This study seeks to explore the meaning of diary-keeping for women. In particular, this research is focused on the relationships between the diary and leisure, the diary and performance, and the diary and dominant gender discourse. This study is guided by a feminist, dramaturgical, qualitative, interpretive framework. Unstructured “active” interviews with seven women in a rural, Nova Scotian community were used to create a collaborative process driven by the participants’ experiences as diarists. The phenomenological method was used to analyze the resulting transcripts. By incorporating interviews with diarists into the analysis, and by framing the research within leisure studies, this research addresses two gaps in the existing literature on diaries: the lack of women’s voices in the interpretation of their diaries and the absence of the diary in leisure studies. This study found that the social experience of diary-keeping can reproduce dominant gender discourses; however, findings also demonstrated that women use their diaries to resist the ethic of care, disrupt oppressive dichotomies and take control of the direction of their lives. Furthermore, diaries are meaningful insofar as they allow the diarist to take control of her personal space, time, and life story. Through this space the diarist can perform the story of her life in whatever way she sees fit; she takes her performance to the public, despite the risk of doing so. Therefore, though the diary can act to reproduce traditional notions of femininity, this research found that it can also be a space for women to resist dominant gender discourses.

In 2001, when Aboriginal women comprised only 3.5% of Canadian women, 23% of Federally Sentenced Women (FSW) were Aboriginal. In the intervening six year period, the presence of Aboriginal women in Canada’s federal correctional facilities has risen to 31%. With female offenders often being treated as double deviants in mainstream society, Aboriginal female offenders may be regarded as triple deviants. Considerable research suggests that female offenders are marginalized for being criminals and even more so for deviating from the gendered norm of female (i.e., nurturer, caregiver). At the same time, Aboriginal female offenders are further ostracized for their race and for their cultural beliefs and traditions. This study recognized that the experiences of marginalization for Aboriginal federally sentenced women were linked to systemic discrimination and attitudes based on racial and/or cultural prejudice, and that the low socio-economic status and history of substance abuse and violence across generations were rooted in over 500 years of oppression and control through residential schools and other decrees legislated by the Indian Act. The growing awareness of problems related to Canada’s correctional system for female offenders, and the limited support and services for Aboriginal female offenders, led to the publication in 1990 of Creating Choices. The report essentially recommended a new system of incarceration that fostered the empowerment of FSW to make meaningful choices in order that they may live with dignity and respect. Based on the recommendations, federal corrections for women essentially aimed to move from a model of punishment to a model of rehabilitation. According to the experiences of the Aboriginal federally sentenced women in this study, the implementation of these changes in the management of federal corrections for women has allowed many Aboriginal women to experience their cultural traditions, some for the first time. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of major Aboriginal cultural events, notably ceremony, on the identity development, empowerment, healing and rehabilitation of FSW. Data were gathered over a two-year period of engagement by the researcher with women in Aboriginal ceremonies within Grand Valley Institution, a federal prison for women located in Kitchener, Ontario. Six major themes were identified through the iterative process of data gathering and analysis. The themes, history, conscientizaçao, healing, re-creation, coming home, and travelling the Red Road, represent the women’s processes of healing, identity development and empowerment through engagement in Aboriginal ceremonies and traditions in a federal prison. The women’s experiences with Aboriginal traditions offered personal and collective healing through solidarity, resistance, re-creation and liberation. The women emphasized supportive, accepting, mutually respectful and caring relationships as a vital component in their processes of healing. The centrality of relationships was explored using feminist and Aboriginal theories, and a deepening of understanding came from viewing the findings within the context of a social ecological theory of empowerment. Aboriginal ceremony and traditions were considered leisure in this study, and leisure from an Aboriginal perspective is thus integrated in all aspects of life and represents re-creation, restoration and collective strength. It is in this sense that Aboriginal women found freedom, even within the confines of a federal prison. The emphasis the women placed on the quality of their relationships in terms of healing, empowerment, and re-creation suggests that equitable and caring relationships are particularly important in their growth and development. Women’s engagement with others and portrayals of an ethic of care in cermony invoked inspiration and strength. The resultant relations of community generated a network of resources which enabled the women to create change within the correctional setting. The findings from this study underscore the relevance of a re-evaluation of Canada’s correctional approach and suggest the adoption of a more restorative understanding of justice; that is, a more Aboriginal conceptualization of justice one that encompasses healing, restoring relationships, accountability and community involvement.

