The 1997 Leisure Research Symposium.

The 1997 National Recreation and Park Association Congress in Salt Lake City, Utah, marked the 20th annual Leisure Research. Symposium (LRS). Along with the Opening Session, "Writing for Social Change," nearly 90 written presentations were featured. For the first time since the inception of the Leisure Research Symposium, the paper presentations were grouped thematically rather. than by the topical areas under which they were reviewed. This change allowed those attending who were interested in a particular subject (at-risk youth, marginalized groups, constraints) to attend a single session where all the presentations focused on that subject.

While the process of grouping papers was obviously subjective, and papers could certainly have been grouped in a number of different ways, the response to this change in format seemed, in general, to be quite positive.

Additionally, interest in the alternative poster format had increased considerably over last year, and, as a result, 19 papers were featured as poster presentations. In addition to the paper and poster sessions, the 1997 LRS featured two "Brown Bag Lunch" discussions. The first, chaired by Dan Williams of the University of Illinois, was a panel discussion featuring the editors of the journals in leisure and recreation. The second Brown Bag session, chaired by Peter Witt of Texas A&M University, focused on issues inherent in undertaking community-based research. Finally, a Research Roundtable, chaired by Deb Jordan of the University of Northern Iowa, was held again this year.

Opening Session

The theme for the 1997 Opening Session of the Leisure Research Symposium was "Writing for Social Change." The intent of the session was to hear from a panel of leading scholars about their personal perspectives on the writing that they do and how it reflects their research interests and commitment to bring about social change. Dan Dustin began the session with his talk, titled "Like Light Passing Through A Prism." Dustin talked of his life as a metaphor for examining who we are and how we came to be the writer, the thinker, the individual. Karla Henderson presented her paper as a dialogue with Jane Addams. In "Writing From My Heart: A Letter To Jane Addams," Henderson commented on issues of social change promoted by Jane Addams as she has interpreted them in her current scholarship. Geoffrey Godbey raised issues about the disparate views of social change and how change is accomplished in our field in his talk, "If You Write For Social Change and No One Reads It, You Can Only Change Yourself." Tom Goodale ended this section of the panel with his presentation, "A Would Be Faithful Witness," in which he voiced his concerns about our sense of commitment to social issues and change promoted as a result of our writing and research. The next segment of the session was completed by David Scott and Bertha Cato. These two researchers reported on their experiences of writing for social change as a result of working on collaborative research projects with practitioners. They raised issues regarding the benefits and costs of this type of scholarship and some of the challenges in working on collaborative efforts. The discussion throughout the afternoon dealt with issues of personal concerns and perspectives from the audience and opportunities to apply the speakers' perspectives to ourselves. The thoughts developed during the Opening Session provided a framework and point of reference for the remainder of the symposium.

Areas of Concentration

The 17 papers in the ethnic minorities, marginalized groups, women and older adults session reflected the growing interest in research on diverse populations. The papers looked broadly at the concept of leisure in a variety of settings and covered a wide range of topics. Karla Henderson's paper on issues in researching diverse populations set a framework for the papers in this topical area. Papers such as those presented by Tirone and Pedlar, McDonald and McAvoy, Stodolska and Jackson, and Pawelko, Drogin, and Graefe researched the effects of race and ethnicity on leisure and resulted in increased visibility to perceptions regarding racism, discrimination, and conflict. The role of leisure in the lives of stigmatized groups was addressed in papers presented by Kivel and Lyons, Pearce, and Francis. These researchers analyzed cutting-edge issues related to lesbian/gay/and bisexual youth, people living with AIDS, and women who had been in abusive relationships, and highlighted both the negative and positive aspects of leisure. Issues related to older adults, such as memory, cross-cultural differences in lifestyles, and travel habits, were discussed by Snyder and Singleton, Hawkins et al., and Gibson. Gender issues were addressed in many of the papers but were a particular focus in papers by Arnold, Klitzing et al., and Rehman. These papers focused on professional issues, such as inequity and the effects on women's professional development. Perhaps the most striking aspect in this topical set of papers was the degree to which the researchers were looking at the interrelationships among varied social factors. Rather than segregate the analysis into one arbitrary aspect, such as gender or race, the authors were often looking at multiple social factors and the interaction among the categories as a way to more realistically understand the lives of these culturally "subordinate" groups.

