialised with the focus on their leisure aspects. Jackie’s contribution takes us into our final theme, the measurement of events by proposing potential frameworks that could be used as a foundation for evaluating the creativity of meetings or as she highlights, perhaps a more interesting angle, the role of meetings and meeting design in stimulating creativity among participants. Like much of the events sector, as our colleagues discuss in the following chapter, there is a tradition of taking a quantitative rather than qualitative approach to events management research. Jackie’s contribution suggests that both academics and practitioners need to be more creative in their approach to provide insights into the meeting design to foster creative outcomes but also to expand the range of research in the meetings’ sector beyond motivational and economic impact research as we are seeing in other parts of the events sector, such as the arts. James Bostock and his colleagues at Sheffield Hallam University, Phil Crowther and John Perry present an analysis of events management publications and reiterate the arguments that our colleagues have made in the first part of this book and the reason why we chose to organise the seminar and produce this publication; despite the multifarious nature of the events sector involving numerous stakeholders and drawing on a range of academic disciplines researchers take a conservative and narrow approach when choosing their research methods. This chapter will be of particular interest to students and academics at all stages of their career as it reminds us all to reflect on our view of truth and epistemological and ontological viewpoint and how these theoretical arguments influence the methods we employ in our research. Interestingly, and not by accident, as our original call asked authors to submit work that employed new or exploratory research methods this book has ‘butted the trend’ as almost all of our authors have employing qualitative or multi-method approaches to their work. We would remind our readers to keep this in mind whilst reading the contributions to this book and planning their next piece of research to encourage greater plurality, as James, Phil and John encourage us all to take. In chapter seven Jonathan Moss’s contribution spans all three of the book’s themes against a background of music festivals. Like the authors in our previous chapter he calls for a change in approach and presents a conceptual framework which draws on a multi-disciplinary theoretical background illustrating how subject, model and method are philosophically aligned arguing that by taking this approach a robust perspective can drive events management research forward. Seeking to explore meaning and the social nature of the events world, experience as a phenomenon of structures and interactions he critically evaluates a number of strands of literature; emotion, music, identity, space and place to reframe the ‘music festival experience’ describing it as a multi-faceted phenomenon ranging from the psycho-physiological to the psycho-sociological. Given the nature of this experience the traditional cross sectional quantitative approach is inadequate. Moss introduces the reader to Descriptive Sampling Method (DSM), an adaptation of Experience Sampling Method (ESM) which although it has not yet been applied in a music context appears to be a valid tool and shares with us an overview from an initial study he and Emma Wood (also the final contributor in our publication) have recently undertaken which show the the music event experience as an independent and inter-dependent, emotional and dynamic and changing phenomenon which is perceived and articulated in differing ways by participants. Thus, the importance of DSM is highlighted due to the need to capture emotions as they continually shift and evolve during the event. We have positioned Emma Wood’s chapter exploring new methodologies for exploring emotion at the end of this book as it complements Jonathan’s work and she takes us into the future measurement of the event goer’s experience. She reiterates earlier authors’ comments regarding the limitations of current methodologies and adds a new dimension to the debate discussing the importance of capturing the ‘collective’ experience and emotion. Her paper first deconstructs the construct ‘emotion’, highlighting the importance of being able to better understand emotions by finding ways to capture describe and assess them according to their type, strength and their consequences, both at the time they were felt and afterwards, the recollection of emotion. She then discusses trial studies which have taken a multi-dimensional, multi-method approach to measuring individuals’ experiences at live music events by measuring emotions using the latest technologies. Emma’s research is significant for anyone researching events from an academic perspective but it also has a practical application for event organisers and marketers, who in a competitive market are often seeking to identify the trigger which led to an emotional response in order that this can be replicated in future events as they constantly seek to evoke emotional and therefore memorable emotions. Emma does not seek to answer all of our questions regarding the measurement of the ‘event experience’ using emotion as a proxy and is honest about the limitations encouraging future researchers to take up the challenge to explore the importance of recollection and sharing of experiences, how this intensifies and/or modifies remembered emotions and the effects this then has on attitude and behaviour. We hope that the papers selected can be used to stimulate debate within the classroom, inspire future academic research and influence event management practice. The case studies and contexts drawn upon span the events sector, encompassing music, theatre, literature, outdoor performance and business events A range of conceptual approaches are covered as well as a variety of methodologies (albeit most of these are qualitative). Something for everyone we hope. Alix Slater & Emma Wood September 2014

This paper focuses on the South Asian Community in Blackburn, UK, and seeks to gain a better understanding of their requirements for arts and cultural events using primary research to ascertain their specific needs. The paper concludes that at present the needs of this potential market are insufficiently understood and therefore not catered for within the local authority’s event programme. Furthermore, there are many differences identified within this community and, therefore, they cannot be treated as one homogenous subgroup. These differences within the community and similarities with sub-groups outside of the community suggest that any simplistic segmentation based on ethnicity alone is likely to be ineffective. The characteristics which appear to affect event preferences relate to language, age, gender, and economic situation and cannot be generalized merely from country of origin or religious belief. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.

This new international edition of Services Marketing provides an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the services marketing industry focusing strongly on customer satisfaction, service quality and customer service.

The book builds a conceptual framework for the development, planning, implementation and evaluation of innovative communication strategies for the marketing of events, and the effective use of events as an innovative communications method ...

This research note discusses the findings and methodological issues arising from a cultural values survey of residents, particularly in relation to civic pride. In addition to offering insights to the particular case - the Saltaire Festival in the north of England - it provides an approach that might be used elsewhere.