ABSTRACT This qualitative study utilized a systems theory approach and followed the premise that families are systems that seek a balanced state, interact with their environment, and are goal directed to explore the impact of anaphylaxis on families from a parental perspective. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of family leisure in families while living with a child diagnosed with anaphylaxis. This was done by exploring parental meanings and experiences of living with anaphylaxis and how this impacted their family leisure. Five research questions guided the inquiry relating to experiences and meanings of anaphylaxis, experiences and participation in family leisure, valuations and meanings of family leisure, caregiving as a constraint to family leisure, and gender considerations. A local support group for families and individuals living with anaphylaxis (WRASE) was contacted and aided in identifying parents who would be interested in participating in this study. Specific attention was given to obtaining a sample that included different allergies, ages of children, and number of children in the household. Four families were selected and both parents were interviewed separately in all but one case. Four core themes emerged from the in-depth interviews and included An Emotional Journey, Seeking Community Support and Dealing with Negative Feedback, Impact on Family Leisure, and The Increased Domestic Workload and Changing Role of Mother. In essence, parents experienced intense feelings of fear, paranoia, and stress as they sought to manage their child’s allergy and these feelings were just as intense during their family leisure time. Role changes and strain were particularly severe for the mothers in this study. The parents of children with anaphylaxis have received little attention in social science research to date. This research adds to the literature on chronic illness and also offers new insight into how anaphylaxis affects family leisure. Key findings in this area were the lack of opportunities for travel and social isolation. Furthermore, it was found that leisure, although often thought to be beneficial in managing stress and improving family functioning, may not be available to those living with anaphylaxis.

Over the past few decades, hundreds of empirical investigations have examined the construct of “workplace commitment”. Much of this research is based on the assumption that commitment is tied to longevity within a given organization. In other words, those most committed are those who plan to remain with an organization. Work patterns, particularly within leisure delivery systems, are often inconsistent with the longevity model. Leisure settings often rely less on full-time lifetime employees and more on contingent workers, those working part-time, seasonally or on a temporary basis. Consequently, much of the commitment literature offers limited insight to leisure managers. Further, research efforts within the commitment literature have, perhaps unnecessarily, focused their efforts on commitment to the organization. An emerging literature suggests that commitment may be focused on a variety of entities. This literature would benefit from a more expansive view of commitment and the entities to which it is directed. Traditional views of, and research in, workplace commitment may be inappropriate for contingent employees. Finally, the commitment literature is dominated by quantitative and questionnaire-based methodology (Cohen, 2003). This study is intended to address many of these issues by using qualitative methods to explore the ways in which various commitment types emerge among contingent employees in a variety of leisure settings. Consequently, this study examines the meaning of commitment to contingent employees in selected leisure services. It focuses on what these contingent employees felt most connected to in their specific workplaces; in essence their stories of what commitment meant to them. The study sample was composed of students enrolled in an undergraduate Recreation and Leisure Studies Program. In order to take part in the study, students were to have engaged in a series of short-term professional-related experiences. Initial contact with potential participants was through a short introduction in 2nd, 3rd and 4th yr recreation class. Six classes were used in this study with a total of 168 responses collected. Class members were asked if they would be willing to participate in a 60-90 minute interview to further discuss their work experiences. 24 participants took part in a semi-structured interview in which questions were asked about the intensity and focus of their commitment. It has been suggested that contingent employees may express little emotional commitment because of the limitations of their work experience (Chang & Chelladurai, 2000). However, in this study, the topic of passion or desire came up repeatedly during the interviews. For these contingent employees, commitment seemed very affective in nature. Their commitment was based strongly on enthusiasm and passion for various components of the work setting. There were many such components or foci raised by the participants. Consistent with Stinglhamber et al.’s (2002) multi-foci perspective of commitment, these individuals’ passion was typically directed to more than one entity. All five major foci of commitment (to the organization, supervisor, occupation, workgroup and client) helped build passion and commitment for these participants. While this is not uncommon, it is noteworthy that commitment to the organization (which dominates much of the private sector commitment literature) was prevalent in only two of the interviews. In each of these cases, however, it is unclear whether the organization or people within the organization engendered that commitment. While the individuals expressed support for the organization, their remarks seemed more directed at people in their respective organizations. Overall, those who revealed the greatest commitment (toward any foci) echoed the importance of intrinsic motivation; they must love what they were doing. Among these participants, there was little evidence of passionate commitment to any organization. Instead, the emphasis was more often on some specific element within the workplace. The focus of their attention was most prominent toward clients and toward supervisors. For these contingent workers affective commitment (as opposed to normative or continuance) dominated their thinking about commitment. They worked at the locations because they wanted to be there, not as a result of external constraints. They not only wanted to work in these settings, but they were passionate about their work. It was evident that either they brought that passion when they first arrived or developed a passion while on the job. Although one cannot generalize this finding to all contingent workers in all settings, there was little evidence of outright indifference among these workers. Finally, 2 new foci of commitment were identified. Specifically, participants introduced commitment or attachment to place, and commitment or involvement in activity as they discussed job-related commitment levels. These variables, while new to the management/commitment literature, have each received considerable research effort from within the leisure community. Overall, this study suggests that the dominant business-based commitment literature has largely failed to consider job conditions specific to the contingent leisure service employee. Further, research in leisure settings suggests that attachment can expand beyond the traditional foci (the organization, people, unions, etc.) to include the setting in which the work occurs and the activities around which the work happens. This suggests that traditionally leisure-based issues (place and activity) can bring much to the work setting and the commitment of those who toil in those settings. For managers of contingent workers, understanding the importance of place and activity in addition to traditional indicators of commitment may prove significant in helping develop a more committed contingent employee in the leisure service settings.

