Researching Leisure and Physical Activity with Women of Color: Issues and Emerging Questions

The roles of women in the United States are changing, along with the idea that being female is mitigated by a number of constructions such as race, class, age, income, (dis)ability, culture, and sexual orientation. Interest in understanding physical activity as leisure embodied in movement, exercise, fitness, recreation, and sports has increased because moderate to vigorous physical activity is associated with a lower risk for premature death, some chronic diseases, and being overweight. Research from the Centers for Disease Control, however, has shown that fewer than 30% of minority women in the United States obtain sufficient amounts of moderate activity to derive physical and mental health benefits. The Cross Cultural Activity Participation Study was designed to measure physical activity habits in African American and American Indian women and to develop and validate a set of surveys to measure moderate physical activity. A qualitative component was included as part of the larger study to obtain additional information about the psychosocial context and sociocultural meanings of physical activity and perceptions of leisure. The process of data collection, analyses, and reporting the qualitative findings, as well as developing and validating quantitative measurement instruments, resulted in raising methodological issues about studying race and culture and theoretical concerns for future research. The purpose of this article is to retrospectively describe our research process and what we learned in undertaking it. If behavior changes, health improvement, and an enhanced quality of life are to be achieved, then researchers must continue to determine the best ways to examine the meanings that individuals attach to activities.     

Transformative travel as a sustainable market niche for protected areas: a new development,marketing and conservation model

Many protected areas worldwide are mandated to provide visitor enjoyment and sustainable heritage conservation but face growing challenges and competition. To satisfy modern aspirational markets, parks must design meaningful experiences delivering long-lasting participant benefits that cultivate visitation rates and a conservation constituency. Transformative travel can deliver such benefits through participants’ psycho-physiological transformation but market insights critical for experience development in parks are lacking. Our systematic quantitative review of 126 transformative travel articles provides those insights, linking experiential characteristics, participant traits and motivations to experience outcomes according to five transformative travel typologies pertinent to parks: health and wellness, nature-based physical activity, spiritual, cultural and volunteering travel. We identified 35 travel motivations, 14 participant traits and 23 experience characteristics linked to transformation and 28 purposefully or incidentally realised benefits. Transformative travel improved participants’ psychological, physiological, social, economic and environmental conditions, as well as satisfaction with and destination loyalty towards parks. Socio-demographic characteristics and propensity for independent versus social travel shaped choice of travel experience. Our results are uniquely conceptualised in a transformative travel framework and transformative market niche model which we apply to sustainable experience development and marketing in parks. We identify implementation possibilities and areas for future research and monitoring.     

Capacity of Mass Participant Sport Events for the Development of Activity Commitment and Future Exercise Intention

Mass participation sport events are often cited as increasing population-level physical activity, but empirical evidence is scarce as to their effectiveness. The current research examined the developmental role of these events in increasing positive attitudes toward physically active leisure by a) determining its motivational capacity and b) investigating how sport event participation contributes to activity commitment and future exercise intentions. A multiattribute survey was distributed on-line to participants of a running event held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (N = 2,791) three months after the event. Inferential statistics revealed that 10 motives directed participation across 75% of the population. Multivariate multiple linear regression analyses revealed event participation motives combined with event satisfaction and physical activity involvement explained 30% of running commitment and 31% of future exercise intentions. Most notably, the event promoted stronger attitudes toward regular exercise among participants who were more satisfied with their event experience, least active before the event, and had completed fewer prior organized events. This evidence demonstrates that mass participant sporting events can serve as important social and environmental correlates of physical activity.     