Seven papers were grouped around the topic of measurement in leisure. The most prevalent issues focused on validation of procedures and results (Ragheb; Widmer, Ellis & Munson; Bright; and Smale). Two of the papers had a particular focus on the concept of flow and explored the use of the Flow State Scale (Freeman) and items used to measure challenge and skill (Voelkl & Ellis). McLean provided a theoretical paper that explored the possibility of creating a taxonomy for leisure. All of these papers added to our ability to explore in methodologically sound ways the experience of leisure.

Another topical area of interest at this symposium was leisure, health, and well-being. The four papers in this session had an interesting range of perceptions, from the ideal of spiritual health related to leisure (Heintzman) to the role of leisure in life transitions of people with chronic health problems (Iwasaki & Smale). This session raised a variety of issues from developmental and psychological perspectives about the relationships among leisure and physical, mental, and emotional health.

Another thematic area to emerge from this year's submissions was a focus on leisure meaning and sense of place. Several of the seven papers focused on the social construction of leisure space and the meaning attached to that experience of sense of place (Menning & Field; Lee; Hawkins & Backman). Several papers also applied the idea of leisure meaning as sensed by specific participants or user groups (Baldwin; Shafer & Inglis; Floyd et al.). The papers in this session raised interesting issues related to practices in the field that enhance or hinder the personal application of leisure meaning by participants. The papers also raised practical questions related to participants' perceptions of acceptable levels of environmental impact and their sense of place or meaning.

Issues related to marketing leisure were the focus for five papers presented at the symposium. These papers presented many practical applications. For example, the paper presented by Jamrozy et al. highlighted the importance of advertising that links the destination with an emotional experience rather than just the relevant factual destination information. Novatorov et al. suggested in their conclusions the potential for using a modified version of the Index of Services Marketing Excellence to audit the assessment of all three marketing functions in a recreation organization. A concern for price elasticity of demand was addressed in a paper by Brayley and McLean, with the findings indicating practical suggestions for working with entrance fees and demand consequences.

Three papers applied to the theme of wilderness. These papers focused specifically on issues of concern within management of wild spaces for recreation. Borrie raised issues related to the threat of technology on wilderness, while Heintzman discussed implications of a social construction of wilderness and the influence of this collective vision of wilderness on the development of parks. McAvoy focused on specific management issues related to the use of wilderness areas by rock climbers and the importance of public involvement in various management decisions.

Seven papers were presented on the topic of leisure and disabilities. These papers covered a broad spectrum of both disabling conditions and persons with disabilities. The latter ranged from a study of the effects of a leisure education program on youth with mental retardation (Dattilo & Hoge) to the leisure constraints of families affected by Alzheimer's disease (Hubley & Singleton).

Leisure, ethics, and values were considered by four presenters at the Symposium. Sylvester discussed the labor theories of value of John Locke and Karl Marx in the context of their implications for a jobless future. McLean developed the relevance of applied ethics to both leisure study and recreation practice.

Three presentations focused on the topic of evaluation and leisure. Schneider and Lankford considered advances in attitude assessment in the context of the Tourism Impact Assessment Scale. Another instrument reviewed was the USDA Forest Service Customer Service Questionnaire for Forest Recreation (Absher).

The growing concern for at-risk youth was reflected by the collection of eight presentations on leisure and youth. Baker and Witt reported on a qualitative study of the multiple meanings various stakeholder groups attribute to the quality of after-school programs. In a study that addressed gender as well as youth concerns, Autry looked at the responses to experiential activities of girls at risk.

