Recreational Choices Research Articles

A Comprehensive Analysis and Research on the Factors Affecting the Growth of Rural Trade in Cultural Communities

This article analyzes the elements that impact the stages of rural retailing development in the Hwange villages, namely in the areas of Jambezi, Mununa, Milonga, Ndlovu, Chikhanda, Mashake, and Monde. The study used a quantitative technique with a sample size of 400 people, recruited by stratified random sampling. The data analysis was performed using SPSS version 26.0. The survey's main findings reveal that rural residents have a preference for firms that value outstanding customer service and offer a broader range of recreational choices. Furthermore, the condition of road networks was recognized as a crucial element impacting the operational effectiveness of rural businesses. The presence of essential services such as water and electricity was discovered to have a substantial influence on the condition of the retail sector. The paper provides numerous recommendations based on the findings. The implementation of these recommendations is anticipated to stimulate economic expansion, boost living standards, and promote overall welfare in rural regions. By effectively dealing with the highlighted causes, the communities in Hwange have the opportunity to experience positive changes in their retailing industry, which will result in sustainable development and an enhanced quality of life.

Unmasking outdoor preferences: an analysis of the effects of COVID-19 mandates on recreation behaviour in Idaho

ABSTRACT A number of studies have examined park visitation patterns and consumer preferences using available national and state park visitation data. However, municipal park visitation remains largely understudied due to the difficulty and costliness associated with data collection and analysis. This study utilizes high frequency mobile device location data to measure changes in visitation to municipal and state parks and other outdoor recreation points of interest (POIs) after COVID-19 mask mandates were instituted. We exploit spatial and temporal variation in COVID-19 mandates at the county level in the U.S. state of Idaho. We find an increase in POI visitation in areas without mask mandates. Visitation rates were approximately seven percent lower in areas with a mask mandate compared to non-mandate counties. Our research brings insight on the behavioural response to restrictions and on recreational choice behaviour.

Recreational mobility prior and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession negatively affected many people’s physical, social, and psychological health and has been shown to change population-level mobility, but little attention has been given to park visitations as an indicator. Estimating the frequency of park visitations from aggregated mobility data of all the parks in Washington State (USA), we study trends in park use one year prior to and two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that the gravity model is a robust model for the park visitation behavior in different spatial resolutions of city level and state level and different socio-economical classes. Incorporating network structure, our detailed analysis highlights that high-income level residents changed their recreational behavior by visiting their local parks more and a broader recreational options outside of their local census area; whereas the low-income residents changed their visitation behavior by reducing their recreational choices.

Water quality advisory impacts on recreation behaviour and associated economic costs

One of the major rationales for improving water quality is to increase the benefits and enjoyment of water-based recreation yet quantifying these behavioural responses and values remains challenging. We apply a recreation demand model using a large, multi-year data set on camping trips and water quality advisories across provincial parks in Alberta. The recreation data includes information on over 447,000 trips by 225,700 individuals over a five-year period. We use a nested logit model to understand people’s recreation choices to one of 76 campgrounds. We find that the presence of a water quality advisory has a negative impact on the likelihood of visiting an affected campground. On the one hand, this suggests that advisories work in limiting human contact with unsafe water, but these behavioural changes also carry economic costs. We estimate that the welfare costs of a beach advisory are $14 per camping trip. We use the model to evaluate the welfare impacts of removing all beach advisories. These results can be used to inform the design of policies aimed to improve lake water quality.

The effects of climate change on outdoor recreation participation in the United States: Projections for the 21st century.

Climate change is expected to impact individuals' recreational choices, as changing temperatures and precipitation patterns influence participation in outdoor recreation and alternative activities. This paper empirically investigates the relationship between weather and outdoor recreation using nationally representative data from the contiguous United States. We find that across most outdoor recreational activities, participation is lowest on the coldest days (<35 degrees Fahrenheit) and highest at moderately high temperatures (80 to 90 degrees). Notable exceptions to this trend include water sports and snow and ice sports, for which participation peaks at the highest and lowest temperatures, respectively. If individuals continue to respond to temperature changes the same way that they have in the recent past, in a future climate that has fewer cool days and more moderate and hot days, our model anticipates net participation across all outdoor recreation activities will increase by 88 million trips annually at 1 degree Celsius of warming (CONUS) and up to 401 million trips at 6 degrees of warming, valued between $3.2 billion and $15.6 billion in consumer surplus annually (2010 population). The increase in trips is driven by participation in water sports; excluding water sports from future projections decreases the consumer surplus gains by approximately 75 percent across all modeled degrees of warming. If individuals in northern regions respond to temperature like people in southern regions currently do (a proxy for adaptation), total outdoor recreation trips will increase by an additional 17 percent compared to no adaptation at 6 degrees of warming. This benefit is generally not seen at lower degrees of warming.

