Browsing by Person "Dashper, Katherine"

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Accessibility, diversity and inclusion in events
(Routledge, 2020-05-26) Finkel, Rebecca; Dashper, Katherine; Page, Stephen J.; Connell, Joanne
This chapter explores the importance of issues concerning accessibility, diversity and inclusion in events discourses and praxis. These are broad terms encompassing a multitude of facets related to social, cultural, economic and political approaches and interactions. We recognise that individual events have distinct issues to explore; however, we intend to provide a general discussion about these three interlacing topics in order to provide a platform for further debates and improved applications in events landscapes.
Accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in the UK meetings industry
(Taylor & Francis, 2020-09-04) Dashper, Katherine; Finkel, Rebecca
Issues of accessibility, diversity, and inclusion are becoming increasingly important for MICE managers around the globe and need to be considered in terms of both event attendees and employees/meetings professionals. The UK MICE sector is facing an unprecedented period of disruption in relation to the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of Brexit, the impacts of which may have far-reaching consequences in terms of equality and diversity. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 13 stakeholders - meeting planners, venue managers, entrepreneurs and member organization leaders - this paper considers how issues of accessibility, diversity, and inclusion are playing out in the changing landscape of the UK meetings industry. Findings suggest that although the MICE sector is paying increasing attention to the importance of accessibility, there is evidence of persistent inequality and marginalization on the grounds of gender, age, ‘race’ and (dis)ability. We question if a focus on diversity remains a priority in economically, politically, and socially unsettled times, and what this may mean for an inclusive future for the UK meetings industry.
Beyond walking: The ritualistic nature of pandemic leisure
(Routledge, 2022-12-22) Sharp, Briony; Finkel, Rebecca; Sharp, Briony; Finkel, Rebecca; Dashper, Katherine
2020, the year of government sanctioned walking. This chapter examines the changing nature of leisure during COVID-19 restrictions, where walking outdoors has been the only option for leisure, exercise and/or socialisation. ‘Going for a walk’ has now acquired a new significance and, it can be argued, a ritualistic rhythm in our pandemic lives. It is arguably the purpose of rituals to maintain social order even through uncommon behaviour, and this can be seen to be the case during the pandemic through the practice of walking as rule-following. Yet, there are private transgressions to be found in publicly authorised leisure. Aligned with Gluckman’s (1963) conceptions of ‘rituals of rebellion’, where ritual is an expression of underlying social tensions (or, in the case of COVID-19, public health anxieties), walking can be seen as the ‘pressure valve’ that relieves such tensions through cyclical performances of daily leisure. Through in-depth interviews, we seek to gain understanding into the ritual of walking and what new individual and collective meanings are being formulated. By engaging in an activity perhaps once thought to be mundane, walking now can be experienced as a focal point providing structure to days of social isolation or quarantine, as liberation from the constraints of lockdown, as a change of scenery when travel is not allowed, as untypical socialisation from the pre-pandemic norm, as a welcome respite from family and caring responsibilities; thus, this type of leisure has emerged as a rather more complex and affective activity in these unprecedented times.
Broadcasting from a neutral corner?: An analysis of the mainstream media's representation of women's boxing at the London 2012 Olympic Games
(Routledge, 2014-07-11) Finkel, Rebecca; Dashper, Katherine; Fletcher, Thomas; McCullough, Nicola
Women's boxing was included in the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the London 2012 Olympics. This chapter critically analyses mainstream media representations of women's boxing at the London 2012 Olympics in newspapers and TV broadcasts, and seeks to examine how women competitors were represented in terms of the linkages between gender and athleticism in the traditionally masculine space of the boxing ring (Mennessen 2000). It also explores to what extent representation reinforces or challenges male-dominated narratives in sport participation and discourses (Theberge 1997). Indeed, many female boxers maintain that the sport can promote self-esteem through physical strength and positive expressions of power. Part of the legacy agendas for the London 2012 Olympics has been to provide an international platform to encourage more women to become involved in sport. This can be achieved not only through medal success, but also positive media representations of female athlete's abilities to act as positive role models. Utilising documentary research, methods include content analysis of both mainstream newspaper and televised broadcast coverage of women boxers and women's boxing matches at the London 2012 Olympics. It is argued that the London Games have been successful in improving the collectively recognised legitimacy of women's boxing and providing an arena for the global consumption of women's sport, where issues of power and representation are tested and contested through the gendered mediated lens.
