Recreation Specialization Research Articles

Elite Recreation Specialization and Motivations among Birdwatchers: The Case of Club 300 Members

Recreationists differ in their engagement, specialization and involvement in their leisure activity. Recreation specialization can be seen as a continuum from the novice to the highly advanced (or as a career process), sometimes grouped into three or four categories. Within the highest category of advanced recreationists, a specific hard-core, elite or devotee segment was identified. In this study, the highly specialized or elite segment of birdwatchers was addressed. Therefore, members of the Club 300 (in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland), were studied in comparison to non-members. Members of the Club 300 are required to have observed about 300 bird species in their respective country. Scales on recreation specialization, motivations and involvement were applied. A general linear multivariate model revealed a significant influence of Club 300 membership on the total set of the different dimensions with an eta-squared of 0.315, representing a high effect size. Subsequent uni-variate analyses showed that members differed from non-members significantly in all dimensions. Thus, Club 300 members fulfil the requirements of an elite segment because they differ in knowledge and behavior, as well as in their motivations from other birdwatchers.

중년 여가활동 참여자의 레크리에이션 전문화가 통합력에 미치는 영향

The purpose of study was to examine the effects of recreation specialization of middle-aged leisure participant on sense of coherence. To achieve the goal of this study, 299 surveys were collected from middle-aged leisure participant. The collected data were analyzed and interpreted by SPSS and AMOS program. The results of this study were as follows. First, skill and knowledge of middle-aged leisure participant had positive effect on meaningfulness. Second, skill and knowledge of middle-aged leisure participant had positive effect on comprehensibility. Third, skill and knowledge and personal commitment of middle-aged leisure participant had positive effect on manageability. In conclusion, the finding of this study found that recreation can play a role in developing sense of coherence as a resistance resource and revealed that skill and knowledge and personal commitment of middle-aged leisure participant can be one of significant factor in determining sense of coherence.

The mediating role of psychological commitment between recreation specialization and life satisfaction: Evidence from Xiamen Marathon runners.

Although previous research spared no efforts to explain the life satisfaction of marathon runners, little was known about the relationship between recreation specialization (RS), life satisfaction (LS), psychological commitment (PC), and social support (SS). This study examines (i) how the dimension of RS (i.e., behavior, cognition, and affect) influences runners' PC and LS, and (ii) the mediating effects of PC and the moderating effects of SS on the relationship between behavior, cognition, affect, and LS. The results showed that behavior (β = 0.15, p < 0.01), cognition (β = 0.35, p < 0.001), affect (β = 0.28, p < 0.001), and PC (β = 0.59, p < 0.001) had significant and positive impacts on runners' LS; PC (Indirect path coefficient = 0.09 ~ 0.20) mediated the relationship between the dimensions of RS and LS. In addition, the results also confirmed the moderating effects of SS (β = 0.10, p < 0.05) between affect dimension and LS. These findings offered more evidence for understanding how RS dimensions and PC influence runners' LS. Future research should integrate runner's leisure experiences to better understand the results revealed in this study.

Birding recreation specialization – A test of the factorial invariance in eight languages

Birding specialization can be measured alongside a continuum from the beginner to the specialist. The structure of birding specialization has three dimensions: (1) skill/knowledge, (2) behavior, and (3) psychological commitment. We tested the factorial structure and factorial invariance of the birding specialization scale in traditional and simplified Chinese, Finnish, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish birders. A total of 2,913 (32% women) birdwatchers participated in this study. In all languages, the hierarchical factorial structure with three sub-factors and one general factor was satisfactory. We found support for configural invariance in all languages, metric invariance in some language comparisons, but no support for scalar invariance. Therefore, the construct can be applied in all languages, but comparisons of means should be done with caution. Further translation should try to seek the same configural invariance, but also aim for metric and scalar invariance.