Emotional response related to live music events is a vital component of the experience but the relationship between this aspect of the experience and belief about the event (satisfaction), and any ensuing attitudinal and behavioural change after the event is not well understood. Established methods for capturing emotion provide a basis but tend to ignore the ‘collective’ experience felt at events and the importance of recollected experience and emotion. Here it is argued that no single method will adequately capture this complexity of emotional response and that a combination of tools is needed. These methods will be explained and critically discussed in terms of practicality of application and usefulness of data. The discussion is based on a number of trial studies which will provide practical real-life examples of the advantages and pitfalls encountered. Chapter Structure To understand experience we need to understand emotion and memory. The kind of experiences provided by festivals and events are designed to engender an emotive response, to be out of the ordinary and therefore be memorable and it is these memories of the emotions felt which are most likely to affect changes in future attitude and behaviour. The first section of this chapter will therefore provide an overview of: emotion memory of emotion experience inducing emotion To understand emotions we need to find ways to capture, describe and assess them. Any methods need to be able to explore the type, strength and consequences of the emotions felt at the time and remembered. It is also necessary to discover the aspects of the experience that triggered the emotional response in order to better design events which stimulate desirable and memorable emotions. The second part of this chapter therefore discusses the different approaches used in capturing emotional response. How to measure When to measure What to do with measures In the final section several trial studies and examples are presented which illustrate some of the different methods used in capturing emotions. These are critically reviewed in terms of theoretical validity and practical application. The chapter concludes by proposing a mixed methods approach to any evaluation of emotional response to event experience. The methods suggested recognise : The importance of collective experience and the sharing of memories The mediating effect of memory The factors, other than the event, which affect both immediate and remembered emotional response

The role of local authority events in improving the image of their area to its own residents is often of greater importance than enhancing its image to tourists in the wider world. This is certainly the case for many urban towns who cannot compete with the ‘re-imaging’ of neighbouring cities and who, themselves, do not have a distinctive tourist-attracting image. The paper discusses the Blackburn Region (a post-industrial area in the North-West of England) and the local authority’s use of events within their marketing and regeneration strategy. The field research undertaken used marketing research survey techniques to provide data which would complement the authority’s standard event evaluation methods. The study was designed to evaluate the economic and social impacts of two of the authority’s larger events taking place in the Summer 2001, the ‘Arts in the Park’ festival and the Fiesta. Both were largely non-ticketed free events taking place at outdoor locations in and around the town centre. Through a review of the literature on event impact evaluation and attitude measurement techniques a bank of questionnaires was developed which gathered information from the various stakeholders in the events. These included attendees, non-attendees, businesses, sponsors, community groups and participants. The paper outlines the evaluation methods used and summarises the main findings in the form of a case study. Recommendations for improving the evaluation methods used for local authority events and in particular for measuring the impact of events on civic pride are made. These are based on the field research and post-evaluation discussions with events, marketing and regeneration personnel at Blackburn Council. Although the economic impact and the attendees/non-attendees perceptions of the event were considered as important, the focus of this research was on measuring the effect, if any, on local residents’ attitudes towards the Region ie to measure levels of ‘civic pride’. In order to achieve this certain sections of the survey used multi-item attitude rating scales which were administered before and after each event. This resulted in a four phase longitudinal study from which changes in attitude could be gauged. The results show a positive impact on attitudes to the Region both in those that attended and those who did not. However, it was found that this change is transitory suggesting the need for a sustained programme of comparable events. In order to ensure that events are contributing to the local authority objectives of social belonging, civic pride and a sense of place for the local people, it is vital that the impact of events continues to be evaluated in these terms and not solely on attendance figures or economic grounds. It was therefore recommended (and accepted by Blackburn Local Authority) that similar research should be undertaken at each future event to allow comparisons to be made and to act as a control on the effectiveness of meeting these social objectives.

This paper explores the extent to which music festival attendance is ‘universally’ motivated or determined by the Chinese cultural and socio-political context. A novel qualitative approach was employed comprising observation of social media conversations and ‘chat room’ interviews with members of a festival online community. Seven motivators were identified, some similar to those in Western studies but others more specific to festival-goers in Mainland China. The culturally specific motivators were identified as ‘spiritual escape’ and ‘spiritual pursuit’ and the universal motivators as ‘togetherness’, ‘love of the music’, ‘novel experience’, ‘music sharing’ and ‘educational enrichment’. This paper focuses on the two culturally embedded motivators only. The implications of the study are that, although, growing, there are still very few music festivals featuring ‘pop’ or ‘western’ style music and these few are relatively new to Chinese people. Their attendance at them is, therefore, motivated differently to attendees at similar festivals in western countries. These motivating factors are mediated by the particular social, political and cultural factors at work in this complex country. The findings indicate that although many of the motivational factors for attending a music festival appear to be universal, there are clearly factors which are culturally bound and therefore unique to the cultural context. These differences appear to be created by the social constraints, rapidly changing economy and the many contradictions inherent in modern Mainland China. These conditions create a greater contrast between everyday life in Mainland China and the liminal hedonistic space provided by the festival. Further research is needed to validate theses initial findings within China and to explore how rock music festival motivations differ in other non-western cultures.

The concept of well-being, and subjective wellbeing in particular, is gaining more and more attention from national governments in an attempt to understand the aspects of life that make people happy and contented and, as a consequence improve societal well-being (Stickley, 2020). Subjective well-being, as defined by Yang (2008), is “a state of stable, global judgment of life quality and the degree to which people evaluate the overall quality of their lives positively” (p. 204). It relies upon individuals’ perception, recognition, and evaluation of what is good about their lives (Diener, 1984). For example, high levels of well-being have been associated with enjoying one’s work, as well as overall happiness and life satisfaction, while lower levels of well-being have been linked to depression, anxiety, stress, and the need for therapy (Steger et al., 2006). Furthermore, the link between objective and subjective factors of well-being has been explored to some extent (see McCabe & Johnson, 2013); however, there is a lack of research into what specifically drives well-being and, in particular, how event attendance can contribute to subjective well-being

The Routledge Handbook of Events explores and critically evaluates the debates and controversies associated with the rapidly expanding domain of Event Studies.

