Leisure and resistance in an ageing society

This paper examines the development of a dominant discourse on ageing in a culture which devalues the aged and excludes them from the productive sphere. Through literature, the media, language, humour and in social science theory, research and social policy the underlying assumption has been that ageing means deficiency and a necessary curtailment of physical activities and social involvement. In contrast, the developing discourse on leisure emphasizes both what a person can do rather than what she or he cannot do, and the importance of an individual's own choice of leisure experience. In applying Foucault's ideas on discourse and resistance, this paper argues that in the intersection of these contradictory discourses, resistance to ageism is possible. Specific case studies from qualitative leisure research demonstrate that various resistances to the dominant discourses on ageing can be made through leisure. Thus leisure presents the potential to challenge ageism and the self-fulfilling prophesy of underuse of physical and mental abilities in old age.     

Northern Ireland: the politics of leisure in a divided society

The public provision of leisure services and the impact which this has on the community has become a political issue. Nowhere is this more the case than in Northern Ireland where economic and social problems, together with the Troubles, led to a massive increase in central government's sponsorship of public leisure provision in the 1970s. This was a political gesture made more political in the manner through which district councils and local government officials discharged their devolved responsibilities and the way in which local communities appropriated leisure facilities. The resultant pattern of leisure provision reflects existing community boundaries and, as such, reinforces rather than ameliorates sectarian divisions.     

The changing regulation of public leisure provision

There is much current international interest in the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of alternative mechanisms of public service delivery. In the UK, research has concentrated on Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT), both in terms of its impacts and the wider socio-political project which it represents. It has been argued that CCT has been less about getting the private sector into public leisure provision than it has about commercializing the public sector. However, it is evident that the ‘externalization’ of public leisure management functions has been encouraged by the legislation, meaning that a new marketplace has been created, characterized by the emergence of a number of private sector leisure management companies. With the potential advent of a new Best Value (BV) regime in place of CCT, it is argued that the significance of these companies could increase considerably. Here, this new dynamic of private capital into public leisure provision is analysed, through reviewing its structural nature in the context of the wider social reproduction of capitalism. In locating the analysis within the field of Regulation Theory, the paper makes explicit the exogenous structural nature of the dynamic, particularly in its need for legitimation through the annexation of change through social norms, mechanisms and institutions. The paper consequently argues that while the primary project of CCT may have been about the commercialization of the public sector, the underlying priority of government has been much more associated with the need to find new and acceptable ways of reinforcing the hegemonic message of consumerbased capitalism. It is concluded that the BV regime, far from challenging this orthodoxy, is likely to further legitimate it.     

Leisure studies,leisure policy and social citizenship: a response to Rosemary Deem

An under-researched, controversial and complex leisure event is examined in the light of orthodox research that documents the beneficial effects leisure has on the psyche. This involves drawing on contemporary theorizing in leisure studies while at the same time using grounded knowledge of a particular locality and synthesizing the material to identify areas for future theorizing and research. In Northern Ireland, the July summer holiday period was traditionally used to celebrate Protestant culture and religion and Unionist supporters marked these events by holding religious and political rallies. However, this celebration of Protestantism has not (recently) been shared with the Nationalist community and various skirmishes and civil disorder offences have been recorded over this holiday period during the last 5 years. The paper notes the change in emphasis from celebration to confrontation and considers the effects this has on individuals already living in an armed conflict situation. It is contended that during this particular holiday period in the Province, leisure is used as a vehicle for social mobilization as Unionists and Nationalists pursue group interests and engage in collective action for their respective ideologies. Leisure, in Northern Ireland, does not function in a manner that orthodox research would initially suggest but is used to reinforce political and sectarian divisions. The paper concludes by commenting that the political, social and economic indices that shape our experiences of leisure need to be considered and/or incorporated into theoretical understandings of leisure.     

