Destination diversification as an indicator of activity compatibility: An exploratory analysis

Abstract

The concept of activity packages has long been recognized as an important basis for planning outdoor recreation activities. Recent studies suggest, however, that because of definitional and methodological problems, little has been accomplished in helping park planners assess the degree to which activities can be planned together. In this study, we explore the relationship between participation in recreation activities and the number of facilities at which activity takes place. The results suggest that this relationship can be used as a reliable indicator of the degree to which recreation activities are perceived to be compatible. The analyses also suggest that households generally tend to perceive compatibility among recreation activities in the same way regardless of their socioeconomic status. The implications of these findings are considered and shown to be important within the context of park planning.     

Socioeconomic variations in perceived barriers to recreation participation among would‐be participants

Abstract

The effects of fifteen barriers to participation were examined among people who expressed a desire for but were unable to participate in a new recreational activity. Work commitments, overcrowding of facilities, and lack of partners were the three main barriers. The effects of barriers were not perceived uniformly across the sample but varied between subgroups defined according to socioeconomic variables: the people most likely to be affected by barriers to participation included the poor, the elderly, and single parents. The extent to which recreation practitioners can and should respond to these kinds of research findings is discussed, and several ways in which the effects of barriers to participation might be modified or alleviated are evaluated.     

Reexamining the significance of childhood recreation patterns on adult leisure behavior

This study is the examination of the impact of childhood participation levels in outdoor recreation on the activity level of that individual as an adult. The study is based on a stratified random sample of adult residents in eight northeastern Iowa counties. Forty‐five outdoor recreation activities were used to determine the “carry‐over” of participation from childhood to adulthood. The results indicate a direct effect of the childhood level of participation on adult level of participation. Only eight of forty‐five activities seem to carry over; therefore, prediction of specific activity carryover is very limited. Implications for educating for leisure and aspects of socialization are discussed.     

‘Women Doing Friendship’: an analysis of women's leisure as a site of identity construction,empowerment and resistance

Heavily subsidized entrance charges for public sport and recreation facilities are a central component of public leisure policy. This policy is based on the assumption that the cost of entrance represents a major obstacle to participation for a range of social groups. This article reports on a study (sponsored by the Scottish Sports Council) which examined the impact of increased entrance charges at a number of sports centres. Drawing on user and household surveys it suggests that, at current levels, the cost of entrance is an absolute barrier for a small number of people. However among committed participants it may act as a relative barrier by reducing the frequency of their participation. The data suggests that compared with other forms of leisure, sports participation is relatively cheap and that constraints on participation are more likely to be related to cultural attitudes underlying a lack of interest or life-style factors which limit free time available for sports and physical recreation.     

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.     

Adventure recreation and subjective well-being: a conceptual framework

ABSTRACT

Despite the documented positive outcomes of adventure experiences, subjective well-being (SWB) frameworks have been largely absent from discourse and analyses in adventure studies. This conceptual paper proposes a framework for understanding how adventure recreation experiences promote eudaemonic SWB. In our framework, we propose that adventure recreation fosters eudaemonic aspects of SWB by supporting the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, relatedness and beneficence. The framework also integrates ‘contact with nature’ as an important mechanism through which adventure recreation fosters eudaemonic SWB. Analysis of research and practice across diverse aspects of adventure recreation (leisure, tourism, and education contexts) is used to support the proposed framework and to critically evaluate how psychological models, such as self-determination theory (SDT) and SWB, can advance theory and practice in adventure recreation. We conclude by offering a number of suggestions for future research directions and practical implications.     

World Leisure and Recreation Association International Position Statement on Leisure Education and Populations of Special Needs

Outdoor recreation may foster positive environmental views among participants and their nonparticipating household members, but little research has addressed this hypothesis at the household level. We address this gap with a case study evaluating both the individual-and household-level relationship between outdoor recreation and environmental views using the new ecological paradigm scale (NEP). Results suggest NEP relates positively to appreciative outdoor recreation participation and negatively to nonappreciative outdoor recreation participation for participants and their household members. Future research should focus on how household dynamics mediate the relationship between environmental views and outdoor recreation.     

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.     

