Camps provide an avenue for examining positive youth development. Camps represent environments where children can develop their social capital and emotional intelligence insofar as camp activities teach children how to build positive relationships and to relate to others emotionally that lead to positive outcomes. Little research has examined children’s social capital and emotional intelligence and the relationship between them. Using a longitudinal dataset, this study examined the change of social capital and emotional intelligence experienced by campers. Findings revealed that increases in social capital caused increases in emotional intelligence. Differences were found based on gender. Furthermore, residential camps were found to have a stronger effect on the relationship between social capital and emotional intelligence than day camps. This study lends itself to furthering the understanding of the development of emotional intelligence and the importance of camp in children’s development.

Little research has focused on street-involved youths’ social relationships. As some scholars have suggested that leisure is inherently social, my research sought to understand whether participation in structured and/or unstructured leisure activities influence street-involved youths’ social relationships with other street-involved youths as well with members of the mainstream community. Written in the publishable paper format, this thesis is comprised of two papers, both of which utilize Foucauldian theory. In the first paper, I examine the impacts of street-involved youths’ participation in Health Matters, a leisure program for street-involved youths in Ottawa, Canada. In the second paper, I examine street involved youths’ unstructured leisure activities (e.g., leisure in non-programmed settings) and their subsequent social impacts. Based on my findings, I argue that street-involved youths use both structured and unstructured leisure to form crucial social connections to make their lives more bearable.

The frequent consumption of alcohol and cannabis by youth poses both concern and ambivalence to society about the nature of the problem and how to respond. In the last few decades, social science research has devoted considerable attention to substance use among youth, making it an important issue to consider; however, controversy abounds when considering where consumption patterns of youth fall on a continuum from normal to deviant. Central to these debates is the social acceptability of the substances being used, their legal status, the frequency with which they are consumed, and the particular groups most often engaged in their use. Youth who consume alcohol are viewed with less trepidation than those who consume cannabis. Moreover, those who use either substance recreationally or experimentally are deemed to be more typical than those who have escalated their use to more regular or frequent episodes. Finally, drug-using youth who are embedded in conventional society are viewed more positively than those who occupy the margins of society, such as those who are delinquent or homeless. To fully understand the debate about the deviancy versus the normalcy of adolescent substance use, more inclusive approaches that take into account structural, individual and situational explanations are needed; however, existing studies fail to consider all of these influences. Instead, there is debate about the dominance of each of these explanations. This dissertation examines and tests these competing representations and explanations of adolescent substance use by drawing on multiple sociological theories of deviance including control theories, differential association theory, routine activity approaches, and drift theory. Using a combined sample of high school students and street youth, the findings suggest that adolescent substance use is far too complex to be explained by only one theory. Instead, explanations for the variations in substance use must take into account both individual backgrounds and more immediate situational influences. Most importantly, individual beliefs about substances are an important and often ignored aspect of individual substance use patterns.

The relationships between participation in structured leisure (SL) activities (e.g., sports, prosocial activities) and adolescent adjustment were investigated. SL activities have been associated with various developmental benefits but there has been a limited number of studies that have investigated the potential negative aspects of participation. Questionnaire data were collected from 210 boys and girls (between grades 10 and 12). Fourteen students participated in focus groups to obtain a phenomenological perspective on SL participation. Adjustment variables included a well-being composite (comprised of depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and life satisfaction), a school orientation composite (comprised of students levels of school involvement and their values regarding school), academic achievement, and self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism. Three hypotheses were examined. First, it was predicted that there would be a curvilinear relationship between the extent of SL participation and the various adjustment variables. Second, aspects of play and leisure were expected to have moderating effects on the relationships between SL participation and outcomes. Third, aspects of perfectionism were hypothesized to play a moderating role on the relationship between SL and adolescent adjustment. <p>Although the present investigation yielded some insightful observations about participation in SL activities, the results provided no direct support for the hypotheses. Regression analyses indicated positive relationships between SL participation and self-oriented perfectionism, and SL participation and academic achievement. Negative relationships were found between the degree of playfulness in SL activities and socially prescribed perfectionism, and between academic achievement and global intrinsic leisure motivation. Notable focus group themes included a distinction between the fun experienced in SL activities and the fun experienced in nonstructured contexts, significant positive and negative experiences related to SL participation, and differences and similarities between the SL context and other contexts such as school. It is argued that leisure theory can contribute to a better understanding of the developmental implications of SL participation and that the relationship between SL participation and perfectionism merits further investigation.