The potential for art activities to help in alleviating loneliness is explored through a focus on older women’s regular attendance at creative social activities. We apply the concept of perceived emotional synchrony to understand how weekly craft group sessions enable feelings of belonging and self-worth to develop in older women. Using a multi-site six-month study of 62 women aged 70+ attending social creative activities our multi-stage research design captures the experiences of these women through observation and narrative group discussions held weekly. Our findings show that feelings of belonging and self-worth developed over a relatively short time. In particular, social integration and identity fusion were found to occur as a result of the emotional synchrony engendered via a regular shared activity, out of the home, and requiring some challenge and creativity. We propose a virtuous cycle model to explain the value in such activities and discuss the wider implications for wellbeing in older age. Perceived emotional synchrony has not been used before to explore the mechanisms through which social creative activities form lasting benefits for older women. Our research highlights the importance of feeling at one with others in improving feelings of belonging and self-worth and indicates how a variety of social creative experiences could be designed to enable this.

Purpose This study explores how emotionally rich collective experiences create lasting shareable memories which influence future behaviours. In particular the role of others and of music in creating value through memories is considered using the concept of socially extended emotions Methodology Over 250 narratives were gathered from festival attendees in the UK and Finland. Respondents completed a writing task detailing their most vivid memories, what made them memorable, their feelings at the time and as they remembered, and how they shared these. The narratives were then analysed thematically. Findings Collective emotion continues to be co-created long after the experience through memory-sharing. The music listened to threads through this extension but is, surprisingly, not a critical part of it. The sociality of the experience is remembered most and was key to the memories shared afterwards. The added value of gathering memorable moments and being able to share them with others is clearly evidenced. Practical implications The study highlights the importance of designing-in collective emotional moments to form lasting memories. This emphasises the role of post-experience marketing and customer relationship building to enhance the value created customer-to-customer via memory sharing Originality Our research addresses the lack of literature exploring post-event experience journeys and the collective nature of these. It also deepens theoretical understanding of the role of time and sociality in the co-creation and extension of emotions and the value of this in hospitality consumption. A model is proposed to guide future research.

Durkheim’s theory of collective emotion and the concept of perceived emotional synchrony are used to explore tourism memories and to create a conceptual model explaining how and why we come to agree on how we felt when reliving past tourism experiences. This process is dependent upon the malleability of memory which allows emotional synchrony to happen in retrospect, regardless of actual feelings at the time. I argue that the innate motivations behind this post-consumption merging are a stronger sense of community and of belonging to a social group. For tourism practitioners this highlights where the true value lies for the consumer, the belief in a shared emotional experience. This value develops through the synchronization of memories creating the basis for a shared memory economy. The implications for tourism marketers are discussed and suggestions for further research into memory and travel experience are identified.

Purpose - Reflecting, reliving and reforming experiences enhances the longer-term effects of travel and tourism, and has been highlighted as an important aspect in determining loyalty, re-visitation and post-consumption satisfaction. The purpose of this article is to develop new methodological approaches to investigate emotion, memory creation, and the resulting psychosocial effects. Design/methodology/approach - The paper proposes a unique combination of physiological measures and photo-elicitation based discussions within a longitudinal design. A physiological measuring instrument (electrodermal activity tracking technology through Empatica E4 wristbands) is utilised to capture the ‘unadulterated’ emotional response both during the experience and in reliving or remembering it. This is combined with post experience narrative discussion groups using photos and other artefacts to give further understanding of the process of collective memory creation. Findings - EDA tracking can enhance qualitative research methodologies in three ways: through use as an ‘artefact’ to prompt reflection on feelings, through identifying peaks of emotional response and through highlighting changes in emotional response over time. Empirical evidence from studies into participatory arts events and the potential wellbeing effects upon women over the age of 70 are presented to illustrate the method. Originality/value - The artificial environment created using experimental approaches to measure emotions and memory (common in many fields of psychology) has serious limitations. Our paper proposes new and more ‘natural’ methods for use in tourism, hospitality and events research, which have the potential to better capture participants’ feelings, behaviours and the meanings they place upon them.

This chapter critiques the changing approach to the value of festivals and events and focuses on how these activities are perceived at the level of local government. The discussion is supported by data gathered from three national (UK) surveys and a number of interviews completed by local authority employees involved with events at both a strategic and operational level. The findings highlight the changing rhetoric with an even greater tension between the economic and social benefits argument.

This research extends our knowledge of liminality through investigating how the liminal experiences of festival-goers are constructed in a Chinese music festival context. The research employs a multi-site data collection approach undertaking field observations and 68 in-depth semi-structured interviews at seven music festivals across three years. The study contributes to the theoretical development of a liminality framework by providing empirical evidence of the nature of liminality. It extends our understanding of event tourist experiences by highlighting the development and role of three types of communitas and identifying six stages within a rite of passage. The resulting multifaceted coexistence of liminal behaviours and identity with everyday routine life provides a new approach to the critical understanding of the role of liminality.

