This mini-dissertation deals with the market demand for campus recreation at the North-West University’s (NWU) Potchefstroom Campus. The market demand refers to the proposed needs for recreation activities on-campus among fulltime undergraduate students studying at the Potchefstroom Campus. For the purpose of the study, undergraduate students (n = 327) were requested to complete a questionnaire containing questions related to reasons for recreational sport participation and constraints hindering participation, as identified by literature. The study was undertaken by using historic, fulltime first- to third-year students studying at the Potchefstroom Campus of the NWU. Participants consisted of a diverse group residing both on-campus and off-campus and also from different faculties, with the exclusion of the Faculties of Law and Theology. Data collected by means of questionnaires was organised and analysed by the Statistical Consultation Services of the NWU (Potchefstroom Campus). Descriptive statistics were used to determine frequencies. It was found that the majority of students participate in the seven major sport codes of the university, and in particular hockey and soccer, followed by tennis and athletics. Even though participation figures for rugby are lower than those for the other seven major sport codes, the participation frequencies by the students are the highest of the major sport codes. The highest additional sport codes that students participated in are cycling, squash, golf, swimming and table tennis. The additional sport codes are predominantly participated in either through hostel teams or with private clubs. It was found that there are five main reasons why students participate in recreational sport, namely for the purpose of challenge and enjoyment, for recognition and achievement, to socialise, for health and physical wellness and to relieve stress. From the mean scores, it appears that the students’ primary reasons for participating in recreational sports are recognition and achievement and to a lesser degree for health and wellness. The study found participation constraints, namely lack of knowledge, lack of interest, individual psychological aspects and accessibility or financial constraints. The constraint experienced most by the students, according to the mean scores, is lack of knowledge about recreational sport. Regarding the students’ recreational sport needs, hockey was mentioned the most, followed by netball, cycling, swimming, tennis and squash. Students prefer to participate in the above mentioned recreational sport activities with hostel teams, whereas very few students prefer to participate on their own. The first recommendation would be to include student development, health and wellness as key components in the current vision of NWU sport. It is also recommended that the NWU revise the information obtained from the Marketing Department regarding the recruitment of future students. Valuable knowledge could be obtained regarding which sports the students were exposed to during their school years and to adjust the additional sport codes accordingly. The third recommendation is the introduction of leisure education during the orientation programme for first-year students. Leisure education will provide the students with the skills to prepare for future events peculiar to campus life. Fourthly it is recommended that, due to the increase in demand for multi-gender sport, the university shall focus on marketing and public awareness of sports such as women’s cricket and rugby for women. The last recommendation refers to the need for more information regarding the management of facilities and grounds. The implementation of a web-based system could increase productivity and may decrease the pressure placed on the utilisation of facilities and grounds. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Šiame darbe yra nagrinėjami socialiniai laisvalaikio kultūros raidos etapai bei su jais susiję ir jų įtakoti menininkų kūriniai, vaizduojantys laisvalaikio leidimo būdus. Darbą sudaro dvi dalys: pirmojoje dalyje aptariama socialinė laisvalaikio idėjos raida, įvairūs jos etapai skirtingais gyvenamaisiais laikotarpiais. Kalbama apie laisvalaikį, kaip socialinį ir kultūrinį visuomenės procesą ir jo santykį su darbo laiku. Antrojoje tyrimo dalyje laisvalaikio sąvoka skaidoma į penkis skyrius: malonumas laisvalaikio patyrime, kasdienis laisvalaikis, lyties įtaka laisvalaikio patyrime, etninė tapatybė laisvalaikio vaizdavime ir virtualus laisvalaikis. Šioje dalyje plačiau aptariami socialiniai ir kultūriniai laisvalaikio aspektai, būdingi kiekvienam skyriui bei pasitelkiama vaizdinė meno kūrinių medžiaga, vaizduojanti tam tikrus laisvalaikio leidimo momentus. Darbo tikslas buvo išsiaiškinti kiek įvairios kultūrinės, etninės ir politinės visuomenės tradicijos įtakoja laisvalaikio leidimo būdus ir atsispindi menininkų kūriniuose, vaizduojančiuose laisvalaikio leidimo būdus. Darbe analizuojami skirtingi laisvalaikio aspektai ir gretinami su meno kūriniais, bei menininko asmenine kultūrine patirimi. Taip pat dėmesys yra skiriamas ir virtualios kibernetinės erdvės įtakai laisvalaikio patyrime ir bei naujųjų technologijų įtakai meno kūriniuose. Darbe prieinama išvados, jog sociokultūriniai gyvenamosios visuomenės aspektai stipriai formuoja laisvalaikio leidimo būdus bei... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This theoretical work explores the meanings of leisure in the context of social and cultural formations of our time as well as works of art which portray leisure activities in their narrative. The work is divided into two parts: the first part discusses the idea of social leisure and its stages throughout the history. The second part analyses the concept of leisure in art and is represented in five chapters: pleasure meaning in leisure activity, casual leisure, gender and leisure experience, ethnicity and leisure experience and virtual leisure. This part concentrates more on leisure portrayal in art and discusses artist's relation to cultural leisure experience. The purpose of this work was to find out how different cultural, ethnical and political society tradicions influence leisure activity and how artists represent that heritage in their artwork. The work also addresses the virtual reality aspect and new technological side of contemporary art. The theoretical work comes to the conclusion that the socio-cultural aspects of living society have a main input in formatting leisure based activities and influence art, especially which portrays leisure experience. This observation also showed that artists either represent the individual metaphysical relation to ethnical society or criticize the global consumer culture in their leisure narrative based works. When portraying leisure activities, artists are influenced by their own experience which is formed by ethnical and... [to full text]