Social ecological models of physical activity (PA) promotion embrace a wide range of factors and disciplines that may contribute to active living. Parks, trails, and recreation facilities have been acknowledged as important components of the built environment for promoting PA and overall health, but little research has investigated these community resources in detail. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between the presence and characteristics of parks and recreation amenities and PA levels of community members. The study involved four integrated components: i) a written questionnaire with 585 adult residents from four Waterloo planning districts that addressed a variety of personal, psychosocial, and environmental correlates of PA, ii) a detailed seven-day log booklet of recreational, transportation, household and job-related PA episodes, iii) objective assessment of PA via accelerometers, and iv) observation and rating of parks for their features that may be related to PA. Ratings of psychosocial characteristics (e.g., self-efficacy, social support) and perceptions of neighbourhood walkability attributes (e.g., land use diversity, street connectivity) were significantly different between those who engaged in some PA versus those who engaged in no PA, but neighbourhood perceptions did not moderate the relationship between psychosocial variables and PA, nor did psychosocial variables mediate the relationship between neighbourhood perceptions and PA. Parks and trails were used in approximately 8% and 3% of total PA episodes, respectively, with an average duration per episode of 49 minutes and 38 minutes, respectively. Parks with more facilities for PA and supporting amenities were more likely to be used for PA than parks with fewer facilities and amenities, and trails were the park feature most strongly related to park-based PA. The number of municipal parks within 1 km from participants’ homes the and total parkland area within 1 km were associated with higher odds of neighbourhood PA and neighbourhood park PA, while distance to the closest park from home was not related to either outcome. Although subject to several limitations, these results provide guidance for municipal and park planners in designing communities and the resources within them to promote increased levels of PA and active living. Suggestions for future research include studying environmental correlates of PA among youth and older adults, direct observation of PA in parks, and development of a comprehensive surveillance system to track both changes in the built environment and associated changes in residents’ PA participation.

Research into the use of natural resources and protected areas for the pursuit of outdoor recreational opportunities has been examined by a number of researchers. One activity with growth in recent years is river recreation, the use of rivers for rafting, kayaking, canoeing and instructional purposes. These many uses involve different groups of individuals, creating management complexity. Understanding the various inputs is critical for effective management The Lower Kananaskis River, located in Kananaskis Country in Southwestern Alberta, was area chosen to develop an understanding the inputs necessary for effective management. Specifically, this study explored the recreational use of the river in an effort to create recommendations on how to more effectively manage use of the Lower Kananaskis River and associated day-use facilities in the future. Kananaskis Country is a 4,250 km2 multi-use recreation area located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains on the western border of Alberta. Since its designation, the purpose of the area, has been to protect the natural features of the area while providing quality facilities that would complement recreational opportunities available in the area. Over the years, the multi-use goal of the area has led to issues surrounding the management of the recreational opportunities available, including the multiple use of the Lower Kananaskis River. The Lower Kananaskis River is a section of the larger Kananaskis River, one of six rivers flowing through Kananaskis Country. The Kananaskis River flows for 84 km. northward in the Kananaskis Country from the Upper Kananaskis Lake through the development of the Lower Kananaskis Lake and Barrier Lake to the Bow River. This thesis was only concerned about a small section of this river, the lower portion. The Lower Kananaskis River is a 2 km stretch of the river located within Bow Valley Provincial Park, with an additional 4 km of river outside of the park that many users utilize. This river has become a widely used and well-known recreational paddling destination in Kananaskis Country and Bow Valley Provincial Park and with this has come concerns over its use and management. A mixed methods approach was implemented to examine current use levels Both surveys and participant observations were used to develop a better understanding of current use levels (i.e. time, type) and to gather information from users. At the same time, structured interviews were held with key policy leaders to further explore current management issues and concerns surrounding the Lower Kananaskis River. Analysis of the data collected from river users revealed that the area is widely used by both commercial and recreational users. These two groups of users have learned to adapt to one another’s activities. Both groups expressed high level of satisfaction, but continued growth in use will probably pose problems with user’s experience and satisfaction. In many cases, users also recognized the need for improvements to river infrastructure both on and off the river. Users indicated that changes were needed in the parking areas to accommodate all of the vehicles and users, work was needed at the put-ins and take-outs to accommodate the increases in users along with work on the river features and at the day use sites. Users also recognized that the area is becoming more widely used and feel that changes are needed in how the area is maintained and managed in order to deal with its continued growth. The interviews with policy leaders emphasized the well-known nature of the issues of the area and emphasized issues within the current management structure. Policy leaders were more critical of the current management structure of the river than the users. The critical comments from the policy leaders were expected, as they are more aware of the management issues than recreational users. The policy leaders made many insightful comments for change in the interviews and recognize that park management has shown low levels of understanding and responses to the expressed needs of the users, and recommendations of previous research. This research found several examples of management ineffectiveness. It was concluded that the low levels of response from management is due to the lack of management capability. With the continued growth of the area new management demands can be expected. This in tern will require improved management framework and guideline. With this, it was recommended that increased management capability is required. In order to assist in the development of this capability the research developed an adapted outdoor recreation management framework. Application of this framework would help to ensure that the area is managed more effectively in the future.