Despite growing multidisciplinary attention to coping and negative emotions, the relationship between tourists’ coping and recollection of travel memories remains largely underexplored. This research adopts a biographical approach to collect and analyse the travel histories of 32 middle-aged and older Chinese tourists, focusing on how they recall and interpret unforeseen and challenging travel situations, their coping strategies, and the outcomes. From these narratives, we identify five distinct coping characters with each characterised by specific strategies employed, unique coping context, level of effort involved, and evolving interpretations of negative encounters in their trips. These archetypes demonstrate the complex interaction between tourists’ personal traits, such as life histories, adopted social norms, cultural values, and coping mechanisms in shaping the recollection and interpretation of travel memories. The findings suggest that the connections between coping and remembering are more nuanced than previously assumed. The process of coping plays a crucial role in recalling the details of challenges in tourism, further shaping the meaning, vividness, and longevity of travel memories. Our study bridges the gap between coping theory, memory, and travel experience, and offers a dynamic perspective that highlights the fluidity and complexity of individuals’ coping practices in tourism.

Cultural festivals have a social, cultural and economic impact in the region they take place and on the citizens involved. Although much has been published on the impacts of events there is little that explores how they might contribute to the creation of active citizenship. The Italian festival “Arona Città Teatro” was researched over twelve months using a mixed method approach, specifically field observation, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. This case study seeks to better understand how a festival can contribute to democratic construction processes. The analysis of the Festival and its audience demonstrates the importance of the continuity of cultural festivals in small towns. This leads to the conclusion that festivals can significantly contribute to the construction of an active citizenship process. Based on the findings a festival Ecosystem is proposed that begins to explain the process of active citizenship development via events. Recommendations for further research are put forward.

This critical commentary focuses on the development of research in Event Management on social sustainability in the context of events. Findings suggest that while there has been a plethora of articles published in the journal that touch on elements of what we understand to relate to social sustainability (e.g., resident impacts; sense of community, place, belonging etc) there are very few which have explicitly situated their work in the sustainability field. This means that it is somewhat difficult to pull together the various threads of disparate studies to comment on the evolution of research on events and social sustainability as a whole. There is considerable scope for papers published in Event Management to build on these growing efforts to think systematically and comprehensively about festivals and events through the lens of social sustainability.

This paper provides the state of play of Event Management since the current editorial team took over in November 2021 until papers accepted in September 2023. Our bibliometric analysis indicates 234 distinct authors from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania contributed to the Journal. Together with the varied theories and perspectives used to ground the research, the international nature of our authors demonstrates the growth, maturity, and robustness of event studies published in Event Management. Though sport events dominated, festivals, conferences/private events, and mixed or industry-wide studies were also published. Ten key themes emerged: events, social, human, festival, image, COVID, time, model, literature, and theory. The focus on the human and social elements is striking and welcome in this post-pandemic era. Finally, we identify gaps in submissions to the journal and offer directions for future research, namely artificial intelligence (AI)/technology and sustainability in all its forms.

The growth of neuroscience studies within tourism has been relatively slow, with limited well-executed studies and little interdisciplinarity. The aim of this review is to stimulate the use of neuroscience within tourism research. It first discusses the synergies to be gained by combining neuroscience with social science, exploring the usefulness and suitability of using neuroscience within tourism. An evaluation of review articles that have critiqued individual applications of neuroscience in tourism is presented, followed by a comprehensive overview of neuroscience methods. We discuss the theoretical relevance of neuroscience and its potential themes for a tourism neuroscience research agenda. This discussion is based on a selective review of wider neuroscience of relevance to tourism, including affective neuroscience, neuromarketing, neuroeconomics and neuromanagement.

Purpose To explore the value in reminiscing about past festivals as a potential way of improving wellbeing in socially isolated times. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses previous research on reminiscence, nostalgia and wellbeing to underpin the analysis of self-recorded memory narratives. These were gathered from 13 pairs of festivalgoers during Covid-19 restrictions and included gathering their individual memories and their reminiscences together. The participant pairs were a mix of friends, family and couples who had visited festivals in the UK, Finland and Denmark. Findings Four key areas that emerged through the analysis were the emotions of nostalgia and anticipation, and the processes of reliving emotions and bonding through memories. Research limitations/implications Future studies could take a longitudinal approach to see how memory sharing evolves and the impact of this on wellbeing. The authors also recommend undertaking similar studies in other cultural settings. Practical implications This study findings have implications for both post-festival marketing and for the further development of reminiscence therapy interventions. Originality/value The method provides a window into memory sharing that has been little used in previous studies. The narratives confirm the value in sharing memories and the positive impact this has on wellbeing. They also illustrate that this happens through positive forms of nostalgia that centre on gratitude and lead to hope and optimism. Anticipation, not emphasised in other studies, was also found to be important in wellbeing and was triggered through looking back at happier times.

Although there is much discussion of what makes travel experiences memorable there is less on how remembering those experiences together then makes us feel and act. This empirical paper builds upon recent conceptual work in shared emotional memory, and explores the processes through which memories are negotiated and how these then affect our attitudes and behavioral intentions. Using an innovative qualitative methodology, we analyse individual and shared memories from six pairs of festival tourists. The findings highlight how wellbeing increases, through a shared reality and sense of belonging, as we negotiate an agreed memory of a past experience. The agreed memory is formed through negotiation, attunement, and emotional synchrony. This desire to agree and the wellbeing benefits that accrue strongly influence attitudes, behavioral intentions, and word-of-mouth. There are important implications for tourism practitioners in the design of experiences and in post-trip marketing activities informed by and influencing consumer memory sharing.

