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Perceptions, Community, and Narratives about Change

Bibliographic Data

ID5934007
AuthorsMichael R Cope (0000-0001-7753-2812, Brigham Young University, corresponding author), Haylie M June (Brigham Young University), Scott R Sanders (0000-0002-4708-4518, Brigham Young University), Greta L Asay (0000-0003-2656-4640, Brigham Young University), Hannah Z Hendricks (0000-0002-3081-6671, Brigham Young University), Elizabeth Long-Meek (0000-0002-9486-1789, Brigham Young University), Carol Ward (0000-0003-0830-8483, Brigham Young University)
Year2023
Volume12
Issue2
Pages81
Publication date2023-02-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2076-0760 • E-ISSN: 2076-0760
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/socsci12020081
OpenAlexW4319081786
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited27

Utah's Heber Valley has experienced rapid and (relatively) sustained growth since the 1990s, in part due to being chosen as a host venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics. As conditions in the Valley changed by virtue of this growth, individuals had to redefine their relationship with their community at large, as well as what community means to them individually. As individuals integrate new conditions into their imagined communities, they are also required to imagine communities in ways they never have before. The community's story is rewritten simultaneously along with individuals' own stories. These changing stories are shaped and indicated by the reconstruction of residents' narratives about their community, i.e., their community stories. In this paper, we (1) explore how Heber Valley residents' narratives change as a result of preparing for, participating in, and recovering from the Olympics, (2) verify these findings using survey data gathered during the same time period, and (3) examine how changes in residents' narratives in Heber Valley impacted the subjective evaluation of community. To do so, we rely on longitudinal data gathered among principal communities in Heber Valley with additional data generated from a hermeneutic content analysis of archival data found in the area's community newspaper (The Wasatch Wave). Survey data were gathered once a year over a five-year period from February 1999 through February 2003, with additional waves gathered in February 2007, 2012, and 2018. Our results indicated that the community narratives did change as a result of the Olympics, our survey data verified these community changes over time, and changes in residents' community stories impacted survey responses when residents were asked about community sentiments

Aesthetics · Art · Geography · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Newspaper · Perception · Period (music · Political science · Sociology · Virtue · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · History · Law · Psychology · Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

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