Exploring reasons to attend formal teaching sessions among students: A self-determination theory perspective

Among students in higher education, attending formal teaching sessions might be important not only for academic achievement but also to foster human values. Despite this, the low and declining attendance rate is a growing concern in higher education. This study aimed to explore what students believe teachers could do to facilitate attendance at formal teaching sessions in the physical education part of the teacher education program in Sweden. Three focus group interviews were conducted among students aged 20 to 35 who attended the teacher education programme. The self-determination theory was used as a theoretical framework, and data were analysed and categorised using qualitative content analysis. The analysis of the interviews formed an overarching theme that intersected with four categories. The results show that teachers might facilitate attendance during formal teaching sessions by providing opportunities for students to interact with each other; match challenges with skills; be engaged, enthusiastic, and caring; and outline the value and rationale. The study’s implications for teachers are discussed in the paper.

Keeping together: older people in longitudinal research studies, the case of TwinsUK

Purpose A decline in participation in research studies as people age is inevitable as health declines. This paper aims to address this by collecting data from a group of participants to examine their reasons for declining attendance and suggestions for maintaining attendance as participants age. Design/methodology/approach This research used a postal self-completed questionnaire including open and closed questions. The questionnaire was sent to those participants who have declined to attend further clinic visits. Results were analysed using thematic content analysis. Findings The study had a 51% response rate. Participants reported difficulty with travelling to the clinic, and health as the main issues in addition to family demands and a lack of understanding regarding the continuing participation of a singleton twin. Research limitations/implications This study could only include data from responding participants, answers to open question also included comments from participants regarding their twin. Practical implications An anonymous questionnaire was sent to all individuals in the Keeping Together project. It was therefore not possible to identify if responses were from both members of a twin pair. Originality/value Maintaining participation in longitudinal studies is of crucial importance to enhance the value of data. Retention of participants in studies may change as people age and health becomes impaired. Suggestions for maintaining and improving the retention of older participants have been identified and are generalisable to other longitudinal studies of ageing.

Built Environmental Variations Between Regular and Imax Theatres

The movie substitutes such as home cinema, video on demand (VOD), and plasma televisions leaded to a declining attendance of patrons to movie theatres, which urged the invention of IMAX theatre to call movie lovers back to cinemas. Many cinemas plan to renovate their regular digital theatre auditoriums into IMAX theatre auditoriums, but there lack of study for built environmental variations between regular and IMAX theatres. Through the combination of a questionnaire survey and a case study on a leading cinema company in Malaysia, the Tanjong Golden Village Cinemas (TGV), this paper aims to identify the structural and architectural differences between regular digital theatre auditorium and IMAX theatre auditorium in the perspectives of acoustic and visual experiences. The most significant factor influencing the satisfaction of visualization in IMAX is “immersive of picture” followed by “sharpness of colour” and “feels as part of the picture”. The most significant indicators for audio experience in IMAX is “direction of object”, which enable an audience to trace the direction and position of an object on the screen without looking at it. The built environmental variations between regular and IMAX theatres in terms of screen, camera and projection methods, seating, architectural layout, wall design, and sound system arrangement were thoroughly compared in the case study.

In Time of War

The year 1788 was a difficult one for the Austrian Monarchy, as the first campaign of the war against the Ottoman Empire ended inconclusively. Joseph II and Archduke Franz were away from Vienna, serving with the army. With persistent rumors that the opera buffa troupe was to be disbanded, the Vienna stage was affected by declining attendance rates. Against this background, Don Giovanni faced additional obstacles: the very late arrival of the new prima donna; the pregnancies of two leading singers; the poor reception accorded to newly recruited tenor and bass performers. In August, Joseph II finally announced that Italian opera would be discontinued at the National Theater at the end of the season. He returned to Vienna at the end of the year, a seriously ill man.

