The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effects of positive and negative imagery content and ability on cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes. After reviewing the literature in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 examined whether negative image interpretation was influenced by imagery content and skill level. This chapter also investigated the effect of imagery content and skill level on performance, anxiety, and confidence in a golf putting task. Following a similar study design to Chapter 2, Chapter 3 investigated imagery’s effectiveness for regulating psychological and cardiovascular responses to competition stress. This chapter also examined whether mastery imagery ability was associated with psychological and cardiovascular outcomes. Following an experimental investigation of mastery and affect imagery ability, Chapter 4 explored these types of imagery ability as mediators between confidence and appraisals and responses to stress. This chapter also explored negative imagery ability’s role in these models through a negatively worded version of the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire. Overall, this thesis makes novel contributions to imagery literature by adding new relationships to the revised applied model of deliberate imagery use, testing a new measure of negative imagery ability, and highlighting mastery imagery ability’s role for protecting against debilitative imagery and regulating stress outcomes.

This thesis investigates examining the effects of certain types of interdependence on motor performance in competition. In the first experiment, participants undertook a ball carrying and running task under varying levels of between-team resource interdependent condition in the individual competition. The number of balls that carried to the container decreased when between-team resource interdependence exists. In the second experiment, participants completed a basketball shooting and rebounding task under varying levels of between-team resource interdependent condition in a two-on-two team competition. Results indicated that the number of baskets made, the number of baskets attempted and the shooting accuracy was higher in resource independent competition. In the third experiment, participants undertook the same basketball shooting and rebounding task as the second experiment under varying levels of between-team resource interdependent condition and within-team reward interdependent condition. Results indicated effort-based performance was greater under resource independent condition and its interaction with low reward interdependent condition. In the final experiment, participants undertook a handgrip task in a four-on-four team competition. Compared to the no reward condition, performance was better under both high reward interdependent condition and low reward interdependent condition. Mediation analyses revealed that positive emotions, self-reported effort and pressure mediated the change of performance.

At present, there is no clear consensus as to whether protein feeding harnesses any ergogenic benefit for endurance athletes. In this thesis demonstrate no effect of protein on endurance performance. Furthermore, data presented herein indicates that protein co-ingestion does not enhance recovery 24 hours after exercise. Consequently, there is currently no basis on which to recommend protein feeding for endurance performance and recovery. Nutrient strategies implemented after exercise can markedly alter the acute response of muscle protein synthesis and, potentially, long-term phenotypic adaptation. Protein nutrition has traditionally been considered in the context of resistance exercise. Endurance exercise followed by protein ingestion increases the synthesis of mixed muscle protein via increased mRNA translation. Herein, we demonstrate that protein feeding after endurance exercise elevates the synthetic rate of contractile proteins and specific mRNA signalling intermediates. Insulin resistance that precedes Type II diabetes is characterized by blunted sensitivity of the pancreas to glucose and impaired glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. Lifestyle interventions including nutrient and exercise have the potential to improve glycemic control. The final experimental chapter in this thesis provides mechanistic evidence to support the benefits of resistance exercise for lowering post-prandial glucose concentrations. Interestingly, protein ingestion did not augment the glucose-lowering effects of prior resistance exercise.

Androcentric by nature, traditional leisure research assumed male researchers knew the meaning of leisure activities for women, that home and work were separate spheres for women, and that the dimensions of men's leisure were also common to women's leisure. Feminist interest in leisure increased with the realisation that women's leisure was a product of social forces. Thus differences in women's perceptions and experience of leisure reflected wider social divisions which contributed to the construction and maintenance of inequalities. Women both as narrators of their own leisure experiences, and as researchers of other women's experiences, found little evidence in women's everyday lives of leisure as traditionally defined by male researchers. A gap exists between women's leisure experiences and the theoretical constructs available to them to talk about and investigate their experiences. This gap can be narrowed by talking with women about the feelings they associate with leisure and the contexts in which they experience these feelings in relation to the beliefs associated with motherhood, family and work. The use of memory work in the study of emotion and gender suggested a method through which feminist goals and principles could be linked to a study of feelings, contexts and meanings. Using memory work in this way involved the establishment of the memory work groups; collection of written memories according to certain rules; collective examination of the memories by co-researchers for the common meanings used in their construction; appraisal of memories by the researcher in the context of existing leisure theory; and group discussion of the researcher's appraisal and negotiation by group members of a collective account of the memories. Memories were written to trigger words which have some association with leisure and to others viewed as the antithesis of leisure. For co-researchers the interactions of feelings of pleasure, relaxation, enjoyment, obligation and entitlement in containers represented by social settings, activities and physical locations were given meaning as leisure by the feeling of being free from obligation and free to choose and to implement that choice. The research supported the interlinking of values/entitlement, containers/opportunities and feelings (both positive and negative) as elements contributing to the gendered meaning of leisure. Women's desire to achieve balance in their lives mediates these interactions. An exploration of the tensions and problems encountered as a feminist doing research revealed resolution of some of these issues was possible. Others needing further reflection and wider discussion include : how do we create conditions in which participants become co-researchers with the power imbalance between all participants minimised?; how do we balance the requirements of postgraduate research/academic scholarship with the needs of co-researchers?; and what do we really give back to coresearchers?