Perceived crowding in recreation settings: An urban case study

Abstract

Research on crowding in recreation areas has focused primarily on back‐country settings. This study tests some of the axioms developed from this research and from studies conducted in non‐recreation settings using data from a case study in an urban park. The actual number of visitors present was found to be the most important individual predictor of perceived crowding in this setting. Results suggest that more developed parks, in more urban contexts, may elicit different images and expectations about visitor density. The implications of these findings, as they relate both to studies of perceived crowding and the social definition of parks in general, are discussed.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Disproportionate sampling and recreation demand estimation with the 1980 national survey of fishing,hunting, and wildlife‐associated recreation

Abstract

Data on recreation activity often are obtained from national surveys using stratified, disproportionate sampling. One such survey is the 1980 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife‐Associated Recreation (1980 Survey). This paper examines the effect of disproportionate sampling on estimates of recreational fishing demand with data from the 1980 Survey. Contrary to some expectations in the literature, disproportionate sampling appears to cause few problems for demand estimation with the 1980 Survey. The evidence suggests that household characteristics determining sampling ratios have little relation to the level of fishing by household members.     

Urban region parks and black minorities: Subculture,marginality, and interracial relations in park use in the Detroit metropolitan area

Abstract

This paper compares participation in Detroit city parks and surrounding regional parks by black and white Detroit residents. Black Detroit residents participate more than whites in Detroit city parks, but less than whites in surrounding region parks. The paper explores a variety of explanations for these findings including “marginality”; (economic barriers), subcultural preferences, and interracial relations. Marginality plays some role in explaining underrepresentation by black Detroit residents in regional parks, primarily through restricted access to automobile transport, rather than income effects directly. Subcultural preferences, as measured in this study, do not seem to explain differences in black and white participation. However, measures of sub‐culture were less robust than measures of other factors. Interracial relations factors do seem to play a role in explaining underrepresentation by minorities in regional parks. Implications for research and urban outdoor recreation policy are explored.     

Social class and wilderness use

Abstract

Using social class and social inequality theories and concepts, we reexamine previous studies of recreation participation in designated wilderness. We suggest that members of the semiautonomous class—highly educated professional‐technical and craft employees who have limited control over what work they do but a great deal of control over how they do it (Wright, 1978)—appropriated wilderness and continue to dominate wilderness use. We propose an explanation of how and why this occurred.     

Recreation and Leisure Research from an Active Living Perspective: Taking a Second Look at Urban Trail Use Data

This paper examines recreation and leisure research within the context of active living, and highlights an apparent gap between the current involvement of recreation and leisure researchers and the potential they could offer to this important and expanding area of inquiry. To illustrate this potential, I looked at two previous studies that focused on the recreational use of urban trails and reanalyzed the data from an active living perspective. In Study 1, individual, social and environmental factors helped distinguish between low, moderate, and high activity level trail uses. In Study 2, use patterns helped distinguish between health-motivated trail users and individuals using trails for recreation and other purposes, but perceptual and demographic data were similar among groups. Findings from similar studies can help inform active living research, and recreation and leisure studies can provide leadership and contributions to a transdisciplinary understanding of active living.     

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.     

An analysis of the social unit of participation and the perceived psychological outcomes associated with most enjoyable recreation activities

Abstract

Two research questions were addressed by this study: (1) to determine the predominant social units in which individuals participate in their two most enjoyable recreation activities, and (2) to determine if a relationship exists between the social units with which individuals participate in their two most enjoyable activities and the reasons for participating in these activities. Outdoor activities predominated as individuals’ two most enjoyable activities with a marked predominance of participation in the family/friends social group. Two discriminant analyses revealed a strong relationship between social units of participation and reasons for participation. The reasons of family togetherness, relation with nature, being with people, escaping the family, escaping physical pressure, and meeting new people were the primary discriminating variables in pre‐dicting the social unit of participation. However, these reasons were not, in general, viewed as primary reasons for engaging in one's most enjoyable activities. Therefore, it may be concluded that the type and degree of social interaction desired vary with the social unit of participation, but the primary reasons for participation remain relatively stable regardless of the social unit of participation.