Toward an explanation of betting as a leisure pursuit

This paper uses an analysis of betting decisions to explore the motivations underlying offcourse horserace betting — a leisure activity which accounted for a turnover of £4.3 billion in the UK in 1989/90. Specifically, four possible motivations are considered: financial gain, intellectual challenge, social interaction and excitement. A testable proposition is developed, linking each motivation to a particular time period in which the bet is placed and as to whether the bet is placed at starting price. Hence, four distinct subsets of the aggregate betting population are defined. The proposition is tested by examining betting behaviour in each subset according to three bet characteristics — financial return, average stake and degree of risk taken, where the value of each characteristic is held to be indicative of an underlying motivation. The results indicate significant support for the proposition that individuals vary in their motivation to bet which is reflected in the nature and timing of their betting activity.     

The future of leisure: making leisure work

The general subject of this paper is the future of leisure. It is suggested that the existing forecasts over the last forty years regarding the future of leisure - either leisure's abundance or its scarcity - depend upon taking leisure and work either segmentally or even as polar opposites. It is argued that recovering a basic idea found in Samuel Smiles' book Self-Help (1859) could go a long way toward establishing an identity between real work and real leisure. Smiles is typically read as a mere lyric poet and as a writer in part responsible for projecting upon his people horrid centres of industrialism by way of promoting what is historically referred to as the Victorian work ethic. But Smiles can be read differently. In this paper it is argued that Smiles' interpretation of self-help is so inclusive as to be useful in understanding the nature and significance of the future of leisure if, that is, we take leisure to be work.     

Paternalism,professionalism and public sector leisure provision: the boundaries of a leisure profession

A significant body of research has emerged concerning issues of the professionalization of, and professionalism in, leisure. Much of this literature has focused on the political and/or technical dimensions of the leisure professional and the customers or citizens they purport to serve. In this paper we offer a moral philosophical account of the relations between the paradigmatic leisure profession, leisure management, and its clientele. An account of the varieties of paternalism is developed and a more specific picture of professional paternalism in the context of leisure professions is articulated, while stopping short of providing a justification for the autonomy – respectful and disrespectful forms that they can take. We characterize the relations as necessarily involving moral authority, and not merely technical expertise, as is commonly supposed.     

Energy use and leisure consumption in Norway: an analysis and reduction strategy

This article discusses the environmental impacts of leisure activities. Calculations are presented for the time-use, money expenditure and energy use involved in leisure services and goods consumed by Norwegians in 2001. The paper draws upon a two-year project financed by the Research Council of Norway. Leisure consumption represented around 23% of the total energy use within private and public consumption in Norway. The energy intensity of leisure consumption, measured in energy use per amount of expenditure, was 20% lower than that of everyday household consumption but 380% times higher than that of public consumption. Surveys show that around half of Norwegian leisure time is spent at home, with considerable use of electronic goods, but that the major energy users are holidays, outdoor recreation and second homes. Growing mobility in leisure patterns is a dominating problem. Leisure consumption is growing rapidly and energy-intensive forms of leisure consumption are growing fastest. A 10-point strategy for reducing the environmental impacts of leisure consumption is presented, including strategies for changing leisure production, changing patterns of leisure consumption, changing the volume of leisure consumption and utilising leisure as an educational arena.     

Education for leisure: a suggested approach for schools

This paper examines the notion of education for leisure in schools. The present move towards a liberalization of school curricula affords an opportunity for leisure education to occupy a significant role in schools. Although evidence is sparse, it would seem that most schools spurn this opportunity and simply offer pupils simulated ‘taster’ experiences. Thus, it is argued that schools might focus more upon ‘education’ with regard to leisure and a framework is suggested within which such an education could take place.     

