Influence of recreation on education aspiration

In the wide context of travel and tourism, recreation plays a significant role in occupying holiday‐maker's agenda, so much so that destination is often sought based on recreation activities it offers. Campus recreation for example, is a major component that influences the young when choosing the destination in which to pursue higher education. However, the truly‐important‐but‐often‐dismissed role of recreation is perhaps its value towards the intellectual development of youth. This special value is perhaps more apparent if we discuss it in the context of adolescents in a campus setting i.e. the students. This study is an attempt to examine the relationship between these two dimensions. Specially, it looked at the link between recreation and academic aspirations and achievement using a specific student population. Aspiration is measured by looking at an individual's attitudes, motivation and expectation with regard to formal education. Findings from the study indicated a strong relationship between intensity of recreation with aspiration. It is found that the more intense the recreation activity, the more positive the individual's aspiration towards in class learning is. However, the same cannot be concluded for relationship between intensity of recreation with academic achievement. This is because the study found that individuals who recreate most intensely do not show good academic achievement. The same scenario is also true for those who recreate least intensely. Individuals who showed the best academic achievement are found to be those who recreation intensity is comparatively moderate. The study provided several recommendations for the planning and provision of recreation activities in institutions of higher learning and emphasized the need for students to recognize the importance of balancing academic and nonacademic pursuit in their time management.     

Diversity in a democracy: Expanding the recreation opportunity spectrum

Abstract

Diversity in tastes among the public for outdoor recreation has been a consistent finding from more than two decades of research. A number of planning and management systems have been designed to accommodate this diversity. The most recent and highly developed design has been the recreation opportunity spectrum, which suggests, among other things, relatively standard relationships between recreation setting conditions to produce a variety of opportunity classes. This paper suggests that these relationships may, ironically, limit rather than encourage potential diversity in outdoor recreation. More liberal interpretation of these relationships is suggested.     

Aquatic resources and recreation behavior

While substantial effort has been undertaken to understand the consequences of industrial and agricultural uses for the environment, concern has also been expressed about its other uses, including recreation. Little is known about the relationship between recreational behavior and an environmental resource base. The present paper focuses upon participation in a specific outdoor recreation activity or activity‐cluster and dominant resource base where participation occurs. Resource bases identified were river, lake, ocean, swamp/marsh, forest/mountain, range/ farm and city/town. Emphasis is placed upon aquatic environs and participation in water‐based recreation. Water activities constituted from 14–30 percent of all outdoor activities taking place at those resource bases identified. Aquatic environments provided the resource base for 38 percent of all recreation participation events, water‐ and non‐water based, occurring during one reporting period. While participation in water‐based activities requires a water resource, the array of participation patterns reported suggests that resource bases defined as recreation places provide a wide range of opportunities for non‐resource‐dependent recreation activities. One conclusion is that resource bases cannot be distinguished by the recreation activities occurring on them. Resource bases in fact facilitate a wide range of recreation activities, some holding little direct connection with the resource base, nor are the conditions of the resource sufficient to predict behavioral outcomes.     

Attitudes toward the use of designated versus non‐designated urban recreation space

Interviews were conducted in Kitchener‐Waterloo, Ontario, at eight different recreation areas. These were classified as either designated or nondesignated recreation areas. The interview was designed to obtain information regarding demographic characteristics of the user, attitudes toward the use of urban recreation areas (both playgrounds and areas that are not designated as recreational in character), reasons for choosing a particular recreation site and what users considered to be part of an ideal recreation area. Information gathered by the interview method was supplemented by a series of observations. Results indicated a significant difference between age and reasons for nonattendance at designated play areas. Differences in use by sex were, however, not significant.     

Socio‐demographic variables,recreational resource use,and attitudes toward development in Camrose,Alberta

The paper examines relationships between socio‐demographic variables, recreational behavior, and attitudes toward development of a natural recreational resource among a city‐wide sample of residents of the city of Camrose, Alberta. Three aspects of recreation behavior, namely participation in recreation in general, participation in selected activities, and use of the resource were found to be associated with four socio‐demographic variables. The relationship with age was the strongest and most consistent, but income, education, and family size were also important. None of the aspects of recreation behavior was related to sex and marital status, nor was it possible to use any of the variables as predictors of the frequency of recreational activity. Respondents additionally differed with regard to the perceived importance of future decisions about the resource, and it was found that variations in preferences for future activities and proposals were consistent with these perceptions and with current use patterns. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical contribution to research on socio‐demographic variables arid recreation behavior, notably with reference to opportunity theory, and with reference to their role in choosing strategies of recreational management.     

