scholarly journals Cannabis festivals and their attendees in four European cities with different national cannabis policies

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-154
Author(s):  
Kostas Skliamis ◽  
Dirk J. Korf

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to: describe and contextualize the aims and distinctive and common characteristics of cannabis festivals in countries with different cannabis policies; assess characteristics of participants; identify reasons to attend cannabis festivals; explore to which extent cannabis festivals contribute to the social and cultural acceptance of cannabis, as perceived by attendees. Design/methodology/approach The approach incorporates three methods of data collection in the research design; quantitative research among 1,355 participants, participant observation and interviews with the organizers. Findings Cannabis festivals in Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome and Athens have common features but also maintain and reproduce local, social and cultural characteristics. Cannabis festivals, as well as their attendees, represent heterogeneous categories. The style of the festival – music festival or march combined with music – affects the main reason for attendance by the participants. In cannabis festivals more similar to music festivals the majority of the respondents attended for entertainment while at the cannabis festivals in the form of a march combined with music the majority attended for protest. Furthermore, increasing age, residency and the high frequency of cannabis use are factors that led the participants to attend for protest. Originality/value The research on cannabis festivals is limited. This paper not only explores the aims of cannabis festivals in four capital cities of Europe and the characteristics of their attendees including motivations, but also offers interesting insights for understanding the ways in which political and social constructions like cannabis festivals shape attitudes, perception and behaviors around cannabis use.

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
João Pedro Portugal ◽  
Antonia Correia ◽  
Paulo Águas

PurposeMusic festivals offer new opportunities for leisure and tourist experiences in Portugal. Some tourists and residents, the so-called festival goers, participate and come back to these events, whereas others, the non-goers, never participate and are not willing to do so. The aim of this research is to understand the decision to participate or not based on facilitators and constraints to participate or not in a music festival, dismantling residents and tourists' attitudes.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 1,178 music festival goers and non-goers in Portugal. Content analysis was undertaken to depict the most important determinants of their decisions. Those determinants were categorized according to the three dimensions of factors of ecological systems theory, considering festival goers and non-goers as well as tourists and residents.FindingsThe results suggested that although constraints are not as often voiced as facilitators, both influence decisions that are expressed as delaying, postponing, avoiding or complying with others by participating in these events. Furthermore, the results suggested that the decision to participate or not depends on the social contexts of the festival goers or non-goers, and that these social contexts may invert their decision, be it by facilitating or constraining their participation.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to festivals in Portugal and used a qualitative analysis that may be confirmed in other countries with quantitative methods. Nevertheless, this research opens paths to discuss facilitators and constraints through ecological system theory and gives insights into this industry.Practical implicationsThe results provide important insights for festival organizers to retain and build long-term relationships with festival goers. The results also provide insights into how to overcome the resistance which non-goers demonstrated.Social implicationsThis research offers an in-depth and insightful understanding of individuals' attitudes towards music festivals, allowing festival demand to be better understood. Furthermore, this research proves that attendance of music festivals is mostly a socially driven behaviour.Originality/valueBy eliciting facilitators and constraints of the decision to participate in music festivals, considering residents and tourists, festival goers and non-goers, this study provides a deeper understanding of the decision to participate, through a theoretical framework which is rarely applied in this field.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Oliveira Medeiros ◽  
Simone Evangelista ◽  
Simone Pereira de Sá

PurposeThe paper aims to discuss the tensions between rock and pop genres at Rock in Rio, the most significant music festival in Brazil (which also has had international editions in Portugal, Spain and the USA), analyzing the construction and consolidation of Rock in Rio as a rock-related brand and mapping the disputes, negotiations and controversies between rock and pop music fans.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyze those facts from a framework composed by discussions about musical genres (Frith, 1996; Blacking, 1995), social constructions about rock and pop, as well as debates about taste as performance (Hennion, 2007) on digital platforms. The corpus consists of 58 posts published between 2018 and 2019 in the period prior to Rock in Rio 2019, analyzed qualitatively.FindingsBy recalling the history of Rock in Rio, the authors demonstrate that the discourses and strategies involving the festival are contradictory, which reflects on disputes about the meanings of festivals on social media. A diverse set of controversy was found, such as discussions about the artists' authenticity as well as arguments that refer to the social constructions linked to certain musical genres.Originality/valueThe paper analyzes the Rock in Rio music festival from a perspective that is not observed very often, offering insights about the relevance of music genres as mediators of the perception of the festival as a brand and the controversies involving fans and anti-fans.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 476-494
Author(s):  
Ömer Torlak ◽  
Müjdat Özmen ◽  
Muhammet Ali Tiltay ◽  
Mahmut Sami İşlek ◽  
Ufuk Ay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to theorize and empirically investigate the formation of consumer’s consumption ritual experiences and discourses associated with Feast of Sacrifice. Design/methodology/approach The authors have approached the data from assemblage theory perspective. By use of ethnographic participant observation and in-depth interviews, seven themes are uncovered and discussed: meaning of Qurban, preparation of the ritual, Qurban choice, meat, Qurban ritual, marketplace and framing of discourses. Findings This study provides a theoretical development in which it depicts that assemblage theory can be used in the context of religious rituals such as the Feast of Sacrifice. This suggests that parts forming the social phenomena include different meanings and functions in different assemblages to the ritual, which has a structure with a particular process, roles and content scenario. This implies that even the most structured social phenomena as religious rituals can be accepted as social assemblage where every individual experiences his/her own ritual with the parts that have ever-changing material and expressive roles. Originality/value This study will contribute to the literature on religious rituals and practices through viewing ritual as an assemblage including material and expressive features as well as human and non-human actors. Besides, this study aims to find out whether there is a constant consumer and the concept of ritual by focusing on buying experiences of consumer in Feast of Sacrifice in Turkey.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Belzunegui-Eraso ◽  
David Duenas-Cid ◽  
Inma Pastor-Gosálbez

