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.

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.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to understand constraints to tennis spectating and constraints negotiation therein. The primary research questions were related to the changing nature of spectating experience, its’ meaning, and spectators’ actions when faced with constraints. The topic of spectating sporting events, consumer loyalty, and leisure constraints have widely been addressed in the literature using quantitative methods. This research attempted to add understanding to the body of literature qualitatively. Data was collected and analyzed using the grounded theory method. This research also attempted to address the recommendation to examine negotiation-efficacy role among various populations and other leisure contexts (Loucks-Atkinson & Mannell, 2007). In depth interviews were conducted with thirteen tennis spectators (six males and seven females) residing in Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Hamilton, Oshawa, and Toronto, Ontario. Spectators varied in age, playing ability, and occupation. Spectating experiences suggested ten constraints, six negotiation strategies, and five steps to minimize the impact of potential future constraints on one’s behaviour. Ten constraints experienced were: 1) too costly to attend a tennis event, 2) uncomfortable and deterrent weather prior and during the event, 3) lack of resources and accessibility to them, 4) time conflict between the event and everyday life, 5) long and time consuming distance to be travelled, 6) poor players’ performance, 7) others’ perception of the sport, 8) sitting too close or too far from the action, 9) tennis not being among top spectators sports in Canada, and 10) difficulty finding a parking spot. The analysis revealed that the perception of these constraints differed based on age, gender, and previous playing experience. Negotiation strategies widely used were: 1) scheduling ahead, 2) using electronic resources for viewing, 3) networking and talking to others, 4) playing tennis, 5) going to a different sporting event, and 6) engaging in interactive activities. Five steps in minimizing the effect of potential future constraints consisted of: 1) being organized, 2) travelling with a friend, 3) gaining knowledge, 4) controlling one’s expectations, and 5) staying committed to the sport. The majority felt in control when negotiating. The constructivist grounded theory revealed that the relationship between constraints, negotiation, and participation in tennis spectating was circular. This relationship implied that although negotiation takes place, it does not eliminate constraints all together, but rather potentially reducing the impact of a constraint. The same constraint may reoccur again in the future and it was understood that as long as tennis spectators are active constraints will exist and negotiation strategies will occur. Constraints in this study were related with negative emotions, reduced enjoyment, physical discomfort which threatened on future tennis spectating behaviour. The main limitation of this study is that the results are not representative of the population and are participant and context specific. Implications for practice may include: establishing a sense of service value, increasing of interactive gaming and activities during inclement weather, betterment of promotional efforts of amateur events and media exposure via local channels of professional tennis events. Future research recommendations include studying a similar topic in a different context, assessing the impact of sport attachment versus player attachment on spectating behaviour of individual sports quantitatively, and conducting an experiment where one of the constraints is manipulated.

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.

VALIDATION OF THE SENSEWEAR PRO2 ARMBAND CALORIMETER TO ASSESS ENERGY EXPENDITURE OF ADOLESCENTS DURING VARIOUS MODES OF ACTIVITY Kim Crawford, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2004 The primary purpose of this investigation was to examine the validity of the SenseWear® Pro 2 Armband (SAB) to assess energy expenditure during various modes of physical activity in adolescents. It was hypothesized that measures of energy expenditure during treadmill and cycle ergometer exercise would not differ between the SAB and the criterion respiratory metabolic system (RMS) when examined for female and male subjects. Twenty-four healthy adolescents completed both the cycle ergometer and treadmill exercise protocols. The primary findings of this investigation were the SAB significantly underestimated energy expenditure during cycle ergometer exercise at the low (1.53 + 0.60 kcal.min-1; P<0.001) and moderate (2.48 + 0.95 kcal.min-1; P<0.001) intensities and for total energy expenditure (19.11 + 7.43 kcal; P<0.001) in both the female and male subjects. In the treadmill exercise, there were no significant differences between measures of energy expenditure during treadmill walking at 3.0 mph, 0% incline in female and male subjects. However, the SAB significantly underestimated measures of energy expenditure at 4.0 mph, 0% grade (0.86 + 0.84 kcal.min-1; P<0.001); 4.0 mph, 5% grade (2.13 + 1.40 kcal.min-1; P<0.001); 4.5 mph, 5% grade (2.97 + 1.56 kcal.min-1; P<0.001) and for total energy expenditure (23.66 + 14.92 kcal; P<0.001) during treadmill exercise in female and male subjects. Possible mechanisms underlying the underestimation of energy expenditure by the SAB are complex but may include: the use of generalized exercise algorithms to predict all types of physical activity; possible disproportionate reliance on the two-axis accelerometer during non-weight bearing and graded exercises; the delay in body heat transfer to the skin; and the inability to account for variability in walking gait, lean body mass and fat mass. All of these factors impact on the accuracy of the SAB to accurately estimate energy expenditure. This is the first study to examine the accuracy of the SAB in adolescent subjects and is an important first step in validating SAB technology in adolescents.