Androcentric by nature, traditional leisure research assumed male researchers knew the meaning of leisure activities for women, that home and work were separate spheres for women, and that the dimensions of men's leisure were also common to women's leisure. Feminist interest in leisure increased with the realisation that women' s leisure was a product of social forces. Thus differences in women's perceptions and experience of leisure reflected wider social divisions which contributed to the construction and maintenance of inequalities. Women both as narrators of their own leisure experiences, and as researchers of other women's experiences, found little evidence in women's everyday lives of leisure as traditionally defined by male researchers. A gap exists between women's leisure experiences and the theoretical constructs available to them to talk about and investigate their experiences. This gap can be narrowed by talking with women about the feelings they associate with leisure and the contexts in which they experience these feelings in relation to the beliefs associated with motherhood, family and work. The use of memory work in the study of emotion and gender suggested a method through which feminist goals and principles could be linked to a study of feelings, contexts and meanings. Using memory work in this way involved the establishment of the memory work groups; collection of written memories according to certain rules; collective examination of the memories by co-researchers for the common meanings used in their construction; appraisal of memories by the researcher in the context of existing leisure theory; and group discussion of the researcher's appraisal and negotiation by group members of a collective account of the memories. Memories were written to trigger words which have some association with leisure and to others viewed as the antithesis of leisure. For co-researchers the interactions of feelings of pleasure, relaxation, enjoyment, obligation and entitlement in containers represented by social settings, activities and physical locations were given meaning as leisure by the feeling of being free from obligation and free to choose and to implement that choice. The research supported the interlinking of values/entitlement, containers/opportunities and feelings (both positive and negative) as elements contributing to the gendered meaning of leisure. Women's desire to achieve balance in their lives mediates these interactions. An exploration of the tensions and problems encountered as a feminist doing research revealed resolution of some of these issues was possible. Others needing further reflection and wider discussion include : how do we create conditions in which participants become co-researchers with the power imbalance between all participants minirnised?; how do we balance the requirements of postgraduate researchlacademic scholarship with the needs of co-researchers?; and what do we really give back to coresearchers?

This primarily qualitative research study examined the views of first and second year nursing students regarding leisure and its relationship to health. Thirty-two nursing students reflected on their own lived experiences of leisure by completing an on-line survey. Three of the students added depth to the initial survey results by completing the Leisure Attitude Measure (LAM) and participating in a focus group. This study examined how the nursing students understood the concept of leisure and the connection between leisure and health. As well, it explored the implications that this understanding has on Therapeutic Recreation (TR) professionals as they conduct advocacy and education sessions on the field of TR with other members of the interdisciplinary health care team.<p> The students responses were analyzed using an inductive technique with themes emerging from the data. As a group, the students responses touched on many of the components of leisure and connections to health outlined in the literature. However, individual responses were often missing key aspects related to the subjectivity of leisure, the holistic nature of leisure and the potential of leisure and TR in contributing to the treatment of patients. The responses suggest a number of implications for TR professionals as they prepare and deliver educational and advocacy sessions for other staff. From a broader sense, the data raise some areas worth considering in terms of the potential for leisure education within educational and societal contexts.

Since Pine and Gilmore (1999) proclaimed the arrival of the experience economy era, research on tourists’ experiences has become an area of growing interest among scholars and practitioners. Gaining knowledge of the experiential features of tourist activities at historic sites and museums is of paramount importance for tourism operators to understand and satisfy tourists’ widely ranging needs. With this concern in mind, the purpose of this study was to develop a multiple-item scale to measure tourists’ experiences of visiting historic sites and museums. To reach this goal, a questionnaire survey was designed to gather data about tourists’ experiences in this context. Conducted at Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple) in Nanjing city, Jiangsu province, China, in the Summer of 2012 (starting in July and ending in August), the visitor survey had an overall response rate of 88%. A total of 500 questionnaires were used for data analysis. Following the scale construction procedure suggested by DeVellis (2003), first, the literature examining experience constructs was comprehensively reviewed. An initial pool of scale items was generated. Followed by a review from six judges to ensure content validity, a total of thirty items were developed as a basis for measuring tourists’ experiences. Subsequently, the scale’s reliability was assessed with using Cronbach’s alpha value. Alpha was 0.80. The statistical results of the ranked scale item mean show that the top rated experiences of tourists visiting Fuzimiao are “change from work”, “get away”, “relaxing”, “entertainment”, “watch music and dancing performance”, and “chat with locals”. To refine the scale, 11 items that show significantly low corrected item-total correlation scores were eliminated. Deleting these items resulted in an increase in the alpha value from 0.80 to 0.88. The rest items which survived the reliability analyses were subject to exploratory factor analysis (EFA). An interim six-factor model emerged, with the remaining 19 items accounting for 80.29% of the total variance. The six factors were entertainment, culture identity-seeking, education, exploration, relationship development, and escapism. Given the underlying latent variable structure detected from EFA, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to check the proposed measurement structure. Results of the CFA indicate that the measurement model fits the data adequately after the exploration factor was removed from the hypothetical model because measurement structure of this factor was unidentified. The evaluation of the model’s composite reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity provides good evidence of the reliability and validity of the five factors. The final experiential model, with 17 embedded items in five dimensions (entertainment, culture identity-seeking, education, relationship development, and escapism), was established.