The session on leisure, communication, and interpretive services provided a forum for six presenters to develop the themes of imparting and sharing information to and among visitors of parks and recreation areas. Silverman presented on the content and functions of talk by adult visitor pairs in museums. Stokowski, Bajc and Absher focused on information relationships and networks in forest recreation.

Five presentations focused on the theme of constraints to leisure. Allan and Mannell considered the relationships between leisure constraints, constraint negotiation, motivation, and participation in a corporate wellness setting, while Shinew and Arnold developed the relationship of gender, race, and income to constraints of leisure participation in an urban park setting.

Curricular issues and leisure was the focus of three presentations. Straube and Ashcraft looked at the influences of co-curricular experiences in a recreation and management curriculum. Wilson and McGuire presented on how team-teaching and team-learning can contribute to a holistic approach to undergraduate education.

There were three presentations grouped under the theme of tourism. Frater considered the perceptions of residents of Jamaica to tourism in that country, while Wang assessed the tourism industry's perception of government participation in tourism development.

Poster Session

The poster session was very successful this year, with 19 posters displayed for two hours in the Exhibit Hall. The goal of the poster session was to add another venue for presenting research findings in addition to the traditional limited verbal presentations. The papers were reviewed by the same criteria and process but were then selected for display in the poster session. The intent of this session was to provide broader exposure to the research--especially for practitioners--by encouraging people to walk through the display and discuss with the researchers, on a one-to-one basis, the results and implications of the studies. The posters featured a broad range of topics, methodologies, perspectives, and practical applications.

Several of the posters discussed diversity issues related to leisure (Kim et al.; O'Brien & Caldwell) or focused on specific user groups such as golfers (Petrick & Backman), bikers (Schuett et al.), students (Yuan & Yuan; Baker & Witt), and residents with schizophrenia (Card & Morris). Several regional or case studies were reported that focused on tourism (Park & Stokowski; Jamieson & Masberg), benefits (Harper et al.), cost sharing (Grover & Burton), and funding (Ham). Several posters also focused on specific management issues, such as the implications of co-production on recreation administrators (Silverberg et al.), program leadership issues (Carruthers et al.), carrying capacity (Tarrant). The remaining posters addressed health and physical activity from a life-span perspective (Dunn et al.), leisure behavior during stressful events (Kanters), efficacy of risk activities (Holmes), and normative standards (Manning & Frymier).

The plan for the 1998 Leisure Research Symposium is to continue to offer the poster session in a visible location in the Exhibit Hall as a way to increase practitioner and researcher exchange through high-quality, applied presentations.

References

Allan, J., & Mannell, R.C. (1997). Testing Relationships Among Leisure Constraints, Constraints Negotiation, Motivation and Participation it, the Corporate Wellness Setting (p. 71).

Arnold, M.L. (1997). Inequity Issues Among Women Working in the Leisure Services Field (p. 38).

Autry, C.E. (1997). Behind the scenes with girls at risk: Responses to experiential activities (p. 51).

Baker, D.A. & Witt, P.A. (1997, October). Who Do You Believe: Meanings Multiple Stakeholders Attribute to Quality After-School Programs (p. 101).

Baldwin, C.K. (1997). A Case Study Examination of Leisure Meaning for the Serious Leisure Participant (p. 48).

Borrie, W.T. (1997). The Threats of Technology to Wilderness (p. 74).

Brayley, R.E. & McLean, D.D. (1997). Price Elasticity of Demand for State Parks (p. 59).

Bright, A.D. (1997). Predicting Support for the Recreation Development from Attitudes: A Comparison of Within-Versus Between-Subjects Procedures (p. 18).

Card, J.A. & Morris, D. (1997). Active and Passive Therapeutic Recreation Activities: Effects on Appropriate Behaviors of Residents with Chronic Schizophrenia (p. 84).

Carruthers, C.P., Hyams, A.L. & Busser, J.A. (1997). A Qualitative Examination of Program Leaders in the Boys and Girls Club (p. 92).

