Leisure Science Research Articles

Holistic Analysis of Recreation and Leisure Science in Sports

The aim of this research is to analyse scientific publications between 1980-2020 and to make a holistic analysis on recreation and leisure science in sports. Using the data obtained within the scope of the study, information graphics and explanatory bibliometric networks that reveal bibliometric networks were created. According to the results obtained from the study, the most used keywords were found to be “recreation”, “leisure” and “sport/s”. Citation analysis reveals that Lee, Powell and Iwasaki are the most cited authors. There are a total of 475 journals in the data. Leisure Sciences, Journal of Leisure Research and Annals of Leisure Research, are the most cited journals. Griffith University (Australia), University of Illinois (USA) and University of Sydney (Australia) were the leading publishers. It can be stated that the concepts used in leisure and recreation studies focus on physical activity, that the majority of the tourism sector is aimed at the long-term area, that it focuses on theses and government policies to increase participation in physical activity, and that it contains arguments for the development of social theories and practical applications.

여행경력 재개념화에 관한 연구

Since Pearce (1988) first suggested the concept of travel career in the tourism field, various research has been conducted, mainly focused on travelers’ psychological and behavioral changes induced by different travel careers. However, the effect and influence of travel careers varied across studies, indicating that the concept has yet to achieve a systematic and valid theory structure (Ko, 2018). More specifically, the limits of previous research are: 1) inconsistency of travel career 2) There is no discussion of subelements. 3) evaluating a travel career solely on the basis of “behavior” and “affect.” Therefore, it is important to draw an integrated conceptual model of a travel career and expand the discussion on subelements. In the field of leisure science, the level of participation in leisure activities is explained by the recreation specialization theory. Previous research has found that travel experience encompasses a variety of leisure behavior characteristics, and that theoretical structure on leisure phenomena provides a significant lead to understanding the characteristics of travel experience (Ko, 2017). On the basis of such a theoretical background, this study applies recreation specialization theory to the conceptualization of travel careers. The main significance of this study is that, while the concept of travel career lacked consistency and subelements, it considered problems drawn from prior studies and developed a systematically complemented measurement tool. Also, with the application of recreation specialization theory, a travel career was constructed with multiple dimensions, including subelements of behavior, cognition, and affect. In particular, the cognitive dimension was scarcely discussed in prior research and it made a contribution to the expansion of the theoretical structure of the travel career concept.

Forensic Behavioral Science of Serial and Mass Murder with an Addition of Leisure Research: A Descriptive Synthesis

Prevalence rates of multiple homicide are statistically rare and vary across nations, yet such cases create substantial suffering for victims and can generate widespread fear among the general population. Despite extreme rarity, it remains important for forensic experts and professionals to be prepared when extremely violent events occur. This review summarizes contemporary behavioral science of serial and mass murder, then highlights the application of recent leisure research to add new motivational and behavioral insights. Research on the application of leisure science to homicide research is in its infancy, yet in conjunction with other related behavioral science disciplines, appears to hold promise in understanding, and perhaps helping to prevent, future violence.

Digging Deeper: Engaging in Reflexivity in Interpretivist-Constructivist and Critical Leisure Research

As interpretivist-constructivist and critical scholarship has advanced within leisure science, so too does the need for more comprehensive approaches for reflexivity. Reflexivity, which can be described as an act, capacity, or practice to self-critique one’s own biases that may influence the construction of knowledge, is an important means for meeting standards of goodness or quality within qualitative research. This study sought to strengthen leisure research through a conceptual exploration of reflexivity. The authors created a series of vignettes to analyze their past research experiences, employing hermeneutics and feminist epistemologies to guide reflexive practice. Consequently, social and relational context of knowledge, representation and voice, positionality and embodiment, awareness of politico-ideological character, and unconscious/emotional entanglement emerged as dimensions of a reflexive framework. Informed by this process, a collection of questions are offered as a tool to assist others with more holistic reflexive practice within the leisure sciences.

