Outdoor adventure learning (OAL) provides a unique environment to teach organizational change. Therefore, there is an implication these programs can be used to foster necessary specific skills such as leading change, innovation, and thriving in hostile environments to lead in the ever-changing corporate world. Little research, however, supports the efficacy of adventure learning in achieving specific outcomes. Skeptics suggested the benefits of OAL programs do not always generalize effectively from the outdoor experience to the workplace. This paper outlines how utilizing strategic skills and theory to conduct OAL programs are effective and impactful in the corporate world. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and meaning of a based outdoor adventure learning program among corporate executives using qualitative data analysis (QDA).

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between media as family leisure and family functioning among families with at least one adolescent child. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between family functioning and media use, media connection, and media monitoring over time. Furthermore, because the data were nested in families, and because most family leisure research has been limited to individual-level analyses, this study incorporated mixed modeling into its analysis which accounted for family-level and individual-level variance. The sample consisted of 500 families participating in the Flourishing Families (FFP) Project, a longitudinal study of inner-family life involving families with a child between the ages of 11 and 16. Multiple regression analysis indicated there was a significant negative relationship between media use and family functioning. Mixed model analysis further indicated there was a significant positive relationship between media connection, parental media monitoring, and family functioning, and this relationship was stable over time. These relationships were significant even when accounting for the variance explained by depression, anxiety, conflict, and other demographic variables. Findings support existing media effects and family leisure research. This research, however, goes beyond existing research in its mixed level analysis that accounted for family-level variance and in its analysis of time in the stability of the relationship between media variables and family functioning. Findings further suggest the importance in parental involvement in adolescent media use when explaining variance in family functioning.

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine family relationships in families where one adult member was diagnosed with chronic illness resulting in chronic pain to determine why the crucible, or trial, of chronic illness triggered some families to strengthen while others weakened. The introduction of chronic illness instigates a process of change in family life, yet there is a paucity of research examining families in this situation, specifically when the chronic illness results in chronic pain. Utilizing grounded theory methodology and qualitative data analysis methods, dyadic interviews and periods of observation were conducted with six families across the United States. Questions were focused on family relationships and the impact of adult-onset chronic illness on relationships and family life. Open, axial, and selective coding were conducted during the process of data analysis, illuminating the important role family unity played in helping families remain strong. Findings detail the relationship between family strength and family unity. Adult-onset chronic illness provided a catalyst for families to establish and/or maintain family unity. Five families established or maintained family unity and reported positive changes in family strength, while one family failed to maintain or establish family unity and reported negative changes in family strength leading to separation and eventually divorce. This study has important implications for families facing adult-onset chronic illness and for practitioners serving this population.

Research on emerging adulthood has increased over the past decade, including further investigation of the five features of emerging adulthood: (a) exploring identity, (b) instability, (c) focus on self, (d) feeling in-between, and (e) possibilities (Arnett, 2004). Despite an increased focus on this age period (i.e., 18 -- 29 year olds), research has not addressed the context of free time and leisure. Trends among European emerging adults include increased delay of marriage, decreased childbirth, and general postponement of adult markers. Both the high cultural valuation of leisure and the apparent change in patterns of external markers (i.e., sustained low fertility rates, delayed age of first marriage, declining national populations) in Europe, made Europe a prime setting for studying the leisure of emerging adults. This case study reviews the features of emerging adulthood in a leisure context across European cultures. Using data collected in interviews, the content analysis illustrates the prominence of identity exploration in emerging adults of Europe compared to the four other features of emerging adulthood in a leisure context. Further cultural discourse analysis highlights leisure as a resource for accessing opportunity and a space for freely making choices. The discourse analysis also includes the reconstruction of the cultural schema regarding leisure and each of the five features of emerging adulthood.

The purpose of this study was to verify Mezirow's (1978) Transformative Learning Theory as a model to explain how study abroad participation facilitates efforts to internationalize students in higher education. Specifically this study used block-entry, logistic and linear regression models to explore the relationship between transformative learning processes and study abroad outcomes. Data were collected from business students (N =107) at Brigham Young University using a retrospective pretest method. Findings indicated transformative learning was occurring in short term study abroad settings and transformative learning phases were related to increases in Intercultural Competence. These findings were consistent between year cohorts suggesting the impacts were lasting.

