Abstracts
of Annals of Leisure Research, Volume 4: 2001
Brown,
P. R., Brown, W. J., & Powers, J. R. (2001). Time pressure,
satisfaction with leisure and health among Australian women. Annals of
Leisure Research, 4, 1-16.
Expectations
associated with the multiple roles adopted by women over the life-course
have contributed to feelings of time pressure and stress for many women.
There is also a growing body of evidence that leisure participation
contributes to individual health and well-being and may serve to moderate
levels of stress. Explorations of associations between feelings of time
pressure, satisfaction levels with the time spent in active/ passive
leisure, and measures of physical and mental health, may provide insights
into the role of leisure in promoting good health and moderating stress
levels associated with increased time pressure for Australian women. Data
from the baseline survey of the Women's Health Australia project are used to
explore such associations in the lives of 41,000 Australian women aged
18-23, 45-50 and 70-75 in 1996.While being rushed/pressured/busy seems to
impact adversely on health, the effects seem to be attenuated in women who
are happy with the amount of leisure time available to them.
Dionigi,
R. A. (2001). Participant experiences in a special sporting event: the case
of the United Games in Bathurst, Australia. Annals of Leisure
Research, 4, 17-37.
Special
events are a widely studied phenomenon. An analysis of previous studies of
special sporting events indicates a heavy emphasis on their economic and
tourism impacts, but minimal information about the motivations and
experiences of those involved as participants. This case-study examined the
experiences of people who attended the 1997 Eastern Conference [University]
Games (called the United Games), held in Bathurst, NSW, Australia. Data were
collected through informal interviews, a questionnaire survey, participant
observation and a reflective journal and were analysed using such techniques
as constant comparison analysis and content analysis. Participant
experiences in the United Games were interpreted under four salient themes:
socialising; spectatorship; sports participation; and team bonding. The
results reflect the interpersonal impacts of a special sporting event on its
participants and provide evidence to support key arguments put forward in
the literature on special events. The findings contribute to knowledge about
the social psychology of participation in special events, and have
implications for event planners.
Johnson,
P. (2001). An examination of risk within tourist experiences to the Islamic
Republic of Iran. Annals of Leisure Research, 4, 38-57.
This
paper explores the role of risk in tourist experiences by focussing upon an
escorted tour to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The study is an attempt to
understand the nature of tourist risk and how it is understood, perceived
and managed through the various tour stages (pre-tour to post-tour) by the
tour leader and tour participants. The relationship of risk to the tour
group is conceptualised by the creation of a model, which is based upon
Goffman's notion of the 'umwelt' state. The 'protective cocoon', which
shields the tour group from risk, is created and sustained by the tour
leader's management of risk. This state allows the tourist to remain
virtually oblivious to questions of 'risk' when travelling in a potentially
hazardous political environment. The cocoon is tested from without (through
uncontrollable forces) and from within (through the behaviour of the
tourist). This study links the conceptualisations of risk found in tourism
research with sociological theory concerned with how individuals cope with
risk in the modern world.
Pringle,
R. (2001). Examining the justifications for government investment in high
performance sport: a critical review essay. Annals of Leisure Research,
4, 58-76.
The
New Zealand Government has recently increased investment in high performance
sport with the justification that elite sport helps to produce a more
active, cohesive and economically robust nation, with a positive sense of
identity. In this paper, in order to encourage reflection, debate and
research, these justifications for the support of elite sport are critically
examined, with particular reference to case studies of rugby union and the
America's Cup Regatta. The proposition that significant public investment in
a small number of elite sport participants, will result in increased
sporting activity levels, is shown to be currently unsubstantiated. In
addition, it is argued that it is problematic to rely on functionalist
justifications, related to social cohesion and national identity, for
promoting high performance sport. Finally, it is suggested that, although
economic benefits associated with investment in high performance sport can
be significant, concern should also focus on how the returns from these
investments are distributed and how they affect factors associated with
social, political and economic inequities.
Simmons,
B. A. (2001). Tracing travel talk in the popular magazine text. Annals of
Leisure Research, 4, 77-94.
By
tracing distinct travel discourses in travel articles in popular magazines
this paper seeks to reveal how travel journalists, as mediators of travel
messages, construct and inscribe particular positions for tourists, places
and host communities through specific narratives, images and commonly used
codes. Sightseeing, the idea of the privileged tourist and the aesthetic
beauty of a place are dominant and recurring themes in the magazine texts
examined. Sightseeing is presented as the dominant way to access and know
tourism places, as opposed to knowledge involving other senses or types of
social involvement. An assumed relationship of power between tourist and
place privileges and legitimates the interests of the Western tourist in a
narrative of the 'independent and elite traveller', rather than the 'mass
tourist'. 'Place' is prized while local inhabitants are diminished.
Destinations are constructed as if they are tourists' playgrounds, inscribed
as beautiful and romantic to seduce the tourist, while locals are
constructed as submissive and compliant, as they facilitate and sustain
travel myths and fantasies.
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