Biography

Research

Journal Articles

• Evans, G., Hamerston, L., Cherrett, L.M. and Sadd, D., 2018. The Use of Systems Thinking, Systems Practice, to Elicit the Effectiveness of Cancer Support Services in the Southwest of England. International Journal of Systems and Society, 5 (2), 13-29.
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Invited Lectures

• Cancer Support Services in southwest England, Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), China, 06 Jun 2018 more
  

  I was invited to present at the 2018 International Forum on Sports Economy and Regional Cooperation, the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), Chengdu, China, Tuesday 5th June 2018, after a referral by the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), Chengdu, China. The focus of my presentation was the 16-month Fusion funded cancer support services project [NFNA.32X]. I was the Principal Investigator that led the inquiry into the effectiveness of the physical activity, health and well-being interventions for those living with cancer in the Southwest of England. I believed its key findings were relevant to the stream Economic Cooperation and Community of Shared Future of Mankind. The first finding of interest is that to deliver physical activity, health and well-being interventions is not a single agency responsibility, rather a multi-agency responsibility. Its implication being, the agencies who were involved in long-term health conditions needed to be joined-up to be able to effectively refer patients to the physical activity, health and well-being pathway. The second key finding was, the need to perceive the delivery of the physical activity, health and well-being pathway as a delivery system. That there is strategic leadership for each delivery system in a conurbation of interest. The third finding was that patients need to have their interventions designed for them, as this usually results in their long-term adherence to their preferred intervention. The fourth key finding was the requirement for training and development for all those engaged in delivering and referring patients to the pathway, especially healthcare professionals who are not experts in the path. Lastly, create the evidence base to support the need for the interventions, rather than just the numbers of patients who participate in the responses. An essential element here is the patients' story, the patient’s narrative.
• Systems Approach to Guide Cancer Services Research, SWUFE, Chengdu, China, 06 Jun 2018 more
  

  Following the successful cancer support services presentation at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) invited me to present my research to staff and students of the School of Sport Science and Physical Education. However, the focus was much more on the Systems Thinking, Systems Practice (STSP) (Stowell et al. 2012) approach I employed to guide the research. The staff at SWUFE was unaware of such STSP (op cit) methodologies. The lecture commenced by giving an overview of STSP (op cit) and each of the paradigms of practical thought and which methodologies could inquire each paradigm of practical thought for a given context, as argued by Flood et al. (1991). I then gave an overview of Castle’s (1998b) CVAM and why it was suited to the opportunity context. It proved an awkward part of the presentation because CVAM (op cit) can guide inquiry into each paradigm of practical thought almost simultaneously. The staff found this confusing and questioned whether it was a contradiction. I spent a lot of time addressing their questions and relating my responses to the CVAM Process Framework (Castle, 1998b) to explain how it guides an inquiry. The lecture then progressed to introducing the CVAM (Castle, 1998b) sub-methodologies such as STAR and MRAM, and how conceptual models were built from the data by the system's actors. I stressed one reason for the success of the inquiry into cancer support services was because of the purposively selected system's actors. How the sub-methodologies engaged the system's actors resulted in conceptualisations of the Delivery Chain and Hub of Practice models (Evans et al. 2018) for physical activity, health and well-being for those living with cancer in the area of interest. There is no doubt the lecture resonated with the staff. I have since been asked to deliver a seminar to cover in more detail the different STSP (Stowell et al. 2012) approaches during my next visit.
• Managing People in Sport, SWUFE, Chengdu, China, 17 Apr 2018 more
  

  The requested lecture opportunity came about because of the MoU between BU and the School of Sport Science and Physical Education, Southwestern University for Finance and Economics (SWUFE), Chengdu, China. Under the MoU, SWUFE requested the delivery of a Sport Management short course to its Majors students in Sport Management. Of all the topics I could deliver, SWUFE asked for a 30-hour applied short course focusing on Managing People in Sport. Managing People in Sport is a fusion of personnel management, organisational behaviour and employability skills, and delivered as a mix of lectures and practical seminar sessions. Two of my lectures were also guest lecture spots and opened up to the Faculty, and those lectures were: organisational conflict in sport and organisational culture in sport. In preparation for delivering the short course at SWUFE, my teaching and learning resources were emailed ahead of the short course to allow the translation of some materials into Chinese, and my roleplay assessment documents. So, the tasks for the Majors students were to translate my PowerPoint slides and assist in coordinating sessions such as setting-up the teaching space and preparing for the syndicate team activities. In terms of the latter, I was very keen to get the Majors students doing activities, to engage their thought processes, and for them to compare their outputs with their classmates. Of all the teaching, learning and assessment theories that probably underpin my teaching methodology, I found Goleman’s (2006) Social Intelligence theory to be particularly useful. Teaching in a foreign country such as China, I feel it is the supreme test of one’s teaching ability. It demands the skill to be able to quickly adapt teaching techniques in response to the dynamics of the situation. All in all, though, I was delighted the Majors students rated my teaching as good-to-excellent, and SWUFE followed up with an invitation to return in 2019, to deliver the short course.
• The modernisation of the GB sport system, The School of Physical Education, 24 Apr 2017 more
  