Motivations and Specialization of Birders Are Differently Related to Engagement in Citizen Science Projects of Different Complexity

Citizen Science (CS) projects are an important aspect of scientific data collection and biodiversity conservation. In ornithology, various CS projects exist, and even laypersons can contribute, but advanced birdwatchers also spend considerable time and effort in data collection. Here, different CS projects for birders were analyzed and compared with respect to recreation specialization and motivations for birdwatching. Established, psychometrically valid, and reliable scales were applied in this study. N = 2856 respondents from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland were grouped into no, low, and sustained engagement clusters. Sustained engagement was related to more complex programs, such as the breeding bird census and waterfowl counting. When comparing the engagement clusters, effect sizes were considerable, ranging from 0.098 (attraction) to 0.306 (skill/knowledge). Thus, birders of the three engagement clusters differed significantly in birding specialization, especially skill/knowledge, psychological commitment, social motivations, and the psychological construct centrality to lifestyle. No differences were found in enjoyment and achievement motivations. In conclusion, low-threshold projects are needed to attract participants, but keeping people within programs or moving them to a higher level of engagement might be easier when social dimensions are addressed.

Assessing recreation specialization to guide nature-based tourism development: A hybrid choice model of birder destination preferences

Birding is a growing nature-based tourism activity, and a better understanding of birder preferences could support tourism development and species conservation. Using a hybrid choice modeling approach, we analyzed birding destination preferences and how they vary by recreation specialization. This approach allows a continuum of specialization rather than allocating birders into discrete segments. A sample of 205 birders recruited in the 2017 summer season in Varanger, Norway, completed an online choice experiment with scenarios that included five systematically-varied destination attributes: Birding quality, bird diversity, landscape scenic quality, facilitation (e.g., trails and specialized guides), and a visitor fee. The hybrid choice (HC) model explained preference heterogeneity better than the attributes only multinomial logit (MNL) or random parameters logit (RPL) models. Birding quality, landscape scenery, and a medium level of facilitation were significant predictors in all models, while high bird diversity was significant only in the RPL and HC models. Interaction terms in the HC model indicated that birding quality, bird diversity, and the highest level of facilitation (specialized guides and birding hides) were more important for “more specialized” birders than for “less specialized” birders. Findings allow destinations to target birder segments more deliberately, while also assisting in planning and management decisions. Main drivers of birder destination choice are innate in the natural landscapes and ecosystems; exceptional birding quality and spectacular scenery were the strongest determinants of birding destination choice in our study. More specialized birders place higher priority on bird diversity, and birding facilitation. Less specialized birders might need a larger variety of facilitation and non-birding offers. Our results also indicate that those visiting spectacular but vulnerable nature destinations are willing to pay moderate fees for conservation and management. Fee revenue can fund site hardening facilities and services, allowing for more visitors without increasing pressure on the wildlife.

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.

The Role of Recreation Specialization and Self-Efficacy on Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Effect of Flow Experience

Previous studies confirmed that leisure sport participation could contribute to people’s life satisfaction. However, little is known about the predictors of life satisfaction in the context of long-distance running. A model was proposed in this study to examine the relationship between recreation specialization, self-efficacy, flow experience, and life satisfaction. An online questionnaire was distributed to long-distance runners in China, and a total of 404 valid questionnaires were obtained for data analysis in this study. Results indicated that recreation specialization and self-efficacy had a direct and positive effect on runners’ flow experience; recreation specialization, self-efficacy, and flow experience were positively associated with runners’ life satisfaction. Furthermore, flow experience partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction, while it fully mediated the role of recreation specialization in life satisfaction. The findings shed some new insights for understanding the influence of leisure sport engagement on people’s life satisfaction.

Highly specialized recreationists contribute the most to the citizen science project eBird

AbstractContributory citizen science projects (hereafter “contributory projects”) are a powerful tool for avian conservation science. Large-scale projects such as eBird have produced data that have advanced science and contributed to many conservation applications. These projects also provide a means to engage the public in scientific data collection. A common challenge across contributory projects like eBird is to maintain participation, as some volunteers contribute just a few times before disengaging. To maximize contributions and manage an effective program that has broad appeal, it is useful to better understand factors that influence contribution rates. For projects capitalizing on recreation activities (e.g., birding), differences in contribution levels might be explained by the recreation specialization framework, which describes how recreationists vary in skill, behavior, and motives. We paired data from a survey of birders across the United States and Canada with data on their eBird contributions (n = 28,926) to test whether those who contributed most are more specialized birders. We assigned participants to 4 contribution groups based on eBird checklist submissions and compared groups’ specialization levels and motivations. More active contribution groups had higher specialization, yet some specialized birders were not active participants. The most distinguishing feature among groups was the behavioral dimension of specialization, with active eBird participants owning specialized equipment and taking frequent trips away from home to bird. Active participants had the strongest achievement motivations for birding (e.g., keeping a life list), whereas all groups had strong appreciation motivations (e.g., enjoying the sights and sounds of birding). Using recreation specialization to characterize eBird participants can help explain why some do not regularly contribute data. Project managers may be able to promote participation, particularly by those who are specialized but not contributing, by appealing to a broader suite of motivations that includes both appreciation and achievement motivations, and thereby increase data for conservation.