Users’ recreation choices and setting preferences for trails in urban forests in Nanjing, China

With increased demand for outdoor recreational spaces, it is imperative to understand the experience of recreational hikers. This study explored users’ recreation choices and behavior-based setting preferences for certain trails in one forest park. Using on-site intercept surveys, a total of 1019 samples were collected from users of hiking trails and greenways in Purple Mountain Forest Park, Nanjing, China. The results from multiple regressions revealed that visitors’ recreation choices for trail settings, companions, and activities were associated with personal attributes, usage patterns, visitor motivations, and their preferences for the trail’s landscape attributes. The findings provide insights for the design and maintenance of trail settings in forest parks to satisfy the needs of various recreational hikers.

Air Pollution and Outdoor Recreation on Urban Trails: A Case Study of the Elizabeth River Trail, Norfolk

Poor air quality represents a significant health risk for individuals engaging in recreation activities outdoors in urban parks and trails. This study investigated temporal variability in particulate matter (PM) exposure along an urban waterfront trail. We also used recreation choice frameworks to examine the effects of visitors’ perceptions of air quality (AQ) and health benefits on trail use. Average air quality during the collection period was “good” (PM10) to “moderate” (PM2.5). We found that PM density was significantly higher (p &lt; 0.001), though still in the “moderate” range, at 7–9 a.m., 11 a.m.–1 p.m., and 3–5 p.m., and on weekends. Visitors’ self-reported perceptions of health outcomes, but not air quality, significantly predicted trail use. Results suggest that these experiential factors may affect recreational choices depending on other factors, such as salience. Further research is merited to determine how experiential factors can be integrated with other theories of motivation to understand recreational decision-making.

A Study on the Correlation between the Physical Education Teacher’s Personality Traits and Their Recreational Choices

The purpose of this study is to find out what physical education teachers with various qualities, who toil to improve themselves spend their off-duty time according to their personality traits and to identify the effects personality traits have on choosing an activity. The population of this study includes 328 physical education teachers who had graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports and are currently working as physical education teachers in various schools. According to the significance value (p<0,05) the survey of 328 physical education teachers was deemed sufficient and the surveys were evaluated. The results of this study show that there is a weak positive correlation between a person’s personality traits and their chosen activity

On the Validity and Reliability of Coastal Quality Change Estimates: Evidence from Norway

Coastal managers are faced with the challenge of managing sites to maintain or improve their quality. The quality of each coastal site is characterized by site attributes that visitors care about. Since coastal managers face financial constraints, it is useful to know which are the site attributes with the highest implicit value for visitors and thus determine the change in attributes that yields the most benefits. However, estimates of implicit value of site attributes should be both valid and reliable to be informative for coastal managers. If coastal sites present similar characteristics, the data can suffer from lack of variation that can lead to unreliable estimated implicit values. We first present our strategy relying on simulation that confirms that our estimates are unbiased, but only a subset of these is reliable. We then apply the discrete choice model to explain recreational beach site choice by using two alternative models with a view to increase precision of our estimates. We uncover preference heterogeneity by relying on observable group characteristics. We illustrate the policy-relevance of our approach by providing welfare estimates for three scenarios currently being considered by Norwegian beach managers.

Exploring Daily Activity Patterns on the Typical Day of Older Adults for Supporting Aging-in-Place in China's Rural Environment.