This article brings together the author's previous research and consultancy along with a review of literature from several disciplines to develop a framework that summarizes the concepts, methods, and processes required to successfully evaluate the impacts of local government community festivals. Events and festivals are a relatively underresearched area but have experienced a growing amount of public sector expenditure. The framework developed and presented here is in response to the need to encourage greater evaluation of this activity and in doing so recognize the complexity of the process. The impacts of many such festivals are diverse (economic, social, environmental), far reaching (local, national, international), and long term. The evaluation of these impacts, therefore, requires an understanding of the concepts involved and the development of a range of tools and methods. The proposed framework is informed by the empirical research, theory, and practice in the areas of information systems, marketing communications, event studies, and public sector evaluation. Bringing together these distinct but related fields of study has enabled the development of a comprehensive and novel approach to event impact evaluation. Copyright © 2009 Cognizant Comm. Corp.

The research presents a critical evaluation of the current methods used to measure the effectiveness of experiential marketing techniques. The article begins by reviewing the literature relating to event and experiential marketing and existing appropriate evaluation techniques. Secondary research is then used to highlight specific tools and methods currently being used in the experiential marketing industry. This secondary research is explored further through interviews with four experienced providers of marketing events. The findings indicate that current methods do not appear to be comprehensive or reliable due largely to the intangibility of the event experience. Based on these findings a framework is developed to guide future research, both academic and practitioner, into measuring the effectiveness of experiential marketing events. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

There is a dearth of research that addresses post-festival experience and particularly the effect of memory sharing on the sharer and the listener. In this paper, we gather the memory stories from eleven festival goers focusing on those they share with others. Analysing these using Aristotelian storytelling principles helps us understand how they are constructed, what makes them memorable and affective. It allows us to better understand the effects on others of sharing these and the purpose behind sharing. Our findings show that a storytelling analysis provides a rich understanding that has implications for festival design and post-event marketing. We found that emotional resonance in the plot coupled with a moral outcome is often present. More surprisingly, we discovered that each story is condensed to a short phrase or title to aid recall in the teller and the listener. Implications for narrative analysis, post-event marketing and festival design are discussed.

This issue does not aim to offer an exhaustive vision of sustainability and accessibility in cultural festivals, but rather to open a debate, identify directions for future research, and valorise the variety of experiences and approaches. We hope that this work will contribute to consolidating an increasingly articulated field of study, attentive to the challenges of the present, and that festivals, in their many languages and contexts, will continue to serve as unique spaces for imagining a more sustainable, inclusive, and conscious future.

This conceptual paper proposes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how cultural festivals in border regions can create and sustain mutual understanding, belonging, and identity. Although the social impacts of festivals are well documented, there remains limited insight into the mechanisms through which these outcomes are produced. The paper suggests that combining sociological and psychological perspectives can illuminate these processes, focusing on the interaction between Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Perceived Emotional Synchrony (PES). It is proposed that the perception of shared emotion enables and amplifies social exchange by fostering reciprocity, trust, and mutual recognition. Positive change arises through exchanges facilitated by affective alignment and intensified by the liminal and extraordinary atmosphere of the festival. This conceptual integration provides a framework not only for analysing how festivals influence border dynamics, but also for informing their planning and design in socially sensitive ways. Ultimately, the paper argues that understanding the emotional and relational dimensions of festivals requires a holistic and interdisciplinary lens. By linking collective emotion to social reciprocity, it highlights the potential of festivals—and other forms of collective leisure, to contribute to social sustainability, resilience, and intercultural understanding in contested and divided contexts.

This article uses empirical research, with young (aged 16–21) advertising audiences, to build upon existing communication theory in a number of ways. First, it summarizes meaning-based models that have developed over time by increasing the importance of the audience’s role. Second, it advances communication theory by introducing a new meaning-based model appropriate to the 21st century audience. The model is constructed from the theoretical concepts of personal self, social circle, popular culture, and inherited culture. The model provides a framework that industry practitioners and academic scholars can use to consider how anterior texts help young people decode meaning from advertisements.

Many commentators consider innovation to be a vital source of competitive advantage and critical to explanation of why some organisations flourish and others flounder. Although various aspects of innovation have been examined in detail, the implementation of innovation is, as yet, the least understood aspect of the innovation process. This research takes a relational perspective to understand the implementation of innovation within the burgeoning Chinese music festivals sector. Social exchange theory is used as a framework to explain the development of relationships within this research context.  Adopting a qualitative research strategy, six detailed case studies were conducted. These involved undertaking one hundred and thirty five in-depth semi-structured interviews with senior staff, junior staff, volunteers, partners and suppliers at six modern music festivals in China. In addition, direct observation, participant observation, and observation of online group discussion and Weibo micro blogs (a Chinese type of Twitter) were also employed.  This research enriches the body of knowledge in innovation, social exchange, and event studies by providing a conceptual framework of the role and influence of relationships on the implementation of innovation within the context of Chinese events. Exchange rules and norms, and exchange resources, were found to influence the development of relationships that affected the implementation of innovation in Chinese events. Five sub-factors, namely, identity, equality, social capital (guanxi), event contexts, and the Chinese socio-cultural context, were found to affect people’s choice of exchange rules and norms, and exchange resources. A combination of these factors influenced the development of relationships, resulting in four types of relationships. A combination of these relationships had impacts on the implementation of innovation by influencing the acquisition and use of knowledge and resources that were essential in this process. Four categories of implementation outcomes were identified and incorporated into the conceptual framework. Such combined effects of different relationships were complex, because the impact between harmonious relationships and conflicting relationships was not equal. Although harmonious relationships exerted certain positive influences on the implementation of innovation, conflicting or malfunctional relationships were more dominant. Such influences were also found being mediated by certain event contexts, including the temporary time and organisational structure, and the employment of unpaid staff.

