Leisure Resources Research Articles

Competitive Strategies Applying in Cultural Museums through Tourism Industry: The Case of Taiwan Hualien

<p>In the competition of leisure resources and reduction of governmental budgets over the years, the way in which cultural museums survive and develop is a critical issue. Using the Hualien Hakka Cultural Museum as an example, this study conducted a literature review and analysis, and held local forums, workshops and in-depth interviews using a bottom-up model and an interactive model, in order to collect opinions from industry, government and academia. Through SWOT analysis, TOWS matrix theory and Analytic Network Process (ANP), this study identified the effective Co-opetition Strategy of cultural museums as a reference for the future operation of local Hakka cultural museums.<strong></strong></p>

농촌의 문화여가자원 평가를 위한 척도 개발 연구

The purpose of this study is to develop a culture and leisure resources scale and examine the validity of the scale. The culture and Leisure resources scale was developed and identified its validity by exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlation analysis. The culture and leisure resources scale consisted of four factors, which were 'personal resources', 'support staff resources', 'facility resources', and 'program resources'. Those four factors indicated the reasonable fit indices from confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, this scale showed convergent validity with the satisfaction of cultural and leisure environment and the satisfaction of one's cultural and leisure life. The result of scale score comparison between rural and urban areas showed that culture and leisure resources in rural areas were less abundant than those in urban areas. Furthermore, while the variables which affected the satisfaction of urban residents' were mainly 'personal resources', the variables in case of rural residents' were mainly 'program resources' and 'facility Resources'. The culture and leisure resources scale can be used for policymakers practicably to evaluate regional level of culture and leisure resources, to compare between regions and to find policy priorities for improving the quality of leisure, especially for disadvantaged areas with less resources.

Exploring the Stresses and Health of the Nurses in the Psychiatric Hospitals in Eastern Taiwan: Does the Leisure Destination Location Help Nurses Cope with Stress?

Background: It has been suggested that nurses who care for the mentally ill patients are exposed to increased stress and have poorer health status. Leisure and tourism have been proposed to be effective sources of stress coping. The purpose of this research was to investigate stress and health of nurses working in the psychiatric hospitals in the eastern Taiwan, which was known for its excellent tourism resources. Methods: Samples were purposively selected from the nursing staffs of two major psychiatry hospitals in the region. Overall, 333 valid responses were gathered using Short Form-36 (SF-36) for health status and the Nursing Staffs Pressure Scale measuring job stressors. Results: The perceived job stress varied significantly by age and job position. The perceived health status varied significantly by services, seniorities, marital, and numbers of children. The job stress correlated negatively with the health status. Family obligation and person-environment fit may explain why nurses in this particular area experience higher stress and poorer health status compared to their colleagues in the west. Conclusion: Although nurses in the eastern Taiwan receive relatively attractive compensation package and enjoy social status in an economically less developed area with abundant tourism resources, they experience higher stress and worse health. Nursing professionals with higher socio-economic status are in fact inversely exposed to greater stress, of which detrimental to their levels of person-environment fit. Since the leisure and tourism resources may not be effective alternatives for coping with stress and the family obligation has a strong association with the poor health status, a supportive system is apparently needed.

He challenging role of public libraries as providers of lifelong learning opportunities for personal and social skills development

Public libraries have been for centuries an integral part of the society offering free places and equal access to resources for leisure and educational purposes. They support both organised and self-conducted learning in all education forms, i.e. formal, non-formal and informal learning for all age groups. However, the global technological developments have changed the demands for easier access to knowledge and the new socio-economic conditions affected informational, educational and training needs throughout life. Nowadays, they have to find ways to overcome the challenges of the competitive environment, which will enable them to redefine themselves as a vital part of the knowledge society connected to the emerging community needs by becoming more active in lifelong learning. This paper presents an overview of public libraries’ role as providers of lifelong learning opportunities. The review is focused on the value-added services provision, including information literacy and other educational programs and activities for personal and social skills development. Additionally, provides some brief information on Greek public libraries and their role in lifelong learning over the last decades.*The fulfilment of the paper was co-funded through the Hellenic State Scholarships Foundation (I™IšI¥) from funds coming from the European Social Fund and the Educational Program “Education and Life Long Learning” (NSRF, 2007 – 2013).** This paper is a revised version of the paper entitled “Lifelong learning opportunities and challenges for public libraries”, presented at the 15th International Academic Conference in Rome, 14-17 April 2015.