The preparation, marketing and consumption of food are complex social-economic processes that still require an extensive amount of original research, and this is perhaps especially true in cross-cultural contexts. To gain a clearer understanding of the role of food and cuisine in trans-cultural touristic experience, it is necessary to acknowledge multidimensional criteria rather than concentrating solely on one aspect such as food preferences or motivation. Given the scarcity of relevant research, the main purpose of the present study is to analyze food and dining vis-a-vis the phases of the cross-cultural tourist experience, the influences upon it, and its outcomes, through which a deeper insight into the roles of food in the tourist experience can be obtained. The research takes the form of a case study exploring the experiences of both Western and non-Taiwanese Asian tourists in Taiwan. An on-site survey was conducted at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport throughout the month of May 2012. A total of 633 respondents comprising 425 Asian tourists from seven countries and 208 Western tourists from ten countries completed the questionnaire. Results of this study have identified key attributes of how Asian and Western tourists perceived food while travelling in Taiwan, and challenge conventional conceptual approaches to understanding the roles of food in tourism experience, by taking into account the phased nature of touristic experience. Among other findings, Asian tourists in the sample were more likely to view food as a major motivation, and to engage more actively in food experience, than their Western counterparts. The study also upholds the hypothesis that touristic experience is multi-dimensional, insofar as it confirmed the theoretical validity of the phases of the tourist experience (pre-experience, during-experience, and post-experience) for quantitative evaluation of the roles of food and cuisine.

Sexual experiences are an important part of everyday life, yet little research has taken place to understand it’s implication in the leisure realm. As leisure scholars adopt a holistic view of the individual, one’s sexual experiences remain a critical element devoid of empirical research. The current study examined the linkages between leisure and sexual experiences for six couples in the life stage of early adulthood. Findings revealed that relationally, couples conceptualized sexual experiences as a means to express love. At an individual level, it was clear that leisurely dimensions including intrinsic motivation, perceived freedom, involvement, arousal, mastery and spontaneity were present in some sexual experiences. This research provides support that sexual experiences can be plotted on Neulinger’s (1981) Leisure Continuum highlighting the work-like and/or leisurely aspects of relational sexual experiences.

ABSTRACT Over the life course, most people will have multiple encounters with bereavement, one of which is the death of a spouse. Ongoing research on issues associated with bereavement indicates that such a loss is generally the most highly stressful encounter in an adult’s life across the population as a whole. In view of the fact that our population is growing older and most women outlive their husbands, many women find themselves having to learn how to adapt effectively with their loss. This thesis presents the findings of a qualitative study, the purpose of which was to explore the role of leisure and social support in dealing with bereavement among eleven women who had been involved in bereavement support groups following the deaths of their spouses. Data were collected using in-depth interviews. The women described their intense experiences of loss, their involvement in bereavement support groups, the factors that led them to become involved and the ways in which this involvement assisted them in dealing with the loss and in reconstructing their lives. Also, they described the role of leisure in their lives after their loss and the ways in which their involvement in the bereavement support group helped them become re-involved in social leisure. The impact of the support these women received from the professionals and their peers in the bereavement support groups as well as the ways in which their adaptation to their loss was assisted were major themes that emerged from their personal stories. An attempt was made to develop grounded theory or at least a framework that would aid in understanding the relationship between the participants’ involvement in a bereavement support group and their gradual re-involvement in social leisure. It appears that participation in a bereavement support group contributes to a process whereby widows come to accept the loss and adapt or re-construct their lives as single individuals. Throughout the bereavement process, the meaning of leisure for the women in this study shifted from a means of keeping busy and distraction from the stress and anxiety associated with the death of a spouse to one of shared leisure engaged in for pleasure, enjoyment and social connectedness. A need for establishing partnerships between bereavement support groups and community leisure service organizations was identified. These types of links would further facilitate widowed women becoming re-involved in social leisure outside of the support groups in which they participate and help them become more involved in community life in general.