No. 1: Special Issue on Education & Training for Leisure
Bell, B.,
Crebert, G. Patrick, C-J., Bates, M., & Cragnolini, V. (2003). Educating Australian leisure graduates: contexts for developing generic skills. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(1), 1-20.
Leisure studies graduates seek employment in a highly competitive marketplace. In addition to their degree qualification, graduates need a core of generic skills and attributes that are sought by employers in particular industry sectors. As part of a larger study, graduates from Griffith University's leisure management degree were surveyed to explore their perceptions of how their generic skills had been developed in three different learning contexts: at university, through work placements, and in immediate post-graduation employment. It is concluded that all three contexts play an important and often complementary role in providing leisure management graduates with a package of skills that enable them to contribute effectively to the workplace and develop their careers. The study findings suggest that particular skills may be best developed in particular contexts and give strong support for work placements in preparing graduates for employment.
Burden, J. (2003). Community – the undervalued component of flexible learning for leisure management at tertiary level. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(1), 21-34.
As universities become more pressured to move towards flexible delivery of teaching programs, educators are questioning the assumption that flexible delivery means only computer-assisted, distance learning. A growing body of literature indicates that best practice in teaching for flexible learning involves a range of learner-centred strategies that may include computer-assisted techniques but should not be confined to that medium. In this climate of change, academics who teach in leisure management programs in university settings are developing approaches to flexible learning that take account of both the nature of leisure as a social and personal experience and the nature of the learning environment at tertiary level. It is argued here that future leisure managers, in particular sectors such as community cultural development, should develop an understanding of the nature of leisure as a self-directed but socially constructed experience. This understanding may be encouraged through the use of flexible learning as a student-centred activity that is enhanced through the development of communities of learners. In this paper a case-study is used to illustrate how teaching for flexible learning in the context of two community based courses in a leisure management program can support the building of both a community of learners within the academy and a community that crosses university boundaries.
Little, D. E. (2003). First year students' experience of learning: how do our future recreation activity leaders learn? Annals of Leisure Research,
6(1), 35-53.
Teaching within a tertiary institution reveals that many students are able to adopt a behaviourist approach to learning. That is, they seek to learn in order to 'know the facts' and to be able to apply relevant processes to set situations. However, for students to become good practitioners in their fields and develop work-based skills, they need to engage actively with professional content and be able to apply learning in different contexts. This paper reports findings of the subjective meanings first year students in an activity leadership skill subject attach to their experiences of learning and leading. Interviews conducted with students revealed three qualitatively different but inter-related ways of experiencing leadership as technique, as process and as relationships. The findings suggest that the differences are progressive in complexity and their variation may be accounted for by students' learning orientations, their personal experience and their developing meanings of leadership.
Lyons, K. D.
& Brown, P. (2003). Enhancing the employability of leisure studies graduates through work integrated learning. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(1), 54-67.
Graduate employment rates are often used in Australian universities as a key performance indicator in relation to teaching and learning outcomes. While leisure studies and related curricula have always concerned themselves with preparing students for careers within the broadly-based leisure industries, given the climate of funding of higher education, such programs may be vulnerable unless they can demonstrate their professional relevance. This paper examines how incorporating a student-centred whole-life approach to career development into leisure studies curricula can enhance graduate employability, as a key performance outcome. The framework for this examination is provided through a case-study of a Work Integrated Learning
(WIL) initiative developed in the Bachelor of Social Science (Recreation and Tourism) program at the University of Newcastle, Australia. While this paper focuses on the Australian context, many of the issues relating to career development and planning are likely to apply to other countries, since many of the changes relating to careers are a direct result of the globalization of business activity.
Veal, A. J. (2003). Education, training and professional development in leisure:
A bibliography. Annals of Leisure Research, 6(1), 68-78.
This bibliography is not claimed to be comprehensive; it has an emphasis on Australia and New Zealand, but also includes material from other countries, notably the United States and Britain. It is offered as a starting point for those interested in researching education, training and professional development in the leisure field. Updates of the bibliography will appear from time to time on the UTS website
(www.business. uts.edu.au/lst/research bibliographies.html).
Annals of Leisure Research, Vol. 6, 2003, No. 2:
Selected Papers presented at the 6th Biennial ANZALS Conference, 'Leisure, Diversity & Change', Sydney, July 10-12, 2003
deLisle, L. J. (2003). Keys to the kingdom or devil's playground? The impact of institutionalised religion on the perception and use of leisure. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(2), 83-102.
Through the analysis of historical documentation, including holy books, sermons and civil legislation, this paper examines the ways that organised religion, particularly Judaism, Christianity and Islam, seeks to impose constraints on acceptable leisure behaviour. The paper concludes that world religions continue to influence and restrict leisure behaviour in positive and negative ways. This is particularly true where religious organisations, either deliberately or unwittingly, support communal visions as dictated by civil authorities. In contemporary secular societies, however, the goals of institutionalised religion and the state may be mutually exclusive. It is therefore argued that theorists and practitioners should acknowledge the diversity of religious expression within their various communities.