Outcome-focused national park experience management: transforming participants,promoting social well-being,and fostering place attachment

Understanding visitor experiences is essential if park managers are to facilitate beneficial outcomes for both individuals and society. We investigated visitor experiences in a special model of thematically connected guided walking, biking, and 4WD tours in Australian national parks. Outcomes attained by first-time and repeat participants were assessed by questionnaires with more detailed insights from semi-structured interviews with repeat participants. Participants developed strong social ties with community members and experienced significant improvements in health, well-being, and competence, gaining a sense of achievement from mastering a challenge with positive implications for their lives beyond the tours. The tour series performed well in achieving visitor satisfaction, repeat participation, and word-of-mouth recommendation. The experience increased participants’ attachment to national parks, reinforcing their sense of environmental stewardship. The findings are especially relevant to efforts in parks and elsewhere to better integrate senior citizens into the community and provide opportunities to increase their physical, mental, and social well-being. Such opportunities become limited, for example, when people retire from work or suffer health impairment. The tour series proved an effective tool for outcome-focused park management, providing significant personal benefits to participants with positive implications for larger societal benefits, plus political and financial advantages for park managements.     

Health and well-being through T‘ai Chi: perceptions of older adults in Hong Kong

This study explored the meaning, associated values and benefits of T'ai Chi practice as perceived by older adults in Hong Kong. The relationship between practice and quality of life was also examined. Four focus groups with a total of 18 participants (three of whom have physical disabilities) were conducted. Categories and themes within the data were identified using content analysis. The findings indicated that T'ai Chi is chosen by the elderly participants for its gentle and soft movements. The benefits they describe include lifestyle issues as well as physical, psychological, and social aspects. The Hong Kong participants appeared unfamiliar with the term and concept of ‘quality of life’ but once explained, they were able to point out that their improvements in physical and mental health through the practice of T'ai Chi are related to their level of quality of life. The findings from the literature and this study support the belief that the practice of T'ai Chi has multiple benefits to practitioners that are not only physical in nature. It is recommended as a strategy to promote successful aging.     

Just Research and Physical Activity: Diversity Is More Than an Independent Variable

The value of critically examining the way that research is done can provide a way to better understand a spectrum of people's experiences. Examining assumptions about data as well as how they are collected and analyzed to study issues related to leisure as well as physical activity requires individuals to recognize that insight about diversity can be gained in many ways. The purpose of this essay is to provide perspectives about including and moving beyond diversity (e.g., gender, race, disability status, sexual identity) as only an independent variable. The potential for these perspectives is just research that contributes to social and environmental justice related to leisure and physical activity. Existing research approaches are relevant but options are open for other possibilities when examining issues related to variables associated with diversity. These options add to the complexity of the research conducted when just research is undertaken.     

Leisure and urbanisation in Brazil from the 1950s to the 1970s

There is growing interest in how workers recover and unwind from work during leisure, as poor unwinding has been associated with negative health. This research explores the recovery process to gain a greater understanding of how individuals switch‐off from work‐related thoughts post work. Specifically, we conducted interviews with workers who habitually find it difficult to switch‐off from work (i.e. high ruminators), and workers who find it easy to switch‐off from work (i.e. low ruminators). Three master themes were elicited using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: (1) work philosophy, (2) coping strategies and (3) coping outcomes. The findings revealed differences in core beliefs about work; high ruminators perceive blurred boundaries between work and home life, and they allowed work to mentally predominate during their leisure time, whereas low ruminators viewed their work and leisure as two distinct spheres, and actively developed strategies to switch‐off and disengage from work. Both high and low ruminators acknowledged the health benefits of unwinding post work, yet only low ruminators managed to successfully do so. It was concluded that there is a need for organisations to educate their employees, particularly high ruminators, about the importance of strategic unwinding post work to optimise the quality of leisure time and prevent them from becoming fatigued and burnt out.     

Beyond irrationality and the ultras: some notes on female English rugby union fans and the ‘feminised’ sports crowd

In the Academy, female fandom is often conceived of in ways which consciously exclude sport, and women are often marginalised by research on sports fandom. There is also little convincing qualitative research on the experience of mainstream female sports spectators, despite competing claims about the meaning and nature of today’s alleged ‘feminised’ sports crowds. Much of the qualitative work which does exist in this field focuses on younger male soccer fans and pathologises, the experience of female spectators. Instead, in this paper we explore the experiences of mainstream female fans from a sport which is much under‐researched, English rugby union. Drawing on qualitative data from semi‐structured interviews with female rugby union fans from Leicester, we explore these women’s fan experiences in the context of claims about the recent ‘feminisation’ of the late‐modern sports crowd. We focus empirically on three key issues: the early sports encounters of female spectators and their possible links with fandom; changes in women’s access to leisure time and to spectator sport; and women’s shifting experiences of watching rugby union in the new ‘professional’ era of the game. We end with a call for more qualitative work on the changing experience of female sports fans and for more theoretical and empirical work on the supposed ‘feminised’ sporting cultures of late‐modernity.     