Test for campers' experience preference differences among three ROS setting classes

Abstract

The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) has evolved into a major planning concept used by recreation managers. This approach has much intuitive and practical appeal; however, many of the theoretical concepts have not been thoroughly tested. This research investigated whether visitors’ experience preferences are heterogeneous or homogeneous across different campground setting classes as categorized by the ROS. Five hundred and sixty campers in three ROS classes were surveyed. Of the 31 experience variables studied, three mean perferences differed significantly among all three classes, six differed among two sets of classes, and four differed significantly between one set of classes. Results showed that visitors’ experience preferences differed less between ROS classes than might have been expected. This study suggests that campground settings do not necessarily follow ROS guidelines and that ROS class designation may not be applicable to all types of recreation activities and settings.     

Attitudes toward outdoor recreation development: An application of social exchange theory

A research project was undertaken within a multi‐county region in southeastern Ohio to ascertain the attitudes of local residents toward future outdoor recreation development within the area. A systematic random sample of 1493 respondents was drawn from a five‐county region to test a theoretical perspective developed from selected components of social exchange theory. The findings demonstrated that the respondents held very favorable attitudes toward outdoor recreation development. Multivariate analysis of the data revealed that the theoretical model was basically supported. The findings are discussed from both applied and theoretical perspectives.     

Recreation research and planning in the federal republic of Germany: A commentary

Abstract

German recreation planning is strongly oriented toward the maintenance and provision of outdoor recreation areas. The rapidly growing consumption of outdoor recreation activities within a densely populated area has led to refined procedures of evaluating landuse potential and distributing outdoor facilities within environmental constraints. One such procedure is the use of attractivity models. Such models utilize a matrix of social, aesthetic, physical, and infrastructure attributes to arrive at a ranking of attractivity for given landscapes. The rankings are the basis of general landuse decisions and outdoor recreation investment procedures.     

Urban recreation research: An overview

Despite the fact that the population of the United States ha shifted from largely rural to largely urban in this century, the commitment to research in recreation, inadequate as it is, has remained in the hinterlands. There is no critical mass of recreation researchers focusing on urban recreation as there now is focused on outdoor recreation. Urban recreation studies have been noncumulative in nature due to the wide range their sponsors, staff, substantive topics, lack of generalizability, and inevitable tensions between practitioners and researchers. Ironically, urban recreational research, and support of it, has diminished in this country at the same time that there has been an increasing concern for such information and knowledge. The future looks bleak insofar as the development of a strong, major, national urban recreation research program is concerned.     

Instant‐count sampling: A technique for estimating recreation use in municipal settings

Instant‐count sampling was tested on four municipal recreation areas in Athens, Georgia. Users were counted instantaneously on the areas at randomly selected times. From these counts, estimates of use and standard errors were achieved with a minimum of sampling time required. Errors ranged from 10.2 to 37.8 percent of estimated use and did not exceed 23.6 percent for total use.     

Measuring the discriminatory impact associated with higher recreational fees

Abstract

Higher fees for publicly provided outdoor recreation facilities have the potential of forcing low‐income users to reduce their use of the facilities more than for higher income users. Some low‐income users may be forced to stop using the facilities altogether. However, to our knowledge, no studies have been designed specifically to test for the presence of this type of discriminatory impact among current users. In this article we present an approach for determining whether higher fees create a discriminatory impact on low‐income users. An empirical application of the approach suggests that a discriminatory impact does exist among the users of Maine state park campgrounds.     

Outdoor recreation participation and views on resource development and preservation

Abstract

Views on the preservation of resources versus their development for recreation are compared among participants in three types of outdoor recreation: “appreciative”; activities (cross‐country skiing, hiking, and canoeing); “consumptive”; activities (fishing and hunting); and “mechanized”; activities (motorboating, snowmo‐biling, and trail biking). The results from a 1984 questionnaire survey conducted in Edmonton and Calgary, Canada, indicate a stronger preservationist orientation among participants in appreciative activities, whereas (with the exception of hunters) participants in consumptive and mechanized activities hold stronger pro‐development views. These differences cannot be attributed to simultaneous variations in socioeco‐nomic characteristics or environmental attitudes among the recreational groups. The findings suggest that differences in outdoor recreational activity preferences represent an important source of variation in views about appropriate levels of preservation versus development of Alberta's natural and wildernesss resources.     

Voluntary association membership of outdoor recreationists: An exploratory study

Abstract

Research on the political activity of outdoor recreationists has focused primarily on their associational affiliations and concern for the environment. This article reviews literature on theories of collective behavior, recreation motivations, and environmental concern. The study considers outdoor recreation as a social movement and investigates relationships between incentives for voluntary membership in environmental and outdoor recreation associations, motivations for participation in outdoor recreation activities, and environmental concern. Members of associations were found to be significantly different than nonmembers on several variables including value for outdoor recreation, incentives for association membership, intellectual motivations for outdoor recreation, environmental concern, education level, and age. Results suggest that association efforts to obtain instrumental benefits, or public goods that accrue to all of society, are a primary incentive for outdoor recreationists to join voluntary associations. A common thread of intellectual pursuit distinguished members from nonmembers, suggesting that intellectual benefits may help define the relationship between outdoor recreation and associational affiliation behaviors.     

