Creative art experience has been widely recognized, in recent years, as an important facet of the recreational activity of human beings. In an age where leisure-time has become the right of most people, provision of facilities for its constructive use has assumed increasing significance. As a result, many new developments in recreation have emerged, including growth of group work specialization within the field of social work. Another related supplementation has come in the initiation of a new coordinative movement in the arts, one phase of which is described in the following study of the Community Arts Council of Vancouver. Embodied in the thesis is information obtained from within the Arts Council itself: from its files; from the people directly concerned with its inception and development; and from the writer's personal experience as a staff member. Other material is taken from the publications of the two coordinative movements from which the Arts Council's thinking borrows: those of American Welfare, and the Arts Council of Great Britain; and is tied in with current Canadian trends as shown by the work of the recent Royal Commission on Arts Letters and Sciences. In addition, information both quantitative and qualitative was obtained from a sampling of Arts Council affiliate-groups, through questionnaire and interview methods. The experiences of the war years, both on this continent and in Great Britain, underlined the values of supplementing the sporadic, unrelated activities of spontaneous and autonomous art groups with some organized means of coordinating these activities and providing essential joint services beyond the financial capacities of individual groups. Vancouver was the first city on the continent to attempt such provision on a local level, and did so in direct recognition that arts, the symbolization of man's basic drives, were essential to the common good, thus integral to welfare. In the light of this basic assumption of the movement, it was felt that a study of the growth and development of the prototype of other local Arts Councils on this continent would have reference value within the field of social work. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Faced with a constant struggle for their existence, certain rural Recreation Commissions in British Columbia are examining their purposes and functions as agencies responsible for recreational programmes. This case study of seven selected rural Recreation Commissions was undertaken to examine and to analyse certain aspects of the organization and operation of these commissions in serving small populations. The Commissions were selected from a list compiled by the Community Programmes Branch Consultants and which met specific criteria assuring the investigator that each Commission was active by Community Programmes Branch standards, voluntarily operated and rural in nature. The Commissions selected consisted of four with populations less than five hundred and three with populations of more than five hundred people. All Commissions studied were in unincorporated areas. Following an interviewing procedure during the summer of 1967 with selected members of each Commission and a second phase consisting of a mailed questionnaire completed by each Commission collectively, case study reports were prepared. In the analysis a breakdown of elements related to the organizational structure of the Commissions and their operation was completed. This analysis determined the basic causes of the Commission’s shortcomings and whose struggle is merely a manifestation of greater problems. Suggestions are then made for correcting the pitfalls that these Commissions have found themselves in, with specific reference made to proper organizational structure, determining the recreational needs of the people represented, leadership development, and budgeting and finance. Finally, a suggestion is outlined for a reorganization of rural Commissions in unincorporated areas such as those studied, under the authority of Regional Districts. In this way many problems common to rural recreation Commissions such as those studied may be overcome. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

This project records a special "recreational survey", undertaken in the Municipality of West Vancouver, as a study in community organization. The survey helped the community to determine its recreational needs. It established a "schedule of priorities" which should enable the community to decide on immediate, as well as long-range plans, to set up a programme for leisure-time interests and needs. The survey was an influence in strengthening the intergroup relationships, and may be an aid to future community action. It also helped define that recreation is more than physical activities. The research method consisted of questionnaires, interview material utilized, writer's own process records, and an analysis of the efforts of one local association, over a period of three years, to practice "community organization". Clarence King in 1941 remarked "that as yet there has been too little scientific inquiry into the nature and characteristic of the community organization process". An attempt is made to show that the process is an important part of community organization, and that it is affected by individual, group, and community issues. Some of the findings of Dr. E.C. Lindeman and Professor Jesse P. Steiner seem to repeat themselves here. The implications of the survey to the community are described. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The increasing number of persons surviving into old age, the prolongation of the period spent in retirement, and the social changes resulting from urbanization and industrialization, have all combined to make the use of leisure time by the senior citizens an urgent social problem. For this study, two districts from the City of Vancouver, both of which had a high proportion of senior citizens, were selected and compared. The purpose was to assess the effectiveness of existing resources in meeting, the recreational needs of the senior citizens in the two areas. Foremost was the question of the nature of existing resources, their availability to the general population, and. their availability to senior citizens. It also attempted to throw some light on the meaning of recreation to the older person, and the extent to which he is willing or able to involve himself in meeting his own recreational needs. For the purpose of gaining information the cooperation was sought from ministers of local churches, and pensioners' organizations, through the