여가교육에 관한 고찰

As the importance of leisure is stressed, Leisure education became one of five values in physical education curriculum, However, unlike other four values, research of leisure education as public education has not been conducted much in Korea. Thus, the purpose of the study is to investigate the need of leisure education and provide the direction of leisure education through leisure education theories, definitions, history, cases in U.S. etc. Until now, leisure education has been considered just as the perspective of ‘leisure as the subject of education’ because of the situations including sedentary lifestyle, lack of leisure experiences, societal changes, and education culture in Korea. However, through leisure education, educators should provide the values and advantage of leisure and should help students understand leisure as the overall concept. Also, educators should develop leisure education program for students in order to obtain leisure skills and utilize leisure resources.

Efficacy of leisure intervention groups in rehabilitation of people with an acquired brain injury

Purpose: To determine whether participation in a week-long residential leisure intervention program targeting individuals with an acquired brain injury (ABI) improved the leisure satisfaction, self-esteem and quality of life (QOL) of participants. The program included leisure awareness, leisure resources, social interaction skills and leisure activity skills. Method: Using a pre- and post-intervention design leisure satisfaction, self-esteem and QOL were assessed prior to, immediately following and at three months post program. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results: Participants were eight men and four women aged between 19 and 49 years who were recent clients of a rural Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service. The majority (7/12) had acquired their ABI more than two years previously, and for most (10/12) the cause was trauma. Program participants showed clinically important and statistically significant improvements in leisure satisfaction (p = 0.002), self-esteem (p = 0.03) and QOL (p = 0.02 to 0.008 for four domains of the World Health Organisation Quality of Life – Bref scale) three months post program. Conclusion: Adults with an ABI participating in leisure education programs can experience improvements in leisure satisfaction, self-esteem and QOL following the program. The findings suggest that active leisure intervention programs should be included in the ongoing rehabilitative care of adults with an ABI.Implications for RehabilitationLeisure participation, leisure satisfaction and social integration can be seriously compromised following an acquired brain injury (ABI).Engagement in leisure activities has positive effects on physical and mental health and is increasingly recognised as an important determinant of quality of life (QOL) for people with ABI.Participation in a short-term intensive leisure intervention program can improve leisure satisfaction, self-esteem and QOL.Active leisure intervention programs should be included in the ongoing rehabilitation and reintegration of adults with ABI.

Fragility of leisure ties between ethnic minority and majority youth – an empirical case from Finland

This paper explores social integration of ethnic minority youth in the context of micro-level leisure interaction in Finland. The aim of the study is to disentangle the types of ties that are formed between ethnic minority and majority youth. Moreover, the article will examine how these ties build bridges across group boundaries in the form of providing new leisure resources for ethnic minority youth. The qualitative data of the study consists of multi-sited ethnography conducted in the context of youth work and distinct interview data of ethnic minority youth (n = 38). Strong interethnic ties in the form of close friendships are rare in the data. Instead, many weak ties in the form of distant acquaintances are maintained. However, because of manifold micro-level elements, these weak ties are often too fragile to function as bridges accumulating the leisure resources of ethnic minority youth. Strong interethnic ties seem to have more bridging qualities. Thus, the conceptual distinction of weak/bridging and strong/bonding ties originally formulated in the framework of the labour market may not be applicable in the fields of youth leisure.

