Search results
1 – 10 of over 8000
Matheus Mazzilli Pereira and Marcelo Kunrath Silva
Social movements are not monolithic entities. Activists and organizations disagree about the goals of the movement and the tactics to achieve these goals, including their framing…
Abstract
Social movements are not monolithic entities. Activists and organizations disagree about the goals of the movement and the tactics to achieve these goals, including their framing tactics. Cultural sociologists have questioned the idea that tactical choice is rationally and strategically oriented, arguing that tactics are morally and emotionally grounded in the activists' lives. We follow this insight, though suggesting that activists make constant efforts to experience their action as rational, claiming a strategic status and a sense of efficacy for their lines of action. By studying framing resonance disputes in interactions between animal rights activists and mass media in south Brazil, we found that, to make their tactics accountable and justifiable, activists mobilize different folk theories on social transformation which allow their actions to be experienced as the best means to achieve the movement's ends.
Details
Keywords
Tunde Adebisi and Christopher Bunn
The rites and practices of folk religion in Nigeria cut across virtually all conventional and emerging social institutions in the country. The inability of the State to perform…
Abstract
The rites and practices of folk religion in Nigeria cut across virtually all conventional and emerging social institutions in the country. The inability of the State to perform many of its functions has encouraged this trend, with many turning to folk religion and associated practices in attempts to control uncertain situations. Unemployed/underemployed young gamblers have begun to incorporate and normalise the combination of spiritual elements with sports betting activities in a bid to translate games of uncertainty into games of certainty. This study attempts to conceptualise how and why young people adopt, practice and make sense of folk religion in relation to sports betting.
Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were used to interrogate and analyse the lived experiences of key actors living in the capital city of Ilorin, Kwara State, a place renowned for the widespread practice of folk religious rites: 20 unemployed/underemployed young sports bettors and 10 folk doctors. Collected data were transcribed manually and subjected to inductive content analysis, using grounded theory. The combination of folk religion with sports betting is fast becoming normalised as young Nigerians seek to survive harsh economic conditions. Adoption is also linked with belief in traditions, in-group conflicts, gambling adverts, lack of luck and greed. Folk religious practices combine elements from the natural and spiritual worlds. This study formulates concepts for understanding the complexity of such practices concerning gambling among young sports bettors in Nigeria.
Details
Keywords
Danielle Robyn Pilcher and Nick Eade
Despite the ongoing research into visitor motivation in the live events and tourism industries, only a limited amount of research has examined the motivational factors exhibited…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the ongoing research into visitor motivation in the live events and tourism industries, only a limited amount of research has examined the motivational factors exhibited in individual segments of society. The purpose of this paper was to identify a relationship between visitor demographics and visitor motivation, for the purpose of enhanced market research at folk festivals in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research, a qualitative study of visitor demographics and their accompanying motivation to attend Purbeck Folk Festival is reported. The study was conducted in the form of interviews, which investigated the underlying motivation behind visitor attendance to Purbeck Folk Festival in 2014. The research process, guided by the literature of Robson (2011) and Bryman (2012), aimed to establish the extent to which visitor demographics did or did not impact visitor motivation to attend the event.
Findings
The study revealed five motivational dimensions, and from this devised five core audience segments including: the escapists, the socialites, the family type, the experience seekers and the folkniks. This study highlights the correlation between visitor demographics and visitor motivation and suggests further applications of this research and similar research in the field of live events. The study contributes an insight into the audience of Purbeck Folk Festival and may be used to provide an understanding of audience profile and behaviour at folk festivals within the UK.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the nature of the research, participants will be secured through non-probability quota sampling, which is a method of convenience. This approach may place limitations on the validity of the findings, as researcher bias may occur when selecting participants, for example, avoiding visitors who look intimidating or abnormal (Robson, 2011). The use of open-ended questions in the capacity of a greenfield event was identified as a potential difficulty, as participants are required to think about their answers and provide opinions, unlike a closed question method, which although quicker and easier, may not be as effective (Kumar, 2014). Therefore, to keep participants engaged and willing to provide further information, the interview design was kept short and questions are easily comprehendible.
Originality/value
The research study reflects early the work of Mayo (Dickson, 1973), Maslow (1954) and Herzberg (1966), and builds on more recent literature by Kruger and Saayman (2012), which analysed the relationship between audience profile and motivation to attend.
