Rethinking participation in the Aarhus as European Capital of Culture 2017 project

This paper examines the relationship between cultural participation and regional development with reference to the European Capital of Culture in 2017. From the bidding stage, Aarhus 2017 claimed it put “participation” at the heart of its strategic plans, through consultation at roadshows and exhibitions. In addition, it aspired to use culture as a catalyst for development not only in the city of Aarhus but across the region of Central Denmark. This paper, therefore, examines how participation is defined and implemented to address regional development in the Aarhus 2017 process through textual analysis of documentation from Aarhus 2017 and delivery partners as well as over 20 interviews with managers and participants involved in a range of 2017 projects. The paper argues against the common prioritisation of urban and professional cultural institutions and makes the case for decentralised cultural provision that supports both amateurs and professionals through a regional networked structure.     

Subjective well-being in cultural advocacy: a politics of research between the market and the academy

This paper responds to a trend of contracting out subjective well-being econometrics to demonstrate social return on investment (SROI) for evidence-based policy-making. We discuss an evolving ecology of ‘external’ research taking place ‘between’ the academy and commercial consultancy. We then contextualise this as waves of research methodologies and consultancy for the cultural sector. The new model of ‘external between’ consultancy research for policy is not only placed between the University and the market, but also facilitates discourse between policy sectors, government, the media and the academy. Specifically, it enables seductive but selective arguments for advocacy that claim authority through academic affiliation, yet are not evaluated for robustness. To critically engage with an emergent form of what Stone calls ‘causal stories’, we replicate a publicly funded externally commissioned SROI model that argues for the value of cultural activities to well-being. We find that the author’s operationalisation of participation and well-being are crucial, yet their representation of the relationship problematic, and their estimates questionable. This case study ‘re-performs’ econometric modelling national-level survey data for the cultural sector to reveal practices that create norms of expertise for policy-making that are not rigorous. We conclude that fluid claims to authority allow experimental econometric models and measures to perform across the cultural economy as if ratified. This new model of advocacy research requires closer academic consideration given the changing research funding structures and recent attention to expertise and the contracting out of public services.     

Did London 2012 deliver a sports participation legacy?

Despite the increasing academic interest in the analysis of the Olympic legacy, there is a relative knowledge gap as far as sports participation legacy is concerned. The authors bridge this gap by analysing the short-term sports participation legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the adult population in England. By using data from the Active People Survey and considering different sports participation variables and the effect of the economic climate, results demonstrate a positive association with participation from hosting the Games. Participation rates were adjusted to take into account seasonality and changes in the gross domestic product (GDP), accounting in this way for the effect of the recent economic recession. The biggest effect was observed in relation to frequent participation (at least three times per week for at least 30 min) in the year immediately after the Games. In 2014, the sports participation rates fell relative to 2013 but remained higher than pre-Olympic levels. The sport participation legacy of the Olympic Games appeared to have significant differences between socio-demographic groups.     

Why do christian churches,and not universities,facilitate intercultural engagement for Chinese international students?

The paper offers new, significant insights into the Church engagement experiences of Chinese international students in the UK. Based on a mixed-method research and focusing on a group of international Chinese students participating in local Christian churches, it explores the motivations (for), dynamics and types of connections students establish and maintain with the church communities, and the implications for stakeholders in facilitating intercultural engagement with the local community. The limited cross-cultural interactions alongside other structural and contextual factors often deprive meaningful engagement between international students and host nationals within the campus. According to the research participants, internationalised university is promising and promoting intercultural experiences but not delivering them. Chinese students of usually non-Christian background gravitate towards Christian churches as alternative places to gain desired intercultural experiences. The findings encourage universities to reflect on the quality of intercultural engagement for international students and draw from the reciprocal and respectful intercultural connections that some students discovered through engaging with Christian churches.     