Педагогічні засади дозвіллєзнавства як інституту соціалізації особистості

The article analyzes the approaches of scientists to the process of socialization of personality and leisure, and clarifies the role and importance of leisure in the process of socialization. Peculiarities of personality socialization in the conditions of pedagogical cultural and leisure activity are determined. Leisure science is described as an institution of socialization of personality. The professional socialization of future social workers in higher education institutions with the help of effective free time distribution and cultural and leisure activities is considered. The types of activity of free time manifestation in the process of professional socialization of future social workers in the conditions of higher education institution are outlined. Attempts are being made to increase the effectiveness of social and educational work in the field of leisure to ensure the continuous impact of leisure on the socialization of the individual. The task of the social worker to help the person to feel successful in fulfilling the chosen social role, to help to acquire the meaningful side of the activity, to acquire skills and skills, is defined. The pedagogical foundations of leisure science are oriented on the social development of the individual, the methods of expedient use of free time are optimized, which optimize the social determination of socialization and formation of the individual. The regularities of complex and multifaceted leisure, leisure process as an institute of socialization of personality are revealed, in which the individual is given an active role, which is defined by scientists as one of the institutes of education and development of personality in his free time. Explained conditions that allow the choice of different social roles, which allow you to move freely from one activity to another, ensuring true activity, independence of the individual, changing his attitude to the outside world, coordinating his position with the positions of others. The essence of personality socialization in the leisure sphere is revealed as the process of entering the personality into the system of social relations, the result of the development of the personality as a universal subject of activity through its multilevel interaction with society on the basis of the formation of social-typical qualities, which are internal regulators of activity and behavior. An attempt was made to achieve the effectiveness of the process of personality socialization in terms of pedagogical leisure by creating pedagogical conditions that would include interrelated components: socio-cultural environment; organization of cultural and leisure process; the readiness of the social worker as a subject of social and pedagogical activity.

Are Sex and Pornography Addiction Valid Disorders? Adding a Leisure Science Perspective to the Sexological Critique

Over the last 30 years, there has been a growing trend among both professionals and nonprofessionals in applying an addiction framework to understand frequent sexual behavior and pornography viewing. However, sexual scientists have identified serious methodological problems in applying an addiction model to such behavior and have noted that this movement appears to be largely morally, ideologically, and politically motivated. The scientific establishment of a valid mental health condition requires a thorough process of attempting (and subsequently failing) to disprove a condition, rather than primarily focusing on generating support for it. While there remains fierce professional contention surrounding how to interpret frequent sexual behavior and pornography viewing, perhaps surprisingly, the possibility that sexual behavior and pornography viewing may function as leisure has received little scholarly consideration to date. This article summarizes the current scientific critique of sex and pornography addiction before critically applying a leisure perspective to the issue.

Positive Sexuality as a Guide for Leisure Research and Practice Addressing Sexual Interests and Behaviors

There is a growing interest among leisure scholars to investigate a wide range of diverse sexual topics from a leisure science perspective. However, leisure experts sometimes struggle with issues surrounding their topics that are firmly rooted in broader socio-historical controversies. Indeed, these controversies continue to play out in fierce academic and professional battles, referred to as the “sex wars,” that began several decades ago. Recently, there has been a call among some sexologists and health experts to move toward a much more positive approach to sexuality, which acknowledges well-known risks and dangers of sexual behavior, yet also emphasizes the importance of sexual pleasure and potential benefits of sexual behavior and expression. This paper summarizes current academic literature on the need for positive approaches to sexuality and outlines a multidisciplinary eight-dimensional positive sexuality framework. Existing connections between positive sexuality and leisure scholarship are illustrated.

Preventing leisure from being overlooked: Intersecting leisure and prevention sciences

Leisure opportunities and experiences make powerful contributions to individual and community health by promoting positive and reducing negative health outcomes at individual, community, state, and national levels. Leisure researchers have long promoted the health benefits of parks and recreation, reflecting leisure’s role in public health. However, the idea that leisure can make a contribution to prevention has received less attention. Thus, we advocate incorporating a prevention science perspective to help researchers hone an agenda focused on leisure, health, and well-being across the lifespan. We review the evolution of leisure and prevention science as separate fields, identify where they intersect, and offer considerations for moving forward. We conclude by providing three main considerations for adopting prevention science approaches and promoting the context and experience of leisure, followed by six actionable recommendation steps to more effectively understand and promote health.

Computer science meets digital leisure: Multiple perspectives on social media and eSport collaborations

In this article, we advocate the development of underexplored collaborations between leisure and computer science scholars. Focus is placed on exploring and understanding digital leisure consumer behaviors and experiences and the potential for social justice research in the contexts of social media and eSport. Leisure scholars stand to benefit from leveraging technological expertise and considering different theories of engagement with technology. Opportunities for collaboration are described while recognizing the mutual benefits for all scholars involved and the methodological implications of working within different paradigms of knowledge. Insights that could assist others engaging in interdisciplinary research projects are also presented.