Leisure typically has been regarded as a positive component in people's lives, and evidence points to its central rather than peripheral role in lifestyle. Further, studies of leisure suggest it is conducive to psychological well-being, to physical health, and to the stability of social groups. The extent to which people are able to reach this potential very much depends on leisure's role in lifestyle, the experience of leisure, and whether conditions in a consumption-oriented society facilitate such positive outcomes. For many, leisure in consumption-oriented lifestyles holds symbolic meaning. Important aspects of personal identity and meaning are found in leisure-related possessions and through leisure activities pursued. For others, leisure represents an internal, inner-directed process through which activities or behaviours are intrinsically motivated, freely chosen, and ultimately satisfying. In this study, lifestyle was conceptualized and operationalized using a 'voluntary simplicity' value orientation, focussing on four main value dimensions: (1) material simplicity, (2) self-determination, (3) ecological awareness, and (4) personal growth. The purpose of the study was to examine the role that lifestyle plays in the relationship between leisure and psychological well-being. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by adults enrolled in general interest and continuing education leisure courses. Five basic concepts were assessed in the questionnaire: (1) leisure participation, (2) importance of leisure activity to lifestyle, (3) leisure experience, (4) psychological well-being, and (5) lifestyle. The highest frequencies of leisure participation per month included reading books, magazines and newspapers, listening to music, and watching television and videos. Leisure experience was characterized by higher challenge and awareness, and lower boredom and anxiety. There was general support for voluntary simplicity values in lifestyle with personal growth, self-determination, and ecological awareness dimensions being higher and material simplicity values being the lowest. Lifestyles that more strongly embraced voluntary simplicity were associated with higher levels of challenge and awareness, and lower levels of anxiety and boredom in the experience of leisure. The self-determination, ecological awareness, and personal growth dimensions of a voluntary simplicity lifestyle contributed to heightened positive affect within psychological well-being, while lower levels of material simplicity increased negative affect (decreased psychological well-being). When all factors are taken together, a significant proportion of variance in psychological well-being is explained by the <I><b>experience</b></I> of leisure, especially <I><b>high challenge</b></I>, and <b><I>not</b></I> by <I><b>leisure participation</b></I>, and by a <I><b>voluntary simplicity lifestyle</b></I> characterized by self-determination, ecological awareness and personal growth values in the <I><b>positive affect</b></I> dimension, and material simplicity values in the <I><b>negative affect</b></I> dimension of psychological well-being. These results suggest that regardless of the type and intensity of leisure involvement, if through heightened awareness, higher challenge and lower anxiety are sought in leisure, especially as expressed within a voluntary simplicity lifestyle, then higher levels of psychological well-being may be achieved. Indeed, by reducing lifestyle complexity and lessening the focus on consumerism, the inherent value of leisure to well-being might well emerge to a greater degree.

This research examined several independent variables and their prediction of perceived freedom in leisure (PFL). Four instruments were utilized to collect data from research subjects regarding the independent variables of shyness, extroversion, gender and activity preference style and the dependent variable, PFL. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients were calculated for each scale employed in the research. Reliabilities for the scales within this research were as follows: Stanford Shyness Survey (.78), Adult Short Form of the Leisure Diagnostic Battery (.92), three scales from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire - Extroversion (.85), Neuroticism (.79), and LIE (.75), and the Activity Preference Style Scales - Active (.45), Group (.53), and Risk (.67). Due to the low alpha reliabilities of two of the Activity Preference Style Scales, Active and Group, factor analysis was performed in an attempt to construct new sub-scales with higher alpha reliabilities. This resulted in some of the new sub-scales, as well as the original Active and Group scales being used in the data analysis. The sample was comprised of 325 undergraduate students enrolled in a required history or English class. The age of the sample ranged from 17 to 50 with a mean age of 20.4. Questionnaires were given out during class time and students were instructed to complete them at home and return them to their instructor. Respondents were categorized into six non-independent groups: all subjects, not shy subjects, shy subjects, and three shyness sub-groups — shy now and in the past, shy now but not in the past and shy in the past. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was employed with four different sets of Activity Preference Style scales and sub-scales in the prediction of PFL for the six subject groupings. Regardless of a subject's level of shyness, extroversion, and in several other cases, one of the activity style variables were the only significant predictors of PFL. The best predictor of PFL for not shy subjects was risk.

The Purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of the repression-sensitization dimension and leisure preferences, specifically threatening versus nonthreatening physical activity and television program preferences. The hypotheses were that sensitizers would prefer threatening (violent) television programs and threatening (competitive) physical activities to a significantly greater degree than repressors. Sixty college undergraduates were designated repressors, sensitizers, or middle group by their scores on Byrne's Repression-Sensitization Scale. Preference sheets determined subjects' preferences for threatening and nonthreatening television programs and physical activities. Simple analyses of variance revealed no significant differences in repressors', sensitizers', or middle group's preferences for threatening television programs or physical activities, and thus the hypotheses were rejected. Non-significant tendencies in the data, in hypothesized directions, suggest further research.

"...This interest developed into a four-fold problem: (1) to discover and report the history of the Springtown Independent School District, (2) to show the growth of this school district (3) to discover and report the activities in which the adults and high school students of this community participate and those in which they would like to take part; and (4) to determine the religious, social, and economic standards of the community."

Title: Leisure-time physical activities of students of FTVS UK specialization TVS Aims: To obtain information about students of 3rd year undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport specialization TVS and their habits in leisure activities and sports. Compare the information about students learning the different specializations. Identify, describe and compare other factors affecting the participation of students on lemure-time physical activities and sports. Methods: Collection of information and the actual survey was conducted using questionnaires and document analysis. Subsequently, the results were analyzed using statistical methods and calculations. Results: The survey found that among students of different study directions are the differences in participation in leisure-time physical activities. Students of Sport specialization operate more in competitive sport than other directions, but don't lag behind in participation in leisure-time physical activities. Most aktive in these activities are students of direction Outdoor activities. Furthermore, it was found that with the advent of the high school students at changing habits and attitudes to sport. Students are less involved in competitive sport clubs and begin to pay more attention to sport in their own time and in...

Os jovens brasileiros estão passando por uma situação inédita: mais da metade da população desta faixa etária está acima do peso considerado ideal. Isso ocorreu devido a diversos fatores, como a não priorização da prática de atividade física, por conta de outros interesses, como trabalho ou estudo. Nota-se com isso que diversas iniciativas têm sido tomadas para combater esse quadro alarmante. Dentre elas, há os programas que visam estimular a atividade física nos momentos de lazer desses jovens. Porém, será que tais programas contribuem para a incorporação da atividade física como opção de lazer no cotidiano dos jovens? Tendo este problema em vista, o presente trabalho tem como tema a atividade física e o lazer, e como objeto os jovens participantes do programa SESC Verão. Seus objetivos são estudar o interesse dos jovens entre 12 e 18 anos pela atividade física como opção de lazer, e verificar a influência do SESC Verão no estímulo da prática de atividade física de jovens. Como categorias teóricas foram estabelecidas as relações entre algumas características da juventude e o lazer, o interesse físico-esportivo do lazer e sua interface com os jovens e os equipamentos específicos de lazer e o Serviço Social do Comércio (SESC). Enquanto procedimentos metodológicos foram adotados dois momentos. No primeiro foi feita uma revisão bibliográfica sobre os temas abordados nas categorias teóricas. No segundo foi adotada uma pesquisa qualitativa de caráter exploratório, com a aplicação de roteiro de entrevista focalizada, durante o mês de janeiro, com jovens participantes do programa SESC Verão na edição de 2016, nas unidades Belenzinho e Itaquera, e gestores ligados à organização do programa. Cada edição do programa possui um tema norteador, que são organizados por ciclos, sendo que o atual vai de 2012 a 2016. Esta edição teve o tema Qual o esporte que te move?, apresentando os esportes olímpicos e difundindo e valorizando as modalidades paralímpicas, no ano em que o Brasil sediará uma edição de ambos os jogos. A amostra foi não-representativa, com critério de escolha por conveniência, com o número de entrevistados definidos pela saturação de dados. Através da análise das entrevistas realizadas, confrontadas com as informações obtidas através do levantamento bibliográfico realizado, pode-se dizer que os jovens possuem interesse pela atividade física como opção de lazer, embora ela não seja prioritária, e sua prática visa o divertimento e a descontração. O SESC Verão possui diversos atributos que o torna atraente aos jovens, entre eles, a programação oferecida, a infraestrutura e os instrutores nas atividades, o que faz com que eles prefiram praticar atividades físicas no SESC. Tais elementos dão ao programa um potencial transformador da realidade dos jovens, mostrando diferentes práticas de atividade física que possam ser incorporadas em seu cotidiano / Young Brazilians are going through an unprecedented situation: more than half the population of this age group is overweight. This was due to several factors, such as non prioritization of physical activity owing to other interests, such as work or study. It was noted that several initiatives have been taken to combat this alarming situation. Among them, there are programs that aim to promote physical activity in leisure time of these young people. But is that such programs contribute to the incorporation of physical activity as a leisure option in the daily lives of young people? With this problem in mind, this paper has as its themes physical activity and leisure and as its object the young participants of the SESC Verão program. Its aims are to study the interest of young people between 12 and 18 years for physical activity as a leisure option and to verify the influence of SESC Verão in stimulating the physical activity practice of young people. As theoretical categories were established the relations between some youth characteristics and leisure, physical-sporting interest of leisure and its interface with the young people and the leisure equipments and the Social Service of Commerce (SESC). As methodological procedures, were adopted two moments. At first it was made a bibliographic review based on the topics covered in theoretical categories. In second it was adopted a qualitative research with the application of semi-structured interviews, during January, among young participants of the 2016 SESC Verão edition, in Belenzinho and Itaquera units, and managers linked to this programs organization. Each edition of the program has a central theme, which is organized by cycles, and the current goes from 2012 to 2016. This edition had the theme What is the sport that move you?, presenting the Olympic sports and disseminating and enhancing the Paralympic modalities, in the year that Brazil will host an edition of both games. The sample was unrepresentative, chosen by convenience, with the number of interviews defined by data saturation. By analyzing the interviews, confronted with the information obtained through the bibliographic survey, it can be said that young people have an interest in physical activity as a leisure option, though it is not a priority, and its practice is aimed at amusement and casualness. The SESC Verão program has several attributes that make it attractive to young people, among them, the programming, the infrastructure and the instructors in the activities, which make them prefer to practice physical activity at SESC. These elements give the program a transformative potential of the young peoples reality, showing them different physical activities that can be incorporated into their daily lives