Purpose Social action implemented by the Church via its affiliated entities, foundations and associations may be viewed as a uniform activity. In reality, however, several organizational profiles exist that depend on the origin of these organizations (lay or religious), the scope of their activities (local or general) and their dependence on resources (whether from public administration or civil society). The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors examine this diversity based on a 2015 study of every Catholic Church social organization with headquarters in Catalonia. For the study, the authors conducted a detailed analysis of these organizations in order to determine their nature, scope and structure. The methodology combined questionnaire, interviews and non-participant observation. Findings The social actions of these organizations lead to interesting debates, such as those on: charity/assistentialism vs social justice; professionalization vs voluntarism; and personal autonomy vs functional dependence resulting from the action. This study also highlights how important it is that Church organizations carry out social actions to generate social welfare in the welfare states of southern European countries. Originality/value It is the first time that a study of the social impact of the church and its organizational implications in Spain has been made.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie I. Sessa ◽  
Jessica L. Francavilla ◽  
Manuel London ◽  
Marlee Wanamaker

Purpose Multi-team systems (MTSs) are expected to respond effectively to complex challenges while remaining responsive and adaptable and preserving inter-team linking mechanisms. The leadership team of an MTS is expected to configure and reconfigure component teams to meet the unique needs of each situation and perform. How do they learn to do this? This paper, using a recent MTS learning theory as a basis, aims to begin to understand how MTSs learn and stimulate ideas for future research. Design/methodology/approach The authors use two case studies to address research questions. The first case was a snapshot in time, while the second case occurred over several months. Interviews, documents and participant observation were the data sources. Findings As suggested by theory, findings support the idea that learning triggers, the timing of the triggers and readiness to learn (RtL) affect the type of learning process that emerges. The cases showed examples of adaptive and generative team learning. Strong and clear triggers, occurring during performance episodes, led to adaptive learning. When RtL was high and triggers occurred during hiatus periods, the associated learning process was generative. Originality/value Using an available theoretical model and case studies, the research describes how MTS readiness to learn and triggers for learning affect MTS learning processes and how learning outcomes became codified in the knowledge base or structure of the MTS. This provides a framework for subsequent qualitative and quantitative research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-268
Author(s):  
Alex Opoku ◽  
Peter Guthrie

Purpose The social housing sector is under increasing pressure to do more with less and provide value for money as part of the UK Government’s public debt reduction strategy. This study aims to explore the current practices towards unlocking social value in the housing sector through the adoption of the Social Value Act 2012. The Social Value Act seeks to ensure that public sector procurement deliver added value in terms of social, economic and environmental outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts quantitative research methodology through a survey with 100 housing professionals charged with the delivery of social value outcomes in the social housing sector in England. Findings The results of the study reveal that there is a low level of understanding of the Social Value Act 2012 among the professionals in the social housing sector. Once again, most organisations in the social housing sector do not have social value strategies or policies and rarely consider social value outcomes during procurement. However, employment skills and training and crime and antisocial behaviour reduction are the most social value priority outcomes/needs identified with organisations currently promoting social value in the social housing sector. Social implications The issue of social value has importance towards the wider society, and the study provides an insight into current practices towards the realisation of social value outcomes in the housing sector. Originality/value The Social Value Act 2012 came into force in January 2013, and little has been written on the impact of the Act on the social housing sector in England. This study identifies current practices in the social housing sector towards the delivery of social value outcomes in the day-to-day business operations.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1839-1855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Brochado ◽  
Paulo Rita ◽  
Carlos Gameiro

