The Effects of Ethnicity and Leisure Satisfaction on Happiness,Peacefulness, and Quality of Life

The purpose of this study was to examine how ethnicity and leisure satisfaction affected people's happiness, peacefulness, and quality of life. A trilingual telephone survey of Chinese/Canadians (N = 261) and British/Canadians (N = 258) was conducted. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that sex had no significant effect on any regressors. Ethnicity significantly affected standard of living, achieving in life, and life as a whole. Overall leisure satisfaction significantly affected happiness, peacefulness, and all nine quality of life domains. Canonical correlations also showed that happiness and achieving in life were positively correlated for British/Canadians and happiness and personal relationships were positively correlated for some Chinese/Canadians. Peacefulness was positively correlated with spirituality/religion and community connectedness, but negatively correlated with personal relationships, for some Chinese/Canadians. Implications and research recommendations are provided.     

Nature-based recreation associated with connectedness to nature and leisure satisfaction among students in Brazil

ABSTRACT

There is growing evidence that nature-based recreation (NBR) during childhood promotes connectedness to nature, which in turn fuels NBR during adulthood. In addition to providing a number of health benefits, NBR participation may enhance leisure satisfaction, an important predictor of happiness and life satisfaction. In this exploratory study, we tested these hypothesised links using a path model with a cross-sectional sample of 224 Brazilian college students, where NBR participation during childhood increases connectedness to nature and NBR participation during adulthood, which in turn promotes leisure satisfaction. The model fit the data well χ² (2) = 1.924, χ²/df = 0.962 (N = 220, p = .38), CFI = 1.00, AGFI = .978, GFI = .996, and RMSEA = .00, with results showing an indirect positive link between NBR during childhood and leisure satisfaction, and a direct link between NBR during adulthood and leisure satisfaction. The indirect effect of connectedness to nature on leisure satisfaction was also significant: NBR during childhood fostered connectedness to nature, which motivated NBR during adulthood and higher levels of leisure satisfaction. Leisure practitioners can improve people’s leisure satisfaction by promoting engagement in NBR activities across life stages and emphasising connection to nature.     

The relationship of early life experiences to later life leisure involvement

Abstract

Data from the 1982–1983 Nationwide Recreation Survey were used to determine whether late life differences in leisure behavior reflect a response to early life patterns or present‐day socioeconomic differences. Individuals aged 65 and over were categorized as either “expanders”; or “contractors”; based on their pattern of leisure involvement. Differences in lifelong learning of leisure activities between these two groups were examined. In addition, a discriminant analysis was done to determine whether present‐day differences on socio‐demographic variables were effective in differentiating between expanders and contractors. Results showed that expanders altered their leisure patterns by the addition of new activities throughout the life span whereas contractors learned most of their outdoor recreation activities before age 21. However, none of the socio‐demographic variables used in this study were effective in differentiating between the expanders and contractors.     

Serious leisure profiles and well-being of older Korean adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between different levels of serious leisure qualities and the happiness, health perceptions, and life satisfaction of older Korean adults who are members of community-based, sports clubs. A cluster analysis was used in order to examine patterns of serious leisure qualities (e.g. perseverance, significant effort, career development, identification and unique ethos). The core devotees who identified higher levels of serious leisure qualities reported experiencing higher levels of happiness, health perceptions, and life satisfaction when compared to the moderate devotees. The results of this study suggest that serious leisure serves as a catalyst for health and well-being which can, in turn, contribute to successful ageing.     

Towards quality of life: the effects of the wellness tourism experience

ABSTRACT

The wellness tourism sector has experienced a significant worldwide increase. This study aimed to identify the relationships between customer experience, leisure and non-leisure satisfaction, and quality of life in wellness tourism. Specifically, customer experience was evaluated with four dimensions of the experience economy: entertainment, educational, esthetic, and escapist. The findings of this study indicate that customer experience influences leisure satisfaction, which consequently leads to non-leisure satisfaction. It was also found that both leisure and non-leisure satisfaction contribute to customer quality of life. This study provides industry practitioners with practical knowledge for promoting traveler quality of life through wellness tourism and designing effective marketing strategies to this end.     

Playing in the Posthuman Band: Toward an Aesthetics of Intra-Action in Musical Leisure

Abstract

In this article we use ideas from theorists associated with the “new materialist” or “posthuman” turns in contemporary philosophy in order to challenge the conception of the musical subject posited in aesthetic contemplation advanced by what we term the “pedagogical music world,” and to pursue the possibilities afforded by an aesthetics of intra-action exemplified in practices of the musical “jam.” We return to ancient Greek conceptions of music and leisure (mousikē and scholē), mediated by posthuman theoretical concerns in an examination of the nature of musical affect to argue that an aesthetics of intra-action necessitates a distributed and immanent notion of musical agency rather than individual and transcendent one. Through this discussion, we attempt to trouble the ideas put forth by the pedagogical music world to illuminate leisure potential as imagined in the “posthuman band.”     

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.     