Hoye, R. (2003). Who's leading, who's following? Leader-member exchange theory and voluntary sport boards. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(2), 103-113.
Utilising leader-member exchange theory developed by
Dansereau, Graen and Haga, this paper analyses the dyadic relationship between leaders (board chairs and paid executives) and members (volunteer board members) of the boards of Australian voluntary sport organisations. The paper specifically examines the quality of leader-member exchanges that exist within a sample of 34 Queensland state sporting organisations. It was found that board chairs and executives perceived the quality of their leader-member exchanges to be higher than their respective relationships with board members, indicating the existence of shared leadership within the board.
Nichols, D.
& Freestone, R. (2003). Community valuations of historic pocket parks: a Melbourne study. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(2), 114-133.
The internal reserve, an historic form of planned open space creating semi-private parks at the rear of residential allotments and without street frontages, can be found in Australian suburban areas of diverse socio-economic status. Internal reserves commonly express the idealism of the early town planning movement, which envisaged the internal reserve as an embedded community-building mechanism with multiple potential uses. En vogue from 1910-1930, the internal reserve concept proved problematical from the outset. Even today, while many residents agree that their reserves are responsible for the special nature of their domestic environment, others are apprehensive about safety, maintenance and custodianship. Two surveys of residents living around internal reserves in four Melbourne suburbs, conducted in 1979 and 2002, reveal a variety of opinions on the potential and importance of these spaces. Local communities were found for the most part to have negative and ambiguous perceptions of these reserves. With one exception, residents did not value the parks highly as community spaces and alternative uses may need to be explored. The results suggest that a more innovative set of tools and incentives may be needed to reinvigorate the internal reserve as a significant recreation resource for local communities.
Noad, K.
& James, K. (2003). Samurai of gentle power: an exploration of aikido in the lives of women
aikidoka. Annals of Leisure Research, 6(2), 134-152.
This exploratory study examined the many realities of women's experiences in the male-dominated domain of martial arts. It focussed on twelve
aikidoka, women who participate in the modern Japanese martial art of aikido. The study was situated within a postmodern feminist framework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposefully selected aikidoka from two Australian cities. The interviews were analysed and arranged under meta-themes that reflect the principles of aikido: mind, body and spirit. The participants had learned to enjoy the full expression of physicality and to redefine and reconstruct behaviours that were once confined to the limited territories of the male or female genders. The martial art of aikido gave them a framework to connect their own individual intellectual, physical and spiritual spheres and, through their empowerment, connect in a positive way to their communities.
Patterson, I.,
& Carpenter, G. (2003). By the decade: An exploration of the leisure perceptions and preferences for mid-life married couples. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(2), 153-167.
The purpose of the study described in this paper was to explore the leisure and life perceptions and preferences of mid-life married couples over time. Study participants represented two age-groups (44-54 and 59-69 years), but with similar socio-demographic characteristics and socio-historic experiences. Longitudinal data were analysed for evidence of change or stability in leisure attitudes and preferences over the course of a decade. Though the data revealed some variation in leisure perceptions and preferences, the study participants' responses demonstrated more stability than change, regardless of their age group. Differences noted suggest that certain social role responsibilities may have influenced leisure and life perceptions and preferences for the two age groups.
Taylor, T. (2003). Diversity management in a multi-cultural society:
An exploratory study of cultural diversity and team sport in Australia. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(2), 168-188.
A decade of research has indicated that organisations can obtain a significant competitive advantage through the effective management of cultural diversity. This research has fostered the growth of diversity management initiatives across wide range of organisations seeking better business outcomes. However, empirical studies suggest that sports organisations have been slow to embrace diversity management, despite its proven benefits. While sports organisations have established policies to meet equity considerations, the impact of these has been relatively minor. Focussing on one aspect of diversity management, namely cultural diversity, a national survey of team-based community sport organisations was undertaken to investigate the extent to which diversity management was valued and practised at the grassroots level of sport organisations. Data were collected on cultural diversity policies, strategies and practices. Soccer organisations reported the highest levels of cultural diversity representation among players, board members and volunteers, while the lowest levels were reported by netball among participants and softball amongst Board members and volunteers. Softball organisations were therefore the least likely to have cultural diversity policies while basketball organisations reported the highest levels of policy development. In regard to engagement in diversity management practices Australian Rules organisations indicated the highest level and netball the lowest. Recognition of the value of cultural diversity was highest volleyball organisations and cricket indicated the highest commitment to being open and friendly to culturally diverse groups. This research has implications for how diversity can be managed more effectively by sport organisations
Annals of Leisure Research, Vol. 6, 2003, No. 3:
Special Issue: Leisure Policy and Administration
Fullagar, S. P.,
& Brown, P. R. (2003). Everyday temporalities: leisure, ethics and young women's emotional wellbeing. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(3), 193-208.
