Project report (M. Ed.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-62). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1969. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Elliott M. Avedon. Dissertation Committee: Charles Kadushin, Elizabeth M. Maloney. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-161).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The use of permanent prompts for individuals with severe disabilities has been shown to be effective in acquiring new skills, improving the accuracy and maintenance of existing skills, and in eliminating the need for trainer prompts. However, this technology has not been evaluated for its potential impact in promoting leisure participation. In this study, two men with mental retardation were administered auditory and/or visual prompts to investigate their effect on increasing participation in a leisure activity. In addition, their performance was evaluated to establish whether continuous versus intermittent schedules of the prompts would influence participation. The data were collected using a partial interval observation system and evaluated using a multiple baseline and an alternating treatment design. While both men increased their participation modestly in the leisure activity, there was no substantial difference between the two prompting schedules.

Recreation planners serving local .governments are faced with difficult problems in selecting data collection techniques, and can find little useful guidance in the literature. A range of techniques have been assessed using the social science literature, field investigations and informants. The conclusion is that, for' most urban community planning purposes it appears appropriate to use several techniques in stages, because each technique has significant shortcomings. Assessment of the techniques investigated is based on technical and conceptual criteria. The technical considerations include cost, accuracy and reliability, flexibility of use, ethical and political issues, and data validity—matters which receive at least passing attention in the literature. Conceptual considerations that are specifically related to public recreation include identifying individual's and community's needs, ascertaining the extent to which existing and potential users are being served, attempting to predict changes in leisure behaviour, and analysis of preferences for different types of recreation. The results indicate that for most purposes it will be necessary to use a combination of techniques in order to balance the weaknesses of one against the strengths of another. The relative importance of each criterion depends on the purposes and context of the study. It is suggested that in general the best strategy will be to choose techniques sequentially, starting with those that are most flexible and inexpensive. In this strategy the results of each stage should be used to investigate the options for the next stage, by defining the questions that need to be answered and the probable value of the results obtained by alternative techniques. The first stage should be use of secondary sources, documented data and informants, because of the low cost and flexibility of these techniques. Casual observation and dialectical scanning should be used next, because they are relatively inexpensive and flexible and have the capability of rounding out the data required to bring the research purposes into focus. The outcome of this stage should define data needs and research constraints in a form that permits informed judgement about which, if any, of the more sophisticated techniques are appropriate or necessary for the planning purposes. The strengths of the survey questionnaire technique are that it gives a comprehensive picture of present recreation activities, and identifies characteristics of non-users as well as users of local public recreaction opportunities. Trade-off games do what other techniques cannot, in eliciting realistic statements of preferences. Controlled observations are capable of producing accurate usage data. Delbecq is a technique that is used to investigate implementation problems once a desirable program or specific plan has been defined. The Delphi technique can explore likely changes in the future, and their implications for present decisions. Full scale citizen participation is basically a planning technique in which data collection is a secondary function. However, it necessarily involves use of informants and casual observation techniques, and can easily and inexpensively accommodate Delphi, Delbecq and dialectical scanning. This brief statement of the general strategy omits many important qualities of the different techniques, which planners must know in order to choose the best combination for a recreation planning task. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters of Recreation and Tourism in the Centre for Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2006. / The greatest difficulty in the realm of recreation and tourism particularly in South Africa is the scarcity of the current and relevant research information. Furthermore, the planning and provision of recreation facilities coupled with the usage of fee existing facilities has been one sector mat has been overlooked by local authorities in KwaZulu-Natal and more specifically in die study area. In recent years, more exciting forms of recreation including skiing, snowboard ing, bungee jumping, sky diving, hang gliding, paint balling, rock climbing, backpacking, caving, and adventure tourism have been developed and introduced to the public. Notwithstanding the existence of such sophisticated recreation facilities, the study area seems to lack some of the basic recreation infrastructure. As such, this study seeks to establish some of the following objectives: a) To find out whether there are any policies and guidelines followed in the planning for provision of recreation facilities. b) To investigate whether recreation facilities are adequately provided in the Mthonjaneni Municipal area. c) To establish the extent to which local people utilize the existing recreation facilities in the study area. d) To find out who is responsible for financing the provision of recreation facilities in the study area. e) To reveal the demographic variables that play a role in the management, supply and demand of recreation facilities in Mthonjaneni. The research established that there were inadequate recreation policies and guidelines followed, and that these were not implemented. It further discovered that there were inadequate recreation facilities in the study area. Further that the provision of new facilities was seriously inadequate. In terms of utilisation of recreation facilities the study established that there was non-participation by the majority of respondents. Finally the study revealed that the local government was perceived as the main body responsible for the provision and management of recreation facilities in the study area. The study brought forward the following recommendations. Mthonjaneni Municipality must: a) Develop a policy framework for the governance of sports at local level that is in concert with the national provincial sports and recreation policy. b) Make sport and recreation accessible to all people in the local area authorities are important link in value chain. c) Create the infrastructure required for delivery of sports and recreation. d) Ensure that the existence of programmes that develop human resources potential in sports and recreation. In the New South Africa recreation should be planned to promote nation building or unity rather than segregation. Hence, it is through recreation that the heterogeneous society of South Africa can truly begin to merge and develop a new positive identity. Melmoth town must continue to be centre that provides the people of Mthonjaneni with all amenities including recreation facilities.

Many outdoor recreation settings present stressful situations that directly influence the quality of one's leisure experience. Some recreationists are able to maintain their enjoyment by adopting various coping strategies. In conditions that induce stress, recreationists can select from a combination of behavioral coping strategies (e.g., substitution of recreational setting or activity) and/or cognitive coping strategies (e.g., rationalization). Previous coping research has indicated that the key to understanding the stress -- coping process is how one appraises the stressors. In spite of the acknowledged importance of individual appraisals, however, there is scant empirical evidence available documenting this mediating effect. To explore the role of appraisal in the stress - coping relationship, I drew upon Lazarus and Folkman's transactional theory of stress and coping. Using data collected from recreationists boating in Texas and Korea, I tested a model where the relationship between stress and coping was hypothesized to be mediated by individual's appraisals within the context of water-based recreational activities. Data were collected from recreationists residing near Lake Granbury in Texas (n=186) and recreationists at Lake Chung-pyung in South Korea (n=462). Initial testing of the model illustrated poor fit. I then tested the model independently for the two groups. For Korean respondents, results showed that one's evaluative process (appraisal) mediated the relationship between stress level and selected coping strategies. Further, the degree of involvement with a recreational activity, attachment to a setting, and self-construal moderated the stress -- appraisal -- coping relationship. Model testing for American respondents showed that the factor structure deviated from what was originally hypothesized. Subsequent testing produced an alternate factor structure; direct action, disengagement, temporal substitution, and cognitive coping. However, there was no mediating role of appraisal in the relationship between stress and coping for this group. Moreover, there was no moderating effect of place attachment, leisure activity involvement, and self-construal for American respondents. In short, the results of this study partially supported the transactional theory of stress and coping. For both groups, positive appraisal was more strongly related to behavioral coping, while cognitive coping (rationalization) was influenced by respondents' negative appraisal of the boating conditions. Even under potentially stressful conditions, some recreationists consider the situation controllable. Future investigations should also consider exploring and comparing the coping processes of different user groups, across age cohorts, and among recreationists within similar contexts.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Rochester, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-156). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

This study attempted to compare the activities in the boys' program, "in school" and "out of school" which seemed to have the greatest appeal from the standpoint of participation.

This study attempted to compare the activities in the boys' program, "in school" and "out of school" which seemed to have the greatest appeal from the standpoint of participation.