Papers by Nicole Ferdinand
De Gruyter eBooks, Dec 31, 2023
Extensive pedagogical features such as diary of an event manager
The Routledge Handbook of Events, 2020
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework that describes the characteristics and the un... more The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework that describes the characteristics and the underlying drivers of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) at destination level. Tweets about a destination were collected while the destination hosted a hallmark event for 5 years(2011-2015). In each year, interactions on Twitter were analysed using macro and meso-level social network analysis to identify the network structure and hubs of eWOM activity. A K means clustering algorithm was then applied to create clusters of nodes with similar characteristics and eWOM content within each cluster was analysed using automated content analysis. The resulting model indicates that destination and event eWOM maintains a macro network structure in which a small number of accounts or hubs influence information sharing. Hub characteristics evolve over time, whereas eWOM content can fluctuate in response to high profile destination activities.
Smith and Elisa Backer. It provides an overview of the publication, highlighting the key themes a... more Smith and Elisa Backer. It provides an overview of the publication, highlighting the key themes and issues explored as well as recommendations for its use Design/methodology/ approach-In assessing the text the review reflects on the progress made within the field of Events Studies and also the growth in publications in Futures Research. The review also considers how this text can be used by readers and makes recommendations for improvements in future editions. Findings-The text represents a comprehensive introduction to a range of perspectives on the future of events and festivals. The chapters are both broadly conceptual and contextually focused. Possible inclusions for future editions are specific sections targeted at academics and practitioners or focused on specific themes, as well as comparisons between the futures of events in developed and developing countries or those countries that have only recently begun to host mega events. Originality / value-The review considers the contribution that this texts makes to events research, the audiences that the text is best suited to and possible improvements for future editions.
Thunderbird International Business Review, 2014
Despite their heavy dependence on international markets, small developing countries or small stat... more Despite their heavy dependence on international markets, small developing countries or small states have been underrepresented in the internationalization literature. Unlike developed or large developing countries, small states face dual constraints of relatively weak institutions and a narrow resource base along with an open market environment. A changing domestic environment in small states requires firms to adapt and a process approach was employed in order to examine sustained internationalization firms from Trinidad and Tobago (TT). Analysis of the findings indicates that changing economic circumstances result in varying domestic production and market resource availability. In response, firms from small states may engage in phased rather than staged patterns of activity that include accelerated, reverse, and inward internationalization.
International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 2014
Purpose – While the area of project management maturity (PMM) is attracting an increased amount o... more Purpose – While the area of project management maturity (PMM) is attracting an increased amount of research attention, the approaches to measuring maturity fit within existing social science conventions. This paper aims to examine the potential contribution of new data collection and analytical approaches to develop new insights in PMM. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes the form of a literature review. Findings – The current trends of rapidly growing digital data collection and storage may have the potential to develop approaches to PMM assessment that overcome the limitations of existing qualitative and quantitative approaches. Research limitations/implications – Future research in PMM can employ techniques such as social network analysis and text analysis to develop insights based on the flow and content of information in organizations. Practical implications – Adoption of data analytical approaches from big data can enable the creation of new types of holistic and ad...
eventsandfestivalsresearch.com
As early as the 1920's Trinidadian style Carnivals have been staged in major metropolitan ci... more As early as the 1920's Trinidadian style Carnivals have been staged in major metropolitan cities. In fact, the Notting Hill Carnival is considered Europe's largest street party, where as the Labour Day and Caribana celebrations are the largest festivals in the United States and ...
The field of events management has witnessed a period of exponential and largely uninterrupted gr... more The field of events management has witnessed a period of exponential and largely uninterrupted growth in the past three decades. This growth is apparent in the increase in the number and scale of events that are being organized worldwide, the significant rise in employment that the sector provides and the development of theory and research that underpins the study of the field as an academic subject. As both students and researchers in the field of events management since the early 2000s, we have witnessed truly remarkable changes in the development of the subject. The very first qualification in events management was launched by George Washington University in 1994 as a Professional Certificate Program to meet the needs of professionals in an emergent field. Just over two decades later, there are a plethora of both general and specialized BA, BSc, MA, MSc and even PhD programmes, targeted at students who have chosen events management or related specialist fields such as event spons...
Journal of Tourism Futures, 2015
Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a ... more Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
Journal of Travel Research
In addition to being formally defined as a pandemic, COVID-19 has been classified as an “infodemi... more In addition to being formally defined as a pandemic, COVID-19 has been classified as an “infodemic” and “(mis)infodemic.” As an “infodemic,” the information environment on COVID-19 is constantly evolving, with emerging scientific findings, political responses, media coverage, and individual impressions all shared on social media. Initial positions on behaviors and potential treatments were presented and then discarded because of low efficacy or improper research procedures. Further, there has been a fragmented geopolitical response with differing political systems exhibiting varying approaches to decision making and health outcomes, which has lead to confusion of the public. As a “misinfodemic,” COVID-19 discussions have also attracted actors seeking to share misinformation enabled and exacerbated by social media networks, which include willful distortions as well as conspiracy theories. Combined, this (mis)infodemic can change risk perceptions of travel, resulting in travel pattern...