This article explores the relationship between temporality and young women's emotional well-being in order to consider the implications for leisure and health policy. Time is central to much contemporary social policy. For example, the Active Australia policy urges us to undertake 30 minutes of physical activity per day to maintain physical health. Debates over paid maternity leave implicate work, leisure and family time. Mental health policies also urge us to take time-out to seek help from medical practitioners and engage in preventative care for ourselves. Policies concerning health and leisure increasingly urge women to use time more efficiently and to be more responsible for their own and others' well-being. Hence, it is important to explore critically the effects of how women 'live' time as they are urged to organise their work, leisure, family and community lives in particular ways. In this exploration, we connect findings regarding young women from a longitudinal study on Australian women's health with a qualitative research project investigating the socio-cultural context of youth suicide in urban and rural communities. The issues of time pressure and emotional well-being emerge as central to young women's health and identity. There is also an embodied, emotional dimension of time that requires further investigation in relation to the development of health and leisure policies and programs aimed at prevention of illness and promotion of well-being. We explore this sense of 'lived temporality' through a concern with the ethical dimensions of everyday social relations, rather than viewing leisure time as merely a resource for health.
Hoye, R. (2003). The role of the state in sport governance:
An analysis of Australian government policy. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(3), 209-221.
This paper examines the development and implementation of Australian government policy in relation to the governance of national sport organisations
(NSOs). The paper discusses the efficacy of current policy initiatives aimed at improving the governance of
NSOs, in particular the failure of government policy to examine a wider range of governance solutions for
NSOs. The paper concludes by identifying areas for policy refinement and the need for further empirical research in to the governance.
Jenkins, J.,
& Stolk, P. (2003). Statutory authorities dancing with enterprise: WA Inc., the Western Australian Tourism Commission and the 'Global Dance Affair'. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(3), 222-246.
Since the late 1970s, statutory corporations have become very familiar and significant features of Australia's tourism political economy. Through a case study of the 'Global Dance Affair' in Western Australia
(WA), this paper critically examines several dimensions of the functions, structures and operations of the Western Australian Tourism Commission
(WATC). Particular attention is directed to the relationships between business and government, the confusion surrounding precisely who is responsible for the actions and performance of tourism statutory corporations, and the wider socio-political settings within which statutory corporations operate. Using a range of sources including texts, government documents, parliamentary debates and the media, we find that the Global Dance 'Affair' involved a complex web of networks and alliances, including a statutory corporation (the WATC and its Eventscorp arm), the Premier and other Ministers, bureaucrats and private sector individuals and agencies. Numerous problems are revealed, including: public servants' confusion as to what did and did not amount to ministerial direction; the number and nature of portfolios held by a single minister, in this case the Premier; inadequate evaluation of event-based proposals presented to the
WATC; WATC commissioners lacking a background or qualifications in tourism; and misuse of public monies. The WATC has reflected broader WA State government ideology and has been a very important conduit for business interests to influence government policy and action, but the case study raises serious questions concerning its governance and accountability.
Veal, A. J. (2003). Tracking change:
Leisure participation and policy in Australia, 1985-2002. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(3), 246-278.
This paper puts forward the proposition that the purpose of official national surveys of leisure participation is: 1. to track changes in overall leisure participation over time in order to evaluate policy aimed at promoting participation; and 2. to monitor variation in participation across social groups in order to evaluate policies directed at achieving equitable access to leisure opportunity. The chequered history of the various national leisure participation surveys conducted in Australia over the period 1985-2002 is examined to assess the extent to which they have achieved these goals. It is concluded that the fragmentation of government responsibility for leisure, the consequent failure to adopt a coherent approach to leisure as an area of public policy and particularly continual changes in survey design have prevented the first objective on overall participation from being achieved in any meaningful, consistent manner. Consequently, despite the expenditure of considerable public resources on numerous surveys, information on general trends in leisure participation in Australia over time does not exist. Further, limited collection and publication of data on socio-economic characteristics of participants have prevented the second goal from being achieved. The paper concludes by calling for a consistent and comprehensive approach to the monitoring of leisure participation at the national level, as a basis for accountable policy and academic research.
Xie, P. F. (2003). Managing aboriginal tourism in
Hainan, China: Government perspectives. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(3), 279-302.
