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This study explores the part that child-orientated exhibitions play in the child and family museum experience. Such exhibitions are characterised by their distinctive approaches to learning, interpretation, and design, being especially devised for children. The research was carried out in children's galleries from three types of museum (a maritime museum, a science museum, and a children's museum) in order to compare and contrast similarities and differences between them. Since most of the research in this area has been carried out in science centres or science museums, there is a need to explore the situation in child-orientated exhibitions and compare it to studies carried out in other informal learning settings. Understanding the qualities of their experience in a child-orientated exhibition which children and families value and why and how design and interpretation decisions may affect family behaviour, perceptions, and learning, will enable educators, museum designers and other museum professionals to plan more responsive and meaningful child-centred exhibitions. Children from seven to eleven years old and their accompanying adults were considered in this study. The research involves both qualitative and quantitative approaches and the use of different methods of investigation, such as face-to-face interviews with children and an adult relative; unobtrusive observation of family group interactions at three exhibits in each gallery; and collection of children's drawings about their favourite exhibit in the galleries. The sample sizes for each investigation varied: 150 families, totaling 300 individuals, were interviewed (150 adults and 150 children); 450 different family groups were observed at the galleries (150 in each gallery); and 120 children's drawings were collected. The guiding principle was to adopt an holistic approach to the situation under investigation, taking into consideration Falk & Dierking's interactive museum experience model (Falk & Dierking, 1992), which considers the personal, social, and physical contexts of a museum visit. Findings from the observations indicated gender effects in adult splitting behaviour from the family group at exhibits according to family members joint-activity compositions, and that differences in exhibit design/tasks affected adult manipulation of hands-on exhibits and the level of proximity between family members. Nine attributes from attractive child-orientated exhibits were drawn from the observed exhibits: element of fun, challenging situation, element of surprise, child-sized exhibit design, imaginative design, opportunity for experiencing things, opportunity for role play, interactive machine/game, and teamwork. The analysis of the children's drawings revealed that drawings can be a valuable source of information about children's interactions with hands-on exhibits and can be used to assess children's understanding of exhibits through the depiction of the exhibit outcomes. The interview data was analysed qualitatively (inductive content analysis) and statistically (chi-squared tests). The analysis of the open-ended interview questions indicated that adult relatives were enthusiastic about the opportunity for the children to interact with exhibits and perceived the hands-on gallery approach as motivating to the child with regard to learning. Children perceived the exhibitions as exciting places and reported positive feelings. A few children mentioned negative feelings, which were related to problematic exhibit design. The majority of children said that they prefer to visit museums in a family context rather than in a school context. The statistical analysis of the closed questions indicated twenty-two significant associations between the adults' and children's interview variables, related to adults' and/or children's age, gender, education, perceptions, behaviour, preferences, visiting habits, and type of museum, supporting the notion that personal, social, and museum aspects affect the child's and adult's museum experience, perceptions and learning. Children's perceptions of their learning in the galleries were found to be affected by the time spent in the gallery, the type of museum, the accompanying relative, and the child's preference for the social context of the museum visit. This investigation provided new insights into the study of galleries designed for children, and has demonstrated that child-orientated exhibitions have features which positively affect the child and family museum experience, that children do perceive that they are learning in this environment, and that it is a effective catalyst for family social activity. Therefore, child-orientated exhibitions are a valuable museum provision for the child and family audiences.