A Fuzzy Multicriteria Grade Cluster Analysis for the Budget Allocation of Tourism and Leisure Resources

The fuzzy multicriteria grade cluster analysis model put forward by this study can objectively deal with the need priorities of tourism and leisure resources so the budget is allocated first to the projects which are in urgent need of money. Thus, the following situation can be avoided: in the traditional budget allocation of tourism and leisure resources, the tourism and leisure project submitted by all units are not partitioned off according to their different need grades but unfairly mixed together in evaluation, leaving the projects at high need grade unable promptly to obtain funds.

The Geography of "disused" railways: what is happening in Portugal?

GREENWAYS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. Recently the concept of Greenways has acquired a multifunctional dimension, and is now used by planners as a tool for preserving environmental qualities of the landscape, as well as to structure leisure resources. It has even become a significant part of transport planning in urban areas. This article focuses on the ways in which disused railways can be an integral part of greenway planning. Firstly, the greenway concept and its evolution will be approached. This will be followed by a brief summary of the railway history in Portugal and an analysis of the present situation in the country regarding railways that are not in use any more. Finally, a detailed study of the first cycleway built in Portugal by using the disused railways between Guimarães and Fafe in the Northwest of the country will be presented.

Getting through the day: exploring patients’ leisure experiences in a private hospital

To explore the patients' leisure experience and their leisure needs and expectations during hospitalisation in a private hospital setting. Leisure plays positive roles in patient satisfaction and has functional values. However, studies on how inpatients spend their time and hospital-based qualitative studies on leisure needs and expectation among patients were rarely conducted. Through exploring patients' perspective on leisure, nurses could improve patient satisfaction from a different dimension and enhance quality of care. A descriptive qualitative study based on 12 semi-structural interviews. Applied purposive sampling to select and interview a total of 16 participants, including 12 patients and four patients' significant others in a private hospital. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the patients' bedside in summer 2011. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis approach was used to analyse data and to categorise themes. Four themes were developed: (1) getting through the day, which describes how patients spend their time during hospitalisation and their daily leisure activities; (2) necessity of leisure, which reveals the reasons why patients conducted the activity; (3) resources amelioration, which describes patients' needs and satisfaction on current leisure resources in the hospital; (4) nurses' roles in leisure, which is about the involvement of nurses in patients' leisure activities. As patients understand hospital is a place for recovery, they seldom discuss or request their choices of leisure activity. This study could provide some insight into patients' needs and expectation of leisure activity during hospitalisation, allowing nurses to know the importance of providing leisure activities to patients. This study suggests that clinical nursing practice should support leisure provision and hospital resources management of facilities on the effects of leisure.

Tourism in the Middle East: Conflicts, Crises and Economic Diversification, Some Critical Issues

ABSTRACTThis paper briefly examines tourism activity over a 60‐year period in the UNWTO Middle East region together with Israel and Iran. The region has been subject to political turmoil over that period, and its tourist arrivals have not fully capitalized on the potential that the region holds. The region has a wealth of heritage, a climate conducive to tourism and a range of leisure resources that should provide a comparative and competitive advantage to its tourism industry. This paper examines the vulnerability of tourism in the region as countries try to diversify their economies away from energy dependence. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

노동가능여성의 여가활동에 따른 행복도 결정요인

This study is set out to examine the effects of women`s marriage and labor and leisure activities on the leisure satisfaction and the level of happiness. It is designed to provide the basis required to come up with ways to enhance the level of happiness for women and the results derived from the statistics of 「Inquiry on the National Leisure Activities」by Korea and Institute in 2010, reprocessed to fit the research purpose of the study are as follows. First, the type of leisure activities the women of working age participate in were concentrated on inactive leisure activities such as the relaxation (73.1%) while the leisure activities related to the sports, rather viewing or participating in sports, ranked almost at the bottom. Second, as for the difference between the leisure resources and the level of happiness according to the characteristics of the women of working age, the older group had the most hours on leisure while the group with the lower level of academic background, economically inactive group and bereaved group were found to have the most hours on leisure. On the other hand, the cost of leisure the youngest group, the group with the highest level of academic background (graduate degree), unmarried and the economically active group spent much money on leisure. The level of happiness showed a difference only in two factors such as the academic background and the marital status. Third, as for the support for the leisure and the level of happiness according to the type of leisure activities, only the cost of leisure showed a difference. The group which participated in the sports showed the highest level of happiness while the relaxation activities showed the lowest level of happiness. Forth, among the total of 12 separation criteria for the determinants of the level of happiness based on the leisure activities, the separation criteria related to the economic factor were the biggest determinants with 5 times and the type of leisure activities(3 times), marital status (2 times) were the most important determinant for the level of happiness.