Cato, B. (1997, October) "Scholarly Writing and Social Change: The Hidden Benefits and Costs." Paper presented at the Opening Session of the 1997 Symposium on Leisure Research, Salt Lake City, UT.

Dattilo, J. & Hoge, G. (1997). Effects of a Leisure Education Program (Project Trail) on Youth with Mental Retardation (p. 12).

Dunn, E., Mahon, M., Chipperfield, J., Bailis, D., & Segall, A. (1997). Health Related Constraints and Physical Activity Participation Across the Life Span (p. 89).

Dustin, D. (1997, October) "Like Light Passing Through A Prism." Paper presented at the Opening Session of the 1997 Symposium on Leisure Research, Salt Lake City, UT.

Floyd, M.F., Jang, H.-C. & Noe, F.P. (1997). The Relationship Between Environmental Concern and Acceptability of Environmental Impacts in Two National Park Settings (p. 44).

Francis, S.L. (1997). Leisure as A Tool for Control: The Role of Leisure in the Lives of Women During and After Involvement in Abusive Relationships (p. 36).

Frater, J.L. (1997). Residents' perceptions of the Impact of tourism in Jamaica (p. 81).

Freeman, P.A. (1997). An Exploration of Row Using the Flow State Scale (p. 20).

Gibson, H.J. (1997). Leisure-Based Travel Patterns and Preferences of Men and Aged 50 Years and Above (p. 42).

Glover, T.D. & Burton, T.L. (1997, October). The County of Leduc Recreation Cost Sharing Agreements: An Embedded, Single Case Design (p. 99).

Godbey, G. (1997, October) "If you Write for Social Change and No One Reads It, You Can Only Change Yourself." Paper presented at the Opening Session of the 1997 Symposium on Leisure Research, Salt Lake City, UT.

Goodale, T. (1997, October) "A Would Be Faithful Witness." Paper presented at the Opening Session of the 1997 Symposium on Leisure Research, Salt Lake City, UT.

Ham, L.L. (1997, October). A Case Study Analysis of the Enterprise Fund System as an Alternative Funding Source for Municipal and County Recreation Departments (p. 100).

Harper, J.A., Neider, D. & Godbey, G. (1997, October). The Use and Benefits of Local Government Parks and Recreation Services: A Canadian Perspective (p. 91).

Hawkins, B.A., Foose, A., Hsieh, C.-M., Eklund, S.J., Jingyi, Y. & Binkley, A.L. (1997). An Exploration of the Lifestyles of Older Adults in China, Australia and the United States (p. 41).

Hawkins, G. & Backman, K. (1997). Sensing Displacement: Sense of Place as an Explanatory Concept in Nature Based Vacationer and Sightseer Conflict (p. 49).

Heintzman, P. (1997). Leisure and Spiritual Health Model (p. 27).

Heintzman, P. (1997). Wilderness and the Canadian Mind: Impact Upon Recreation Development in Canadian Parks (p. 75).

Henderson, K. (1997). Issues in Researching Diverse Populations (p. 1).

Henderson, K. (1997, October) "Writing From My Heart: A Letter to Jane Addams." Paper presented at the Opening Session of the 1997 Symposium on Leisure Research, Salt Lake City, UT.

Holmes, S.D. (1997, October). Effect of Efficacy on Likelihood of Participation in Low, Moderate, and High-Risk Recreational Activities (p. 96).

Hubley, M. & Singleton, J.F. (1997). Leisure Constraints of Families Affected by Alzheimer's Disease in Long Term Care (p. 15).

Iwasaki, Y. & Smale, B. (1997). Longitudinal Analyses on the Relationships Among Leisure, Chronic Health Problems, Life Transitions, and Psychological Well-Being (p. 28).

Jamieson, L.M. & Masberg, B. (1997, October). Destination Marketing Organizations Visitor Information and the Representation of Parks (p. 93).

Jamrozy, U., Backman, S. & Backman, K. (1997). Exploring Felling Responses to Destination Advertisements (p. 61).