Reporting Quantitative Methods and Findings: Best Practices Fidelity in the Leisure Science Literature

This article identified best practices for quantitative methods and results reporting and then evaluated leisure science articles’ adherence to them. A two-stage stratified sampling method identified 112 articles. A codebook was developed, and 26 universal codes addressing abstract, methods, and results were applied to each article to generate best practices scores (BPS). BPS ranged from 6 to 21 (M = 14.89, SD = 2.95). Articles were more likely to use best practices for abstract, sample selection, recruitment, statistics, and data analysis, and less likely for participant characteristics, instrumentation, and data collection procedures. Comparisons of BPS across journals identified significant differences.

An Unlikely Retirement: The 2017 Las Vegas Massacre as an Exercise in Project-Based Deviant Leisure

In recent years, homicide scholarship has been the beneficiary of an increasingly interdisciplinary framework that has come to include a leisure science perspective in attempting to explain murder as a pleasure-seeking avocation for offenders. In this article, the authors employ a leisure-based approach to the Las Vegas Massacre as a foundational case study on multiple murder as project-based deviant leisure. Homicidal leisure-based projects, as suggested here, may also amount to intuitive extensions of other higher-risk hobbies known as edgework. A leisure approach to understanding some forms of multiple murder provides valuable new insights while also integrating important tradition.

‘A‘ohe pau ke ‘ike ka hālau ho‘okahi [All knowledge is not taught in the same school] Welcoming Kānaka Hawai‘i Waves of Knowing and Revisiting Leisure

ABSTRACTAs we reflect on the leisure science canon, we use this occasion to ponder how our scholarship has engaged with communities with alternative worldviews compared with the Euro-North American worldview dominant in leisure scholarship. While some Indigenous cultural practices may, at first glance, seem similar to behaviors found in Euro-North American leisure space-time, such a comparison is often problematic when an Indigenous language has no equivalent concept or word for leisure and the worldview assumes a different relational reality. Drawing on our ongoing research working with Kanaka Hawai‘i, we offer a discussion of the relevance and need for Ieisure scholars and practitioners to engage with Indigenous worldviews, ways of knowing and being. We specifically focus on approaches and dispositions relevant to scholars and practitioners as we look to nourishing possibilities for richer relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through leisure.

An Empirical Exploration of Leisure-Related Themes and Potential Constraints across Descriptions of Serial Homicide Cases

ABSTRACT Forensic experts commonly state that many serial homicide offenders kill for the pleasure of it. At the same time, a small number of leisure scientists have suggested that serial murder may be a particular form of deviant leisure. Despite such suggestions, there has been little scholarly exploration of serial homicide from a leisure science perspective. This exploratory study adds to the existing literature by analyzing content of multiple key texts and documents that describe a large number of serial homicide cases in order to explore an understanding of murder as potential leisure. Leisure-related themes that emerged across case descriptions were (a) serial murder as a game, (b) murder for thrills and intense sensations, (c) murder for simple enjoyment and fun, and (d) murder as unique personal celebration. Subsequently, possible intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints to serial murder as possible leisure were identified. Implications for future research are also discussed.

Examining the impact and influence of the leisure science literature

ABSTRACTThis study explored the impact and influence of the leisure sciences literature through an analysis of highly cited articles. Discriminant function analysis identified whether articles had more exclusive impact inside or outside the field. Research themes and methodologies were examined based on these classifications. Results indicate articles with the greatest impact within the leisure literature tended to be quantitative studies drawing upon survey data and non-experimental designs focused on general leisure and outdoor/forest recreation. Articles with the greatest impact outside the leisure literature were more recent and focused on place attachment, psychological motivation, or community parks and recreation and used quasi-experimental design or measurement development approaches. Based on this study’s findings, to increase the interdisciplinary relevance of the leisure science literature more theoretically framed studies employing quasi-experimental or measurement development approaches focusing on specific topics (e.g. place attachment) and populations (e.g. minorities, youth) are needed.

Leisure and positive psychology: Contributions to optimal human functioning

This article highlights key issues and specific authors understood as milestones in leisure and positive psychology. Following a brief history of leisure within both psychology and positive psychology, the author proposes a new positive leisure science and discusses the impact it could have on our understanding of optimal human functioning.