Towards ‘a balanced delegation’ or enhancing global health governance? Analysis of parties’ participation in the Conference of the Parties to WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

IntroductionThe success of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) depends on parties’ active participation in its governance and implementation, particularly via biennial Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings. The COP’s efficacy is threatened by declining attendance and reductions in travel support for low-income and middle-income countries, and there are growing concerns about transparency and representation in country delegations amid industry efforts to shape their composition.MethodsWe examined parties’ participation in the COP based on official meeting records, and the relationship between attendance and strength of tobacco control based on national global tobacco control reports.ResultsAttendance at the COP has decreased over time, and at several meetings would have fallen below 66% (the threshold for decision-making) if it was not for high levels of participation among low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Despite their higher attendance at COP meetings, these countries represent a smaller share of meeting attendees due to the smaller size of their delegations. Additionally, there has been a decline in the proportion of delegates from ministries of health and tobacco control focal points. Nationally, COP participation is correlated with stronger tobacco control policies; attendance by low-income countries has a strong correlation with implementation of advertising bans, while attendance among high-income and lower-middle-income countries shows a moderate correlation with implementation of tobacco taxes.ConclusionsSupporting states to actively engage in the COP is crucial for ongoing FCTC implementation, strengthening national capacity for tobacco control, and protecting the legitimacy and efficacy of global health governance.

Student Attendance At Campus Sporting Events: How Can We Get Them There?

College student attendance at campus sporting events has been declining for a number of years with administrators looking for ways to reverse that trend. There are multiple reasons for the declining attendance and a multitude of possible solutions have been proposed. This case examines the situation for the football program at one mid-sized university, providing data from a representative cross section of the student population. Readers are tasked with making recommendations based on the data and to describe methods of evaluating the success of any changes.

Day, duration, and start time: are the arts providing what their audiences require?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether variations in factors such as start time, duration of event, and day of presentation might lead to improved attendance at performing arts events in the USA. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted using a quantitative strategy. The approach consisted of a survey design that explored preference data for respondents. The data were examined to look for emergent themes in both raw data and cross-tabulations. The data collection also included survey questions for conjoint analysis, a form of regression analysis that compares consumer trade-offs for various levels of different attributes. Findings The researchers found that while anecdotal evidence regarding performing arts attendance largely holds up, there is room to explore the possibility that modern-day consumers require events of shorter duration, and that the utility of Saturday attendance is so overwhelming that start time preference can be manipulated within the Saturday level of that attribute with minimal effect on overall utility. Originality/value The study begins to fill a gap in the literature regarding attendance preference for the performing arts regarding several attributes. The study opens a discussion on how to address declining attendance figures by considering some of the factors that are likely contributing to the decline.

American Film since 1945

Over the past seventy years, the American film industry has transformed from mass-producing movies to producing a limited number of massive blockbuster movies on a global scale. Hollywood film studios have moved from independent companies to divisions of media conglomerates. Theatrical attendance for American audiences has plummeted since the mid-1940s; nonetheless, American films have never been more profitable. In 1945, American films could only be viewed in theaters; now they are available in myriad forms of home viewing. Throughout, Hollywood has continued to dominate global cinema, although film and now video production reaches Americans in many other forms, from home videos to educational films. Amid declining attendance, the Supreme Court in 1948 forced the major studios to sell off their theaters. Hollywood studios instead focused their power on distribution, limiting the supply of films and focusing on expensive productions to sell on an individual basis to theaters. Growing production costs and changing audiences caused wild fluctuations in profits, leading to an industry-wide recession in the late 1960s. The studios emerged under new corporate ownership and honed their blockbuster strategy, releasing “high concept” films widely on the heels of television marketing campaigns. New technologies such as cable and VCRs offered new windows for Hollywood movies beyond theatrical release, reducing the risks of blockbuster production. Deregulation through the 1980s and 1990s allowed for the “Big Six” media conglomerates to join film, theaters, networks, publishing, and other related media outlets under one corporate umbrella. This has expanded the scale and stability of Hollywood revenue while reducing the number and diversity of Hollywood films, as conglomerates focus on film franchises that can thrive on various digital media. Technological change has also lowered the cost of non-Hollywood films and thus encouraged a range of alternative forms of filmmaking, distribution, and exhibition.