Journal of Leisure Research

A service provided by:
The Department of Recreation, Park, & Tourism Sciences
Texas A&M University

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Title: Delivering Communitas: Wilderness Adventure and the Making of Community

Keywords: Outdoor recreation/Social aspects; Wilderness Inquiry (Organization)

Abstract: This paper offers an ethnographic account of Wilderness Inquiry (WI), a leisure service provider with the organizational goal of delivering communitas, an intense form of social bonding. At WI, delivering communitas was linked to broader social goals of social integration and equality. However, WI was also a leisure provider, and participants arrived expecting a leisure experience. The paper provides an ethnographic account of how the organization and its trip leaders went about delivering communitas, emphasizing the key elements of establishing the mission, selecting and training trip leaders, setting the tone, maximizing authority, and guiding interpretations. This study concludes by raising some general questions about authenticity, community, and structural transformation when leisure is used as a setting for delivering communitas.

Title: Gender and Ethnic Variations in Urban Park Preferences, Visitation, and Perceived Benefits

Keywords: Environmental psychology; Recreation/Social aspects; Parks; Leisure/Sociological aspects; Ethnic differences; Sex differences

Abstract: This paper examined how gender and ethnicity are related to preferences for various park characteristics, visitation to urban parks and open spaces, and perception of park benefits as reported by participants in a mail survey of residents in two metropolitan areas in the eastern United States. In total, 1570 questionnaires were completed, but 65 cases were deleted because they failed to identify their ethnicity or gender. The overall response rate for the survey was approximately 27[percent]. Although women were more likely than men to evaluate some park characteristics as "important," there were no significant gender differences/variation in the types of visits or the perceived benefits of parks. There was significant ethnic variation in preferred park attributes, frequency and type of visits, and perceptions of the positive and negative effects of parks. However, the effects of ethnicity were not found to differ for men and women.

Keywords: Rocky Mountain National Park (Colo.); Weather/Economic aspects; Weather/Psychological aspects; Outdoor recreation/Psychological aspects

Abstract: Weather conditions may affect the quality of an outdoor recreation experience. Quality of the recreation may be reflected in the visitor's willingness to pay or their net economic benefits of recreation. We used the contingent valuation method to measure the effects of weather on net willingness to pay (WTP) for trips to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. We used a visitor survey to elicit responses to a dichotomous-choice WTP question and to gather information about recreation activities. Results were analyzed with daily weather data to test for climate effects on recreation benefits. We found that temperature and precipitation were statistically-significant determinants of WTP. We estimated increases in recreation benefits of 4.9[percent] and 6.7[percent] for two climate change scenarios.

Title: The Impact of Greenways on Property Values: Evidence from Austin, Texas

Keywords: Real property/Valuation; Austin (Tex.)/Economic geography; Greenways

Abstract: The effect of greenways on surrounding residential property values remains somewhat of an unknown quantity. Though several studies have ascertained that nearby residents tend to view greenways as positive or neutral amenities that increase or have no discernible impact on property values and saleability, these results are mostly based on anecdote rather than actual market data. Using the hedonic pricing method, this study demonstrates that greenways may indeed have significant positive impacts on proximate properties' sales prices. Adjacency to a greenbelt produced significant property value premiums in two of three neighborhoods. Physical access to a greenbelt had a significant, positive impact in one case, but was insignificant in two others. No negative greenway impacts were recorded.

Title: An Examination of the Leisure Involvement-Agency Commitment Relationship

Keywords: Leisure; Leisure/Psychological aspects; Commitment (Psychology); Parks; Consumer preferences

Abstract: Building from the existing literature, we tested a model suggesting that leisure involvement is an antecedent of commitment to a public leisure service provider (N = 860). Leisure involvement was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct consisting of attraction, centrality, and self-expression. Agency commitment was also conceptualized as multidimensional construct consisting of five components; place identity, place dependence, affective attachment, value congruence, and social bonding. The analyses offered partial support for our hypothesized model. Place dependence and affective attachment were positively influenced by attraction, whereas place identity and value congruence were positively influenced by self-expression. Finally, social bonding was positively influenced by self-expression and centrality, but negatively influenced by attraction. This work adds to a growing body of empirical work suggesting that individuals progress though a developmental process where involvement with a leisure activity leads to the development of specific service preferences.