家庭生命周期与旅游态度的关联研究——以长沙市居民为例

家庭是旅游态度形成的最重要环境背景,也一直是旅游活动的重要组织单元,探究家庭生命周期与旅游态度的关系意义重大.文章依据已有研究成果,建立家庭生命周期模型,制定旅游态度量表,以问卷工具面向长沙市居民进行调查,获得基础数据,运用因子分析得到了追求享受、强调卫生、看重设施、向往体验、关注身心健康等5个方面的旅游态度主成分,通过验证性因子分析后,再用相关分析、多元回归分析探究家庭生命周期与旅游态度5个主成分的关系.结果表明,随着家庭生命周期的演进,人们愈发追求享受、看重设施、关注身心健康.无巢期人群看重设施和关注身心健康的表现低于其他阶段人群,空巢期人群追求享受的表现高于其他阶段人群,空巢期、鳏寡期人群关注身心健康的表现高于其他阶段人群,满巢期人群向往体验的表现高于其他阶段人群.     

世俗的朝圣:西藏旅游体验研究

西藏正成为越来越重要的旅游目的地,然而对西藏旅游体验具体的微观研究却相对缺乏。文章通过对西藏旅游者的深度访谈,来探讨他们的旅游体验。游客往往将西藏想象成一种神圣之地,西藏的旅游体验对于游客而言也具有神圣的意义,主要体现在游客对自然、宗教和藏族人的体验上。西藏纯净的自然可以净化游客的心灵,让他们联想到远离喧嚣的生活。西藏的寺庙和朝拜的信徒营造出一种虔诚而神圣的氛围,让游客内心备受震动。看到藏民的执着和虔诚,游客心中会产生一种满足感。而藏民淳朴的为人处世的方式更让游客感到一种自己社会所缺失了的真实。西藏的神圣不在于游客对其宗教的信仰上,而在于其社会文化意义,西藏提供了游客日常生活所缺失的自然与人文,满足了游客的精神需求。西藏的旅游体验与其说是宗教朝圣,毋宁说是一种世俗的朝圣。     

Event satisfaction,leisure involvement and life satisfaction at a walking event: the mediating role of life domain satisfaction

Given the rising popularity of mass-participant sport, such as walking and running events, research has started to address whether these types of events could promote life satisfaction for participants. Nevertheless, the theoretical link between event participation and life satisfaction has not been fully elaborated. Using bottom-up theory of life satisfaction, this study examined the role of event satisfaction and the three facets of leisure involvement – attraction, centrality and self-expression – in people’s life domain satisfaction and life satisfaction. Participants (N = 236) were recruited from a walking event held in western Japan. The results of the study revealed that event satisfaction had positive, indirect effects on life satisfaction through satisfaction with family life and personal achievement. Attraction in walking also had positive, indirect effects on life satisfaction through satisfaction with family life, personal achievement and social life. In contrast, centrality and self-expression in walking were not associated with satisfaction with any life domains and life satisfaction. Findings from this study highlight the importance of life domain satisfaction in the relationship between event satisfaction, leisure involvement and life satisfaction. These findings also suggest that walking events can promote life satisfaction by providing the enjoyment of walking as physically active leisure.     

Gender roles and sports in adolescent girls

Lack of leisure and time to self have been found to be major stressors for mothers. This paper examines perceived stress‐relieving benefits gained from involvement in a 12 week exercise class program by a group of mothers (n?=?30, x? age?=?37.3 years). Qualitative data indicated that exercise classes had the capacity to reduce perceived stress levels. The exercising mothers reported greater feelings of well‐being mainly due to gaining a space of their own, time‐out from busy schedules and the burden of childcare, and the feeling of doing something to improve their physical appearance. The negative or constraining aspects of exercise class participation included normalisation and self examination of women's bodies, and self‐surveillance rather than freedom of choice. The conclusions of this paper suggest that exercise classes can provide one avenue for mothers to take more control over their own health and lifestyle.     