The ethics of play,leisure, and recreation in the twentieth century, 1900–1983

Abstract

The association between play, leisure, recreation, value, and free choice leads to the problem of ethics. The purpose of this study was to describe the absolute ultimate end (the highest good) and its relation to play, leisure, and recreation in the twentieth century. This problem was approached by perusing literature from the period 1900 through 1983. Writers were organized by category and period, accompanied by explanation of how play, leisure, and recreation were related to the highest good. Eighty writers considered the question of the absolute ultimate end. Nine categories were discerned, dominated by divine ends and happiness. Play, leisure, and recreation were variously connected with the ultimate ends as both ends and means. Additionally, the practical implications of ethics are discussed using several examples. A partnership between science and philosophy is recommended for further study of ethics. Philosophy of leisure, however, must be revived for this alliance to     

Mexican‐American/Anglo cultural differences as recreation style determinants

Abstract

The fastest growing minority group in the United States is Hispanic, with the majority of this group made up of Mexican‐Americans. Researchers question whether this group forms a distinct subculture in American society and if present recreation facility design provides opportunities for the reinforcement of cultural values.

Mexican‐American and Anglo campers using a minimally developed U.S. Forest Service managed campground in New Mexico were surveyed during the summer of 1985. Significant differences were noted between the groups. In particular, larger party sizes were noted for Mexican‐American campers than for the Anglo groups. Mexican Americans also indicated a preference for nearness to other campers, placed a higher priority on tangible campground design features, and intended to use more highly developed campgrounds and decrease use of dispersed or roadless area campgrounds in the future. Noted differences were believed related more to cultural identity than either socioeconomic or social class variances. There is some evidence to suggest that properly designed recreation facilities may provide the means to perpetuate important cultural traits for subcultural groups in American society.     

Leisure and Active Lifestyles: Research Reflections

Leisure researchers have been studying active living for many years. The research, however, has focused more on individual factors than social and environmental determinants that enable physical activity and health. The focus of the introduction to this special issue on “leisure and active lifestyles” is to highlight leisure literature that can be directly tied to active living. These dimensions include outdoor recreation, community recreation areas and facilities, time usage, barriers and constraints, and social interdependence. We provide an overview of the significance of the papers in this special issue and offer some reflections regarding future research related to active living, physical activity, health, and leisure. We underline the value of the holistic approach evident in leisure research and call for broader methods and more collaborative transdisciplinary research.     

Recreational behavior of onshore and offshore oil industry employees in Newfoundland,Canada

Abstract

This paper discusses the results of surveys of oil industry employees in Newfoundland, Canada, working both onshore and offshore on rigs and supply boats. The surveys reveal the different recreational behavior of respondents compared to local residents, and the unique and restricted environments in which they live and work while offshore. The analysis covers the leisure time activities both offshore and onshore, and the effects of the relocation to Newfoundland upon the recreational behavior of the sample. Conclusions discuss the significance of relocation upon recreation behavior, and implications for planning, provision, and operation of leisure opportunities in coastal zone areas affected by hydrocarbon development.     

The importance of urban milieu in predicting recreation participation: The case of day hiking

Abstract

Numerous outdoor recreation forecasting studies have included household characteristics as well as aspects of the recreation facilities and accessibility. Only a few studies, however, have included in the prediction equation any measure of the effects of urban milieu on behavior. Four commonly cited surrogates of urban milieu are used to cluster the cities of Illinois into three relatively homogeneous groups of environments. Regression analyses are then undertaken using individual household data, aspects of the recreation facilities patronized by the households, participation, and distance and travel time estimates. Comparisons of the regression analyses indicate that, as a concept, milieu is an important predictor of both the volume of recreation participation and salient features of recreation facilities.     

Weather Studies in Outdoor Recreation and Nature-Based Tourism: A Research Synthesis and Gap Analysis

ABSTRACT

The impact of weather on outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism has received increasing attention from the research community during the past ten years. This article synthesizes the results of those inquiries, categorizing their predominant themes and identifying knowledge gaps. One hundred eighty-four weather-related articles drawn from a cross-section of international journals served as the foundation for this work. The research synthesis identified three recurring themes: weather-related variables that influence outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism, the importance of geographic research context, and prevailing activity types. A gap analysis indicated an abundance of underinvestigated topics in weather-related studies in outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism. The article concludes with recommendations for future weather-related studies in outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism developed from the predominant themes uncovered in the research synthesis and research needs discovered in the gap analysis.     

Discrimination in public recreation: Attitudes toward and participation of females

Historically, women have been discriminated against in a number of ways. In recreation, the same is true. This study, carried out among Ontario recreation administrators, reveals male‐female differences in wages, responsibility, participation and programs. A number of alternatives and suggestions for change, including both legislation and economic sanction, are given in the report, along with a number of possible directions for future research.