Craig Lance Grocke, Robyn Eversole and Clayton Jon Hawkins
This paper aims to draw on Seamon’s(2012a, 2012b, 2014, 2015, 2018) theories on the “processes of place attachment” to understand the influence of place attachment on community…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to draw on Seamon’s(2012a, 2012b, 2014, 2015, 2018) theories on the “processes of place attachment” to understand the influence of place attachment on community leadership and the management of four towns in the Barossa region of South Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology combines photo-elicitation, participant observation and in-depth interviews with 12 community leaders across four town groups. Scannell and Gifford’s(2010) tripartite model for place attachment is used to segment qualitative interview data to understand the nature of place attachment of community leaders. This was followed by thematic analysis using Seamon’s(2012a, 2014, 2018) six processes of place attachment to understand how the dynamics of place attachment as a series of processes interact to influence community leadership and place-based action.
Findings
The research revealed that community leaders in the Barossa region regularly confront a tension between the “Being” and “Becoming” of Place. It also suggests that place attachment for new residents is accelerated by engaging multiple place attachment processes; these can be measured using the research methodology in this study. The result is a tipping point where place leadership from new residents can accelerate towards the “Being of Place” showing a tendency towards protectionist behaviour commonly seen amongst long-term residents.
Research limitations/implications
Testing the findings in this paper in other rural regions and other cultural contexts will add further insight and validation of these findings. It is recommended that future research could further develop this approach through engaging multiple place-based community groups in the same town and across different locations to understand the pattern language of communities with more accuracy.
Practical implications
This study has enabled a deeper understanding of place-based community groups and their motivations to protect the status quo or promote change in the development and management of the place. Each community requires a tailored approach to place management and development to activate community resources and partnerships successfully. This research also provides knowledge on how to accelerate place attachment for new residents to improve their sense of belonging, value and purpose by engaging programs that engage all six place attachment processes.
Social implications
The research reveals that place relations are dynamic, complex and often political. Rural towns display a pattern language for how they engage networks and resources that government needs to understand to engage community stewardship of place – its social, environmental and economic setting. This research offers a method to better understand the pattern language of place attachment that drives community leadership and place management to help communities sustain themselves and adapt to change.
Originality/value
The research explores the inter-relationship between the place attachment of community leaders and their response to change from different types of community impacts such as bushfires or the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding these processes is valuable in informing place management partnerships between community, business and government.
Details
Keywords
Clayton Jon Hawkins and Lee-Anne J. Ryan
Given the rise in popularity of festivals globally, the purpose of this paper is to examine two case studies to identify whether festival spaces could be identified as third…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the rise in popularity of festivals globally, the purpose of this paper is to examine two case studies to identify whether festival spaces could be identified as third places. This paper argues that third places are not vanishing but that new and emerging third places can be identified through applying the essence of third place theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary case study for this paper is The Falls Music and Arts Festival in Marion Bay, Tasmania, Australia that was the focus of a two year study into the interrelationships between informal leisure, social capital and place characteristics. 30 semi-structured interviews, participant observation and 937 surveys were conducted. To support this paper, findings from a smaller third place case study of six semi-structured interviews and participant observation at the “Festival of Lights” held in Pukekura Park in the New Plymouth, New Zealand are reflected upon.
Findings
Third place characteristics were elucidated in the Falls study. Essential characteristics of third places such as access to conversation, the evidence of “regulars”, the chance meeting of a “friend of a friend” and a playful mood were identified. The location was an important meeting place for users to create, maintain and strengthen relationships. Repeat visits to this place was found to be integral to social networking and a feeling of “home”. Insights from the Festival of Lights study support these findings.
Research limitations/implications
Identifying festival spaces as third spaces contests traditional third place theory. It offers scope for festival organisers to explore more deeply the intangible aspects of the experiences they afford. More case study research needs to be conducted to explore this potential further as this is only a start at linking festivals to the essence of third place theory.
Originality/value
This paper pushes third place theory forward. It responds to calls for exploration of new and emerging third places in contemporary society. This research adds a new take on this exploration by affording an Australasian perspective.
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Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are…
Abstract
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.
Sages and seers in ancient India specified dharma, artha, kama and moksha as the four ends of a moral and productive life and emphasised the attainment of a proper balance between…
Abstract
Sages and seers in ancient India specified dharma, artha, kama and moksha as the four ends of a moral and productive life and emphasised the attainment of a proper balance between the spiritual health and the material health. However, most of their intellectual energy was directed towards the attainment of moksha, the salvation from birth‐death‐rebirth cycle. Kautilya, on the other hand considered poverty as a living death and concentrated on devising economic policies to achieve salvation from poverty but without compromising with ethical values unless survival of the state was threatened. Kautilya's Arthashastra is unique in emphasising the imperative of economic growth and welfare of all. According to him, if there is no dharma, there is no society. He believed that ethical values pave the way to heaven as well as to prosperity on the earth, that is, have an intrinsic value as well as an instrumental value. He referred the reader to the Vedas and Philosophy for learning moral theory, which sheds light on the distinction between good and bad and moral and immoral actions. He extended the conceptual framework to deal with conflict of interest situations arising from the emerging capitalism. He dedicated his work to Om (symbol of spirituality, God) and Brihaspati and Sukra (political thinkers) implying, perhaps, that his goal was to integrate ethics and economics. It is argued that the level of integration between economics and ethics is significantly higher in Kautilya's Arthashastra than that in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations or for that matter in the writings of Plato and Aristotle.
This article considers the integration of aspects of mindfulness, social and emotional learning (SEL) and leadership wellness practice as a structure for a pedagogy of wellness in…
Abstract
Purpose
This article considers the integration of aspects of mindfulness, social and emotional learning (SEL) and leadership wellness practice as a structure for a pedagogy of wellness in rural schools. Research has demonstrated positive outcomes for K–12 students and teachers as a result of training in practices such as mindfulness and SEL, but there has been less attention toward wellness practices incorporated by educational leaders in their own work. Support of professional and community learning for mindfulness may begin with district and school-based leaders in many communities, who facilitate programs in their schools.
Design/methodology/approach
This article explores an emergent pedagogy of wellness, which was developed in a small rural district that applied wellness programming, including mindfulness, with parallel learning experiences for leaders, staff members, students and families.
Findings
Through engagement with multiple local stakeholder groups in integrating themes of SEL, mindfulness and leadership wellness, the pedagogy of wellness emerged as a potential framework for improved organizational health, new conceptualizations of students’ success and opportunities for engagement of families in systemic organization of practices of care.
Originality/value
Consideration of the preparation of leadership in wellness practices such as mindfulness is discussed, in light of the necessity to address the care and wellness needs of rural communities, toward the sustainability of the pedagogy of wellness.