The effect of long-term leisure activity participants' recreation specialization on leisure constraints and leisure satisfaction

본 연구의 목적은 장기간 여가활동에 참가한 참가자의 여가활동 전문화가 여가제약과 여가만족에 미치는 영향을분석하는 것이다. 이에 2021년 5월 경상북도 H시에서 에어로빅에 참가하는 참가자들 중 7년 이상 지속적으로 에어로빅에 참가한 참가자를 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하여, 총 240명의 자료가 실증분석에 사용되었다. 자료처리를 위하여SPSS 23.0을 이용하여 빈도분석, 탐색적 요인분석, 신뢰도 분석, 상관관계분석 그리고 다중회귀분석을 실시하였다. 이를 통해 다음과 같은 결과를 도출하였다. 첫째, 장기간 여가활동 참가자의 여가활동 전문화는 여가제약에 부분적으로 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 세부적으로 여가활동 전문화는 여가제약의 하위변인인 내재적 제약과구조적 제약에 부(-)적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났으며, 대인적 제약에는 유의한 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로나타났다. 둘째, 장기간 여가활동 참가자의 여가활동 전문화는 여가만족에 정(+)적으로 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로나타났다.

Environmental Preferences and Fish Handling Practice among European Freshwater Anglers with Different Fishing Specialization Profiles

Recreational specialization is characteristic of many activities, including recreational fishing, which is a popular and important form of recreation throughout the world. The pressure on the environmental resources used by anglers is increasing. It is becoming crucial to understand the preferences and behaviors of anglers, which can accumulate and multiply the risk of damage to fish stocks and aquatic habitats. The main objective of the study was to comprehensively analyze the differences between anglers with diverse specialization profiles. By investigating the fishing preferences within the context of the socioeconomic, demographic and engagement factors, three groups of anglers were identified: anglers who specialize in predatory fish, anglers who specialize in non-predatory fish and unspecialized anglers. Specialized anglers, regardless of type, were found to be more supportive of releasing caught fish (71% on average) and were less likely to keep them (16%) than unspecialized anglers (55% and 27%, respectively). Unspecialized anglers (26.5% of the surveyed population) show less commitment to ethical values. The potential negative environmental impact of the least specialized anglers is an accumulation of the preferences for the use of ground bait, artificial lures, and live fish as bait. Anglers specializing in predatory fish are the most critical in their evaluation of fish resources and water quality and are least attached to specific fisheries. This work provides insight into angler experience and it may help to better identify anglers who are disrespectful towards the fishing laws in place. The results of this work may be incorporated into fishery management strategies, including strategies to reduce naïve anglers and deter disrespectful anglers, which are lucrative in the fishing process.

여성 에어로빅 참가자의 여가제약이 여가제약협상, 여가활동 전문화와 여가만족에 미치는 영향분석

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of leisure constraints on leisure constraints negotiation, recreation specialization and leisure satisfaction of female aerobics participants. Therefore, a total of 249 female participants who participated in aerobics as a leisure activity in the H city of Gyeongsangbuk-do were used for actual analysis. For data processing, frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were performed using SPSS23.0. Through this, the following results were derived. First, structural constraints, which are sub-factors of leisure constraints, were found to have a positive (+) significant effect on the time and cost management effort of negotiating leisure constraints. Second, intrinsic constraints, a sub-factor of leisure constraints, were found to have a negative (-) significant effect on recreational specialization. Third, intrinsic and structural constraints, which are sub-factors of leisure constraints, were found to have a negative (-) significant effect on leisure satisfaction. Fourth, it was found that the effort to manage time and cost and the effort to change aspirations, which are sub-factors of negotiation of leisure constraints, had a positive (+) significant effect on the recreational specialization. Fifth, it was found that the effort to change aspirations, which is a sub-factor of negotiation of leisure constraints, had a positive (+) significant effect on leisure satisfaction. Sixth, it was found that recreational specialization had a positive (+) significant effect on leisure satisfaction.