Aboriginal tourism is a developing industry with both national and local implications. This paper provides an overview of the relationship between the state and aboriginal tourism by comparing five dichotomous measures. The types of governmental involvement in tourism are categorised from three perspectives: national, provincial and local. The investigation was undertaken in Hainan Island, China where aboriginal tourism among the Li people has become an important source of economic development. The findings suggest that although governments act as coordinators, planners and regulators in tourism development, tensions are raised when governments at different levels seek to 'authenticate' aboriginal culture and transform cultural experiences into a tourism product to be bought and sold. It is concluded that future aboriginal tourism planning should focus upon the issue of aboriginal control of tourism, cultural preservation and participation in decision-making processes.
Annals of Leisure Research, Vol. 6, 2003, No. 4
Adorjánÿ, L.
& Lovejoy, F. (2003). Representations of leisure in the writings of Robert G. Barrett. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(4), 307-18.
The aim of the paper is to analyse, using Robert
Stebbins' theory of casual and serious leisure, the representations of leisure in the fiction of Robert G. Barrett, a contemporary Australian author whose 19 books have sold over a million copies. A key element of Barrett's plots is the use of holidays. This device gives his principal character, Les Norton, the opportunity to transcend the limitations of his working class existence without losing his working class identity: holidays not only enable Norton to travel to exotic locations in Australia or overseas, but to engage in conspicuous consumption or sumptuous idleness without leaving his job as a bouncer in a Kings Cross gambling club. Although Norton is an improbable hero in terms of physical and sexual prowess, a variety of plausible leisure activities is used as a way of providing credibility to the plots and varying the pace of the action. These activities include mundane activities such as making and consuming simple snacks, chatting to friends, watching television and listening to music; fantasy including binge drinking, casual sexual activity, and the extravagant consumption of gourmet food, tourism, and expensive cars. Treating Barrett's fiction as ethnography provides a basis for disentangling casual and serious leisure elements and demonstrating their links to social class. It is argued that the element of purpose that Stebbins allocates to serious leisure also manifests itself in casual leisure where it functions as a strategy for working class resistance to middle class values.
Cartwright, S.
& Warner-Smith, P. (2003). 'Melt down': young women's talk of time and its implications for health, well-being and identity in late modernity. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(4), 319-38.
There is considerable evidence that increased levels of consumption, 'time-pressure' and transitory employment in current post-industrial or 'late-modern' society have implications for health, well-being and leisure. In this paper we focus on the leisure experiences of young women, paying specific attention to issues that link women's leisure, identity, health and well-being in the context of late modernity. Data are drawn from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Pointing to differences between modernity and late modernity, with particular attention to quantity and quality of leisure, are narratives about time fragmentation, stress and illness and the importance of locating 'the balance' in young women's lives. The narratives emerged from focus group discussions with young women aged 18–23 years and call into question existing perceptions of young women's time-use and the implications for health and well-being.
Chiu, L.
& Kriwoken, L. (2003). Managing recreational mountain biking in Wellington Park, Tasmania, Australia, Annals of Leisure Research,
6(4), 339-61.
The management of recreational mountain biking is examined in this paper, based on. the findings of social and environmental research undertaken in Wellington Park, near Hobart, Tasmania. A review of existing research on the impacts of off-road mountain biking on the physical environment and on other recreational users is presented, followed by the findings of a questionnaire survey of mountain bikers and other park users and an environmental impact study of mountain biking. The questionnaire survey results (n = 255) revealed that conflicts between mountain bikers and other recreational users of Wellington Park were uncommon and there was considerable tolerance for mixed use of tracks. The concerns of non-bikers were mostly about bicycles travelling at excessive speed and not giving an approach warning. A physical impact study, which measured changes in track surface elevation under different conditions, revealed no significant difference between the level of impacts caused by mountain bikers or walkers under the conditions tested. Riding on wet sites and up steep hills and skidding were shown to have significantly greater levels of impacts than riding on flat, dry sites. User education and suitable track maintenance regimes are suggested as the favoured options for managing the main areas of concern relating to off-road mountain biking, namely environmental damage, safety issues and quality of experience.
Ampofo-Boateng, K., Yen, M.,
& Barnabas, V. (2003). The influence of demographic variables on factors that constrain recreational sport participation in Malaysia. Annals of Leisure Research,
6(4), 362-75.
There is a considerable body of research in many parts of the world on factors that influence levels of recreational sport participation. There is, however, a lack of such research in Malaysia. It was, therefore, the aim of the present research to collect data on the nature of the factors that prevent recreational sport participation in Malaysia. Specifically, the research examined the influence of a number of demographic variables, namely age, education, gender, occupation, marital status, income and ethnicity, on Malaysians' perception of the factors that limit their participation in recreational sport. The data collection involved the administration of a questionnaire to 602 randomly selected Malaysians. The results showed that: (a) males were significantly more constrained than females; (b) the older age group of 46-years and above were the most constrained age group; (c) married respondents were significantly more constrained than single respondents; (d) respondents with lower levels of education were more constrained than those with higher levels; and (e) the self-employed and the unemployed were the most constrained occupational groups.