我国女性体育参与的文化解读与时代特征

我国女性在体育参与中相对于男性遭遇了很多不平等的现象,这些现象必然有其文化历史根源。通过文献梳理和逻辑分析,从意识形态层面的审美取向、形成意识形态的氏族制政治生态与形成政治生态的社会及人类进化论根源三个角度,对我国女性的体育参与特征进行剥离式解读,总结出女性参与体育的时代特征。同时从经济学的视角分析了女性体育参与的机会成本或许在短时间内不会降低到与男性相同的水平,但过去阻碍女性参与体育的桎梏将随时间一一消弭。     

Sport in Australia:An overview

Shifting patterns of work and leisure,together with demographic changes,an increasingly di-verse array of sport and leisure opportunities,commodification,commercialisation and globalisation have had a distinct impact on leisure and recreation/sport in many western countries,including Australia. This short paper overviews some trends in sport in contemporary Australia and discusses the question about the future of sport in this country.     

Arts participation and the three faces of time: A reflection on disentangling the impact of life stage,period and socialization on arts participation,exemplified by an analysis of the US arts audience

Arts participation bears the threefold imprint of time: people's life stage (age), their earlier socializing imprint (cohort) and the historical circumstances of the moment (period). A proper understanding of these three effects is of great importance in understanding the present and future sizes and preferences of arts audiences. Such understanding implies disentangling those three effects properly, rather than overlooking or confusing them. An example of how that might be done is presented here with regard to arts participation in the US.     

青奥会与奥运会遗产之比较

青奥会和奥运会的东道城市和国家越来越重视通过奥运赛事的承办为其创造"遗产".通过对既有文献资料的研究,进行逻辑分析,结合专家访谈,阐释"奥运遗产"概念的内涵,并从体育参与、社会进步、环境保护、城市建设和经济发展的角度分析青奥会和奥运会遗产的异同并讨论其原因.虽然青奥会与奥运会同属奥林匹克运动体系并一脉相承致使二者在奥运遗产方面有很多相似之处,但二者办赛理念和影响范围的迥异仍然可以体现在奥运遗产中.2007年后,青奥会和奥运会能够实现并存的原因在于各自不同的发展重心.发展的要求和现实的考验是青奥会和奥运会的共同议题,如果奥运会要以世界性大型赛会的社会经济发展的意义来度量"奥运遗产",青奥会就有必要从全球青少年通过体育所搭建的平台实现沟通与理解的角度来框架"奥运遗产"的范畴.区分与辨别所促进对于"奥运遗产"的理解并不是主要目的,面对2022年冬奥会的挑战,通过前期计划和组织影响"奥运遗产"的产生和作用才是当务之急.     

上海市中学生参与电子竞技活动的特征

采用文献资料法、问卷调查法等,对上海市中学生参与电子竞技活动的特征进行分析。认为:上海市中学生参与电子竞技活动年限较短,活动时间一般控制在1-2 h,活动场所以家庭为主,活动伙伴以同学为主,活动平台以QQ为主,活动项目以动作对战类为主,男女生在项目选择上存在差异。     

西北地区城镇回族女性参与体育健身活动的研究

采用文献资料、问卷调查、典型调查法等,研究西北地区回族女性体育健身活动发展状况。结果表明,回族女性做为一个独特的群体,有着自己的传统历史文化,有着与社会并进的现在与未来,同样有着自己的存在与发展。实现回族穆斯林女性社会平等、丰富回族女性社会文化生活、强身健体、治疗疾病是参与体育健身活动的主要目的;加强回族女性成员之间的沟通,重视社区体育的影响,可视为回族女性参与体育健身活动的直接诱因,电视传媒的宣传和引导能有效触发回族女性参与的思维共振和行为互动;多极限制的组织形式、地缘结构式的活动场所、共享的时间安排、根植于现实经济水平的实物消费、趋向于投资不高的健身项目是参与的主要行为特征。研究旨在为西北地区妇女体育的发展提供参考依据。