Severe aging in rural China is prompting communities to promote support for older people to age in place. The study of the daily life of older adults in rural areas is conducive to understanding their real life and demands, as well as the way they interact with their environment, to develop feasible strategies. In this study, 171 older adults over 60 years old in two different types of villages in Northern Zhejiang Province were investigated and analyzed in terms of the temporal and spatial features of daily activities, as well as their relationship with population attributes, personal competence, and subjective demands. The results show that: (1) significant association can be seen between working hours and the demand for health services, housework hours and gender and age, as well as leisure hours and ADL and the demand for recreational services. (2) The older adults appear to have inter-group homogeneity in some aspects: basic living activities, leisure hours, the gender difference in housework hours, and recreational preference, while they have higher average paid work hours and fewer leisure alternatives than their urban counterparts. Their definitions of paid work, housework, and leisure activities are vague. (3) The definition of home by the older adults in rural places sometimes seems to go beyond the scope of their own house, and the extensive definition of home may change their recognitions of some activities. They also inclined to assign meaning to a place through frequent use rather than through external definitions. (4) The weak consciousness on buying services and deteriorated financial situation hinders the older adults in rural communities from expressing their real demands. Unspoken demands include economic security, recreational choices, and assistance in housework. The results will help to provide references for the improvement of eldercare services and the community environment.

Black mothers’ recreational choices for their children: a critical race theory story

ABSTRACT Using critical race theory (CRT), this paper examined how race influenced Black mothers’ recreational choices for their children. In presenting the findings, this paper used storytelling inspired by interviews conducted with single Black mothers living in a small midwestern U. S. town. Black mothers hoped to prepare their children to successfully navigate society through recreation opportunities, but often found limited community-based recreational opportunities in their neighbourhood. Mothers felt the need to protect their children from programs that perpetuated racist stereotypes, tokenism, and discrimination against their children and/or Blacks in general. Some mothers felt that stereotypes and discrimination were embedded in programmatic offerings, and tokenism was used in recreational programs where many of the staff and children were White. In telling the story of single Black mothers’ efforts to find appropriate programs for their children, this paper highlights the structural racism still embedded in today’s community-based recreational offerings.

Recreational Travel Decisions: Push-Pull Dynamics on College Students

The purpose of this study is to examine the recreational tourism preferences of university students within the framework of their push and pull travel motivations. In addition, it was aimed to highlight how some variables and motivations affect tourism preferences in mutual interaction. Validity and reliability were obtained by &amp;ldquo;Scale of Recreational Activities in Destination Choices&amp;rdquo; (SRADC), &amp;ldquo;Scale of Intrinsic Travel Motivations&amp;rdquo; (SITM) and &amp;ldquo;Scale of Extrinsic Travel Motivations&amp;rdquo; (SETM) conducted by &amp;Ouml;zdemir, Karak&amp;uuml;&amp;ccedil;&amp;uuml;k, and B&amp;uuml;y&amp;uuml;k&amp;ouml;zt&amp;uuml;rk (2013). Descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, one way ANOVA and Univariate test were used for data analysis, for in-group comparisons Tukey (HSD-LSD) and Pearson Correlation test were used. In this study, it was determined that .85 for recreational activities in destination choices scale, .90 for SITM and .91 for SETM. While the push and pull travel motivation of the participants was above the mean values (123.96 &amp;plusmn; 15.65; 121.35 &amp;plusmn; 16.81), the highest subscale score in push travel motivation was obtained by the Exploring-Knowledge subdimension (39.01 &amp;plusmn; 5.74). The highest sub-dimension score was obtained from the Escape sub-dimension (38.31 &amp;plusmn; 5.98). In the pull travel motivation sub-dimensions, the highest sub-dimension score was the quality-atmosphere sub-dimension (39.29 &amp;plusmn; 5.24), while the lowest sub-dimension score was obtained by the Natural Environment sub-dimension (19.98 &amp;plusmn; 4.58). The findings of the study showed that the importance given to recreational activities was influenced by variables such as gender, year of study and perceived welfare, but also revealed differences in gender, field of study, year of study, and perceived welfare in push and pull travel motivations. In addition, there is a moderate positive relationship between recreational choices, push travel motivation and pull travel motivation. As a result, it has been determined that university students have high push and pull travel motivation and recreation preferences are differentiated between SITM and SETM by certain variables.

Prevalence of Methylphenidate Misuse in Medical Colleges in Pakistan: A Cross-sectional Study.