‘Doing gender’ in Critical Event Studies: A dual agenda for research
(Emerald, 2020-12-01) Dashper, Katherine; Finkel, Rebecca
Purpose: To introduce critical gender theory to events studies and set an agenda for research in this area. This paper focuses on various contexts, approaches, and applications for 'doing gender' in critical event studies. It draws upon interdisciplinary frameworks to develop robust theoretical ways of interrogating issues related to power and structural inequalities in events contexts
Multispecies leisure: Human-animal interactions in leisure landscapes
(Taylor & Francis, 2019-06-24) Danby, Paula; Dashper, Katherine; Finkel, Rebecca
The emerging multidisciplinary field of human-animal studies encourages researchers to move beyond human-centric practices and to recognise that human and nonhuman beings are positioned within shared ecological, social, cultural and political spaces whereby nonhumans have become key actors worthy of moral consideration and play a fundamental role in humans’ lives. With some exceptions (e.g. Carr, 2014; Dashper, 2018; Danby, 2018; Danby & Finkel, 2018; Young & Carr, 2018), leisure studies has been slow to embrace this ‘animal turn’ and consider how leisure actions, experiences and landscapes are shaped through multispecies encounters between humans, other animals, reptiles, fish and the natural environment. This special issue begins to address this gap by considering leisure as more-than-human experiences. We consider leisure with nonhuman others, both domestic and wild, by exploring the ‘contact zones’ between humans and other species and, in doing so, we create an interspecies lens through which to explore these encounters. The research presented in this special issue takes into consideration the affective and ethical dimensions of human-nonhuman animal entanglements in leisure spaces and the need to strive for reciprocal, mutual welfare and wellbeing. Through the use of innovative methodological approaches, the authors explore a range of issues and perspectives to capture shared experiences of interspecies leisure pursuits. This special issue provides direction for future ways in which research on multispecies leisure, and its associated mutual benefits, can be done to advance understanding and practice in the field. The special issue seeks to ‘bring the animal in’ to the leisure studies domain and contribute to greater understanding of leisure as a complex, interwoven multispecies phenomenon.
Representations in UK Witches Tours: Walking Over the Roots of Misogyny
(De Gruyter Publishers, 2023) Finkel, Rebecca; Dashper, Katherine; Sharma, Nitasha; Martini, Annaclaudia; Timothy, Dallen
Dark tourism is still an emerging scholarly subject specialism, which draws upon cross-disciplinary literatures and methodologies to provide deeper critical understandings of the less salubrious aspects of visitor attractions, place-based destinations, and travel and tourism industries. As with any emerging subject, this often means there is scope to develop investigations into more marginalised subjects and topics, as the initial focus is often on mainstream and dominant groups to set the context for further conceptualisations. Although research has been published on dark tourism as it relates to identity and geographies of belonging (e.g. White & Frew, 2013), much of the literature still focuses on disparate case study examples (e.g. Lennon & Foley, 2000; Stone et. al., 2018), which help to define and indicate types of dark tourism in a more generalised way. This research draws upon this body of work to focus more distinctly on issues of gender in dark tourism. Although there is attention surrounding commercial sex tourism (e.g. Carr & Berdychevsky, 2021; Hall & Ryan, 2001), gendered inquiry is an area that the field of dark tourism has barely addressed. Based on feminist approaches, this research explores the gendered experiences of witches tours throughout the UK. Witches tours are a popular tourist attraction in places that once held witch trials and executions. In this chapter, we were interested in investigating the ways in which witches and witchcraft are represented through edutainment to attract and entertain, possibly educate, tourists across Britain. We conducted analysis of online materials associated with the tours (websites and social media) to evaluate the representation of witches, women, the tours, tour participants, and associated gendered narratives, including how these tours are advertised and how so-called witches are represented in order to examine the ways in which the historic persecution of (some) women has been commercialized and sanitized for touristic consumption. Case study examples of the tours were selected by geography to have a representation from different areas of the country as well as the necessity of a social media presence. Independent tours, so ones not associated with bundled entertainment sites, were selected to focus on witches tours as stand-alone experiences more specifically. How we view the past often influences how we see things in the present, and even tourist attractions based loosely on historic events can have an impact on re/constructing and reinforcing gendered narratives. In this chapter, we examine the ways in which witches, and the related dark history of misogyny and violence, are represented in witches tours in Britain.
Transformations and transgressions: explorations of ‘restricted’ leisure during COVID-19 [Introduction]
(Informa UK Limited, 2024-02-06) Sharp, Briony; Finkel, Rebecca; Dashper, Katherine
Transforming leisure in the pandemic: Re-imagining interaction and activity during crisis
(Routledge, 2022-12-22) Sharp, Briony; Finkel, Rebecca; Dashper, Katherine; Sharp, Briony; Finkel, Rebecca; Dashper, Katherine
There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the ways we socialise during our leisure time. This edited collection aims to critically explore international leisure during the pandemic by seeking to understand how changes in leisure have led to transformations in the ways we have had to ‘do’ and ‘redo’ activities, such as incorporating digitalisation and distancing measures, as well as dealing with restrictions on social interaction, gatherings, and cultural activities. This has caused people worldwide to change their patterns of behaviour, especially when it comes to leisure experiences and the leisure environment, leading to critical re-evaluation of what leisure is and means in contemporary societies.