The way we are now

‘The way we are now’ is an innovative photo‐ethnographic project. It originates from both practice led research into creativity, technology and embodied mind funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and research into well‐being, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The research into creativity is underpinned by the writings of Merleau‐Ponty, including his claim ‘that modes of thought correspond to technical methods’, and that to use Goethe's phrase ‘what is inside is also outside’, a position similar to that taken by social anthropologists seeing technology as skilled practice. The research into activity and well‐being in daily life uses the experience sampling method (ESM). Traditionally, the method uses questionnaire diaries and electronic pagers which are pre‐programmed to bleep at randomly selected times during the day to indicate response times. The research discussed here uses a mobile phone to indicate responses eight times a day for seven consecutive days, extended to include images taken at each signal with the mobile phone/camera, which has not been done before. The research extends both the subject matter of digital fine art, and the portrayal of subjective well‐being and quality of life.     

Participatory music-making and well-being within immigrant cultural practice: exploratory case studies in South East Queensland,Australia

ABSTRACT

Music participation is a way of life for many cultures and is an activity that is often passed on generationally. It can become especially important as a leisure activity for maintenance of self- and national identity for people who have migrated to countries of contrasting cultures, such as Australia. This article describes exploratory, qualitative research into the ways in which participatory music-making within communities from immigrant backgrounds in Brisbane, Australia may influence aspects of participants’ wellbeing. The sample for this research included three broadly-defined cultural groups living in the region: people of Baltic origin; people from Latin American and Caribbean backgrounds; and ‘newly arrived’ immigrants and refugees. Interviews with individuals have been analysed to explore the ways in which this involvement might affect mental, social, and emotional wellbeing. Our qualitative analyses demonstrated that beyond these aspects, factors of subjective wellbeing, both hedonic and eudaimonic, were apparent. This article aims to provoke discussions on the divergent ways in which immigrant communities utilise music-making practices to foster different types of wellbeing and the importance of maintaining diversity through cultural practices.     

Too tired for exercise? The work and leisure of female cleaners in Denmark

The aim of this study was to explore the opportunities and challenges of female cleaners with regard to participation in leisure time physical activity (LTPA). We gained information about their everyday lives via semi-structured interviews with 25 women, most of them from rural Turkey. Drawing on the relevant literature on women’s work–life balance and (migrant) women’s participation in LTPA, we approached their work and leisure from an intersectionality perspective and explored if and how female cleaners engaged in LTPA and which constraints impeded their involvement. The interviewees’ narratives revealed that their everyday lives as unskilled migrant workers had a decisive influence on their opportunities of engaging in LTPA: most women struggled with the demands of a physically exhausting job and an extensive ‘second shift’ at home and therefore had great difficulty finding the time and energy to exercise. However, previous experience of LTPA seemed to have a decisive influence on their current LTPA practices.     

Personal development on youth expeditions: a literature review and thematic analysis

Youth expeditions are associated with a range of benefits for participants. More young people are participating in overseas expeditions than ever before as vacation and gap year choices are diversified by a rising number of expedition providers. To date, there has been no systematic research effort to draw together and evaluate the evidence that underpins the benefits or, otherwise, for youths participating in overseas expeditions. This paper reviews empirical and philosophical literature which has been published in a range of journals and themes emerging are placed into a personal growth model. This review (or mapping exercise) focused on post-1990 literature and found 35 key publications which met the criteria: youth expedition; duration exceeding 14 days, self-propelled, and based overseas or out-of-state. The 35 publications (UK 26; USA 4; Australia 3; Japan 1; South Africa 1) were subjected to a thematic analysis using Greenaway’s ‘Four Arrows’ model of personal growth. Outcomes associated with overseas youth expedition participation included (1) upward personal growth (realising potential) including increased confidence; physical and social resilience; self-reliance and ability to overcome challenges, (2) outward personal growth (learning about & relating to others), (3) inward personal growth (learning about self) and (4) downward personal growth (learning about environment). The processes that were valued in overseas expeditions and which, with some caution, may be linked with some of the aforementioned outcomes include: genuine independence; group isolation and self-sufficiency; person-centred leadership; positive responses to stress and physically demanding activity. Suggestions for areas for further meaningful research are offered.     

