Event and experience design

Event design is an important aspect of planned events, and events have the power to transform individuals. An emerging focus in event design is the focus on meanings and event experiences (Getz & Page, 2016). Event design, a core ‘domain’ or function of event management offers the potential to achieve, or at least facilitate these transformations. The emergence of the so-called transformation economy has been at least partly responsible for a movement in the focus of planned events beyond extraordinary experiences towards experiences that could be regarded as transformative or even life-changing. Described as peak experiences, these transformational events have important implications for event design.

Reconceptualizing Tourists’ Extraordinary Experiences

Research that conceptualizes tourist extraordinary experiences both from the structural and anti-structural perspective is limited in the tourism literature. The purpose of this research is to develop a new theoretical perspective that re-conceptualizes our understanding of tourists’ extraordinary experience by taking into consideration both the structural and anti-structural elements of an experience. It draws on phenomenological interviews with 26 food tourists. The study finds that extraordinary experience consists of elements such as profaneness, collaborative interactions and conflict-easing, which represent both the structural and anti-structural elements. The findings of this study allow us to question whether extraordinary experience is purely structural or anti-structural as suggested by previous research. Rather, based on the findings, we argue that extraordinary experience is the positive co-existence of both the ordinary and the non-ordinary. As a result, we use the term “synstructure” to conceptualize the tourist extraordinary experience.

Communication Experiences and Challenges of Kindergarten and Elementary Teachers in Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The increasing number of patients recovering from the COVID-19 and the decreasing number of people exposed to the infection seemed to raise the community’s hopes for returning to face-to-face learning. Some schools have slowly implemented face-to-face learning. Teachers sincerely hope to optimize face-to-face learning soon. However, there are still pros and cons over face-to-face learning for fear of schools turning into COVID-19 clusters. The teachers complained about various online learning problems, so they applied for permission to conduct face-to-face learning. The purpose of this research is to understand teachers’ experiences in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, including positive and negative experiences as well as obstacles in the online learning during the pandemic. This study uses descriptive qualitative research methods, with data collection technique conducted through documentation studies as well as interviews with five kindergarten and elementary school teachers. The selection of research subjects used purposive sampling. The results of this study revealed that the teachers had extraordinary experiences, both negative and positive. The negative experiences during online learning are related to confusion, culture shock, dissatisfaction, stress, fatigue, and overwhelm, while the positive experiences are related to the ease of attending meetings simultaneously, carrying out activities at home and gaining new knowledge, especially in communication technology. Barriers and challenges experienced by teachers in online learning during the pandemic are technical and non-technical in nature.

An Encounter With the Other: A Thematic and Content Analysis of DMT Experiences From a Naturalistic Field Study

Introduction:N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an endogenous serotonergic psychedelic capable of producing radical shifts in conscious experience. Increasing trends in its use, as well as new trials administering DMT to patients, indicate the growing importance of a thorough elucidation of the qualitative content, over and above structure, which the drug occasions. This is particularly in light of the hyper-real, otherworldly, and often ontologically challenging yet potentially transformative, nature of the experience, not least encounters with apparently non-self social agents. Laboratory studies have been limited by clinical setting and lacking qualitative analyses of experiential content, while online surveys’ limitations lie in retrospective design, uncontrolled use, and both of which not guaranteeing ‘breakthrough’ experiences, i.e., producing very strong psychoactive effects.Methods: We report on the first naturalistic field study of DMT use including its qualitative analysis. Screened, healthy, anonymised and experienced DMT users were observed during their non-clinical use of the drug at home (40–75 mg inhaled). In-depth semi-structured interviews (inspired by the micro-phenomenological technique) were employed immediately after their experience. This paper reports on the thematic analysis of one major domain of the breakthrough experiences elicited, the ‘other’. Thirty-six post-DMT experience interviews with mostly Caucasian (83%) males (eight female) of average 37 years were predominantly inductively coded.Results: Invariably, profound and highly intense experiences occurred. The first overarching category comprised the encounter with other ‘beings’ (94% of reports), encompassing super-ordinate themes including the entities’ role, appearance, demeanour, communication and interaction; while the second overarching category comprised experiences of emerging into other ‘worlds’ (100% of reports), encompassing super-ordinate themes of the scene, the contents and quality of the immersive spaces. Many further mid-level themes and subthemes also illuminate the rich content of the DMT experience.Discussion: The present study provides a systematic and in-depth analysis of the nuanced content of the otherworldly encounter within the breakthrough DMT experience, as well as elaborating on the resonances both with previous DMT studies focusing on entity encounters and other types of extraordinary experiences entailing such encounters. These include the alien abduction, folkloric, shamanic and near-death experience. Putative neural mechanisms of these features of the DMT experience and its promise as a psychotherapeutic agent are discussed in light of such findings.

Considering Autonomous Exploration in Healthy Environments: Reflections from an Urban Wildscape

Autonomous exploration should be considered in the creation of healthy environments since autonomy is an important developmental experience for children. For a group of boys in Raleigh, N.C., U.S. during the period 2002–2006, autonomous exploration was a meaningful experience. Results of a qualitative research project (n = 5) which highlight the importance of autonomous exploration are organized within a proposed framework for thick description. The framework creates verisimilitude by reporting on the context, social action and cultural context, and behavior and intentionality. The context of Raleigh and urban wildscapes furnished areas ripe for exploration. The social action and cultural context of attachment supported the autonomous exploration through scaffolded experiences of autonomy. The intentionality of the behavior was a desire to distinct themselves through a focus on individual development and the pursuit of extraordinary experiences. The ultimate outcomes of autonomous exploration for the boys were the development of long-term, intimate friendships and confidence in their decision-making ability. As cities become more health-focused, attention should be paid to preserve the rough edges of a city for children to explore.