This study seeks to explore the meaning of diary-keeping for women. In particular, this research is focused on the relationships between the diary and leisure, the diary and performance, and the diary and dominant gender discourse. This study is guided by a feminist, dramaturgical, qualitative, interpretive framework. Unstructured “active” interviews with seven women in a rural, Nova Scotian community were used to create a collaborative process driven by the participants’ experiences as diarists. The phenomenological method was used to analyze the resulting transcripts. By incorporating interviews with diarists into the analysis, and by framing the research within leisure studies, this research addresses two gaps in the existing literature on diaries: the lack of women’s voices in the interpretation of their diaries and the absence of the diary in leisure studies. This study found that the social experience of diary-keeping can reproduce dominant gender discourses; however, findings also demonstrated that women use their diaries to resist the ethic of care, disrupt oppressive dichotomies and take control of the direction of their lives. Furthermore, diaries are meaningful insofar as they allow the diarist to take control of her personal space, time, and life story. Through this space the diarist can perform the story of her life in whatever way she sees fit; she takes her performance to the public, despite the risk of doing so. Therefore, though the diary can act to reproduce traditional notions of femininity, this research found that it can also be a space for women to resist dominant gender discourses.

In 2001, when Aboriginal women comprised only 3.5% of Canadian women, 23% of Federally Sentenced Women (FSW) were Aboriginal. In the intervening six year period, the presence of Aboriginal women in Canada’s federal correctional facilities has risen to 31%. With female offenders often being treated as double deviants in mainstream society, Aboriginal female offenders may be regarded as triple deviants. Considerable research suggests that female offenders are marginalized for being criminals and even more so for deviating from the gendered norm of female (i.e., nurturer, caregiver). At the same time, Aboriginal female offenders are further ostracized for their race and for their cultural beliefs and traditions. This study recognized that the experiences of marginalization for Aboriginal federally sentenced women were linked to systemic discrimination and attitudes based on racial and/or cultural prejudice, and that the low socio-economic status and history of substance abuse and violence across generations were rooted in over 500 years of oppression and control through residential schools and other decrees legislated by the Indian Act. The growing awareness of problems related to Canada’s correctional system for female offenders, and the limited support and services for Aboriginal female offenders, led to the publication in 1990 of Creating Choices. The report essentially recommended a new system of incarceration that fostered the empowerment of FSW to make meaningful choices in order that they may live with dignity and respect. Based on the recommendations, federal corrections for women essentially aimed to move from a model of punishment to a model of rehabilitation. According to the experiences of the Aboriginal federally sentenced women in this study, the implementation of these changes in the management of federal corrections for women has allowed many Aboriginal women to experience their cultural traditions, some for the first time. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of major Aboriginal cultural events, notably ceremony, on the identity development, empowerment, healing and rehabilitation of FSW. Data were gathered over a two-year period of engagement by the researcher with women in Aboriginal ceremonies within Grand Valley Institution, a federal prison for women located in Kitchener, Ontario. Six major themes were identified through the iterative process of data gathering and analysis. The themes, history, conscientizaçao, healing, re-creation, coming home, and travelling the Red Road, represent the women’s processes of healing, identity development and empowerment through engagement in Aboriginal ceremonies and traditions in a federal prison. The women’s experiences with Aboriginal traditions offered personal and collective healing through