Trade and Value Developments in the Danish Second-Home Sector: Implications for Tourism Policies

The 220,000 second homes in Denmark are very important tourism and leisure resources. This study documents the development in property values and the trade in second homes during the period 1994–2008 and links property values to socio-economic characteristics, events in the lives of the owners and geography. The study finds that ownership of second homes is still fairly well distributed socially, but that there is a clear trend towards the exclusion of those with lower incomes and of families with children. The average age of owners is rising. Second homes play a subtle role not only as holiday resources, but also in the combined housing economy and investment of Danish families. Indirectly, the developments in the trade and value of second homes have implications for future tourism policies. The continuous availability of privately owned second homes on the rental market is of immense importance for the attractiveness of the Danish tourism product in general, and for specific destinations in particular. Rising property prices in the years up to 2008 and a lack of incentives to upgrade the standard of these houses may compromise mainstream Danish tourism policies.

The Maritime World in Historical Perspective

This article is a revised version of the University of Liverpool Peter Davies Annual Lecture, given by the author in 2010. It identifies the principal ways in which human beings have used, and continue to use, the oceans. Transport, trade, defence, leisure and marine resources all continue to feature. Two later- twentieth-century developments, globalization and containerization, are considered. Long international, maritime business has become truly global, with the replacement of national flags by ‘flags of convenience’ and a global market for maritime labour. These developments represent a break with the past. Containerisation is compared with the transition from sail to steam. There was a marked contrast in the pace of transition and technological complexity, although both required high levels of investment and new port infrastructure. An innovation aimed at reduction of cargo-handling costs and part of a multimodal logistics system, containerization substantially reduced the demand for waterfront labour so had a marked social impact. It is concluded that, despite these recent changes, the degree of novelty should not be overemphasised. There remains much that connects today’s maritime world with the past.

Education and Recreation Activities of Older Asian Immigrants

Older Asian immigrants experience a variety of challenges when attempting to adapt to life in a new society. Adjustment difficulties associated with cultural differences among older Asian immigrants and the host country may result in a certain levels of acculturative stress. This stress is negatively associated with health and quality of life. In spite of benefits of participation in recreation activities for older Asian immigrants, they continue to experience constraints to their leisure participation that are associated with cultural differences (e.g., language barriers, limited social networks, different family roles, lack of awareness of leisure resources). To address this challenge, it may be helpful to develop strategies to support older Asian immigrants in their leisure pursuits. The purpose of this paper is to (a) examine older Asian immigrants’ issues related to acculturation and their help-seeking patterns, (b) discuss potential leisure constraints associated with cultural differences for leisure participation, and (c) provide suggestions on ways leisure service providers can offer leisure education programs, meaningful recreation activities originating in Asia, and multicultural recreation events.

The right of inland navigation in Wales

Policy towards navigation along inland water resources for recreation and leisure has long been an area of contestation in England and Wales, largely due to differential rights and motivations betw...