Why People Play at Work: A Theoretical Examination of Leisure-at-Work

ABSTRACTPostmodern perspectives on work and leisure acknowledge the interwoven nature of these domains, an example being the increasing number of organizations intentionally incorporating leisure into the employee experience. Existing research, however, provides no specific theoretical guidance regarding the potential impacts of strategically integrating recreation activities into the work domain. Thus, based on positive organizational scholarship and leisure science theories, we build an individual level model describing the phenomenon of leisure-at-work (LAW). We propose LAW activities have the ability to produce feelings of personal expressiveness at work as moderated by employees' perceptions of the activities. Personal expressiveness then mediates LAW activities' ability to promote the development of organizational commitment, work engagement, and resilience among employees.

银川市居民日常休闲行为研究及休闲城市建设初探

《国民旅游休闲纲要(2013-2020年)》出台后，居民日常休闲重新得到关注。研究城市居民日常休闲行为，在理论、实践与政策层面都具有重要意义。论文借助休闲社会学等相关理论，通过居民问卷调查、实地观察及数理统计方法，探讨了银川市居民的日常休闲行为特征，同时针对银川市建设休闲城市进行了初步探讨。研究表明：(1)银川市居民日常休闲行为在性别、年龄、收入等方面存在差异；(2)银川市居民休闲满意度较低，迫切需要提升；(3)银川市休闲城市建设应从政策支持、休闲产品开发和休闲服务质量提升、休闲意识的培养等方面着手。 “The National Leisure Outline” has been published in 2013, and residents’ leisure demand has been focused more and more. It is important to pay great attention to leisure behavior of urban residents both in theory and practice, as well as policy making. Based on theories of Leisure Science and other related disciplines, choosing Yinchuan residents as an example, using methods such as questionnaire and investigation, statistical analysis, leisure time restrict, leisure con-sumption, leisure satisfaction, etc. are analyzed. And construction suggestion of Yinchuan as a leisure city is studied. The conclusions are as follows: (1) there are some differences among groups of different gender, age and income; group variation must be considered when developing leisure space and locating leisure industries in future. (2) It presents a low score in Yinchuan residents’ whole leisure satisfaction and this must be improved immediately. (3) A leisure city can be built in Yinchuan by strengthening governmental policy support, infrastructure construction, increasing residents’ leisure time, developing various leisure products, enhancing leisure service quality, etc.

Mephitic projects: a forensic leisure science analysis of the BTK serial murders

Although it has been suggested among both forensic experts and a small number of leisure scientists that serial murder may be a form of recreational leisure, such suggestions remain largely unexplored both theoretically and empirically. Given the absence of scholarship on this possibility, this project explored and analyzed the structure and function of leisure activities within an unusual case (Dennis Rader) of serial murder. A thorough analysis of relevant case documents confirmed that serial murder itself can be experienced by the killer as a form of recreational leisure with the potential for optimal psychological experience (flow), and that various leisure activities may function in specific ways within the serial murder process. An unexpected finding in this case was that leisure, specifically project-based leisure, served to structure specific killings. Findings provide valuable new insights for forensics behavioral experts that may be used to guide future research.

Entering the Minds of Serial Murderers: The Application of Forensic Leisure Science to Homicide Research

ABSTRACTYears ago, a small handful of leisure scholars suggested that serial murder may be a form of leisure. However, to date this possibility remains virtually unexplored. This article draws from recent research to share reflections and rich, new insights on how leisure science may provide important contributions to serial homicide researchers and law enforcement personnel. At the same time, exploring such intersections offers leisure scholars new ways of understanding familiar concepts and theories. Possibilities for future research are discussed.

Effects of self-evaluated value and cognition on leisure science engagement

ABSTRACTThis study uses the Taiwan Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 Main Survey and Taiwan PISA 2015 Field Trial survey datasets to investigate how self-evaluated values (i.e. personal and general) and cognitive factors (i.e. self-efficacy and self-concept) of two groups of Taiwanese 15-year-old students separated by 8 years of classroom-presented science instruction experience impact leisure engagement in science learning activities. To compare differences between these two groups, we verified the statistical fitness of a newly created five-factor model called the self-evaluated values and cognition, and engagement, which revealed a good model fit to both PISA datasets. Results from critical ratio for differences analyses showed a significant increase in pathway parameter strength for students’ personal value of science, and a significant decrease in pathway parameter strength for students’ science self-efficacy between the two PISA survey cycles. Examination of results and their importance for science educators, investigators, and policy-makers is also offered.