Details
Keywords
Libraries have long played an important role in the preservation, appreciation, and perpetuation of American traditions. As early as 1928, the Archive of American Folk‐Song was…
Abstract
Libraries have long played an important role in the preservation, appreciation, and perpetuation of American traditions. As early as 1928, the Archive of American Folk‐Song was established in the Library of Congress to maintain a national collection of manuscripts and recordings of American folk songs. The archive's mission broadened to include all aspects of folklore and folklife, prompting a name change in 1981 to the Archive of Folk Culture. Today, the archive serves as a national repository for primary source material on American folklore, spoken word as well as music, and provides reference and reader services for the fields of folklore and ethnomusicology. In 1976, the American Folklife Center was established at the Library of Congress, and the archive was placed under its auspices. Charged with developing, promoting, and implementing programs that support American folklife, the center sponsors an active research and publications program. Archives are not the only connection, however, between libraries and folklore. With collections and performances of folktales in children's departments, folklore in school programs, family and local history collections in public libraries, and academic research collections, folklore engages a broad spectrum of library users.
The purpose of this paper is to explore aural representation of the countryside and English rurality through the contemporary cultural product of folk song.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore aural representation of the countryside and English rurality through the contemporary cultural product of folk song.
Design/methodology/approach
A textual analysis was undertaken of the sleeve notes and lyrics of Steve Knightley, songwriter and founder member of the folk/roots band Show of Hands.
Findings
The concept of the rural idyll is thoroughly debunked in the majority of these lyrics. Many songs make specific reference to place, and these, in the main, focus on the historical and contemporary hardships of living in rural England, in many cases also making explicit reference to the historical or contemporary social issues deemed by the lyricist to be at the root of the problems faced by people living in English rural communities.
Research limitations/implications
This paper analyses data obtained in lyrics of only one songwriter within only one music genre, but the artist is one of the most respected within the contemporary folk genre, and Show of Hands have won a number of prestigious nationally recognised folk awards.
Originality/value
The extant literature contains little concerning aural representations of place identities through song. The contribution this paper makes is therefore in presenting a conceptual framework that shows how folk song, as a contemporary cultural product contributes to the construction and communication of rural place identities.
Details
Keywords
At present, the rural folk ecotourism has been paid attention to by the public, so it is inevitable to analyze the architectural planning and design of folk ecotourism. Based on…
Abstract
At present, the rural folk ecotourism has been paid attention to by the public, so it is inevitable to analyze the architectural planning and design of folk ecotourism. Based on this, in this article, an analysis of the architectural planning and design for the protective development of rural folk custom ecotourism was proposed. First of all, the development background of folk custom ecotourism was briefly analyzed; then, the research status of ecotourism was expounded; next, the planning and design of rural folk tourism were put forward, and the essentials of architectural planning and design were analyzed; with specific rural folk custom ecotourism projects as examples, the planning and design were carried out; in addition, caves, temples, roads and other buildings were analyzed emphatically. These measures can provide references for the architectural planning of folk custom tourism.
Details
Keywords
Purpose – The main purpose of this chapter is to discuss cultural norms in the process of handing down traditional folk music. In doing so, I focus on learning…
Abstract
Purpose – The main purpose of this chapter is to discuss cultural norms in the process of handing down traditional folk music. In doing so, I focus on learning what successors of the tradition think about the orthodoxy of their music and what they think is the ideal way to pass down cultural heritage. In addition, considering that cultural norms are socially constructed in the moment, it should be also examined what leads people to have such notions.
Design/methodology/approach – To achieve these purposes, I look at practices of handing down traditional folk music in Japan, developing five case studies of various ohayashi. I also analyze yosakoi, which is modernly arranged local folk music that is widely spread across the country in the form of community festivals.
Findings – The successors of traditions tend to consider tracing the roots of their music as an obligation. On the other hand, in the case of music with no exact origin, its successors seek to find their identities by learning lessons from local anonymous ancestors. Meanwhile, there are people who consider its economic value as a raison d’être for traditional music.
Originality/value – What gives originality to this chapter is that I adopt an approach, employing regional and urban sociology methods, of comparing the characteristics of the regions in which local folk music is based. Along with perspectives on macro social changes and the principle of music group formation, I also discuss the transformation of expertise in folk culture associated with the rise of institutional reflexivity.
Details