This resource guide will help staff and students who are studying social sciences in hospitality, tourism, entertainment, events, leisure. It outlines the ethical issues that they need to consider when conducting research for their dissertation or for industry-based projects. Social science is a general term used for the study of society, consumers, and employees, the manner in which those people behave and how it affects the world around us. Researching “people in our world” must be completed in a safe, fair and honest way. Whilst ethical policy for empirical research has been with us since the Nuremberg Code 1947, many universities have not yet developed resources in terms of practical ethical examples. This resource guide presents materials and examples for tutors of research methods, and also for undergraduate and masters students engaging in social science research. The Guide also contains background literature, power point presentations and practical examples. All social science research raises many ethical issues. Medical, sport and exercise research dealing with human enhancement, medicine, disease or gene therapy present ethical issues which will NOT be included in this resource guide. Sport and leisure research may include physical or drug-related elements which require students to conform to specific ethical procedures which can be found, in part, in the “Ethics and Sport” resource guide available via the HLST website.

Recent reviews of research on innovation in tourism have highlighted a number of weaknesses in the literature. Among these is the limited theorising and empirical investigation of innovative practices by tourism organisations. This paper responds to these concerns by examining one important dimension of innovation within commercial tourism organisations, namely their ability to acquire, assimilate and utilise external knowledge (absorptive capacity) for competitive advantage. The topic is pertinent because there is evidence to suggest that tourism organisations are particularly dependent on external sources of knowledge when compared with businesses in other sectors. Following a discussion of the conceptual antecedents of absorptive capacity and its dimensions, a validated instrument for its measurement is developed and used to measure the absorptive capacity of the British hotel sector. The results suggest that current conceptions of absorptive capacity have limitations when applied to tourism enterprises. Absorptive capacity is re-conceptualised to overcome these deficiencies. The research and policy implications of the findings are discussed. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

This research forms part of a larger project funded by Meeting Professionals International (MPI) focusing on the future of business events . In this paper we investigate the motivations for social media use within a professional event context. Twitter was tracked before during and after seven conferences and from this the top tweeters and organisers were identified. Fifteen interviews were conducted into both the organisational strategy and individual motivations for tweeting and were analysed alongside interviews with five social media experts. The research highlights several potential areas of conflict. Social media use tends to focus on broadcasting information rather than encouraging dialogue. People only tweet if they gain personal or individual professional value from doing so and event organisers need a deeper understanding of what that value is. Monitoring social media to gain customer insights and develop a more responsive customer service strategy is not yet happening although it is recognised as a necessity. The silent majority (passives) need to be better understood and catered for through social media use. Overall this sector, which successfully creates social interactions offline appears to be failing to do so online. A more strategic and resourced approach to social media is needed if its potential is to be achieved.

The book explores services marketing not only as an essential focus for service firms, but also as a source of competitive advantage for companies that market tangible products.

There is a degree of consensus in the academic literature that innovation is a vital source of competitive advantage in tourism. Although some processional aspects of innovation have been examined in detail, the process of implementation of innovation at an organisational level has been neglected, especially in the tourism literature. This paper adopts a relational perspective to examine the implementation of innovation within the burgeoning Chinese modern music festivals sector. The findings of six detailed case studies show how identity, equality, guanxi, and a range of specific contextual factors, influence the development of relationships. These, in turn, affect innovation implementation, notably by influencing the acquisition and use of knowledge and other resources essential to the process. A conceptual model is proposed which explains the complexities of these relationships, their roles in innovation implementation, and incorporates mediating factors such as temporality, organisational structure, and the reliance upon volunteers found within events.

Purpose – Using techniques developed mainly in subjective well-being and “happiness” studies, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the applicability of these and related methods for understanding and evaluating the emotional responses experienced within the live music event environment. Design/methodology/approach – The concept of “experience” is debated and set within the context of music events designed to create a specific type of emotional experience for the attendees. The main tools for researching experiences over a time period are considered focusing on the “experience sampling method” (ESM) (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997) and the “day reconstruction method” (Kahneman et al., 2004). These methods are critiqued in terms of their usefulness and practicality as research tools in the study of audience emotions. Findings – A revised method was then developed and a small-scale trial undertaken at a live music event, the results of which are presented and discussed. A conceptual model illustrating the interconnectedness of experience is introduced as an example of the application of the data gathered through this method to theory development. The paper concludes by reflecting on both the methodological appropriateness and practicality of ESMs as a way of gathering valuable data on the emotions engendered by events. Research limitations/implications – An obstacle yet to be overcome is using this data to predict attitudinal and behavioural change related to arts marketing goals. However, studies in other areas have clearly shown that emotional response is a significant indicator of future behaviour suggesting that the potential is there. Practical implications – The trialled method provides a useful starting point for better understanding the complexity of emotional effects triggered at live music events. Originality/value – The paper concludes that an adaptation of these methods has the potential to provide much needed rich and credible data on the feelings and emotional reactions triggered by different elements of a live event.

Events and festivals are recognised as valuable tools to contribute to social sustainability and community cohesion. However, within this, the experiences of old people are often overlooked, and the important roles events can play in older lives underestimated. Research within both tourism and events has tended to neglect the gendered experiences of ageing, with old women in particular overlooked in terms of their experiences as tourists or event participants. This paper draws on a qualitative study with thirty-three women over the age of 65, participating in regular creative events in rural England. Using a feminist gerontological framework, we explore some of the gendered experiences of ageing for our study participants, and the contribution that participatory creative events play in terms of social sustainability within this group. We find that events provide an escape from routine and a supportive environment in which self-worth is fostered through creating and socialising. The space to make and to reminisce with peers also has a restorative effect which requires regular events if it is to be sustained. Life stories - elicited through narrative inquiry and framed within feminist gerontology - provide a holistic understanding of the role of events in the lives of these women.