Project Management Journal, Dec 1, 2015
The purpose of this paper is to examine the network structure of online stakeholder discussions i... more The purpose of this paper is to examine the network structure of online stakeholder discussions in the planning stage of a UK public mega project, High Speed Rail. By providing new rail connections between London, Birmingham and Manchester, this project is highly complex as it is embedded in a network of stakeholder relationships that may support or oppose the project. Data drawn from Twitter was analyzed using Social Network Analysis and inductive analysis of user profiles and content. Findings indicate that the majority of online stakeholders oppose the project and form stable clusters. Larger clusters within this network may attempt to deploy power directly in the form of a manipulation strategy while smaller clusters may seek to ally themselves with more powerful groups, a pathway strategy. Overall, the methodology is a useful complement to existing methods and may provide real time insights into the complex, evolving discussions around mega projects.
Tourism Management Perspectives, Jul 1, 2018
This paper examines the role of politics and power in the Notting Hill Carnival's evolution from ... more This paper examines the role of politics and power in the Notting Hill Carnival's evolution from a community festival to a hallmark event and tourism product. It overcomes the limitations of previous event/festival tourism research by utilizing Actor Network Theory's conceptualization of power as an evolving, relational and transformational phenomenon to analyse the development of the Notting Hill Carnival's festivalscape. Findings reveal over its fifty-plus-year history, non-human actors (such as, money) and human actors (such as, organizing committees) have engaged in continuous, complex ordering processes that have led to the development of six distinct festival frames-Community Festival, Trinidad Carnival, Caribbean Carnival, Black Arts Festival, Business Opportunity and City-led Hallmark Festival. These changes have taken place within a festivalscape that includes objects, space, the translation process, pivotal events and dissenting actors. Within the festivalscape, political actors have exerted significant influence due to their asymmetrical power creating challenges for festival organizers. 2. Politics and power in event/festival tourism This paper traces the development of a community festival into a hallmark international tourist event and, as such, is situated within the literature of festival/event tourism, which is described as a form of special interest travel in which attendees undertake a journey for the purposes of attending an event or festival (Getz 2008). A great deal of the literature on tourism-driven festivals/events is devoted to exploring
Tourism Review
Purpose Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) natural language processing may see the emergenc... more Purpose Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) natural language processing may see the emergence of algorithmic word of mouth (aWOM), content created and shared by automated tools. As AI tools improve, aWOM will increase in volume and sophistication, displacing eWOM as an influence on customer decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the socio technological trends that have encouraged the evolution of informal infulence strategies from WOM to aWOM. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the origins and path of development of influential customer communications from word of mouth (WOM) to electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and the emerging trend of aWOM. The growth of aWOM is theorized as a result of new developments in AI natural language processing tools along with autonomous distribution systems in the form of software robots and virtual assistants. Findings aWOM may become a dominant source of information for tourists, as it can support mult...
Tourism Management Perspectives
This paper examines the role of politics and power in the Notting Hill Carnival's evolution from ... more This paper examines the role of politics and power in the Notting Hill Carnival's evolution from a community festival to a hallmark event and tourism product. It overcomes the limitations of previous event/festival tourism research by utilizing Actor Network Theory's conceptualization of power as an evolving, relational and transformational phenomenon to analyse the development of the Notting Hill Carnival's festivalscape. Findings reveal over its fifty-plus-year history, non-human actors (such as, money) and human actors (such as, organizing committees) have engaged in continuous, complex ordering processes that have led to the development of six distinct festival frames-Community Festival, Trinidad Carnival, Caribbean Carnival, Black Arts Festival, Business Opportunity and City-led Hallmark Festival. These changes have taken place within a festivalscape that includes objects, space, the translation process, pivotal events and dissenting actors. Within the festivalscape, political actors have exerted significant influence due to their asymmetrical power creating challenges for festival organizers. 2. Politics and power in event/festival tourism This paper traces the development of a community festival into a hallmark international tourist event and, as such, is situated within the literature of festival/event tourism, which is described as a form of special interest travel in which attendees undertake a journey for the purposes of attending an event or festival (Getz 2008). A great deal of the literature on tourism-driven festivals/events is devoted to exploring
Event Management
After 50 years in development, virtual reality (VR) has now become commercially available to cons... more After 50 years in development, virtual reality (VR) has now become commercially available to consumers. The events industry has started to adopt this transformational technology, by implementing it into live events or using it as an alternative method for providing event experiences. However, little research attempts to compare real to virtual event experiences to understand perceived user benefits and drawbacks. Using Uses and Gratifications (UG) Theory, this study aims to understand the possible user benefits provided from virtual event experiences. A process was designed that incorporated the viewing of a VR experience that was similar to an event previously attended by respondents. They were then interviewed and performed a product reaction card exercise to compare their experiences. Analysis of the data suggests that current 360 VR technology can be used to extend the experiencescape but not replace live events. Respondents indicate that VR provides emotional gratifications tha...
Annals of Tourism Research, 2017
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework that describes the characteristics and the un... more The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework that describes the characteristics and the underlying drivers of publically shared electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) for destinations. Tweets about a destination were collected while the destination hosted a hallmark event over a 5-year period (2011-2015). In each year, interactions on Twitter were analysed using macro and meso-level social network analysis to identify the network structure and hubs of eWOM activity. A K means clustering algorithm was then applied to create clusters of nodes with similar characteristics and eWOM content within each cluster was analysed using automated content analysis. The resulting model indicates that destination and event eWOM maintains a macro network structure in which a small number of accounts or hubs influence information sharing. Hub characteristics evolve over time, whereas eWOM content can fluctuate in response to emergent destination activities.
Uploads
Papers by Nicole Ferdinand