solidarity, resistance, re-creation and liberation. The women emphasized supportive, accepting, mutually respectful and caring relationships as a vital component in their processes of healing. The centrality of relationships was explored using feminist and Aboriginal theories, and a deepening of understanding came from viewing the findings within the context of a social ecological theory of empowerment. Aboriginal ceremony and traditions were considered leisure in this study, and leisure from an Aboriginal perspective is thus integrated in all aspects of life and represents re-creation, restoration and collective strength. It is in this sense that Aboriginal women found freedom, even within the confines of a federal prison. The emphasis the women placed on the quality of their relationships in terms of healing, empowerment, and re-creation suggests that equitable and caring relationships are particularly important in their growth and development. Women’s engagement with others and portrayals of an ethic of care in cermony invoked inspiration and strength. The resultant relations of community generated a network of resources which enabled the women to create change within the correctional setting. The findings from this study underscore the relevance of a re-evaluation of Canada’s correctional approach and suggest the adoption of a more restorative understanding of justice; that is, a more Aboriginal conceptualization of justice one that encompasses healing, restoring relationships, accountability and community involvement.

Recreational shopping has long been of interest to business academics and practitioners, but research on it has been underdeveloped in the leisure field. Although the leisure literature and business literature represent distinct perspectives, there appears to be many significant parallels between recreational shopping and leisure. The purpose of this study was to examine the intrinsic meanings of shopping; to explore the experiential aspects of the recreational shopping experience (including the influences of the retail environment on individuals who regularly engage in recreational shopping). This study took place in Toronto, Ontario. The sample included five female self-proclaimed recreational shoppers. The researcher accompanied each participant on a shopping excursion which took place at a shopping mall selected by the participant. Data were collected through three qualitative methods. First, participant observation involved the researcher walking alongside the participant as she shopped. Following the shopping session, the researcher conducted an in-depth face-to-face interview with each participant; the interview was guided by a set of open-ended questions. In addition, this study utilized photo-elicitation in which the participants were asked to photograph ‘anything’ that made an impression during their visit to the mall. The photographs offered tangible illustrations of shopping experiences and were used as a catalyst for discussion during the interviews. The data was analyzed using Grounded Theory coding which lead to the identification of two main themes and six respective subthemes. The emergent themes are all connected to the key idea that shoppers are motivated by their expectations and desires when they partake in the recreational shopping activity. Shopping offers numerous opportunities that provide immediate hedonic pleasure as well as intrinsic rewards. Such opportunities often include, the ‘before and after’ phases of experiences of acquisition and unexpected discoveries, the positive interactions which occur both inside and outside a retail environment, and lastly, the individual’s use of shopping as a means of self-expression and a tool to manage their self image. Satisfaction, spontaneity, familiarity, mastery, accomplishment, and feelings of escape were all present in these shopping experiences. The findings also described the role of shopping malls as a leisure space and as facilitators of recreational shopping activities. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that shopping can offer a profound leisure experience for many people and the activity should not only be researched in terms of just ‘recreational shopping’ or ‘utilitarian shopping.’ Rather, the findings indicate several overlaps between the two types of shopping and further research is needed to more fully understand the complexities of the activity.

