This paper notes the recent increased interest of leisure researchers in the concepts of human rights and social justice, with social justice being particularly favored by North America researchers. Since both concepts concern the just treatment and well-being of individuals and social groups in contemporary society, the paper aims to establish whether they represent distinctly different approaches to analysis or are overlapping in meaning and possibly complementary. It is found that, while some proponents of social justice down-play the significance of human rights, it is widely accepted that human rights are a component of social justice and that broad inclusive definitions of human rights encompass most of the concerns of social justice. It is therefore concluded that the two approaches to leisure analysis are complementary and each would benefit from incorporation of elements of the other in its conceptual framework and from more extensive engagement key generic social theory and policy frameworks.

The societal benefits of having greater access to rivers are numerous, but conflict sometimes ensues between recreational users. Using Wales as a case example, we conducted a survey to better understand the underlying beliefs and emotions of different river users in relation to river access. Sixty per cent of respondents felt there was conflict over river access, but perceptions differed with age and river usage. Most boaters wanted greater access to rivers, in stark contrast to anglers. Greater dialogue was highlighted as a necessary step to reduce conflict, but support for specific management actions such as usage tariffs, spatial or temporal zoning, or limiting the number of users were much less popular. River users differed in cooperativeness and assertiveness but consistently flagged water pollution as the most important factor detracting from their enjoyment of rivers. Sentiment analysis indicated that “trust” was the dominant emotion shared by all river users.

The present study utilized a scenario-based cross-sectional survey to assess whether the participation intention toward a sport team’s philanthropic corporate social responsibility (P-CSR) initiative varies among sport spectators and fans based on their strength of psychological connection to the team. Among the four groups (i.e. awareness, attraction, attachment, and allegiance) introduced by the psychological continuum model (PCM), the study found a statistical difference in P-CSR participation intention across most groups within the high P-CSR condition. In the low P-CSR condition, the attachment and the allegiance groups were the only categories with no difference in P-CSR participation intention. The study provides theoretical contributions to the PCM literature, as it is the first to use a self-classification method to segment fans into their respective PCM stages. The study also has meaningful implications for sport practitioners who thrive on interacting with their consumers by developing a community through P-CSR initiatives.

Tourism experiences have been recognized for their transformative potential and contributing to improving tourists’ quality of life. Despite this, little is known about the factors that trigger these impacts. This study examines the link between service quality, experiential quality and lifestyle and the influence these have on tourists’ quality of life. Using the Partial Least Square (PLS) technique, data from 367 tourists who participated in cultural and nature-based tourism experiences were analyzed. Results revealed that service quality and experiential quality favor the improvement of tourists’ quality of life, and this impact is mediated by the influence of lifestyle.

In this hermeneutic phenomenological study I explored and interpreted the lived experiences of leisure of 11 African women immigrants living in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic before the availability of vaccines. Gadamer’s theory of hermeneutic experience and Aristotle’s leisure philosophy afforded the philosophical bedrock. In-depth, online interviews were augmented with visual methods. After the initial shock of multidimensional loss as pandemic restrictions took hold, women quickly regrouped and were both courageous and resilient. They turned to their Christian faith to sustain them, making do with online services and finding solace in worship. The family circle sustained, and the home became a hive for leisure. Creative leisures were enthusiastically engaged in, and gardening, cultivating, and harvesting were essential to well-being. Through it all, the African ethic of ubuntu permeated their way of being and uplifted them even in the presence of plague and death.

Protected areas around the globe face increasing visitation numbers and crowding, a situation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although measured visitor density and perceived crowding are strongly related, analyses of this relationship are lacking. We argue that measured visitor density serves as a reliable and objective indicator of perceived crowding. This study therefore examined the effects of visitation numbers, perceived encounters, and expectations on perceived crowding in the Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany). Automated visitor counts at six park locations were linked to data from an on-site crowding survey conducted in 2021. A predictive model and visitation thresholds were calculated using a logistic regression, which showed that visitation numbers are a well-suited predictor of crowding. The results indicated a strong association between measured visitor density and perceived crowding, moderated by site-specific conditions. The calculated thresholds provide a valuable instrument that can be used to inform the public in advance about peak visiting times.

PRELUDE Violence. Dead crabs by the many thousands on the beach. Dead fish too. Ponds full of tires. Bubbles surfacing from broken gas pipes somewhere at the bottom of the river. The wind sweeping through the wreckage of an abandoned steelworks providing an incessant hum that echoes across this coastal ‘wasteland’ of the Anthropocene. Someone fishing sits huddled on a concrete jetty. A surfer, shivering, hurriedly pulls and tugs on a neoprene wetsuit as they dance on the snow. His mates wait for him. A beachcomber hunts for washed up mining tools to turn into art. Relationships with nature—this post-industrial ‘wasteland’ is nature too—in this place may make you feel better. They may not, also. This is polluted leisure in the Anthropocene.

Adventure recreation is a growing form of leisure associated with optimal psychological states reported to involve intensely pleasant emotions, optimal functioning, and a sense of achievement or fulfillment. However, much of the research on this topic has primarily focused on singular optimal state models (e.g. flow, peak experience), which have often been developed and refined in traditional sport contexts. This study investigated the potential utility of a multiple optimal state model (i.e. flow and clutch) for understanding optimal psychological states experienced across a range of adventure recreation activities (e.g. rockclimbing, snowboarding, white-water kayaking). Data were collected with 20 participants (mean age = 35.7 years, SD = 10.7) via the Scanlan Collaborative Interview Method. While flow and clutch states were reported to both involve an immersive, present moment focus, flow states were characterized by expanded attentional focus, connection to nature, effortlessness, and intuitive, pleasurable movements, whereas clutch states were characterized by a narrow focus on achieving a difficult outcome and deliberate thinking about bodily movements, followed by a sense of achievement. The findings are used to propose an expanded model of flow and clutch states that identifies the unique antecedents, characteristics, and consequences of flow and clutch optimal states in adventure recreation contexts.

Older adults experience a transition when moving, and moving during a pandemic creates additional challenges. Leisure activities are linked to providing life satisfaction and maintaining identity among older adults experiencing life transitions such as moving to assisted living, widowhood, and caregiving responsibilities. Despite this link, there is a paucity of literature describing leisure’s role in adapting to new homes. A modified ethnographic approach was used to explore leisure’s role in older adults adapting to moving and other transitions during COVID-19. The analysis revealed that participants used leisure activities to maintain identity and to maintain and establish social circles after moving. We suggest that identity is essential to adaptation and should be added to current conceptualizations. This research has implications for practitioners and policy makers working in the community to address issues older adults may be facing by developing policies and programming that support older adults moving to new neighborhoods.

We used a qualitative descriptive study to explore interrelationships between ethics of care and the leisure-time physical activities (LTPAs) of newlywed women and men. We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 women and 14 male partners as they entered marriage, and we repeated interviews one year later. Our thematic analysis of interviews revealed that emotional and instrumental supports influenced LTPAs directly by fostering both shared LTPA and individual LTPA and by providing childcare and meals, as well as indirectly through role obligations expected to benefit couples’ marriages. Interdependent aspects of spousal caring occurred when a partner’s support of a mate’s LTPA simultaneously constrained the partner’s own LTPA. Ethics-of-care-related actions promoted marital connections through LTPA, supported LTPAs, and nurtured marriages, but they also constrained spouses’ LTPAs, with women’s and men’s LTPAs affected similarly. Ethics of care was important in influencing newlywed couples’ LTPA decisions, behaviors, and experiences.