The Pandemic Context and Quality of Life for Youth in Constanta County

The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on Romanian people. For almost two years the changes in the everyday life of the inhabitants of our country happened with such speed and dramatic consequences, that it raised the question about the perception of Romanian people regarding their perceived quality of life. A sample of 1796 young people, all residents of Constanta County, aged between 18 and 25 years old, was assessed with a survey made by the authors, concerning their perception on the quality of their life in the fields of health, self-esteem, goals and values, financial, professional, leisure, learning, family and social environment, and emotional regulation. Of all the themes we studied, this research tries to identify the differences regarding the quality of life between rural and urban residents. We obtained statistical significant differences regarding goals and values, learning opportunities and emotional regulation. Results are discussed in the end of the paper in the context of the on-going changes still caused by the Covid-19 pandemic

The power of stories for impression management: evidence from a city cultural digital storytelling initiative

PurposeThis research responds to a growing interest among cultural organizations regarding how to use emerging digital technologies in the communication of cultural content. The need to investigate various aspects of digital transformation for cultural organizations has been heightened during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This paper explores how city cultural organizations can utilize digital stories for impression management to enhance public perceptions of a city. The aim of this study is to understand how end-users are affected by a city cultural digital storytelling information system and the benefits of using such a system.Design/methodology/approachAn interpretive case study was conducted on a digital storytelling initiative carried out by three cultural organizations in a medium-sized city in Canada. Data collection included 95 interviews with the general public, questionnaires and the gathering of documents.FindingsFindings suggest that digital storytelling can be a viable tool to share city cultural heritage information and positively affect end-user perceptions of a city. The overall outcome of creating/maintaining a positive favorable impression is shaped through a layered experience of benefits by users. Through digital stories, users are first personally engaged and informed about a city's cultural heritage, and then they are influenced and inspired positively toward the city. Further, factors, such as leisure learning, cultural heritage information and cultural organizations, situate this context of use.Originality/valueThe study sheds light on how the art of storytelling in the digital age can serve as a powerful tool for conveying information effectively and influencing public perceptions. This paper provides a context-specific model to understand the use of digital storytelling by city cultural organizations for the purpose of impression management. Theoretical insights and practical recommendations are provided to explore the utilization of digital storytelling for raising interest and awareness in a city and managing public perceptions.

Learning for Fun: Strategies for Social Networking-Based Language Learning

Technology-mediated sociocultural practice requires the dynamic interplay of learner-users’ roles, learning contexts and technology tools. The behavioral intentions of users interact with the perceived features of these tools in enabling up-to-date personal experiences of leisure learning and social networking available online. The aim of this article is to explore the current perceptions among Malaysian university students about their daily learning strategies of English as a Second Language (ESL) via social networking. It initially makes use of the online surveys (quantitative self-reported questionnaire) that have been administered to final year Malaysian university students, ESL learners’ population of approximately 500 students. The result shows that there is obvious potential within these new media resources to empower Malaysian ESL learners with authentic learning potentials such as to communicate, practice and rehearse through the multiple identities and learning strategies they adopt in the virtual environment.

Interior Environmental Design for a Leisure Learning Area in the National Gallery of Thailand

The aim of this research study was to design and assess the design of the interior environment for a leisure learning area in the National Gallery of Thailand. The study used a combined quantitative and qualitative methodologies: interviewing the curator, 2 staff members, and the executive director of the National Gallery of Thailand; a physical survey of areas in the gallery; and a questionnaire survey of users’ preferences of art activity area. The survey of users’ preferences was conducted with a sample group of 600 potential users who were randomly and systematically sampled from a population of first-year students majoring in applied arts in several governmentally-supported universities in Bangkok. The obtained data on the designs that were based on the concept of functional and aesthetic design and a ‘circumplex model of affect’ in cognitive theory were analyzed accordingly. The preliminary designs were three arrangement patterns of environmental elements that provided positive stimuli: 1) a pattern for low level of stimuli; 2) one for moderate level; and 3) one for high level of stimuli. These patterns are illustrated in this paper as a layout plan and 3 computer-generated 3D perspectives that were assessed by 10 design experts on a 1-5 Likert rating scale. The means and standard deviations achieved by the 3 patterns indicated that the patterns for medium level and high level of stimuli was of a very high quality with ̄X = 4.5, SD = 0.14 and ̄X = 4.59, SD = 0.19, respectively. In other words, both patterns were active, functional, aesthetically-pleasing, and proper overall designs for the environmental interior of the intended area in the National Gallery of Thailand.

Amateur and Professional Music Making at Dartington International Summer School

Music summer schools in the United Kingdom offer a holiday context for “serious leisure” for amateurs, and high-level tuition for aspiring professionals. The majority exist in distinct spaces for either the vocational or avocational musician; Dartington International Summer School is anomalous in that it is attended by amateur, aspiring professional and professional musicians. Theories of leisure as symbol, play, and the other, and Bahktin’s theory of the “carnivalesque” are used in this chapter as lenses to view participant experience. Mantie’s concept of the learner-participant dichotomy sheds light on the clashes and complementarity arising from the differing intentions of the participants. The chapter discusses how the leisure-learning context of the summer school impacts on participants’ musical identity, and can serve both to challenge and reinforce hierarchical status relationships between vocational and avocational musicians.