Re-evaluating well-being outcomes of social tourism: Evidence from Finland

This study contributes new findings on well-being outcomes in social tourism initiatives. Based on a two-stage survey of 371 respondents of the largest Finnish Social Holiday Association, including a control group, we assess subjective well-being, experience of inclusion and family outcomes. Positive effects on satisfaction with life, leisure time, mental health, family, social life, employment and economic situation and others were observed, but weaker associations and no effects in other areas such as learning or family cohesiveness. The findings suggest previous studies of well-being over-simplify positive outcomes associated with holidays, the advanced methods employed enable a nuanced analysis of holiday benefits. The study contributes to theory on well-being outcomes for disadvantaged tourists and outlines implications for social tourism organisations.     

The role of values for voluntary reductions of holiday air travel

Recent research has shown that holiday air travel constitutes a typical value-action gap as many people continue to fly despite their concerns about climate change. However, some people do voluntarily reduce their holiday flights. Little is known so far about the role that values play in this decision. This paper examines this question based on semi-structured interviews with participants in local climate change and energy-saving projects. It finds that people who voluntarily reduce their holiday air travel are more ready than those who continue to fly to accept that their behaviour makes a contribution to climate change; that they feel a moral imperative to act regardless of its effectiveness in mitigating climate change; and that they distance themselves from socially dominant norms related to holiday air travel. This paper argues that these characteristics are connected to values of self-transcendence and self-direction, and that in this way values remain important for understanding and supporting low carbon behaviour.     

Therapeutic benefits of dining out,traveling, and drinking: Coping strategies for lonely consumers to improve their mood

The people in modern societies have found to be more lonely due to longer life span, rising single-person household, and disconnected interpersonal networks. Recently has research begun to shed light on how this phenomenon influences consumers’ compensatory consumption to cope with negative moods caused by loneliness. The hospitality and tourism industries need a better understanding of the ways in which their products and services (e.g. dining-out, traveling, and drinking alcohol) provide opportunities for consumers to cope with such loneliness. Thus, this study explored the benefits of hospitality and tourism experiences for individuals who dine out, travel, and drink as a means of coping with feelings of loneliness. Hence, the goals of the current study are threefold: (1) to examine if loneliness influences consumers to engage in consumption in order to cope with their feelings, (2) to compare age-related differences in coping strategies related to loneliness, and (3) to investigate the therapeutic benefits of dining out, traveling, and drinking across loneliness levels. The results of this study suggest that traveling and dining-out can provide significant ‘therapeutic benefits’ by repairing feelings of loneliness.     

身体现象学视角下徒步旅游者Flow体验的生成与意义

近年来,在人文社会科学研究"身体转向"的背景下,微观身体逐渐成为窥探旅游体验的关键视角。文章基于身体现象学,构建了旅游者心流(Flow)体验生成与意义分析框架,利用参与式观察、深入访谈、感官民族志等方法对稻城亚丁徒步旅游者进行实证分析,研究发现:(1)徒步旅游者的旅游世界"知觉场"形成源于外部环境对其身体感觉、运动通道、多感官知觉等具身体验的不断刺激;(2)作为"具身-认知"的过程,徒步旅游者Flow体验生成源于技能与挑战的平衡,且主客互动推动旅游者获得新的认知体验;(3)徒步旅游者Flow体验的意义蕴含在具身实践的身体知觉与特定的社会情境之中,并通过主体知觉意识、情感体验、价值判别呈现;(4)Flow体验状态意味着幸福情绪的获得,最终给予真实自我和真实世界的价值判断。研究尝试从身体现象学视角出发,对体验领域的Flow体验进行研究,是对旅游体验研究话题扩展的有益尝试。