Socio-Cultural Impacts of Events

Cities are increasingly using cultural events to improve their image, stimulate urban development and attract visitors and investment. As part of its event-led regeneration strategy, Rotterdam staged the 'Cultural Capital of Europe' event in 2001. The aims were to attract visitors and to stimulate cultural consumption among residents, while positioning Rotterdam as a cultural destination. Over 2000 questionnaire responses by resident and non-resident visitors to the Cultural Capital event were used to evaluate the image effects of the event. In depth interviews were also undertaken with policy-makers and cultural managers, to permit evaluation of survey findings in the context of richer qualitative material. The image of the city as a cultural destination did improve in 2001, but the physical and tangible elements of the city's image (modern architecture, water) and its character as the working city of the Netherlands continued to dominate.

Reality T.V programs are now invading the Arab world and are attracting viewers of all ages, most specifically Arab teenagers. Being live programs taken from real life situations, Reality TV
shows feature and monitor the emotions and behaviors of those who are usually involved for the purpose of winning a prize. However, the question to be asked is to what extent such programs are affecting teenagers, being the most susceptible audience. This paper has many objectives including: assessing the authenticity of the television programs; probing the extent the image reflected by talent-contestant shows, namely Star Academy, is affecting teenagers’ life; and, assessing what major role Star Academy plays in motivating and influencing the teenage audience. This research is exploratory and uses a quantitative approach; it relies on the use of a survey questionnaire addressed to a convenient sample of 300 teenagers. Findings are to help educators and policy makers to plan for mediations to reduce the negative influences of such
programs, and to capitalize on the opportunities that result from free-will decisions.

Whilst the environmental impacts of biological invasions are clearly conceptualised and there is growing evidence on the economic benefits and costs, the social and cultural dimensions remain poorly understood. This paper presents the perceptions of pastoralist communities in southern Afar, Ethiopian lowlands, on one invasive species, Prosopis juliflora. The socio-cultural impacts are assessed, and the manner in which they interact with other drivers of vulnerability, including political marginalisation, sedentarisation and conflict, is explored. The research studied 10 communities and undertook semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. These results were supported by interviews with community leaders and key informants. The benefits and costs were analysed using the asset-based framework of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and the subject-focused approach of Wellbeing in Development. The results demonstrate that the costs of invasive species are felt across all of the livelihood capital bases (financial, natural, physical, human and social) highlighted within the framework and that the impacts cross multiple assets, such as reducing access through blocking roads. The concept of Wellbeing in Development provides a lens to examine neglected impacts, like conflict, community standing, political marginalisation and cultural impoverishment, and a freedom of definition and vocabulary to allow the participants to define their own epistemologies. The research highlights that impacts spread across assets, transcend objective and subjective classification, but also that impacts interact with other drivers of vulnerability. Pastoralists report deepened and broadened conflict, complicated relationships with the state and increased sedentarisation within invaded areas. The paper demonstrates that biological invasions have complex social and cultural implications beyond the environmental and economic costs which are commonly presented. Through synthesising methodologies and tools which capture local knowledge and perceptions, these implications and relationships are conceptualised.

There is ample literature on residents' perceptions of the costs and benefits of tourism activities. Much less attention has been provided to residents' perceptions of transformational cultural events redefining local identity and tourism demand. We examine one such case study, the Lucca Comics and Games (LCAG), whose interest also derives from the fact that Lucca is an established Italian heritage city, with relevant attraction capacity for traditional heritage tourism. We have administered a questionnaire to a sample of the local population (411 interviews), with high educational and cultural access levels. We find that LCAG-related tourism is perceived to have differential impact with respect to tourism in general on several dimensions of interest, both in terms of perceived costs and benefits, also as an effect of cognitive biases. Our results provide interesting implications in terms of the role of transformational cultural events such as LCAG in driving change in heritage cities.

Tanulmányunkban megvizsgáltuk az általános iskola 4. osztályos tanulóinak tanórán kívüli művészeti tevékenységeit, valamint részvételi lehetőségét kulturális és művészeti rendezvényeken. Elemzésünk során feltártuk, hogy az aktív tevékenységnek van-e hatása a rendezvények iránti attitűdre. Emellett arra keressük a választ, hogy milyen különbségek vannak a művészeti foglalkozásokra járók és nem járók családi hátterében. Az eredmények amellett, hogy rávilágítanak az iskola szerepére a kulturális tőke kiegyenlítésében, megerősítik a generációs transzfer erőteljes hatását. Ha a szülő korábban végzett művészeti tevékenységet, gyermekét is jobban támogatja a művészeti területen. Azok a tanulók, akik gyermekkorukban valamilyen extrakurrikuláris művészeti tevékenységet folytattak, nagyobb valószínűséggel válnak felnőttkorukra is kultúrafogyasztókká.