Shared Time Scarcity and the Pursuit of Extraordinary Experiences

This work documents a relationship-maintenance strategy that individuals use when they perceive their time with a partner as scarce (vs. abundant): choosing to share extraordinary experiences (i.e., those characterized by uniqueness and superiority; pilot study N = 57). Study 1 first tested this notion in a social media experiment ( N = 35,848 ad impressions on 25,148 adults). Study 2 ( N = 393 adults) suggested that individuals choose extraordinary experiences as a way of sustaining the focal relationship, which leads them to prioritize extraordinariness over other attributes, such as quantity (Study 3: N = 100 adults) and convenience (Study 4: N = 799 adults). Consistent with the relationship-maintenance account, results showed that this prioritization of extraordinary experiences when facing shared time scarcity occurs only when individuals have a strong relationship-maintenance goal (Study 4). Taken together, these studies advance our understanding of the antecedents of experiential choices in close relationships.

Surviving Impostor Syndrome

Studying overseas may offer myriad riches of extraordinary experiences, especially due to the opportunities to immerse into a different academic culture. However, for some, the difference may be a hurdle that brings them into a mental roller coaster along their study journey. In this reflective paper, against the backdrop of my overseas studies experiences, I recount my bumpy journey of battling the so-called impostor syndrome which prevented me from being productive until I found the lights at the end of the tunnel and finally found a way to move on with my journey and earned my degree. Self-appreciation and community support seemed to be the most important influences that may have led me to be free from the syndrome and to finally achieve my main objectives.

An Encounter with the Other: A Thematic Analysis of Accounts of DMT Experiences from a Naturalistic Field Study

Introduction: N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an endogenous serotonergic psychedelic capable of producing radical shifts in conscious experience. Increasing trends in its use, as well as new trials administering DMT to patients, indicate the growing importance of a thorough elucidation of the phenomenology the drug may occasion. This is particularly in light of the hyper-real, otherworldly, and often ontologically challenging yet potentially transformative, nature of the experience, not least encounters with apparently non-self social agents. Laboratory studies have been limited by clinical setting and lacking qualitative analyses, while online surveys’ limitations lie in retrospective design, recreational use, and both of which not guaranteeing ‘breakthrough’ experiences. Methods: We report on the first naturalistic field study of DMT use including its qualitative analysis. Screened, healthy, anonymised and experienced DMT users (40-75mg inhaled) were observed during their non-clinical use of the drug at home. Semi-structured interviews using the micro-phenomenological technique were employed immediately after their experience. This paper reports on the thematic analysis of one major domain of the breakthrough experiences elicited; the ‘other’. Thirty-six post-DMT experience interviews with mostly Caucasian (83%) males (8 female) of average 37 years were predominantly inductively coded. Results: Invariably, profound and highly intense experiences occurred. The main overarching category comprised the encounter with other ‘beings’ (94% of reports), with further subordinate themes including the entities’ role, appearance, demeanour, communication and interaction; while the other over-arching category comprised experiences of emerging into other ‘worlds’ (100% of reports), in turn consisting of the scene, the content and quality of the immersive spaces. Discussion: The present study provides a systematic and in-depth analysis of the features of the otherworldly encounter within the breakthrough DMT experience, as well as elaborating on the resonances with both previous DMT studies and other types of extraordinary experiences which also entail entity encounters. These include the alien abduction, folkloric, shamanic and near-death experience. Putative neural mechanisms of these features of the DMT experience and its promise as a psychotherapeutic agent are discussed in light of such findings.

«Ужасные истории»: воспоминания бывших воспитанников детского дома-интерната для детей с умственной отсталостью о своем детстве

Статья посвящена специфическому нарративному жанру «ужасные истории», его прагматике и значению. Используя концепцию «жалость на экспорт», предложенную Маргаритой Астоянц (Астоянц 2006), автор на материалах биографических интервью с выпускниками интернатных учреждений для умственно отсталых, ставших участниками проекта сопровождаемого проживания, исследует стратегии выстраивания нарративной идентичности информантов в коммуникации с интервьюером. Анализ демонстрирует, что фрейм биографического интервью, участники которого занимают крайне различное социальное положение, вызывает к жизни определенную стратегию – демонстрацию в первую очередь уникального и экстремального опыта. Так, информанты обращались к историям об «ужасах» детского дома-интерната или психоневрологического интерната, где они жили после достижения восемнадцати лет, создавая драматические повествования о насилии в учреждениях и принудительном психиатрическом лечении. Цель данной стратегии – вызывать у слушателя интерес, уважение или сочувствие, которое в крайнем случае может обрести форму просьбы о помощи или желания получить некоторую выгоду. Помимо этого, «ужасные истории» оказываются для людей, имеющих на нынешний момент статус опекаемых, способом заявить о собственной агентности и субъектности, корни которых информанты обнаруживают еще в детстве, наполненном насилием и невзгодами. The article is devoted to the specific narrative genre "horrible stories" which is used by deinstitutionalized adults with learning disabilities. Most of the stories revolve around several common «traumatic» subjects which can be divided into two groups: horrible life in the family before institutionalization and gruesome life inside the institution (orphanages for children and adults). In this paper I analyze these narratives to show how, in the context of an interview, which reveals extremely different social statuses of its participants, these adults reconstruct their «traumatic» past and build their identities using a special narrative strategy – the demonstration of extremely extraordinary experiences. The purpose of this strategy is to arouse listener’s interest, respect, or empathy and it is a way to ask for help or some benefit, on the other hand this strategy allows them to declare their own agency by demonstrating intensive efforts to defend their subjectivity back in childhood.