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of backpackers’s evaluation of service quality provided by hostels by developing a battery of items to assess perceptions of the overall hostel experience. Design/methodology/approach – Scale development took a mixed approach that combines qualitative and quantitative research. First, the authors performed a content analysis of reviews provided by guests in hostel booking web sites, in-depth interviews with hostel managers and focus groups with guests, to develop a battery of items to assess the hostel experience from the guests’ perspective. Then, a quantitative survey (n = 222) was conducted, to explore the dimensionality of service quality in this sector. Lisbon hostels are the target of this study, as they received several awards based on the online reviews of backpackers. Findings – The results revealed that service quality is a multidimensional concept and includes six dimensions, namely, social atmosphere, location and city connection, staff, cleanliness, security and facilities. Regression results revealed that the social atmosphere appears to be a core service dimension crucial to create a sense of hostel guest’s overall quality. Originality/value – The findings suggest that service quality scales should incorporate the specific characteristics of the hotel industry. The quality of the staff and the social atmosphere are of utmost importance to enhance the hostel backpacker experience.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Magdalena Paul

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the methodological issues around developing a quantitative research instrument of the social impact of Polish public libraries. The results of the use of this instrument to survey users of Mazovian Province, Poland, are summarized as an example of its use. Design/methodology/approach The research focused on informational, educational and participatory aspects of social impact on the sidelines leaving cultural heritage issues. “Impact” and “social impact” were defined according to ISO 16439:2014. Information and documentation – methods and procedures for assessing the impact of libraries. The research instrument included questions both about the activities taken in libraries by its users and the benefits they gained. The questionnaire also contained questions which allowed to control the variables such as frequency of using libraries, socioeconomic factors and cultural practices. To describe dependencies, various statistical tests were applied. The study was conducted on the group of 1,098 users of 38 public libraries between February and June 2017. Findings Younger and people from smaller towns felt more benefits from using libraries. There are significant differences between types of benefits people of various age, financial status and household size experienced. People who went to libraries and other cultural institutions often experienced more benefits. The more a person performs activities in libraries, the more benefits he or she has. Some added value of particular activities is also visible. Research limitations/implications Despite the efforts and the size of the sample, it is not representative of the population of library users in the Mazovian Province (mainly due to the data collection method – auditory survey). Originality/value Studying the social impact of the libraries in Poland is still at its beginning. The presented research is, therefore, exploratory in terms of cognitive and methodological value.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanya Pielichaty

Purpose – Contemporary outdoor rock and popular music festivals offer liminoidal spaces in which event participants can experience characteristics associated with the carnivalesque. Festival goers celebrate with abandonment, excess and enjoy a break from the mundane routine of everyday life. The purpose of this paper is to explore the way gender is negotiated in the festival space. Design/methodology/approach – The rock and popular music tribute festival, known as “Glastonbudget” provides the focus for this conceptual paper. A pilot ethnographic exploration of the event utilising photographic imagery was used to understand the way in which gender is displayed. Findings – It is suggested that liminal zones offer space to invert social norms and behave with abandonment and freedom away from the constraints of the everyday but neither women nor men actually take up this opportunity. The carnivalesque during Glastonbudget represents a festival space which consolidates normative notions of gender hierarchy via a complicated process of othering. Research limitations/implications – This is a conceptual paper which presents the need to advance social science-based studies connecting gender to the social construction of event space. The ideas explored in this paper need to be extended and developed to build upon the research design established here. Originality/value – There is currently a paucity of literature surrounding the concept of gender within these festival spaces especially in relation to liminality within events research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thea Vinnicombe ◽  
Pek U. Joey Sou

Purpose Academic studies have sought to understand the motivations of festival and event attendees usually through single-event case studies. This approach has failed to generate a generalizable set of motivation items. In addition, there is increasing criticism in the literature of the common methodological framework used in festival motivation studies, due to a perceived over-reliance on motivations derived from the broader tourism and travel research, with too little attention to event-specific factors. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues by analyzing a sub-category of motivation studies, music festivals, in order to see if this approach can elicit a consistent set of motivation dimensions for the sub-category, which can in turn be compared and contrasted with the broader literature. A new case study of motivations to attend the 28th Macau International Music Festival (MIMF) is included to complement the existing music festival sub-category by adding a classical music and music festivals in Asia. Design/methodology/approach Motivation dimensions important to music festivals are compared to dimensions across the broader festival motivation literature to find similarities and differences. Factor analysis is used to identify the motivation dimensions of attendees at the MIMF and the results are compared to those of existing music festival studies. Findings Music festival goers are shown to be primarily motivated by the core festival offering, the music, in contrast to festival attendees in general, where socialization has emerged as the primary motivating element. The results of the additional case study support these findings. Originality/value In contrast to previous research, this study examines the possibility of identifying common motivations among festival attendees through studying festivals by sub-categories.


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