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This thesis examines young people's opportunities to participate in organised outdoor activities. It is set within a context of changing leisure interests, a growth in private sector leisure provision, and increasing emphasis on consumer choice. It argues that whilst, in principle, there is widespread support for young people's participation in outdoor activities, in practice, opportunities are becoming increasingly limited. The study aims to examine the nature of outdoor facilities, to determine their use by young people, to identify changes occurring within the outdoor sector, and to consider the changes in relation to young people's access to the outdoors. The empirical research focuses~ on outdoor activity centres, in acknowledgement that the residential experience offered by such centres can contribute to the social and personal development of young people. It also focuses on the National Parks of England and Wales. These areas possess a wealth of natural resources suitable for a wide range of outdoor activities and, collectively, contain the highest number of outdoor centres in the UK. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, including a questionnaire survey of outdoor centres, interviews with centre operators, and a review of National Park policies, has been used to build up a picture of centre operations, visitor profiles, and the nature of outdoor programmes. The study findings suggest that a number of factors influence young people's opportunities to participate in outdoor activities. These include centre ownership, safety and educational reforms, planning and environmental policies, and young people's leisure behaviour. Recent years have seen a significant growth in privately owned centres and an associated rise in skills-based activities and non-sporting special interest holidays. These programmes have been largely directed at the adult market. There are few indications that this pattern is about to change. Regulation of the outdoor industry, including safety licensing, has put increasing pressures on under-resourced centres and has led to readjustments in centre operations and in the profile of visitor groups. Young people's opportunities to take part in adventurous activities, as a result of safety licensing, have diminished. Educational reforms have further dictated the direction of outdoor courses. Since the late 1980s, there has been a marked increase in primary school visits to outdoor centres and in field studies, whilst secondary schools visits and involvement in physical pursuits have continued to decline. Centre diversification has led to an overall reduction in the number of places available for young people. Planning and environmental policies have shaped the pattern of centre development. The emphasis on environmental protection in the National Parks has led to constraints on outdoor provision although policies, across Parks, vary. Changes in young people's lifestyles have also begun to impact upon the content of outdoor courses, such as the demand for more varied programmes and less traditional activities. Sporting and recreational organisations can, by addressing factors of motivation, play. a significant role in increasing levels of participation. Given the dynamics of the outdoor industry, the relative importance of these factors is difficult to determine, although the provisions of the Education Reform Act 1988 have induced some of the most radical and widespread changes within the outdoor sector in recent years. In trying to encourage and assist young people to take up outdoor opportunities, the outdoor community faces a number of difficulties. These include a lack of cohesion and poor image, increasing commercialisation, and the effects of changing leisure interests. The thesis recommends greater collaboration within the community, possibly through a new organisation, to represent a wider range of interests and to act as a more effective lobbying mechanism. It also recommends a strengthening of the links between the outdoor sector and the key players involved in facilitating outdoor opportunities. Finally, it advises organisations to take heed of newly emerging Government statements on out-of-school learning. These may offer viable alternatives to help safeguard young people's opportunities to participate in outdoor activities.

The aims of this thesis were to develop a time efficient field test of the distance-time relationship, assess its validity, reliability and sensitivity and utilise the test to monitor and prescribe endurance training in distance runners. Laboratory-based tests of the distance-time relationship often use lengthy recovery periods between trials, resulting in multiple visits and limiting their practical application. A field-based test, completed in a single visit, could improve the utility of the distance-time relationship. A novel single visit field test comprising of 3 constant-distance trials, separated by a 30-minute recovery, was designed. This test estimates the highest sustainable rate of aerobic metabolism, or critical speed (CS), and the modelled maximum distance performed above CS (D’). When compared to a traditional multi-visit laboratory protocol, field test CS was highly correlated (r=0.89, P0.05) and high typical error (334-1709 s). Non-linear modelling of recovery did not improve the accuracy. A high variability in D’ may in part explain the low predictive ability of the models. The conclusion from this thesis is that the single visit field test is a valid, reliable and sensitive test for CS, which provides a favourable alternative to multi-visit laboratory-based testing.

As a pilot study into questionnaire investigation of beach user opinions and perceptions, a survey was conducted of users of four beaches (Southerndown, Nash, Ogmore and Llantwit), at the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Wales. Beach perceptions were assessed in terms of socio-demographics, psychological parameters (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and related to the existing beach environment. Few changes to general facility provision could be recommended, but a number of management recommendations were made. Beach user gender, socio-economic status, planned length of stay and anxiety/neuroticism level were shown by discriminant function analysis to influence beach selection. A beach rating scheme was developed, based on a novel beach user questionnaire/checklist system. This questionnaire was used to interview users (n = 859) at 23 randomly selected Welsh beaches with regard to preferences/priorities for a wide range of beach aspects. Questionnaire data analysis generated scores which could be applied to checklists appropriate to other beaches of various commercialisation levels. Seventy Welsh beaches were assessed, producing scores from 39% (Porthcawl - Trecco Bay) to 69% (Broadhaven, S. Pembs. and Pembray). Landscape was assessed by panel judgements of a video panorama sequence, with scores for this aspect ranging from 19% (Prestatyn) to 80% (Broadhaven, S. Pembs.). The rating scheme took into account a larger number of beach aspects (47) than any beach award/recommendation in common use in the UK. It successfully took account of differing beach user preferences/priorities for various beach aspects and also the differing beach user demands at commercialised as opposed to undeveloped beaches. Many differences in beach user preferences/priorities were observed according to differences in stated preferred beach type, many of which could be important for management. In addition, pilot scale studies were undertaken at the Costa Dorada, Spain and on the Turkish Aegean Coast. For the latter, beach rating was also carried out. Future studies aiming to use stated perceptions, preferences and priorities of beach users to guide management should take account of possible influences such as beach user familiarity, expectation, cultural background and past experience. Much further work is required to develop beach user questionnaires to investigate aspects of beach user perception. Future rating exercises based on beach user preferences/priorities should take account of the need for beaches to meet minimum standards for the most important (as identified by beach users), beach aspects, in order to achieve a high rating or grade. The limitations of beach user surveys in terms of sampling difficulties need to be addressed. For valid management decision support, other stakeholders such as residents, tourist trade workers and those choosing not to visit beaches in particular areas need to be reached using other investigative methodologies.