Blue–Green Coalitions: Fighting for Safe Workplaces and Healthy Communities. By Brian Mayer

Blue–Green Coalitions: Fighting for Safe Workplaces and Healthy Communities. By Brian Mayer. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press and Cornell University Press, 2009. 240p. $57.95 cloth. $19.95 paper.When do labor-environmental coalitions emerge and endure? In a period when headlines are dominated by economic recession, unemployment, and oil spills, the focus of Brian Mayer's book takes on practical urgency. The question is theoretically intriguing as well. Labor unions are often characterized as archetypical interest-based organizations, representing industrial workers' concerns for their own material well-being. Environmental mobilization, in contrast, is seen as a quality-of-life movement most commonly associated with members of the postindustrial middle class who possess leisure time and resources sufficient to enable their activism. When the question of how to regulate industries that employ toxic chemicals arises, these two groups can become locked in an acrimonious jobs versus the environment debate, making them more likely antagonists than allies. This sense of latent opposition is captured by one worker's assertion that greens want to “save the whales and kill the workers” (p. 2). How can these divisions be overcome? In his clearly written and compelling book, Blue–Green Coalitions, Mayer argues that concern over the effects of hazardous materials on human health offers one avenue for generating powerful and enduring coalitions.

An evaluation of a leisure education intervention for adult male residents in a state minimum-security forensic unit: Leisure resources modules

This study was the collaborative effort of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse faculty (Ardovino) and therapeutic recreation practitioners (Fahey, Sprecher, and Froh). The intent of the project was to study the effectiveness of a specific leisure education intervention called “leisure resources modules” at the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin. The leisure resources modules were designed and modified by Sprecher, Froh, and Fahey and were implemented by them as an intervention over the past 10 years in a minimum-security forensic unit. The modules studied were overview of leisure resources, use of the telephone book, use of the library, and use of the newspaper. The intervention was evaluated by examining scores from initial and postintervention screens from the past 6 years. These scores measured the competencies of adult males residing in the minimum security unit. Descriptive statistics were derived from the data, and a paired t test showed a significant difference at the 0.01 level, indicating that the leisure resources modules were an effective leisure education intervention for this population.

Leisure and community type as indicators of overall quality of life

Sustainable communities address social, economic, and environmental issues in an integrated manner to ensure a healthy and viable community atmosphere where quality of life is a key consideration (Cartwright, 2000). Understanding the community attributes that influence quality of life has become a major interest area among sociologists, recreation administrators, and policy analysts (Allen, Long, & Perdue, 1991; Payne & Schaumleffel, 2008). The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between satisfaction with leisure opportunities and the quality of life (based on a global measure) in rural, small town, suburban, and urban South Carolina communities. The data were collected using a stratified systematic sampling process by zip code and a mailed self-reported questionnaire. This method resulted in 299 usable responses and yielded a response rate of 37 per cent. Results from this study suggest a significant and positive relationship between satisfaction with the leisure dimensions of community and overall quality of life. Results also indicate that measures of satisfaction with dimensions of community are good predictors of overall quality of life for residents. The present study indicates that community leisure opportunities and resources remain important indicators and predictors of residents' positive quality of life.

Encyclopedia of inland waters

Inland aquatic habitats occur world-wide at all scales from marshes, swamps and temporary puddles, to ponds, lakes and inland seas; from streams and creeks to rolling rivers. Vital for biological diversity, ecosystem function and as resources for human life, commerce and leisure, inland waters are a vital component of life on Earth. The Encyclopedia of Inland Waters describes and explains all the basic features of the subject, from water chemistry and physics, to the biology of aquatic creatures and the complex function and balance of aquatic ecosystems of varying size and complexity. Used and abused as an essential resource, it is vital that we understand and manage them as much as we appreciate and enjoy them. This extraordinary reference brings together the very best research to provide the basic and advanced information necessary for scientists to understand these ecosystems - and for water resource managers and consultants to manage and protect them for future generations. Encyclopedic reference to Limnology is a key core subject in ecology taught as a specialist course in universities. Over 240 topic related articles cover the field. Gene Likens is a renowned limnologist and conservationist, Emeritus Director of the Institute of Ecosystems Research, elected member of the American Philosophical Society and recipient of the 2001 National Medal of Science. Subject Section Editors and authors include the very best research workers in the field.