use of questionnaires. These were followed up by personal interviews with staff of social and recreational agencies, representative men and women, and interested citizens. The socio-economic characteristics of the two areas are described, and the recreational resources available and. the use made of them by old people are analyzed. Many groups that replied indicated that the provision of recreation was part of their purpose, but that social action was their primary concern. The questionnaire was useful, but to determine the needs that are considered important by the recreation authorities and the pensioners, it was necessary to make further inquiries through personal interviews with people concerned with the issue. These findings are that the programmes studied are able to meet with varying degrees of success the needs of the senior citizens for companionship with their own group. The extension of existing facilities and programmes, and more frequent meetings are needed, however, to satisfy the emotional and leisure-time needs of senior citizens. In the last chapter, the recreational resources and needs are reviewed and the limitations of the survey are discussed. It appears that the survey dealt primarily with older people of limited financial means who enjoy sufficiently good health to go out to meetings. Larger questions regarding the recreational needs and resources available to all senior citizens, would require further surveys to answer them properly. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The Depression and World War II were two distinct sociological eras in the 20th century. Both of these periods played dramatic roles in the history and development of British Columbia. This research examined sport and physical recreational activities, to demonstrate the status and influence that these activities had during these two periods of social and economic turmoil. The research was carried out by reviewing government documents related to this era and this field of study, and then reviewing the effect these government acts, debates and discussions had on the sport and recreation programmes of the time. Newspaper reports and historical sketches of various sports and recreation programmes were the main source for gaining information of these activities. It was during the Depression that both the British Columbia Provincial Government and the Federal Government first introduced financial support for sport and recreation. The British Columbia Government inaugurated its Pro-Rec activity programme in 1934 and the Youth Training Act of 1937 saw the first Federal Government finance allocated for leisure-time activities. In 1943, during World War II the Canadian Government passed the National Physical Fitness Act which supported and funded sport and physical recreational activities as well as financially aiding the provincial programmes of Pro-Rec. The Depression years saw a definite rise in the status of sport. This was displayed in increased participation, increased spectator attendance, and increased coverage in newspapers and on the radio. This same increase was also noted in recreational activities, particularly in the programmes of Pro-Rec, the YMCA, the YWCA and such programmes as the Sunday School Activity Leagues. Physical education in the schools was improved in status to equal all other school subjects. The Depression years also saw the birth of such sport and recreation associations as the British Columbia branch of the Canadian Physical Education Association, the Vancouver Elementary Schools Physical Education Association for Women and the Vancouver Elementary Schools Physical Education Association. Sport and physical recreational activities influenced the life of many people. It was the type of activity that was being promoted to fill the long idle hours of unemployment. Promotion was undertaken by many agencies, the most prominent being the British Columbia Government with its Pro-Rec programmes. The war years that followed, however, saw a reversal in the status of these activity programmes. With the war effort consuming so many workers and so many hours, very few people had the time to participate in, organize or administer sport and recreation. All areas of sport and recreation seemed to suffer in the number of participants and the standard of participation. Sport and physical education in the schools and university also deteriorated; the new programmes introduced in the Depression years being disregarded or discontinued because of a lack of physical education teachers. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

In the field of outdoor recreation, the problem of increasing user demand for the use of a limited supply of available and appropriate resources is becoming of growing concern. Furthermore, numerous studies have illustrated that excessive use of recreational resources can cause degradation of the physical resource base and result in decreased user enjoyment of the recreation experience. These conditions indicate the need for effective evaluation and allocation of the supply of recreational resources. This will provide for a sustained optimal flow of recreation benefits, and minimization of degradation of resource quality. The major premise of the thesis submits that for purposes of outdoor recreation planning for Galiano Island an integrated approach to natural resource evaluation, based on an ecological framework and incorporating consideration of the activity and user characteristics, can be utilized to optimize resource utility and derived user satisfaction. The methodology of the study include four phases; synthesis of present techniques of natural resource evaluation, identification of the characteristics of the physiographic constituents of the resource base which influence recreational use, assessment of the activity participation and preferences of selected referent recreationist groups, and integration of these elements into a comprehensive approach to outdoor recreation analysis. The natural resource base of Galiano Island, in the British Columbia Gulf Islands, and the recreationists utilizing the island for cottaging, camping and boating activities are selected for the case study. The analysis of the resource base indicates that spatial differentiation on the island, on the basis of physiographic characteristics, provides a good means by which to allocate the selected activities. The data provided by the user groups serves to indicate the nature and scope of activities which provide for optimal enjoyment of the recreation experience. On the basis of the findings, a suggested development scheme for Galiano Island is prepared. The results of the study illustrate that an integrated approach to outdoor recreation planning, incorporating resource, activity and user characteristics, can provide a means by which to enhance and protect outdoor recreation values of the resource base and the recreationists alike. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the factors which explain the patterns of outdoor recreation that a given population pursues on a given land surface. Patterns of use were understood as (1) the types of activities the population pursued and the frequency with which they pursued them, and (2) the distribution of these activities over a differentiated land surface. Emphasis was placed on designing a methodological framework within which the explanatory value of postulated sets of factors can be examined. The data used to illustrate the methodology was taken from a study of the outdoor recreational use of Galiano Island done by The University of British Columbia School of Community and Regional Planning during the summer of 1969. (1) I made the operational assumption that the observed variation in the types and frequency of outdoor recreation activities pursued by groups of visitors to Galiano Island could be explained by differences in the "internal" characteristics of the groups. Internal characteristics were defined as all factors contributed by the recreationists themselves such as age, sex, experience, etc., which could influence the way they respond to the landscape. In effect, internal characteristics represent the translative mental processes that mediate between the stimulii the recreationist receives from the landscape and his perceived use of it. I hypothesized that variations in the frequency and types of outdoor recreation activities which visitors to Galiano Island pursued could be explained by a selected set of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the visitor group. The hypothesis was tested by canonical correlation analysis. The results obtained were not significant at the 0.05 level of probability . I argued that the negative results were attributable to the characteristics of the data and that the hypothesis, in a conceptual sense, was not incorrect. (2) The second assumption made was that the areal variation in the recreational use of the land surface, generally and for specific activities, could be explained by variations in the characteristics of the landscape itself. I hypothesized that the number of visits (irrespective of activity) that recreationists paid to lot areas on Galiano Island could be predicted from measures of the accessibility, development, and proximity to the shoreline of the lot. Following this, I hypothesized that the number of visits paid to lot areas for each of three specific activities (going to the beach, camping, hiking) could be predicted from the same set of measurements. These hypotheses were tested by multiple regression analysis. Two of the four analyses produced equations which were significant at the 0.001 level of probability. The first showed that the combined total of visits for all activities could be predicted from measurements of the accessibility, development, and proximity to the shoreline of the lot area. The second significant relationship showed that visits paid to lot areas for the purpose of going to the beach could be predicted from the same set of measurements. Both equations, although significant, had questionable explanatory value owing to the nature of the data. The sample size was too small to permit adequate testing of the hypotheses. The recent literature and the direction pointed to by the results obtained in this study support the conceptual framework which I have presented. However, the data used were largely inadequate to test the conceptual basis of the methodologies proposed. I have suggested throughout the study where improvements for the collection of data can be made. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Powder snow is becoming an increasingly sought-after resource in the backcountiy areas of British Columbia. This thesis focuses on conflicts between backcountiy skiing, helicopter skiing, and snowmobiling in British Columbia, with particular emphasis on the social-psychological causes of the conflicts. The relative susceptibility to conflict of each activity is addressed through an examination of the literature on outdoor recreation conflict, and a series of statements are developed which are aimed at identifying the socialpsychological causes of conflict for each individual activity. The statements developed out of the literature are applied to a case study based on research done in the Revelstoke region of British Columbia. Surveys were distributed to backcountiy skiers, helicopter skiers and snowmobilers and, in this thesis, the survey data is presented and analysed with a view to developing an understanding of the differences between the demographic profiles and attitudes of participants in each of the three winter activities. In the case of backcountiy skiing, helicopter skiing, and snowmobiling, it is evident that there exists a sort of "hierarchy of conflict" with backcountiy skiing being much more susceptible to conflict than either of the other activities. This difference in susceptibility is explained through an examination of the qualities of each activity which make it more or less susceptible to conflict, and it is demonstrated that the susceptibility to conflict of outdoor recreation activities can be predicted through the examination of a set of particular characteristics inherent to each individual activity. Finally, the policy governing commercial recreation in British Columbia is examined in terms of its efficacy in identifying and preventing potential conflicts. Some suggestions are made for improving policy and policy development. The conflicts between backcountiy skiing, helicopter skiing, and snowmobiling can be seen as a microcosm of the kinds of conflicts which arise between competing users of any natural resource. Some of the findings of this thesis have very broad implications, including the demonstration of the following: the apparent dichotomy between environmental impact and economic interests; the globalisation of the economy; the importance of public participation in the development of policy; the inadequacy of zoning as a means of conflict prevention; the need for an evolution from a "frontier" mentality to future planning; the importance of responsibilities, as well as rights; the need for more tools for managing conflicts.