THE EFFECT OF INCREASING LEVELS OF EXERTION ON KNEE JOINT PROPRIOCEPTION William S. Gear, PhD UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, 2004 The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of incremental levels of isokinetic concentric muscle exertion on passive reproduction of passive positioning (PRPP) and active reproduction of passive positioning (ARPP) at the knee joint in male and female collegiate soccer and basketball players. Subjects for this study included 20 (10 males and 10 females) volunteers. Subjects performed knee extension and flexion concentric isokinetic exercise until torque output fell below the 10%, 30%, or 50% of maximum hamstring torque for three consecutive repetitions. Subjects were then tested on either PRPP or ARPP following the isokinetic exercise session. Following testing of the first independent measure, subjects were given a 20 minute rest period. Following the rest period, the procedure was repeated for two more exercise sessions. Testing of PRPP and ARRP was counterbalanced between trials and sessions in order to decrease the chance of a learning effect on the results of each testing session. The major findings of this study indicate that increasing levels of exertion do not have a significant effect on either active reproduction ability [ARPP-45 degrees (F2,38 = 0.88, p = 0.42), ARPP-30 degrees (F2,38 = 0.69, p = .51), and ARPP-15 (F2,38 = .23, p = 0.80) or passive reproduction ability [PRPP-60 degrees*s-1 (F2,38 = 0.25, p = .78) , PRPP-90 degrees*s-1 (F2,38 = 0.31, p = 0.73), and PRPP120 degress*s-1 (F2,38 = 1.58, p = 0.22)]. However, the reliability of all PRPP and ARPP measures at 15 degrees demonstrated poor reliability. Fatigue has long been theorized to be a contributing factor in decreased proprioceptive acuity, and therefore a contributing factor to joint injury. The lack of significant findings may be explained by the idea that as the level of muscle fatigue increases muscle spindle discharge increases. Poor reliability for all PRPP and ARPP at 15 degrees draws into question the meaningfulness of the results for these measures.

This meta-analysis examined the influence of the task, environment and learners characteristics during motor skill learning situations for varying organizations of task presentations (Contextual Interference). Types of tasks (open and closed skills) were evaluated based upon settings (laboratory and real world) with diverse populations (gender, age groups, and level of expertise). The strength of the CI effect was investigated based on whether the skill variation was a variation of the same or different Generalized Motor Program (GMP). Effect sizes were calculated subtracting low (blocked) from high (random/serial) contextual interference schedules of practice during acquisition, retention and transfer phases. Seventy-five published studies were found in the literature search. A total of 309 effect sizes were computed from 51 studies. The overall treatment effect supported contextual interference for blocked and random comparisons but not for blocked and serial comparisons. Another important finding was that contextual interference is most strongly supported for variation in GMP than for variation in parameter when comparing blocked and random schedules of practice. Furthermore, similar effect sizes were demonstrated for ecologically valid and non-ecologically valid settings, reinforcing the applicability of contextual interference theory in teaching motor skills in real world situations. Effect size differences among varied levels of amounts of practice, internal validity, and knowledge of results were not significantly different but pointed to directions that are worth of discussion.