Leisure Diversity as an Indicator of Cultural Capital

The diversity of activities in a repertoire of leisure is a variable shown to have considerable impact on the quality of leisure and beneficial personal outcomes, and it is proposed as one important indicator of cultural capital. Theoretical perspectives on cultural capital indicate the importance of education in preparing individuals for broad patterns of leisure consumption in addition to status attainment. Contemporary advances demonstrate that status attainment cannot be equated with high cultural consumption and that broadly omnivorous leisure pursuits may be more valuable to social actors. Role attachment theory and disengagement theory are additionally explored as possible theoretical explanations that assist in predicting leisure diversity that is highly patterned by employment and one's age. The number of different leisure experiences that constitute an individual's leisure repertoire is expected to change throughout the life-course as needs for cultural capital vary and as demands in paid and domestic work change. Tobit models of leisure diversity are proposed using American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data. Findings indicate that leisure diversity is impacted by ethnicity, recent immigration, age and socio-economic status, and theoretically relevant conditional relationships are explored.     

Continuity as a basis for change: leisure and male retirement

The images, attitudes and activities associated with retirement are changing, but it still represents an important threshold in people's lives. This paper argues that men commonly deal with the changes precipitated by retirement by emphasizing those aspects of their lives that represent continuity. Far from taking-up a set of new activities, it is most usual for retirement to be characterized by more of the same. Much of this continuity is provided by leisure pursuits which may, however, change their significance in retirement. The paper appraises the psychological values, use of time and social contact associated with leisure in this period of transition and concludes that many of those who adapt best to retirement are those who in fact have to make the least changes.     

Social differences in leisure behavior: Measurement and interpretation

This article examines how three major dimensions of leisure behavior, i.e., rates of leisure participation, money expenditure for leisure goods and services and discretionary time available for leisure pursuits, are distributed across various socio‐demographic and socio‐occupational groups. The money expenditures for leisure, it is argued, follow traditional class lines most closely; the rates of leisure participation are characterized by a more egalitarian distribution; and the amounts of leisure time are often inversely related to social centrality and social status. The article interprets these varying patterns of leisure inequalities as a function of the cumulative nature of leisure participation as opposed to the “finite” nature of leisure time, and as a reflection of the complex relationship between leisure, work, income, leisure class, and leisure status.     

Role of constraints in Chinese calligraphic landscape experience: An extension of a leisure constraints model

The study of constraints in the leisure and tourism context has been a growing research theme during the past four decades. This article focused on participants' constraints that inhibit an experience of Chinese calligraphic landscapes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether three types of constraints existed in the context of a calligraphic landscape experience. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the fitness of the collected data for the hierarchical constraints model. This study also extended this hierarchical model to prove that some constraint dimensions do influence tourists' preference, participation and satisfaction. This research concluded that intrapersonal constraints had a negative influence on preference, while neither interpersonal nor structural dimension influenced tourists' participation or satisfaction.     

国内外休闲研究扫描--兼谈建立我国休闲学科体系的设想

本文全面地介绍了国内外休闲研究的发展背景、演变历程、研究现状、相关机构和代表文献，提供了一个把握休闲研究脉络和体系的图景，并就建立适合我国国情的休闲学科研究体系提出了设想。     

Labour,leisure and household income in rural settlements: an empirical assessment in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica

The relationship between labour use, the availability of leisure time and the generation of income in rural farm households is often depicted as an implicit or explicit trade-off. This article presents a review of current theories regarding the supply, demand and use of labour at farm household level, followed by an empirical assessment of time allocation of labour and the composition of farm household income in a sample of peasant households located in different types of agrarian settlements at the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica. Structural determinants of labour use and leisure choice, as well as the relationship between household income and the availability of leisure are determined. Major differences in land use and labour allocation between settlements according to the period of colonization (old or recent) and the type of colonization (spontaneous or organized) are outlined. Small farms in organized settlements rely on labour-intensive cropping systems that guarantee higher incomes at the expense of leisure, while farms in spontaneous and more remote settlements still maintain labour-extensive production with reliance on wage labour. Empirical evidence points towards a clear trade-off between leisure-time and marginal income as well as possibilities for substitution of family labour by hired labour to increase leisure. Personal characteristics ( i.e. education, age, work attitudes) and farm characteristics ( i.e. location, farm size, lifetime) are identified as relevant factors to explain leisure choice.     