Leisure time, leisure activities, and leisure spaces largely surround matters of consumption. However, the role consumption plays in the reproduction and performance of community is a necessarily contested topic among leisure scholars. For their part, leisure scholars have tended to regard consumption and places of consumption with a great deal of trepidation, skepticism, and even contempt (e.g., Arai & Pedlar, 2003; Hemingway, 1996; Reid, 1995; Stormann, 2000). Implications for and about community appear to be at the forefront of anxiety about consumption as it relates to leisure. As a result, a focus on “community” has become a practical response to assumptions about pervasive individualism, consumption, and the loss of community, in general. Following calls for the incorporation of community in leisure studies (Arai & Pedlar, 2003; Glover & Stewart, 2006) and drawing on Cook’s (2006a) call to move leisure studies “beyond individualism” (p. 464), this study sought to empirically examine the significance local residents attribute to everyday places of consumption. Furthermore, this study aimed to challenge the idea that leisure time, activities, places, and spaces based on consumption serve only to further alienate individuals from communities, thus weakening the social relevance of leisure, in general (Arai & Pedlar, 2003). The purpose of this research, therefore, was to challenge the essentialist conceptualization of consumption by exploring the relationship between places of consumption and the everyday lived experience of community. To do so, I engaged patrons at the Kitchener Market, a venue that encourages consumptive acts, yet serves as a focal point for everyday engagement in community. The primary research question providing focus for this study was: What roles, if any, do places of consumption, particularly third places, play in the everyday lived experience of community? Results of this research suggest there are new ways for understanding leisure and community as they relate to consumption. Rather than considering consumption places as points of exchange with little or no emotional sentiment attached, this research suggests these places have to potential to develop and create community as well as incorporate consumer values, ideals, ethics, and sentiments. Third places, as everyday places of consumption, should be examined for their potential to create, enact, and build community. Consumption is not separate from society, community and leisure; rather, consumption constitutes a salient aspect of everyday living and should be considered an important component of community.

There have been few African studies that examined relationships between acculturation, a process where immigrants assimilate the culture of their host country, coping, acculturative stress and enduring involvement in leisure. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between cultural orientations and acculturative stress, coping, leisure participation, as well as ego involvement of Nigerian Canadians in leisure. The research participants (n=104), were English speaking Nigerian Canadians between the ages of 18-52 average age of 35, SD of just under 8. All research participants were born outside Canada. Most Nigerian Canadians (99%, n=103) had lived in Canada for a period of 1-10 years when data were collected. Each participant filled out a questionnaire that measured their African and Canadian cultural orientations, and acculturative stress, coping, leisure participation, and ego involvement in leisure. Composite scale scores were computed for the variables of African cultural orientation, Canadian cultural orientation, depression, discrimination, intergenerational conflicts, coping and ego involvement in leisure; after which ANOVAs were computed to determine between group differences for the median split groups on these variables. Kruskal Wallis H tests were then computed to determine between group differences with regards to demographic characteristics, transportation, housing and dress patterns. ANOVA was also computed to determine differences on number of children in households. Pearson Correlations were then computed to determine relationships between leisure participation and ego involvement on one hand, and depression, discrimination, intergenerational conflicts, and coping on the other hand. Results revealed significant differences between participants on African and Canadian cultural orientations, with the two High African groups showing higher African preferences, and the two High Canadian groups showing higher Canadian preferences than the two lower African and the two lower Canadian groups in each instance. Participants were not significantly different on acculturative stress and coping. Also, there were minimal between group relationships with respect to leisure participation and acculturative stress and coping; while no relationships were found for ego involvement in leisure.

Every September, tens of thousands of students enter the world of higher education for the first time, and face numerous new challenges without their traditional support systems. The literature indicates that leisure involvement can work as an effective coping strategy, but little is known about how first-year students make decisions about their leisure. This study examined the factors affecting students’ involvement in two leisure coping strategies (planned breaks and avoidance) and two leisure contexts (structured and unstructured). Nine one-on-one interviews with first year students were conducted. Insights consistent with the reviewed literature include students’ social leisure choices, their personal background and behavioural factors, and the transitional issues they faced. A new factor to add to the existing literature is the connection between students’ leisure actions and their sense of self. Researchers and leisure service providers on university campuses should explore these insights further, to help with students’ transitions into university.