Existing research indicates that participation in simulations contributes to the development of key soft skills, but has tended to rely on contemporaneous self-evaluations. In this paper, we evaluated the degree to which early career professionals who had previously completed an extended simulation class felt that the experience had contributed to the development of soft skills that they used in their professional lives. Survey, interview, and focus group data all show that working professionals in various fields felt that the dynamic nature of the extended simulation contributed to the development of several categories of soft skills and made a strong impact on their careers.

This article discusses the fandom of Malaysian middle-aged women participating in a fandom of BIGBANG, a South Korean boy band. Fandom is conventionally assumed to target younger audiences, teenagers or young adults but this article showcase that this is not the case and there are fans of all ages. This is not only evident in the BIGBANG fandom but also observed in the Twilight and One Direction fandom. This article studies the agency displayed by these women and how they shape their fandom in respect of their identity as spouses, parents and daughters. I also review how they negotiate their personal relationship with their families, acquaintances and younger fans in the fandom. The patriarchy system, religion and social expectations each play a role in influencing these women’s engagement with the fandom. Research on older fans is neither common nor abundantly available, thus this article hopes to contribute to the current literature on fandom.