Understanding Urban Public Space in a Leisure Context

For many people, the city is a landscape of everyday life. In cities, public spaces serve as venues for social interaction, sociability, conviviality, and the enactment of community. Despite their relevance to community life, however, urban spaces remain underexamined in the leisure literature. If researchers seek to understand leisure in the context of everyday experiences, they must also consider the spatial perspective in which leisure activities are pursued. In this research reflection, we argue that urban public spaces and some private spaces are fundamentally leisure settings that warrant greater research attention. We propose to broaden the conceptual understanding of what constitutes urban public space by outlining four categories of urban space based on ownership and accessibility.     

Culture as a Variable in the Study of Leisure

Leisure researchers increasingly have invoked culture, either implicitly or explicitly, with the claim that it accounts for differences either in leisure behavior or in attitudes, motivations, or other feelings about leisure among putatively different cultural groups. Unfortunately, they have generally been unclear on what they mean by the term “culture.” Instead, they have relied on either presumably universally understood folk definitions or on proxy measures such as nationality, language, ethnicity or race to distinguish among “cultures” and, thereby, to understand how culture allegedly affects leisure.

Unfortunately, serious problems exist with this practice. The concepts of race and ethnicity, for example, are so heavily imbued with political meanings that their worth as scientific constructs is dubious at best (Brubaker, 2004 Brubaker, R. 2004. Ethnicity without groups, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Chick et al., 2007 Chick, G., Li, C. L., Zinn, H. C., Absher, J. D. and Graefe, A. R. 2007. Ethnicity as a construct in leisure research: A rejoinder to Gobster. Journal of Leisure Research., 39: 554–556. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Moreover, whether they genuinely reflect cultural differences is an empirical issue, not one to be simply assumed. Finally, comparing leisure behavior between two or more allegedly culturally different groups is by itself not evidence that any observed variations are due to culture and not something else. Hence, I have two purposes in this research reflection. First, I urge leisure researchers to determine and then report if they are intentionally using culture as an explanatory variable in their studies and, if so, to define it. Second, I recommend a type of definition because recent advances theory and methods make the culture concept useful as an independent explanatory variable.     

Tourism on two wheels: Patterns of motorcycle leisure in Wales

The motorcycle leisure sector has evolved from a rebellious culture of the 1950s to a large mainstream market sector today. Motorcycle touring has grown significantly in recent years, with a shift to larger capacity motorcycles and an increase in the average age of motorcyclists. The demographics of this group has meant that, increasingly, motorcycles are used for leisure purposes rather than commuting. Peripheral locations, with a high proportion of the mountain and scenic roads favoured by motorcyclists, have seen a dramatic influx of these recreationists. Despite this significance there has been little academic work on the subject, or concerted efforts to embrace this market sector by destination marketing organisations. This paper discusses the findings of an investigation into the motorcycling leisure and tourism sector in Wales, UK, examining travel patterns of motorcycle tourists, motivations and preferences of this group and the potential economic impact.     

Reading Pro-Am theatre through a serious leisure lens: organisational and policy-making implications

Amateur theatre has often suffered from a stigma of incompetence, and the view that while participants enjoy their involvement, they are unable to impact on the professional realm. Recent policy from Arts Council England and major projects from the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre Wales suggest the amateur contribution is increasingly being recognised and celebrated. This article explores the emerging role of the non-professional in contemporary British theatre through the ‘Pro-Am’ initiative – whereby amateurs and professionals work collaboratively. It initially considers how serious leisure theories such as collective amateurism, flow, subjective well-being, social identity and culture of commitment can be applied to the Pro-Am theatre context and explore the challenge of negotiating the commitments of a serious leisure pursuit with participants’ ‘real lives’. Methods employed include case study, semi-structured interviews, observation and a focus group. Data are presented from the perspective of professional practitioners who facilitate Pro-Am work in regional, producing theatres and other industry experts, supported by some additional participant comments. Implications for arts organisations delivering this kind of work are then addressed. Findings reflect many of the outcomes outlined in the theory, and we conclude that the broadening of categories and the increasing popularity of Pro-Am initiatives are breaking boundaries, changing the very nature of amateurism.