Professional management literature suggests that goal setting is one of the most important steps in the organizational process as goals provide a clear understanding of the directions in which the organization is heading. In ensuring that each member of an organization is aware of its goals, the goal communication process is viewed as a central part of everyday management. Goal communication between managers and interpreters at Ontario heritage sites is the focus of the present study. Three sites were investigated, and three different research methods were used to obtain the data: semi-structured interviews with managers and interpreters; analysis of documentation related to the operation of the sites; and participant observation. The study’s findings revealed that: 1) not all heritage sites have their goals documented; 2) the documentation of site goals does not necessarily guarantee that interpreters are aware of them; 3) goals of the sites are communicated to interpreters by only two means – orientation, and reading materials; and 4) more training is required for interpreters in order to implement their site’s goals successfully and consistently. A number of recommendations for heritage site management were developed, which include extending goal communication techniques to daily site interaction and to daily assignments given to interpreters, as well as exploring new goal communication channels and providing opportunities for continuous training of interpreters.

The study explored risk perceptions and novelty dimensions associated with family vacations. In particular, the study focused on households containing married or common law partners, blended families, single parents and same-sex partners, with at least one child aged twelve years old or younger, located in one of the Region of Waterloo’s three cities, encompassing Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge, Ontario. The research explored whether novelty or familiarity of a vacation destination affected the level of risk perceived as well as the locus of control. Additionally the research focused on particular aspects of the family vacation including the decision making process and the stage of the family life cycle in which respondents are categorized, having either younger or older children, affected the decision making process. Lastly, the study looked at external sources of information including family and/or friends, other sources of information, prior experience at the destination, if applicable, and the distance traveled, borders crossed and transportation utilized. Families in each specified area were initially accessed through five direct contacts and an associated snowball sampling method. A revised data collection method was utilized part way through the study being distribution at a recreation centre within the Region. Respondents were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire containing questions relating to their last family vacation, preferences for novelty/familiarity, locus of control orientation, degree of risk perception agreement or disagreement and basic sociodemographic characteristics. Data were reduced to minimize complexity through a series of factor analyses through the use of components analysis. It involved taking salient items and factoring them together based on the conceptual fit within each loading having eight components created. T-tests and analyses of variance were utilized to further univariate relationships between variables of interest. Relationships between perceived risk, gender and prior experience were non-significant (p > .05) whereas family life cycle, level of education, crossing an international border, and total distance traveled had a significant effect on risk perceptions (p < .05) and were included in stepwise regression analyses. The present study complemented emerging literature suggesting that parents with older children attributing greater risks as associated with creating memories. There was less support for extant research indicating that families with younger children are more likely to associate as many risks with travel. Similarly, preference for novelty/familiarity was found to not have a significant effect on respondents’ risk perceptions yet certain external sources of information (e.g., friends/family, travel agents) played a large role in the level of risk perceptions.