The purpose of this study was to investigate if and how comparative skill levels within marital leisure activities relate to marital satisfaction, and if gender or activity type affects that relationship, and if Flow theory could help explain a potential correlation of these leisure activity contexts. Specifically, this study examined three different comparative skill differences and similarities of couples engaging in leisure activities in three different types of leisure activities as factors in marital leisure satisfaction and ultimately Satisfaction With Married Life (SWML). Their gender and the skill-gender interactions were also included in the analysis. This study followed up on Johnson et al.'s (2006) recommendation for “œmore consideration . . . to be given to the context of the activities themselves and the motivation behind participation” (p. 20). The sample consisted of 657 participating couples regionally reflecting the population and ethnicity across the United States. The Modified Marital Activity Profile (MMAP) was used to measure marital leisure satisfaction. The Satisfaction with Married Life (SWML) scale was included after the MMAP to obtain the overall satisfaction with married life score. The flow experience was measured using items from the Flow State Scale (FSS). A mixed models analysis of co-variance indicated the most common joint leisure activity of both spouses at a similar skill level, and husband is noticeably better than wife, reported significantly higher SWML scores than when the wife is noticeably better than the husband most often. Also, couples who are satisfied with their leisure participation in worse than spouse activities have significantly high SWML scores. Analysis further showed three of the four significant Flow variables had high SWML scores when experiencing Flow, whereas non-athletic activities appeared to be opposite of the other three Flow variables. These relationships were significant even when accounting for the variance explained by demographic variables of gender, age, years married, marriage history, education obtained, ethnicity, and location. Findings support existing family leisure research. This study, however, goes beyond existing research by indicating which comparative skill levels, by gender, and activity types, are positively correlated to SWML. The findings provide implications to couples who are interested in maintaining a healthy marriage, to those considering marriage, scholars, and professionals.

This thesis explores the role of comfort in adventure leisure and in recreational SCUBA diving in particular. In this chapter the study’s central elements of comfort, constraints and negotiation will be introduced. Human engagement with marine locations provides background to the evolution of SCUBA diving as a leisure activity. The concept of comfort is then introduced, with attention given to what comfort means from a range of disciplines. Following this, the use of the term comfort in adventure, leisure and tourism research is reviewed. Divers’ constraints to comfort are also briefly examined here in this introduction, to build understanding of how comfort can be experienced during adventure, and SCUBA diving. Leisure constraints-negotiation research is discussed briefly and linked to SCUBA diving experiences. The objectives of this study are then presented prior to introducing the qualitative research paradigm that guides the research, and the thesis outline.