The Experiencing Self and the Remembering Self: Implications for Leisure Science

ABSTRACT

In this research reflection we question the way leisure experience is commonly understood and how leisure science is commonly conducted. Specifically, we focus on advances in multiple self-theory popularized by Daniel Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow, an in-depth examination of human thought processes. After establishing Kahneman's foundational perspective, we apply his thinking to leisure experience and leisure science by reviewing recent scholarship focused on the “experiencing” and “remembering” selves (2000). We conclude the reflection by discussing the implications of Kahneman's thinking for the use of self-reports by leisure scientists, as well as call for greater congruence between the selves we seek to research and our selected research methods.     

Polluted Leisure

Abstract

Leisure now involves becoming-with pollution. In this article, I work with the concept of “polluted leisure” to better understand and respond to the enmeshment of pollution and leisure in late capitalist societies. Pollution and leisure are argued to be mutually shaping. Evidence for the argument is provided through a pilot study of “intoxicated” surfers at a postindustrial site. The study proceeds through a more-than-human paradigm. Nonhuman and material agencies are fused with socio-economic (specifically capitalism) and human subjectivity issues, for example, gender (specifically masculinity). A “wet ethnography,” an experimental multimedia transdisciplinary methodology, is employed to notice and articulate the dynamic complexity. It is concluded that the busyness of pollution complicates leisure discourses that bifurcate nature and society, natural and artificial, subject and object that shape environmental politics, sustainability efforts, and notions of wellbeing achieved through encounters with Blue Spaces.     

休闲活动与主观幸福感

为了探讨休闲活动与主观幸福感之间的关系。文章采用休闲问卷、正性负性情绪量表和生活满意度量表对460名员工进行了调查。结果表明：（1）性别、是否有孩子等人口学变量影响休闲活动;（2）休闲活动对主观幸福感中的正性情绪和生活满意度有显著的正向预测作用,对负性情绪没有预测作用。     

A Cross-Cultural/National Study of Canadian,Chinese, and Japanese University Students' Leisure Satisfaction and Subjective Well-Being

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine whether Canadian, Chinese, and Japanese university students' leisure satisfaction affected their subjective well-being (SWB) and, if so, how this process was similar and different cross-culturally/nationally. A series of stepwise multiple regressions indicated that, in general, satisfying leisure significantly and positively impacted SWB across all three cultures, but there were also differences between (a) Canada and both China and Japan in terms of aesthetic leisure satisfaction and (b) China and Japan in terms of psychological and physiological leisure satisfaction. Overall, our results suggest that while satisfying leisure significantly, positively, and substantively impacts SWB in both Western and East Asian cultural contexts, culture frequently influences which specific elements are pertinent. This cross-cultural/national study has important theoretical and practical implications for the currently Western-centric leisure literature and for the understanding of the different roles leisure plays in enhancing SWB across cultures, respectively.     

Creating Distance from Body Issues: Exploring New Materialist Feminist Possibilities for Renegotiating Gendered Embodiment

Abstract

The body’s active role in the production of gendered embodiments is a key focus for feminist cultural studies and leisure studies. The article draws on new materialist feminist scholarship to explore how gender relations are produced and negotiated in physical culture through one case study example taken from a wider study of young people’s experiences of the body and self-image over time. The article explores how gendered embodiment is assembled through the socio-material circumstances of everyday life. For one particiapnt, 'Ann', “creating distance” from appearance concerns was an embodied process which involved new practices and encounters (e.g., walking for leisure, reading feminist literature) and relationships and engagements with others (e.g., a partner, friends, family). The potential for feminism to open possibilities to imagine the body otherwise is also discussed in relation to recent efforts to foster social justice imperatives in leisure sciences and feminist physical cultural studies.     

Factors Affecting Tourist Satisfaction with Theatrical Performances: A Case Study of The Romance of the Song Dynasty in Hangzhou,China

This study, for the first time, attempts to explore the factors affecting tourist satisfaction with a theatrical performance, The Romance of the Song Dynasty in Hangzhou, China. Four factors are identified to have affected tourist satisfaction: “Performance,” “Venue Environment,” “Service,” and “Stage Facilities.” These theatrical performance factors are examined to assess the relative influence on tourist overall satisfaction. Tourists have the highest satisfaction with “Stage Facilities” among all factors; however, “Service” is the most influential predictor of tourist overall satisfaction. Tourist demographic and travel characteristics toward these four theatrical performance factors reveal several significant differences. Discussions and implications are provided to theater operators to improve tourist satisfaction with theatrical performance not only in Hangzhou, but also in the whole of China.     