  Invited to lecture at the SIAS International University, Xinzheng, Zhengzhou City, Monday 24th April 2017, 1.30 p.m. BU’s International Marketing and Student Recruitment Team arranged the visit to Jo Jo to see if we could progress a Partnership Development Proposal (PDP) between BU and SIAS. SIAS agreed and suggested it would be an excellent opportunity for a guest lecture slot. The approved title was: The modernisation of the GB sport system. Much of the content for the lecture was from the SWUFE organisational change presentation, with new slides to address: the history of GB sport up to 1997, the political imperatives of the then socialist government, why a root and branch reform of GB sport was necessary, and the intended outcomes of the changes. A number of the conflict theory slides were included too because much of the root and branch reforms challenged the history and traditions of many sports organisations and their mode of operation. The centrepiece though were the strategic examples, the models, especially the Multi-sport Hub (SE, 2004), the Delivery System (SE, 2005) and Sporting Future for All (HMG, 2015). The dissection of each model was in an attempt to explain how organisations operationalise the models and show how linked to the elite sport system managed by UK Sport. Links to the Whole Sport Plans of the national governing bodies for each sport too which must deliver physical activity, mass participation and the talent pathways to the elite level of competition. In conclusion, the latest sport participation rates were profiled to show what some of the shift had already achieved to date. Questions from the audience were few and limited in their complexity. It was a scary presentation because the large lecture room was up to its gunnels with staff and students, with rows 1 to 3 heaving with the Faculty’s academics. The academics might not have asked that many questions; however, they did take an awful lot of notes.
• Paradox of conflict with organisational change., The School of Sport Science & Physical Education., 20 Apr 2017 more
  

  The opportunity to deliver a lecture stemmed from the invitation from the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), Chengdu, China. SWUFE requested BU provides two Sport Management lectures. In lecture 1, a process of organisational change in sport, I introduced the fundamental theories of change, such as the drivers and types of change. I then argued the critical role of leaders in preparing an organisation for its transitional state and through unfreezing, movement and refreezing. Why leaders had to sell change too, and how we might conceptualise change by drawing on the prescriptions of change. What followed were the examples from GB sport that illustrated the strategic change sports organisations had evoked, plus what the implications were for the future. The models were the centrepiece of the session and explained as a result of the imposed change to modernise and professionalise GB sport. I concluded by engaging the discourses surrounding change programmes, and resistance to change. Lecture 2, approaches to conflict resolution in sport, this session started by defining what conflict is and some of the causes of conflict in sport organisations. Why it was necessary to understand conflict followed and into the discourses as to whether we perceive conflict to be a good or bad force by engaging in the arguments put forward by De Drue (2008) versus Tjosvold (2008). The centrepiece of this presentation, was the overview of the five approaches to conflict resolution, forcing, avoiding, accommodating, collaborating and compromising, as proposed by Ruble et al. (1976). Of particular interest, the explanation on how to operationalise their matrix based on the assertiveness of the ꭚ axis against cooperativeness of the ꭓ axis. To conclude, interpreting the ꭚ and ꭓ axis allows us to understand what approach might be the response to an organisation’s conflict.

External Responsibilities

• United Kingdom Systems Society (UKSS), Board member (2019-2020), http://www.ukss.org.uk/; International Journal of Systems and Society

Internal Responsibilities

• Level P Tutor for UG sports programmes. The position supports students while away on their BU placement, and directly supports the PDAs., The Executive of the Department of Sport and Physical Activity. http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/
• Academic Lead for China (Sport). To assist IMSR identify opportunities for BU to collaborate with Chinese sport HEIs, and be the academic link between BU and the Chinese HEIs, International Marketing and Student Recruitment (IMSR). http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/international

Honours

• Visiting Professor in Sport Management, 1st July 2017 to 1st July 2020. Based on my industry and academic experiences in Sport Management, there is an opportunity for me to deliver short courses in Sport Management. The short course of interest is Managing People in Sport, a 34-hours short course I provide to about 12 Majors in Sport Management each year. I also try and support the School on matters relating to Sport Management research and would like to collaborate research-wise. (School of Sports Science and Physical Education, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), Chengdu, China., 2017)

Memberships

• Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, Fellow (Membership number 6135) (2012-), http://www.cimspa.org.uk/
• Higher Education Academy, Fellow (Recognition reference 31360) (2007-), http://www.hea.org.uk/
• Royal Society for the Arts, Fellow (1997-), http://www.rsa.org.uk/
• The Association of MBAs, Member (Membership number 18944) (1997-), http://www.mba.org.uk/
• United Kingdom Systems Society, Member (Membership number 579) (1997-), http://www.ukss.org.uk/
• Chartered Management Institute, Chartered Fellow (Membership number P451117) (1996-), http://www.managers.org.uk/