The goal of this project was to develop a reliable decision-making instrument with improved validity compared to other instruments used to date. A methodological design, consisting of two phases, was adopted to develop a valid and reliable instrument. In the first phase, 59 decision making video clips were developed. Content validity was assessed based on the review by expert soccer players. Finally, the basic format of the test was established based upon item discrimination, item-to-total correlation, and item difficulty index computed on 16 experts and 16 novices responses to the clips. Item discrimination and item-to-total correlation were used to exclude clips from the pool of clips. After clips were excluded, the 28 final clips were grouped in four forms based on level of difficulty. In phase two, the reliability of the four forms of the test was determined based on alternate forms reliability and coefficient alpha values. Six Pearson Product Correlations were computed. None of the correlations reached .7 indicating the forms could not be used interchangeably. Estimated internal consistency of each of the four forms based on Cronbachs alpha values was also low. More reliability information must be gathered before this instrument is used in actual experiments.

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) emphasizes in its second edition of the National Standards for Physical Education the importance of linking instruction and assessment in physical education. NASPE standards reflect what students should know and be able to do as a result of a quality physical education (NASPE, 2004). This link is even more beneficial to students and teachers alike when assessment is aligned with the NASPE content standards. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a criterion-referenced assessment tool to test movement concepts and fundamental movement skills of children ages 3 through 10 and provide evidence for content-related validity. An attempt was made to develop an assessment tool that is tied closely to the postulates of the National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE, 2004). The gathering of evidence for content-related validity was accomplished through judgments of a panel of 20 content experts (professors = 8; and PE teachers = 12). An Internet-based item review form was used to collect information from experts. Experts rated content at item level (31 items divided in 7 categories) using a four point likert-type scale where 1 being 'not important at all' and 4 'very important'. Content was also rated at test level (7 questions) addressing the match between the test content and the test general characteristics (e.g., match between the proposed set of items and the test purpose). This set of questions were rated on a five point likert-type scale with 1 being 'poor' and 5 being 'excellent'. Many of the expert reviewers also provided written feedback on the content of the test. Descriptive statistics (percentage of responses and median) were used along with qualitative procedures for data analysis. The analysis of content at the item level yielded revision of 11 items. Also, three items were considered not appropriate for either 3-6 or 7-10 age groups. Four items were included based on experts written comments. Finally, two items were dropped out of the test. The analysis of the content at the test level showed that questions were rated as 'very good' or 'excellent' by 80% or more of judges. The information collected from content experts served to validate and confirm the content of this assessment tool while providing helpful feedback with which to make improvements in content and format. Results of this study provided an initial support for the content-related validity of the Furtado-Gallagher Movement Skill Assessment. Content validity is an ongoing process throughout the development of any instrument and further analysis will be needed to confirm the content validity of this assessment tool.

The study of race/ethnicity and leisure has been an area of great interest to researchers since at least the 1970s. Numerous studies have shown that differences exist in the ways people from different racial/ethnic groups participate in outdoor recreation. Most of these studies have found that racial and ethnic minorities (i.e. non-White groups) participate in many outdoor recreation activities at proportionally lower levels than do Whites. While these studies present numerous hypotheses to help explain this phenomenon, no study has been conclusive. In this dissertation, I present a theoretical framework and three empirical studies to investigate the nuances of this issue. The first study examines the theory of systemic racism (Feagin, 2006) and its utility to deepen our understanding of the factors that play into African Americans relationship with nature and outdoor recreation. The second study analyzes narrative and historical autobiographical accounts of African Americans from the three major racial eras in United States history in order to examine African Americans’ relationship with nature over time. The third study examines the racially related constraints of African Americans who are involved in serious leisure pursuits of activities generally considered outdoor recreation, as well as African Americans who are involved in nature related careers. The constraints I found with this group are reservations of family and friends regarding being in “the woods,” collective memory and fear, being the “only one, ” discrimination and “reverse curiosity,” assumption of novice status, and balancing identity between being Black, and “acting White.” In the fourth study I analyze this same study group, but explore their experiences of being involved in serious leisure and look at the negotiation schema that this group employed to sustain participation. These negotiation schema are childhood formative experiences, realizing deep connections to nature, transcendental experiences in nature, leaning on knowledge of nature, comfort with White people/places/groups, and positive experiences with White people in nature. The four studies in this collection represent a rethinking and deepening of our knowledge of African American participation in the outdoors.