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of nontherapeutic use of methylphenidate as well as to ascertain any benefits, side effects, and other factors associated with this use.Materials and MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in medical colleges in Pakistan using a self-constructed, validated questionnaire. The sample size was calculated using Open Source Statistics for Epidemiological Health software (OpenEpi web-based open-source program, MIT license), and it was determined to be 400. The type of sampling was cluster sampling. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the internal consistency of the questionnaire, and it was found to be 0.80.ResultsOut of the 400 participants, 197 (49%) were male and 203 (51%) were female. The mean age of the participants was 21.02 (±1.54) years. Most of the participants (84%) reported they usually studied 1-3 hours a day, and 149 participants (37%) reported a score ranging from 70 to 80% in exams. Methylphenidate was admitted to be used by 37 participants. Out of these 37 participants, only 10 participants believed they had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants revealed they used the drug to either cope with the anxiety related to their scores or merely as a personal, recreational choice. Methylphenidate was mostly acquired from peers (68%), and peer pressure was found to be a major factor in its misuse.ConclusionsMost of the methylphenidate misuse is linked to student underperformance in examinations and an underlying dissatisfaction. The problem is more aggravated when the social influence exerted by other students is taken into account. The side effects of drug usage are found to outweigh the benefits that have been reported.

The Impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms andE. colion Recreational Behavior in Lake Erie

This paper simultaneously examines the effect of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and harmful algal blooms on recreational behavior using survey data collected from Ohio recreators who visited Lake Erie during the summer of 2016. Using simulation based on latent class models of recreation choice, we find beach-goers and recreational anglers lose in aggregate $7.7 million and $69.1 million respectively each year if water quality conditions were to become so poor that Lake Erie’s western basin were closed. Finally, we recover heterogeneity in recreators’ aversion towards algae and E. coli, with beach-goers more averse to E. coli and anglers more averse to algae.

Valuation when baselines are changing: Tick-borne disease risk and recreational choice

Understanding how changes in baseline risk influence preferences for risk reduction is important when valuing the welfare effects of environmental change, including the spread of disease. We conduct a survey-based choice experiment among respondents residing in areas with different prevalence of ticks and incidence of Lyme borreliosis (LB) and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Sweden. Respondents face a trade-off between risk and travel cost when choosing between visiting recreational areas differing in prevalence of ticks and disease incidence. Our study indicates that the presence of ticks and the associated risk of tick-borne diseases significantly influence the choice of recreational area and have substantial welfare effects. The mean willingness to pay (WTP) per trip to avoid areas with different levels of ticks, LB risk and TBE risk ranges from 12 to 78 EUR. The WTP for risk reduction is significantly lower among respondents residing in risk areas compared to respondents in emerging risk areas. Explanations for these differences in WTP for risk reduction between groups with different baseline risks include differences in reference point utility, knowledge and learning, leading to adaptation of behaviour and preferences.

The Impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms and E. Coli on Recreational Behavior in Lake Erie

This paper simultaneously examines the effect of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and harmful algal blooms on recreational behavior using survey data collected from Ohio recreators who visited Lake Erie during the summer of 2016. Using simulation based on latent class models of recreation choice, we find beach-goers and recreational anglers lose in aggregate $7.7 million and $69.1 million respectively each year if water quality conditions were to become so poor that Lake Erie’s western basin were closed. Finally, we recover heterogeneity in recreators’ aversion towards algae and E. coli, with beach-goers more averse to E. coli and anglers more averse to algae.

“Just More Comfortable in the Gym”: An Exploration of the Constraints That Contribute to Adult African American Females’ Lack of Participation in Outdoor Recreation Activities

Despite a growing focus on constraints to leisure participation among African Americans, a gap in the research remains when it comes to understanding the lived experiences of African American women and their outdoor recreation participation. This study explored African American women’s constraints to leisure participation in outdoor recreation activities to better understand what guided their recreation choices. Data were collected from semistructured interview questions administered to 10 African American women who regularly engage in physical activity. The constant comparison method was used for data analysis. From the data analysis, five major themes emerged: (a) The Fit Factor, (b) Need for Companionship, (c) Identity in Outdoor Recreation, (d) The Fear Factor, and (e) Convenience Factor. The results supported that personal fears, lack of support or companionship, lack of childhood exposure, and the convenience of an activity influenced adult African American women’s outdoor recreation choices and participation.Subscribe to JOREL