Taking a strategic-relational approach this paper critiques a range of event tourism funding policies and practices which seek to create regional and/or national event strategies. A multiple case study method combining document analysis and key informant interviews within selected regions provides insights into the political nature of event funding, the equity of its distribution and the decision processes involved. Programmes were found to operate in a sensitive and complex context due to intertwined power relationships between policy and agency embedded within governments. We conclude that to bring about broader benefits and legacies a paradigm shift is needed to rebalance economic and social outcomes within funder KPIs and governance structures. This needs to include innovation in evaluation and wider more meaningful stakeholder engagement. The study shows that without fundamental change, national and regional funding programmes are likely to continue to operate within their existing narrow remit.

Newspaper article: invited piece

CSR continues to gain high regard by scholars and stakeholders despite the fact it has no fixed definition. Indeed CSR definitions and/or purpose alter daily according to business aims, industry practices and to ‘fit’ the purpose of academia. The purpose of this research paper, therefore, is to critique the definitions of CSR from the 1950’s to the present day, to ascertain the changing dynamics, emphasis and words used to embrace such a powerful notion. Bowen (1950) recognised CSR as lines of philanthropic action, which abide by the values of society. However, Frederick (1960) and Davis (1960) later dismissed this wholly philanthropic approach. Running alongside the ‘admirers’ of CSR, Friedman (1970) argued that CSR is vague and foolish, as society overestimates the suggested competitive advantage unless responsible business directly relates to profit. As a solution, later authors such as Carroll (1999) see CSR as a competitive tool, which evidences responsible actions, with potential to tackle issues unrelated to their products. The 1980’s and 90’s saw a plethora of changing definitions as the purpose of CSR continued to ignite interest in governments, NGOs and businesses who began to see a move from responsible actions; towards competitive, individualised responsible actions. It was concluded that the definition of CSR began as a fairly intangible, ambiguous concept. As businesses have increased in size and economic autonomy, attempts to be comprehensive in CSR efforts have increased. This paper concludes that CSR has become a multi-quantifiable tool to represent responsible business activities, with direct links to annual accounting reports and performance indicators. To date, the definition of CSR appears to reflect individual businesses rather than all corporations, and their relationship with stakeholders and society.

Policy interventions and social marketing campaigns to educate young adults of the risks associated with excessive amounts of alcohol have gained momentum. Yet many young adults engage in risky drinking behavior; especially at hedonic social gatherings. The authors affirm there has been growth in music festivals yet the relationship with alcohol, the shared emotional experience and the increased promotion of alcohol through this vehicle is limited. Therefore, we explore this phenomena using real-time data from festival attendees through experience sampling (ESM), photo-elicitation techniques and post-festival qualitative expositional interviews to inform and guide policy initiatives. The findings show that extreme drinking is considered an essential part of the festival experience, is encouraged by peers and not discouraged by the festival organisers or alcohol brands. However, of greater importance is the evidence of self-reguation and a clear understanding of the dangers of ‘over’ consumption. It is recommended that public policy makers regulate music festivals in terms of alcohol sponsorhip and that social marketing campaigns harness ‘camaraderie-style’ approaches as collective influence and peer pressure has great potential to change alcohol behavior in a positive way.

Drawing upon the wider literature in the psychology and sociology of emotions and memory this study provides new insights into the formation and role of shared emotion in the memory of event experiences. The methodology draws together several data collection methods in order to capture the complexity of emotional response. Thick data are gathered from a single case study friendship pair using a combination of short surveys, physiological measures, photo elicitation, and paired interviews to provide a detailed understanding of the experience from anticipation to recollection and reflection to response. The longitudinal data show that what was felt at the time changes considerably in recollection often becoming more intense as time passes and it is the act of sharing these memories that appears to intensify and alter them. This suggests that the often flawed and certainly mediated memory of the experience has a more influential role to play in attitude formation than previously thought. Furthermore, it is the desire for a feeling of emotional congruity that creates and strengthens this emotional response in remembering. The mediated memory of the attendee experience, therefore, has more influence on behaviour than the reality of the experience. It is recommended that event marketers use this understanding to design opportunities, beyond the experience, in which memories can be created and shared.

In this research letter we reflect on a new mixed methods approach to gaining a deep understanding of shared tourism experiences and the memory of them. We combined an adaptation of descriptive experience sampling with self-recorded conversations and in-depth interviews. The method is described and critically reflected upon with suggestions for the future use of this approach within events and tourism research.

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.

International cultural heritage is of growing interest in terms of Chinese policy and as an important element of the tourist experience. This paper seeks to better understand the elements that lead to aesthetic appreciation of Chinese opera focusing on the seemingly opposite concepts of familiarity and novelty. It uses a novel mixed methods approach combining lab-based and field studies and incorporating physiological response measures and interviews. It identifies a complex relationship between familiarity and novelty discovering that when these overlap aesthetic appreciation and liking are enhanced. We make recommendations for incorporating additional elements within traditional intangible cultural heritage to attract young tourist audiences. These include incorporating humour as surprise, building aspects of familiarity beforehand and including moments of unexpected familiarity

Although there is much discussion of what makes travel experiences memorable there is less on how remembering those experiences together then makes us feel and act. This empirical paper builds upon recent conceptual work in shared emotional memory, and explores the processes through which memories are negotiated and how these then affect our attitudes and behavioral intentions. Using an innovative qualitative methodology, we analyze individual and shared memories from six pairs of festival tourists. The findings highlight how wellbeing increases, through a shared reality and sense of belonging, as we negotiate an agreed memory of a past experience. The agreed memory is formed through negotiation, attunement, and emotional synchrony. This desire to agree and the wellbeing benefits that accrue strongly influence attitudes, behavioral intentions, and word-of-mouth. There are important implications for tourism practitioners in the design of experiences and in post-trip marketing activities informed by and influencing consumer memory sharing.