Powder snow is becoming an increasingly sought-after resource in the backcountiy areas of British Columbia. This thesis focuses on conflicts between backcountiy skiing, helicopter skiing, and snowmobiling in British Columbia, with particular emphasis on the social-psychological causes of the conflicts. The relative susceptibility to conflict of each activity is addressed through an examination of the literature on outdoor recreation conflict, and a series of statements are developed which are aimed at identifying the socialpsychological causes of conflict for each individual activity. The statements developed out of the literature are applied to a case study based on research done in the Revelstoke region of British Columbia. Surveys were distributed to backcountiy skiers, helicopter skiers and snowmobilers and, in this thesis, the survey data is presented and analysed with a view to developing an understanding of the differences between the demographic profiles and attitudes of participants in each of the three winter activities. In the case of backcountiy skiing, helicopter skiing, and snowmobiling, it is evident that there exists a sort of "hierarchy of conflict" with backcountiy skiing being much more susceptible to conflict than either of the other activities. This difference in susceptibility is explained through an examination of the qualities of each activity which make it more or less susceptible to conflict, and it is demonstrated that the susceptibility to conflict of outdoor recreation activities can be predicted through the examination of a set of particular characteristics inherent to each individual activity. Finally, the policy governing commercial recreation in British Columbia is examined in terms of its efficacy in identifying and preventing potential conflicts. Some suggestions are made for improving policy and policy development. The conflicts between backcountiy skiing, helicopter skiing, and snowmobiling can be seen as a microcosm of the kinds of conflicts which arise between competing users of any natural resource. Some of the findings of this thesis have very broad implications, including the demonstration of the following: the apparent dichotomy between environmental impact and economic interests; the globalisation of the economy; the importance of public participation in the development of policy; the inadequacy of zoning as a means of conflict prevention; the need for an evolution from a "frontier" mentality to future planning; the importance of responsibilities, as well as rights; the need for more tools for managing conflicts. / Science, Faculty of / Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for / Graduate

In order to deal with on-going environmental pressures and uncertainty, organizations have established linkages with other organizations as one strategy to deal with these new challenges (Fenell, Ross & Warnecke, 1987; Oliver, 1990; 1991; Thibault, Frisby & Kikulis, 1997). The establishment of partnerships is viewed by organizations as a new way of operating to control and minimize environmental pressures. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand issues of interorganizational relations between local governments, specifically departments of Parks and Recreation and community organizations providing recreation and sport services. Specifically, reasons for being involved in partnerships as well as advantages and challenges of partnerships were investigated as part of this research. The City of Surrey was selected as the research site for this study on the analysis of interorganizational relationships between its Parks and Recreation department and three community organizations providing recreation services and programs: Surrey Knights Swim Club, Surrey Youth Soccer Association, and Surrey Minor Hockey Association. The City of Surrey was chosen given its large territory, its population growth, its decreasing funds for recreation services, and its limited number of recreation facilities. Through semi-structured interviews with key informants, issues on interorganizational relations were discussed. The main reasons for involvement were described as access to financial and facility resources. With the economic pressures that local governments are facing, the establishment of partnerships represents an appealing option to meet these challenges. Furthermore, the Surrey Parks and Recreation department is linking with community organizations in order to gain credibility within the community. By establishing working partnerships with one another, community organizations and Surrey Parks and Recreation department are able to provide the same level of services to the community, consequently leading to the welfare of the community. The final topic that was discussed during this research was the levels of intensity of the partnerships and its relation to loss of autonomy. Using Oliver's (1990) model, it was found that all levels of intensity were evident at one point or another in the partnerships and that these levels varied according to the environmental context. However, the loss of autonomy, as described by Oliver (1990) did not appear to be a factor influencing the partnerships. This might be due to the fact that all partners were involved in these partnerships for the same goals and purposes and not to compete against each other. Interorganizational relationships were an intricate and important dimension of the organizations studied. It is essential for organizations to better understand issues surrounding partnerships in order to effectively engage in linkages that are beneficial to all partners involved in this process and to the public.