If you want to feel happier, then you might want to see at least two theatre plays per year. That’s just one of the findings in a new study out of Britain titled “Quantifying and Valuing the Wellbeing Impacts of Culture and Sport.”
According the study, people who attend plays have a level of well-being valued at £83 (approximately $140) a month. The researchers from the London School of Economics based well-being measurements by increases in income.
“If people who attend theatre, other things equal, are happier, and people with higher incomes, other things equal, are happier, we can ask, ‘What increase in income is associated with the same higher level of happiness as attending the theatre?’ wrote Michael Rushton, director of arts administration programs at Indiana University in Bloomington, for ArtsJournal. ” “And that is where we get numbers like the £83 per month.”
Rushton, though, believes we should be cautious of studies like this, because it’s just one study focused on a certain group.
“It is a minority of people who attend the theatre, and they are, obviously, the people who like going out to a play,” Rushton wrote. “There is no evidence that people who are not attending the theatre would be made happier if they would begin attending—we don’t know that.”
Other activities—such as participating in sports, using libraries, and attending music performances—were also found to result in a high sense of well-being. Sounds like happiness, then, correlates with being around people as much as possible.
Do you feel happier seeing plays or participating in sports? Please let us know in the comments.
Congratulations to IAVM member John Christison, principal and managing member at BCI+Network, on being named a 2014 inductee into the Convention Industry Council (CIC) Hall of Leaders!
“The CIC Hall of Leaders is the highest honor to be bestowed in our industry. This year’s class truly embodies the qualities that are the hallmark of this award. They are the influencers and forward-thinkers who have shaped this industry and inspired many of us to be better leaders,” said IAVM member Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, CEO of the Convention Industry Council. “We are pleased to be back in Las Vegas for IMEX America week where the industry’s best and brightest will meet face to face.”
The awardees will be formally recognized at the Hall of Leaders Gala on Sunday, October 12, 2014, at the MGM Grand Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, kicking off IMEX America week.
The Hall of Leaders recognition program draws attention to the contributions that the meetings industry has made to the larger society as a whole by highlighting the specific achievements of industry pioneers and emerging leaders who not only changed the landscape of the profession, but changed the culture of business as well. Nominations are submitted either by CIC member organizations or the general industry community and honorees are recognized during the culminating awards ceremony and their stories housed virtually at www.conventionindustry.org/vhol.
If you or your staff are directly contacted by anyone claiming to represent IAVM that asks you to alter your hotel reservations or tells you that our Portland conference block at VenueConnect 2014 is full, please know that this is a scam that we are actively monitoring and responding to. You can always reach (the actual!) IAVM staff by calling 1-972-906-7441 or through email meetings@iavm.org.
Here’s one way to impress meeting planners: convertible seating.
Consider, for example, the new Swiss Tech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, which features a 3,000-seat amphitheater that is fully modular. It houses a system of motorized swivel pins attached to each row of seats and concealed under the platform structure. The seats are raised or lowered, depending on what is needed for the meeting or event. The transformation takes approximately 15 minutes.
The convention center also features dye-sensitized solar cells, called Grätzel cells, that convert electricity similar to photosynthesis in plants.
“What we are doing with this convention center is a display of technology, a platform intended to draw attention to a remarkable device invented at our labs, to full-scale test this technology and to demonstrate its significant architectural potential,” Francis-Luc Perret, vice president for planning and logistics at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, told Phys.org.
Really, though, you should watch the video below. Now only will you learn more about the convention center’s convertible seating capabilities (around the two-minute mark), you’ll also be treated to the most serious sounding music I’ve ever heard accompany a venue marketing effort.
KWTV is reporting that Oklahoma University will expand its stadium.
“The project would commence following the final home game of the 2014 season against Oklahoma State on Dec. 6, with work being basically done around the clock,” Dean Blevins reported for KWTV.
The Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium expansion will cost an estimated $350-400 million dollars, and seating will increase from 82,112 to 88,000. Suites will be upgraded, new suites will be installed in the south end zone, and training and dressing facilities will be upgraded.
Check out the KWTV website for more information about the expansion and upgrades.
(photo credit: Curtis Simmons via photopin cc)