Events and festivals are recognised as valuable tools to contribute to social sustainability and community cohesion. However, within this, the experiences of old people are often overlooked, and the important roles events can play in older lives underestimated. Research within both tourism and events has tended to neglect the gendered experiences of ageing, with old women in particular overlooked in terms of their experiences as tourists or event participants. This paper draws on a qualitative study with thirty-three women over the age of 65, participating in regular creative events in rural England. Using a feminist gerontological framework, we explore some of the gendered experiences of ageing for our study participants, and the contribution that participatory creative events play in terms of social sustainability within this group. We find that events provide an escape from routine and a supportive environment in which self-worth is fostered through creating and socialising. The space to make and to reminisce with peers also has a restorative effect which requires regular events if it is to be sustained. Life stories – elicited through narrative inquiry and framed within feminist gerontology – provide a holistic understanding of the role of events in the lives of these women.

This resource guide will help staff and students who are studying social sciences in hospitality, tourism, entertainment, events, leisure. It outlines the ethical issues that they need to consider when conducting research for their dissertation or for industry-based projects. Social science is a general term used for the study of society, consumers, and employees, the manner in which those people behave and how it affects the world around us. Researching “people in our world” must be completed in a safe, fair and honest way. Whilst ethical policy for empirical research has been with us since the Nuremberg Code 1947, many universities have not yet developed resources in terms of practical ethical examples. This resource guide presents materials and examples for tutors of research methods, and also for undergraduate and masters students engaging in social science research. The Guide also contains background literature, power point presentations and practical examples. All social science research raises many ethical issues. Medical, sport and exercise research dealing with human enhancement, medicine, disease or gene therapy present ethical issues which will NOT be included in this resource guide. Sport and leisure research may include physical or drug-related elements which require students to conform to specific ethical procedures which can be found, in part, in the “Ethics and Sport” resource guide available via the HLST website.

Purpose – Whilst other researchers have emphasized the use of online discussions in support of either class based or distance learning, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how this technique works as an alternative form of assessment for large student groups mainly learning in class. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature in related areas of assessment led the team to develop the use of asynchronous online discussions and the primary research involves a trial of this method. The trial included monitoring participation, engagement and results and a comparison of these with previous, more traditional, assessments. Staff and student opinions were also sought through interviews and focus groups. Findings – The results reveal similar findings to other researchers in this area. Specifically, the findings show some behaviour similar to that found in other assessments (lack of engagement by some, enthusiasm of others, for example), difficulties for some students to engage in critical discussion, either because of a lack of skills in this area or a mind set firmly in traditional assessment such as written exams. The results also highlighted the need to provide a framework such as that described by Lewinson as an instructional model and to incorporate the evaluation rubric of Christopher et al. Research limitations/implications – The first trial year evaluated here has gone some way to solving the issues inherent in large cohort assessment but it is recognized that the effectiveness from both the tutors' and the students' point of view will need to be continually evaluated and improvements made as a result of this. Practical implications – Despite the difficulties, the trial of this method has highlighted several advantages from both student and instructor perspective. The conclusion of this pilot study is that asynchronous online discussions for learning and assessment appear to be suitable for campus-based large cohorts as they provide a depth of interaction and discussion that would not be manageable in the classroom. Originality/value – This case study has shown that asynchronous discussions in an online environment can be used effectively in the teaching, learning and assessment of large cohorts of campus-based students. However, in order to be effective, they need to be structured and monitored, include the creation of a “learning community” through group sign-up, encourage user autonomy and improved writing skills as well as allow for some self-regulation.

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Absorptive capacity, one of the most prominent constructs in innovation research over recent decades, has advanced theoretically without consideration for the peculiarities of tourism and tourism enterprises. At its core is the notion that an ability to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit external knowledge generates competitive advantage. Following a review of the literature and a study of absorptive capacity in the international meetings industry, a new theoretical model is proposed. The paper also provides the means by which policy-makers might, for the first time, assess levels of absorptive capacity in destinations.

This paper examines the factors that contribute to students leaving undergraduate programs in events, tourism and hospitality management programs in the UK before graduation. Following a comprehensive review of the literature, it develops a conceptual framework that is used to inform an empirical study that utilises data from one major British educational provider. The study revealed four variables as having significant associations with student withdrawal: gender, socio-economic classification, disability, and term-time distance from campus. Two of these, gender and disability, are statistically significant in predicting levels of withdrawal. The findings have implications for those seeking to improve student continuation rates.

The relationship between information use and the marketing value chain is illustrated in Figure 9.1. Because of the failure to focus on information issues, few organiza- tions know what information they have or need. In high customer contact services and hence the events industry, a �?rm’s ability to deliver quality service depends largely on its ability to collect, process and distribute information. Berkley and Gupta’s (1995) list of what they suggest as areas of prime importance in a service-based industry highlight the com- plexity and variety of information needs within events organizations. These are: demands and capacities; service speci�?cations; service history; market trends; service standards; customer instructions; process informa- tion; knowledge; job status; security; quality control; internal quality measures; external quality measures; complaints and compliments; service recovery; customer defections.

The University's Assessment, Learning and Teaching strategy commits us to publishing a journal showcasing staff activities in relation to Assessment, Learning and Teaching. The Assessment, Learning and Teaching Journal is practice-based, reflective and pragmatic, and comprises papers of up to 1,500 words and book reviews of up to 200 words. The journal is refereed, all submissions being reviewed by two reviewers. It is normally published three times a year both in hard copy and electronically.

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.

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.

A reflective piece on how a small team of students and academics gained more awareness of their own sense of enterprise and creativity. The case study examines the phases and crisis points of the whole event process and identifies some of the key learning outcomes for all involved.