Libertarian Paternalism and the Park, Recreation, and Tourism Profession

In this paper we apply the concept of “libertarian paternalism” to the park, recreation, and tourism profession. Libertarian paternalism is a term coined in Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Thaler and Sunstein (2009). Nudges influence people’s choices without compromising or restricting their ability to choose, and therefore may be particularly appropriate in parks, recreation, and tourism. Nudges are proven ways for leaders, programmers, directors, administrators, planners, and policymakers to encourage recreational conduct that is good for recreationists, and that recreationists would likely choose for themselves if only they were privy to all the information about the consequences of their conduct. We begin by briefly discussing “self-paternalism,” a precursor to libertarian paternalism espoused by Sax (1980) in Mountains without Handrails . Then, after explaining what Thaler and Sunstein mean by libertarian paternalism, we describe park, recreation, and tourism professionals as “choice architects” who are responsible for managing the contexts within which recreational choices are made. Choice architects orchestrate nudges by taking advantage of what is known about human psychology, and, in particular, what is known about human psychological predispositions to behave in certain ways. We offer four examples of how choice architects currently influence human behavior, and then challenge readers to think of their own ways to nudge their constituencies in a manner that contributes to human and environmental health. Finally, we advocate for libertarian paternalism, choice architecture, and nudging as an appropriate orientation to service for the park, recreation, and tourism profession. Subscribe to JPRA

Дослідження уподобань населення львівщини щодо рекреаційних лісів методом експерименту з вибором

Зростання попиту на відпочинок у лісах Карпат ставить перед менеджерами лісового господарства нові виклики, пов'язані з необхідністю формування рекреаційно привабливих лісів. В Європі останніми десятиліттями проведено чимало досліджень щодо суспільного сприйняття рекреаційних лісів, уподобань щодо їхніх характеристик. В Україні таке здійснюють дослідження, однак у них ліси розглядали як узагальнене поняття. Для дослідження вподобань щодо характеристик рекреаційних лісів застосовано один із методів дослідження висловлених переваг – метод експерименту з вибором, теоретичним підґрунтям якого слугують імовірнісна теорія максимізації корисності Д. Макфаддена і "характеристична" теорія поведінки споживача, які сформулювів К. Ланкастером. Моделювання дискретного вибору рекреантом характеристик лісу для відпочинку виконано з використанням багатофакторних регресійних моделей – логіт і пробіт моделей – методом найбільшої правдоподібності з використанням програмного забезпечення BIOGEME 1.8. За результатами аналізу даних з'ясовано, що населення Львівської обл. віддає перевагу мішаним різновіковим лісам, у рекреаційних зонах яких є інформаційно-освітні стенди. Оцінки коефіцієнтів регресії для цих характеристик в обох моделях статистично значущі, додатні і мають найвищі значення. Разом із тим, респонденти не схильні відвідувати ліс, який розташований далеко від місця їх проживання, та ліс, в якому є відмерла деревина. Визначено граничну готовність платити і готовність подолати відстань для відвідування лісу, який відповідає уподобанням респондентів. Обґрунтовано необхідність інтеграції отриманих результатів дослідження у практику прийняття управлінських рішень для зменшення сировинного та розширення рекреаційного використання лісів, відтак формування рекреаційно привабливих лісових ландшафтів і стійких до зміни клімату та антропогенних навантажень деревостанів.

Are objective data an appropriate replacement for subjective data in site choice analysis?

ABSTRACTRandom utility theory is founded on the concept that an individual selects the alternative that gives them the highest level of utility, given the individual's preferences and perception of a good. Discrete choice analysis, however, seldom uses an individual's perception of a good, instead, more convenient objective data are employed. This paper aims to explore the viability of objective data as a suitable replacement for subjective data in recreational site choice modelling. Random parameter logits are applied to coarse angling site choice data where two site attribute data sets are used; the first is comprised of users’ perception of the site attributes and the second is composed of fishery managers’ perspective of those same attributes. The results reveal that models based on the subjective data outperform those of the objective data. The derived welfare estimates indicate a divergence between the two sources of data in terms of the magnitude of the estimates but not direction. Further analysis is conducted to determine if the manager’s objective ratings are measuring the sites using a similar set of criteria as the user's subjective ratings. The results suggest that the managers’ perspective is closely aligned with the anglers’ who frequent the sites most often.