This study tested Self-Determination Theory as a possible explanatory framework to understand the relationship between total couple leisure satisfaction and marital satisfaction. The three psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness-fundamental components of Self-Determination Theory-were measured through the Fulfillment of Psychological Needs during Couple Leisure (FPNL) scale and were tested as mediators. The analysis of five structural equation models confirmed the relevance of the Self-Determination Theory in explaining the relationship between couple leisure satisfaction and marital satisfaction. Although autonomy and competence were significant mediators, relatedness consistently appeared as the strongest mediator suggesting that the fulfillment of this psychological need is particularly important for relationship functioning and well-being. Implications to couple leisure are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family leisure involvement and family leisure satisfaction to aspects of family functioning and satisfaction with family life among urban Russian families. Specifically, this study examined how both family leisure involvement (core and balance) and family leisure satisfaction contributed to the explanation of variance in family functioning and satisfaction with family life. The behavioral factor of family alcohol consumption was also included in the analysis. Furthermore, because the data were nested in families, and because most family leisure research has been limited to individual-level analyses, this study accounted for family-level variance by incorporating mixed modeling in addition to accounting for individual level variance. The sample consisted of 597 families residing in urban Russia with a child between the ages of 11 and 15. The Family Leisure Activity Profile (FLAP) was used to measure family leisure involvement. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale (FACES II) was used to measure family functioning. Mixed model analysis indicated core family leisure satisfaction was the single strongest predictor of all aspects of family functioning as well as satisfaction with family life from the family perspective. There were also positive relationships between both core and balance family leisure involvement to various aspects of family functioning. Analysis further indicated a significant negative relationship between alcohol consumption and both family functioning and satisfaction with family life. These relationships were significant even when accounting for the variance explained by demographic variables of age, income, marital status, and ethnicity. Findings support existing family leisure research. This study, however, goes beyond existing research by accounting for family-level variance as well as accounting for the role alcohol consumption plays when explaining variance in family functioning and satisfaction with family life. Findings provide implications for urban Russian families, scholars, professionals, and policy makers.

The purpose of this study was to further examine the relationship between family leisure variables and the dependent variables of family functioning and satisfaction with family life among a broad, national sample of Canadian families using the Core and Balance framework. Specifically, this study examined how both family leisure involvement (core and balance) and family leisure satisfaction contributed to the explanation of variance in family functioning and satisfaction with family life. Because the data were nested in families, this study accounted for family-level variance by incorporating mixed modeling. The sample consisted of 943 families across Canada including one parent and one child between the ages of 11 and 16 (n = 1886). Findings added to previous Canadian family leisure studies by reporting empirical relationships between family leisure variables and outcome variables and doing so from a broad national sample. Findings were also consistent with trends in other countries reporting satisfaction with core family leisure involvement as the single strongest predictor of both family functioning and satisfaction with family life among Canadian families. Furthermore, while core family leisure satisfaction was the driving force in the explanation of variance in family satisfaction, findings suggest there must be participation in both core and balance family leisure. Additional implications for Canadian families, scholars, professionals, and policy makers are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of leisure among women in the developing East African nation of Uganda. In this study, I evaluated the leisure experiences of 38 Ugandan women of various backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses through semi-structured interviews. I analyzed the data using the constant comparative method. Themes for the meaning of leisure include fortifying leisure, enjoyment, and rest and relaxation. Results point to free choice as the core variable. Finally, I discuss the implications and suggestions for future research.

This dissertation examines the language-based, discursive processes through which meanings and experiences are socially constituted in outdoor recreation and natural resource environments. Language use and discourse are seen as interactive, constructive processes, approached through the theoretical perspectives of argumentation, social constructionism, and performance. Three qualitative studies, based in data collected at Acadia National Park and forest-related sites throughout Vermont, comprise this dissertation. The first study uses rhetorical analysis to examine the ways National Park Service managers and community leaders argue for the meanings and management of dark night skies in and around Acadia. The second study examines how national park visitors socially construct meanings of night sky experiences, focusing on the structure, functions and styles of language. The third study evaluates forest-oriented environmental interpretation materials produced by Vermont-based agencies through an analysis of performance. Each study analyzes a different type of discourse: semi-formal "expert" language solicited in interviews with managers and leaders (study 1), semi-formal "naive" language solicited in interviews with park visitors (study 2), and formal, written texts produced by agencies (study 3). Results show how language is used to forge agreement across competing ideals; construct meanings despite undeveloped vocabularies and intangible values; and direct visitors to perform forests in ways that develop the meanings of place. These studies contribute to the understanding of how individuals and organizations use language within discourse practices to create the reality in which socially- and culturally-important natural resource environments are managed and experienced, forming a body of work that informs theory and practice.