Kanters, M.A. (1997, October). Leisure Behavior, Social Support, and Anxiety During A Major Stressful Event (p. 88).

Kim, C., Jang, H. & Scott, D. (1997, October). An Exploratory Study on Understanding Cross-Cultural Differences in Leisure Attitudes: Perspective on Individualism and Collectivism (p. 83).

Kivel, B.D. & Lyons, K. (1997). A Dialectic of Agency and Structure: An Examination of Leisure Contexts and Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Youth (p. 34).

Klitzing, S., Bonnifield, R. & Valerius, L. (1997). Authorship in Selected Leisure Studies Journals (p. 37).

Lee, C. (1997). Propositions for Understanding the Antecedents of Residents' Community Attachment (p. 47).

Manning, R.E. & Frymier, L. (1997, October). Willingness-to-Pay and Normative Standards: Navigating the Confluence of Two Streams of Social Research (p. 97).

McAvoy, L., Freeman, M. & Lime, D. (1997). Rock Climbers, Specialization and Management Alternatives (p. 76).

McDonald, D. & McAvoy, L. (1997). Racism, Recreation and Native Americans (p. 3).

McLean, D.D. (1997). A Theoretical Approach to Taxonomy Development for Leisure (p. 22).

McLean, D.J. (1997). The Relevance of Applied Ethics to Leisure Studies and Recreation Practice (p. 24).

Menning, N.L. & Field, D. R. (1997). Social Construction of Leisure Meaning for the Serious Leisure Participant (p. 46).

Novatorov, E., Wall, K. & Kim, S.S. (1997). Evaluation of a Recreation Organization Using a Modified Marketing Auditing Instrument to Investigate the Effectiveness of Marketing Efforts (p. 58).

O'Brien, A. & Caldwell, L. (1997, October). Exploring Meanings of Adventure Through Images and Voices of African American Young People (p. 90).

Park, M. & Stokowski, P.A. (1997, October). Tourism Development and Crime: A Five County Comparison (p. 86).

Pawelko, K.A., Drogin, E.B., & Graefe, A.R. (1997). Ethnic/Cultural Origin and its Impact on River Recreationists' Experiential Behaviors, Styles, Preferences, and Conflicts: the Case of Hispanic-Americans (p. 6).

Pearce, K.D. (1997). How Do We Convince Parks and Recreation Agencies that People Affected by HIV/AIDS Need Our Attention, Support, Programs and Activities? Recreation Professionals' Attitudes and Behaviors Related to Serving People Living with AIDS (p. 35).

Petrick, J.F. & Backman, S. (1997, October). An Investigation of Selected Factors on Golfer Satisfaction (p. 94).

Ragheb, M.G. (1997). Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Scale Measuring the Search for Meaning in Leisure and Recreation (p. 16).

Rehman, L.A. (1997). Entrepreneurship in the Fitness and Sport Industry: How Gender Relations Underpin the Experiences of Women Consultants (p. 39).

Scheneider, I.E. & Lankford, S.K. (1997). Advances in Attitude Assessment: Comparative Results of the Tourism Impact Attitude Scale (p. 31).

Schuett, M.A., Hollenhorst, S. & Chavez, D. (1997, October). The International Mountain Biking Association: The Meaning and Influence of Social Capital (p. 94).

Scott, D & Christyson, J. (1997, October) "The Formative Nature of Park District Research." Paper presented at the Opening Session of the 1997 Symposium on Leisure Research, Salt Lake City, UT.

Shafer, C.S. & Inglis, G. (1997). Conditions Relevant to Visitor Experiences in Marine Environments (p. 45).

Shinew, K.J., & Arnold, M.L. (1997). The Relationship of Gender, Race, and Income to Constraints of Leisure Participation and Urban Park Use (p. 69).

Silverberg, K.E., Backman, K.F. & Wicks, B. (1997, October). Coproduction and Its Implications for Recreation Administrators: An Exploratory Study (p. 98).