Relationships between leisure activity types and well-being in older adults

This study investigates the relationships between specific types of leisure activities and well-being variables (i.e. health perception, life satisfaction and optimism) in older adults. A convenience sample of 188 participants ranging in age from 60 to 90 years (M = 74.99, SD = 5.49) was recruited from three different senior centres in Korea. Three hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between specific types of leisure activities (outdoor, physical, hobbies and indoor, cultural, home-centred and social and volunteering) and outcome variables. After controlling for covariates, it was revealed that home-centred and social activities were associated with all outcome variables. Volunteer activities were positively related to health perception and life satisfaction. Positive relationships were also observed between life satisfaction and physical activities, optimism and cultural activities and health perception and outdoor activities. These findings suggest that promoting positive social interaction in recreational settings and encouraging participation in volunteer activities are important factors contributing to successful ageing.     

Gay,but not Inclusive: Boundary Maintenance in an LGBTQ Space

ABSTRACT

Using the framework of spaces for leisure and the homonormative lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community, this study examines the ways in which an LGBTQ “gayborhood” creates and maintains boundaries of exclusion based on hegemonic norms. Through ethnographic observations and interviews with both homeless LGBTQ individuals and community stakeholders (those in positions of power), this study demonstrates the processes through which hegemonic boundaries are created via (1) the symbolic boundary of respectability, (2) policing, and (3) exclusionary nonprofit practices. Data further reveal the complex relationship between identity and acceptance in LGBTQ public spaces of leisure, demonstrating the importance of “thinking intersectionally.”     

The redefining of later life through leisure: music and dance groups in Brazil

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed at understanding the meanings that older adults attribute to two group leisure activities: dance classes and music get-togethers. The research question was: What are the meanings that older adults construct through group leisure activities? The study used ethnographic methods, specifically participant observation and in-depth one on one interviews. Two groups were selected in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In total, 32 in-depth interviews were conducted, 16 in each group. Data analysis included the development of categories, and entailed constant comparison between the two cases, which were then interpreted in terms of Consumer Culture Theory due to its relevance to leisure in contemporary societies. Six categories of meanings were identified in each group. Of these, five were common to both groups (well-being, hedonism, social connectedness, identity construction, and learning) and one category in each group was activity-specific: rediscovery of the body (dance) and nostalgia (music). The results of the study show how ageing becomes an asset to the individual rather than a liability, leading to a redefinition of what later life can be. In particular, we provide a novel perspective on leisure in later life by focusing on Brazil – an emerging country with a relational culture and high social inequality.     

The Effect of Length of Stay on Travelers' Perceived Satisfaction with Service Quality

SUMMARY

Consumer satisfaction related to service quality during the vacation experience is of paramount importance to the travel and tourism industry. This study tests empirically the effects the number of nights spent on a vacation have on the levels of satisfaction recent travelers report for three service aspects of the travel destination: perceived satisfaction with tourism service providers; perceived “freedom from defects” of tourism services; and perceived reasonableness of the cost of tourism services. Differentiation in satisfaction scores between “short-term visitors” (i.e., those who stayed from one to six nights) and “long-term visitors” (i.e., those who stayed seven or more nights) were examined. Significant differences between the two groups of visitors were present for (1) perceived satisfaction with industry professionals delivering the service experience at the travel destination, (2) perceived satisfaction with “freedom from defects” of the actual services at the destination, and (3) perceived reasonableness of the cost of services at the travel destination. Suggestions for how tourism industry professionals can make use of this information are presented.     

Paid work,life-work and leisure: a study of wellbeing in the context of academic lives in higher education

Living, working, leisure, and well-being are of increasing concern to educators, policy-makers, governments and people generally. The aim of this research note is to investigate the relationships between paid work, life work and leisure in terms of well-being associated with activity. The research used a modified experience sampling method for a one-week period with a staff group based in an educational institution. The data collection period included a bank holiday (three days holiday and four days work). A mobile phone was used to collect data eight times a day, over seven days, on activity, enjoyment, interest, visual interest, challenge, skill and happiness. Data analysis showed a significant correlation between enjoyment and happiness; enjoyment and interest; and visual interest, which also correlated with happiness. Enjoyment and happiness were experienced more in leisure than in paid work and life work. Level of enjoyment was greatest when skills were greater than moderate challenge in activity, though high enjoyment was more frequent when moderate and high challenge were met with equal skills (satisfying conditions of ‘flow’). High enjoyment came as much from paid work as from leisure. The findings replicate and extend earlier research, and the research note emphasises the importance of measures of enjoyment in the investigation of national wellbeing.     

Cultural Consonance in Leisure,Leisure Satisfaction,Life Satisfaction,and Self-Rated Health in Urban Taiwan

The purpose of this study threefold: to determine whether a shared cultural model of the importance of a set of leisure activities to a good leisure life existed in urban Taiwan, the degree to which cultural consonance in leisure mediates the relationship between leisure constraints and leisure satisfaction, and the degree to which leisure satisfaction affects life satisfaction and self-rated health. Results indicate that a cultural model of the importance of leisure activities to a good leisure life existed among sample members. Second, higher levels of self-reported participation in leisure activities that are culturally agreed upon as more important for a good leisure life are more strongly associated with leisure satisfaction than are activities culturally agreed upon as less important. Finally, leisure satisfaction strongly predicts both life satisfaction and self-rated health.