While most ecotourist definitions and typologies have relied on concepts ingrained in traveler behaviours or destinations, none has benefited from a consideration of personal ethics. The study of ecotourism has virtually ignored theoretical considerations of ethics, other than making comparisons with the broader tourism sector. An additional shortcoming is the general lack of methodological sophistication, where the bulk of research concerning ecotourism has remained exploratory and descriptive, and has not sought to understand and explain the role that ethics have played, or not, in ecotourist behaviour and developmental practices. The assumption that ecotourists possess a higher level of ethical beliefs than mass tourists, and in fact exhibit ethical behaviour, has not been contested to a sufficient degree. Consequently, this dissertation addresses a need for more conceptually-based research to identify core ethics underlying ecotourist behaviour, with the potential to reveal where quite diverse groups, including those with different cultural orientations, are positioned on these Western philosophical stances. Upon building a conceptual understanding of ecotourist ethics, I have developed a conceptually-driven, multi-dimensional scale – the Ecotourist Ethics Scale (EES) – based on a conceptual framework that draws on classic theories of ethics (Deontology, Teleology, and Existentialism) and on dominant components of ecotourism definitions, frameworks, and typologies (Nature, Culture, Education, and Conservation). This first phase of scale development was followed by a second phase of testing the EES for its validity and reliability with a sample of 1,544 students, and additionally, testing its concurrent validity in relation to four other established scale measures conceptually related to ecotourist ethics. The results of employing the EES indicate ethics based on Deontology and Teleology define the prevalent ethical stances held by individuals where the focus appears to be on rules or principles and consequences, and not on the authenticity of the experience or activity. The development of a profile of travelers based on ethics, as opposed to typologies based simply on settings, behaviours, or occasionally psychographics, could not only advance our understanding of these travelers, but also provide a means for ecotour companies to implement management strategies for a more sustainable operation in response to the array of positive and negative beliefs and behaviours driven by core ethics. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of findings and their implications from analyses of an assortment of the factors related to the sample’s travel and demographic characteristics.

Events are a part of every culture and community (Allen, et al., 2002; Getz, 1997; Getz, 2007; Rogers, 2003). They may differ in their purpose (celebration, education, marketing), but at the core they are a gathering of people (Goldblatt & Nelson, 2001). Economically, the event industry is an important sector of the tourism industries; in the USA it is estimated at $652 billion USD in revenues and to have created more than 1.7 million jobs in 2005 (Rutherford Silvers, 2008). Inherent within this industry are risks of varying types (financial, physical, legal, etc) that are the responsibility of the event planner to assess and manage. There are numerous proposed risk assessment and management strategies (GWU Tourism, 2007; MacLaurin & Wykes, 2003; Rutherford Silvers, 2008; Ryerson, 2008; Tarlow, 2002a), which are based on models presented in the general risk literature (Althaus, 2005; Johnson, 1993; Law, 2006; Sjoberg, 2000b; Slovic, 2000; Slovic, et al., 2004). However, there are no empirical data to support these proposed models, nor any research that has studied event planner perceptions of potential sources of risk. This study is an exploration of the socio-demographic influences of event planners on risk perception and how these support the current risk assessment and risk management strategies. A model was developed that outlined the manner in which experience, education, gender and country of residence influenced the risk concepts of “dread” and “familiarity”. These concepts then lead to risk perception that, in turn, influenced risk assessment and risk management. In order to test this model, a mixed-methods, two-stage approach was used (Creswell, 2003; Veal, 2006). In-depth interviews were used to develop a definition of risk specific to the event industry, followed by an on-line survey to measure perceptions of various risk elements and gather socio-demographic information. There was evidence to support education, experience, gender and country of residence as influencing perceptions of “dread” and “familiarity” that, in turn, directly correlated with levels of risk perception. This exploratory research has opened the way for many new facets of research in the event industry. Future research is suggested in the areas of cultural influence on risk perception, risk perception related to various event types (festivals, sports, mega-events, etc), and risk management strategies utilized by event planners.