Silverman, L.H. (1997). Of us and other things: The content and functions of talk by adult visitor pairs in museums (p. 63).

Smale, B. (1997). A Comparison of Selected Systematic Sampling Procedures in Accurately Estimating Recreation Participation (p. 19).

Snyder, M. & Singleton, J.F. (1997). The Relationship Between Sensory Stimulus and Leisure Memory (p. 40).

Stodolska, M. & Jackson, E.L. (1997). Incidents and Implications of Ethnic Discrimination in Leisure (p. 4).

Stokowski, P.A., Bajc, V., & Absher, J. (1997). Information relationships and networks in a forest recreation setting (p. 68).

Straube, S., & Ashcraft, R.F. (1997) Influences of Co-Curricular Experiences in a Selected Recreation Management and Tourism Undergraduate (p. 79).

Sylvester, S. (1997). A Study of John Locke's and Karl Marx's Labor Theories of Value and their Implications for a Jobless Future (p. 23).

Tarrant, M.A. (1997, October). A Computerized Model of Recreational Carrying Capacity: An Application in Multimedia (p. 85).

Tirone, S. & Pedlar, A. (1997). Assimilation and Conflict Leisure Experience in the Lives of South Asian Adolescents in Canada (p. 2).

Voelkl, J.E. & Ellis, G.D. (1997) Measuring Flow Experiences in Daily Life: An Examination of the Items Used to Measure Challenge and Skill (p. 21).

Wang, P. (1997). Government Participation in Tourism Development An Analysis of Industry's Perspectives (p. 82).

Widmer, M.A., Ellis, G.D. & Munson, W.W. (1997). Reliability, Internal Structure, and Cross Structure of the AEBLS Short Form (p. 17).

Wilson, S.M., & McGuire, F. A. (1997). Team Teaching and Team Learning: A Holistic Approach to Undergraduate Education (p. 77).

Yuan, M. & Yuan, S. (1997). An Examination of University Student Gambling Practices (p. 87)

RELATED ARTICLE: Research Into Action: An Opportunity for Research Excellence

Introduction

This year's Leisure Research Symposium (the 20th), held at the NRPA Congress for Recreation and Parks in Salt Lake City, Utah, provided a forum for researchers and professionals to reflect on and call for social change. Through keynote speakers addressing writing, Brown Bag sessions, a Research Roundtable providing open dialogue, and thematically grouped data reports given as presentations and posters, leisure research as a form of social change was reviewed.

Impact of this Research

The Leisure Research Symposium brings together university and field researchers and professionals from around the world to share and discuss recently completed studies and to chart needed areas for future study. With nearly 90 presentations, it is the largest annual leisure research event available.

How to use this Research

The symposium publishes an abstracted summary of the research presentations. Consult for discussions of these and other findings.

* Leisure increases the visibility of perceptions of racism, discrimination, and conflict.

* Leisure is both positive and negative in the lives of lesbian/gay/bisexual youth, people living with AIDS, and women in abusive relationships.

* Leisure provides the ideal for spiritual health.

* Typical delivery systems and practices can both enhance and hinder personal applications of leisure meaning by participants.

* Technology is a threat to wilderness.

For More Information

Hultsman, J. & Bialeschki, M.D. (Eds.), 1997. Abstracts from the 1997 Symposium on Leisure Research. Ashburn, VA: National Recreation and Park Association, Resource Development Division.

Research Into Action is published monthly by the Society of Park and Recreation Educators, National Recreation and Park Association. As an accompaniment to "Research Update" its goal is to turn research findings into field action by highlighting management strategies. Founding editors are Dr. Ruth Russell and Dr. Daniel D. McLean, Department of Recreation and Park Administration, Indiana University.

John Hultsmann is a professor of Recreation and Tourism Management at Arizona State University West, M. Deborah Bialeschki is an associate professor of Leisure Studies and Recreation Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Asuncion T. Suren Is an assistant professor of Recreation and Parks Administration at Indiana University.

Research Update is edited by Dr. Irma O'Dell of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.