Title: Examining College Students' Participation in the Leisure Pursuits of Drinking and Illegal Drug Use

Keywords: Leisure; College students/Alcohol use; Youth/Drug use; Student life

Abstract: Much of the research over the last decade has focused on the "benefits of leisure." However, there is another side of leisure that has received much less attention. For example, drinking and illegal drugs are popular leisure activities for many college students, yet leisure researchers have paid scant attention to such pursuits even though these activities often take place during leisure time and in a leisure context. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to address this gap in the leisure literature by examining college students' participation in two leisure pursuits, drinking and illegal drug use. We examined their behavior within two potential explanatory theories, differential association and casual leisure, in hopes that we might identify a particularly salient theoretical framework for a leisure perspective on these timely and socially relevant issues.

Abstract: Pronatalist ideology embodies the belief that a woman's worth is tied to conceiving and bearing children (Ulrich & Weatherall, 2000). Despite the broadening roles available to women within North America, ideologically, motherhood is still emphasized as their primary social role (Jordan & Revenson, 1999). Given leisure's link with resistance to ideologies, it may be a context for women to resist pronatalist ideology (Shaw, 2001). Little research so far has explored how active creation of leisure spaces, times, and activities may empower or otherwise support women to resist pronatalist ideology. This study, therefore, explored leisure's role as resistance to pronatalist ideology by examining the leisure of women who encountered infertility.

Title: Enduring Involvement, Situational Involvement, and Flow in Leisure and Non-leisure Activities

Abstract: This research was conducted to investigate relationships between enduring involvement (EI), situational involvement (SI), and flow. It was hypothesized that the constructs would be related and that SI would mediate relationships between EI and flow. In addition, the relationships were examined in both leisure and non-leisure contexts. The sample consisted of 46 recently unemployed adults, diverse with respect to gender, age, pre-unemployment income, and education. Respondents completed a number of experiential sampling forms (ESF) as part of a larger study. Flow and SI were measured at this time. Three months later respondents completed EI scales related to 2 leisure and 2 non-leisure activities for which they had completed ESFs. Structural equation modeling suggested that in both leisure and non-leisure activities participants with higher levels of EI were more likely to experience higher levels of flow (p < .05) and that SI mediated these relationships. This study is the first to establish links between EI, SI, and flow.

Title: Willingness to Pay for Non Angler Recreation at the Lower Snake River Reservoirs

Keywords: Travel costs; Snake River (Wyo.-Wash.); Outdoor recreation/Economic aspects

Abstract: This study applied the travel cost method to estimate demand for non angler recreation at the impounded Snake River in eastern Washington. Net value per person per recreation trip is estimated for the full non angler sample and separately for camping, boating, water-skiing, and swimming/picnicking. Certain recreation activities would be reduced or eliminated and new activities would be added if the dams were breached to protect endangered salmon and steelhead. The effect of breaching on non angling benefits was found by subtracting our benefits estimate from the projected non angling benefits with breaching. Major issues in demand model specification and definition of the price variables are discussed. The estimation method selected was truncated negative binomial regression with adjustment for self selection bias.

Title: "If the Dishes Don't Get Done Today, They'll Get Done Tomorrow": A Breast Cancer Experience as a Catalyst for Changes to Women's Leisure

Keywords: Breast/Cancer; Leisure/Psychological aspects; Women/Recreation; Cancer/Social aspects

Abstract: Breast cancer is a life threatening illness experienced by many women. Although research is being conducted in various disciplines, the effect of breast cancer on the role of leisure throughout the illness experience has not been considered. The purpose of this study was to understand in what ways a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment alters women's experience and choice of leisure activities post-treatment. Eight women with breast cancer experiences participated. The findings indicated women's leisure changed by their making leisure a priority, seeking more meaningful leisure, and engaging in health promoting leisure. The research has implications for furthering our understanding of leisure entitlement, purposive leisure, and the ethic of care.

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