What Makes Theatrical Performances Successful in China's Tourism Industry?

This study aims to explore the factors affecting the success of a popular tourist product, namely, theatrical performance, within the context of China's tourism industry and develop a model based on previously successful productions. Using qualitative software, 22 Chinese-language articles on theatrical performances are analyzed to generate a list of success factors, classified as internal and external. The internal factors are storyline and performing, market positioning and marketing strategy, investment and financial support, operation and management, performing team, outdoor venue, indoor/outdoor stage supporting facilities, continuous improvement, and production team. The external factors are collaboration between cultural industries and local tourism, government support, privatization, and social and cultural effect. This study also provides suggestions for the future development of theatrical performances in China

Becoming a Performance Analyst : Autoethnographic Reflections on Agency, and Facilitated Transformational Growth

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Reflective Practice, on 3 September 2014, available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2014.900014.This paper features an autoethnographic approach in presenting and reflecting upon the story of one higher education student’s rapid vocational and academic transformation. Initially an inconspicuous undergraduate student, Andrew experienced an accelerated development that catapulted him to working in elite sport performance analysis (PA) environments, within a year. PA is a sub-discipline of sports coaching that involves using the latest technological advances to influence sporting performance, through the objective analysis of performance data. This autoethnographic piece is partly Andrew’s personal reflection upon that journey towards his newfound profession, which initially grew out of his experience of a generic sports degree at a university. Through stepping out of his comfort zone, and analysing sports previously unknown to him, extraordinary progress was made, and various vocational and academic opportunities arose. The initial catalyst for this developmental journey was facilitated by coaching lecturer David, who reflects upon how Andrew’s story links to his own educational philosophies. Andrew and David explore what these stories might mean to them personally, including potential links to the metaphor of learning as becoming, and notions around the concepts of learner agency, and educational facilitation. The paper ends by exploring the theoretical frameworks that guided this paper’s structure and focusPeer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Enhancing the early student experience

This paper is concerned with identifying how the early student experience can be enhanced in order to improve levels of student retention and achievement. The early student experience is the focus of this project as the literature has consistently declared the first year to be the most critical in shaping persistence decisions. Programme managers of courses with high and low retention rates have been interviewed to identify activities that appear to be associated with good retention rates. The results show that there are similarities in the way programmes with high retention are run, with these features not being prevalent on programmes with low retention. Recommendations of activities that appear likely to enhance the early student experience are provided

Family systems and mental health issues: A resilience approach

In many cases the consumers of mental health information and support are the families of mental health sufferers. The aim of the project was to understand resilience in people who live with or support a family member with a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental illness. Participants were 15 carers (one male, 14 female). Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using content analysis. Eight recurring themes emerged which indicated the challenges the carers faced and provided indications of the positive and negative personal, family and social factors that impacted on their lives. These themes were \u27Getting to CLAN WA\u27, \u27Accessing help including CLAN WA\u27, \u27Impact of living with a person who has a mental illness or problematic behaviour\u27, \u27Family and cultural issues\u27, \u27Communication within the family\u27,\u27Coping strategies and evidence of resilience\u27, \u27Social support\u27 and \u27Notion of sacrifice\u27. There is still considerable work to do in supporting people who live with or support a family member in these circumstances. The findings demonstrate that individuals living with adversity can do more than just survive the proces

Panamanian Grandmothers' Family Relationships and Adjustment to Having a Grandchild with a Disability

The purpose of this article was to explore the family relationships and role adjustment of grandmothers in the Republic of Panama who have a grandchild with special needs. Thirty Panamanian grandmothers of children with a disability were interviewed using a standardized format and non-directive probing. Categories of analysis were established only after the data was fully collected and reviewed. The results indicate that for most Panamanian grandmothers, their changes in family relationships are not dramatic when they have a grandchild with a disability; however, 25% clearly report a deteriorated relationship with their son-in-laws. They view their relationship with their grandchild with a disability to be one that provides a mixture of affection, love, acceptance and patience. In the area of role adjustment, they see a need to become more involved in areas that include assisting their grandchildren and/or her family with caregiving and household responsibilities, economic and medical support, or in areas related to school/academic, spiritual or recreational activities. With respect to emotional adjustment, Panamanian grandmothers of children with disabilities distinguish themselves from grandmothers in the United States, by experiencing reduced emotional stress and dwelling less on personal loss, grief, or role stigma. The implications are that there appear to be universal beliefs and adjustment factors that Panamanian grandmothers of grandchildren with disabilities experience. However, culture appears to have a genuine influence that results in subtle but unique differences from their U.S. counterparts.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

From Ideal to Practice and Back Again: Beginning Teachers Teaching for Social Justice

The five authors of this article designed a multicase study to follow recent graduates of an elementary preservice teacher education program into their beginning teaching placements and explore the ways in which they enacted social justice curricula. The authors highlight the stories of three beginning teachers, honoring the plurality of their conceptions of social justice teaching and the resiliency they exhibited in translating social justice ideals into viable pedagogy. They also discuss the struggles the teachers faced when enacting social justice curricula and the tenuous connection they perceived between their conceptions and their practices. The authors emphasize that such struggles are inevitable and end the article with recommendations for ways in which teacher educators can prepare beginning teachers for the uncertain journey of teaching for social justice

What is and isn’t working: Factors involved in sustaining community-based health and participation initiatives for people aging with intellectual and developmental disabilities

As people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) age it is important that I/DD agencies are prepared to support healthy aging in homes and in communities. This study explored supports and barriers to sustaining community-based health and participation initiatives (CBHPI) for people aging with I/DD living in group homes managed by agencies. The study utilized interviews and photovoice with 70 participants—35 individuals with I/DD and 35 management/direct support agency staff. Data were analyzed through content analysis and triangulation of data where five themes emerged: Agency values and policies related to healthy aging; resources and staff competencies; communication between management and staff; community/university partnerships; peer relations. Findings show that I/DD agencies and people with I/DD value CBHPI, but they find them difficult to sustain due to limited resources and lack of training specific to aging with I/DD

Contemplating workplace change

Drawing on topical life histories of physicians in a particularly volatile public health sector environment, we build theory around the contemplation of workplace change. Overall, our study provides evidence as to why single or multiple independent factors, such as pay or job structure, may fail to predict or explain individual decisions to stay in or change workplaces. Instead, the contemplation process we argue is a complex, evolutionary, and context-dependent one that requires individualized interventions. Our findings reveal the prevalence of episodic context-self fit assessments prompted by triggering stimuli, two mechanisms by which thought processes evolved (reinforcement and recalibration), and four characteristic story lines that explain why the thought processes manifested as they did (exploring opportunities, solving problems, reconciling incongruence, and escaping situations). Based on our findings, we encourage practitioners to regularly engage in story-listening and dialogic conversations to better understand, and potentially affect the evolving socially constructed realities of staff members

Writing Toward Readers\u27 Better Health: A Case Study Examining the Development of Online Health Information

Each year, more people search the Internet for health information. Through a case study conducted at a prominent health information company, I will show that technical communicators are well suited to contribute to the development of online health information. Like other technical communicators, online health information developers must make rhetorical choices based on audience needs, function within specific social contexts, and work through challenges of writing, editing, and project management