Природно-рекреационный потенциал региона: возможности и перспективы использования в постпандемийный период

The main content of the study is the analysis of the interpretation of the term “natural and recreational potential” in its modern understanding, given the increased role of the tourism industry in preserving and building up human potential in the post-pandemic period. The study of this problem against the background of the new Tourism and the Hospitality Industry National Project currently being developed is relevant, since it affects the key component of the natural resource base for the development of the national economy, reveals the strategic prospects for ensuring sustainable socio-economic development of the regions of the country with recreational and tourist specialization. The authors conclude that the natural recreational potential is not only the totality of the natural recreational resources of the territory in their quantitative and qualitative representation, but also the prevailing conditions for their use (subjective and objective), latent capacities that can limit or activate the development of tourist activities in the regions. The hierarchical structure of the natural and recreational potential of the region is presented, which includes, in addition to natural recreational resources, a group of factors that affect the efficiency of their use. The paper determines that access to the technological aspects of tourism industry management, using digitalization in the Big Data mode, is a key factor in ensuring the rational and effective use of natural and recreational potential in the creation of regional tourism products, to promote sustainable socio-economic development regions of Russia. In the course of the research, along with general scientific methods, systemic and structural-functional approaches, comparative and retrospective methods of analysis were used.

Can Recreation Specialization Negatively Impact Pro-Environmental Behavior in Hiking Activity? A Self-Interest Motivational View

Are highly specialized hikers really more likely to behave in a pro-environmental manner? By discussing a negative linkage between recreation specialization and pro-environmental behavior, this study tackles a narrowly optimistic view that specialized hikers are always likely to behave pro-environmentally. We examined survey data from South Korean hikers and found that while recreation specialization does not significantly affect attitudes, it negatively affects perceived behavioral control. Further, all types of pro-environmental behavior were significantly impacted by their attitude, but only one pro-environmental behavior (i.e., following designated trails) was strongly impacted by perceived behavioral control. By synthesizing our findings with current literature, we suggest comprehensively evaluating all three motivational factors—self-interest, prosocial, and affective motivations—to predict pro-environmental behavior.

Recreational scuba diving as a special form of tourism: lessons from Taiwan

Purpose Recreational scuba diving is one of the fastest growing tourism industries around the world and has become a popular activity in Taiwan. Few studies focus on enduring involvement with a high risk or difficult activity specialization, so this study aims to explore the causal relationship between enduring involvement and specialization and seeks to explain sustained involvement in scuba diving activity as a recreation specialization. Design/methodology/approach This research selects four diving sites in Taiwan as survey locations, specifically Yeliou, Longdong, Kenting and Green Island. The questionnaire consists of three sections, including demographic information, enduring involvement and specialization. By analyzing the data collected from 810 scuba divers in Taiwan, structural equation modeling is used to examine the causal relationships among the variables. Findings The primary findings of this study are as follows: attraction positively affects divers’ commitment and lifestyle through joy, relaxation and sharing diving experiences; the results indicate that self-expression is associated with past experience of participating in scuba diving activity; and centrality indicates that participants’ daily life and recreation are related to each other and become central to their life. Results show that most theoretical hypotheses are supported, but there is no significant evidence of attraction impacting past experience or self-expression influencing commitment and lifestyle. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the causal influence of enduring involvement and specialization in the scuba diving context. The findings provide a solid theoretical basis for the study of sustained involvement motivation and behavior on specialization. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Racial, ethnic, and social patterns in the recreation specialization of birdwatchers: An analysis of United States eBird registrants

Although birdwatchers comprise a large and growing proportion of the American public, there is a lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the birdwatching community. Previous research suggests that this homogeneity is self-perpetuating, as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) are less likely to pursue activities in which no one they know participates. However, it is unclear whether this trend in birdwatching participation also applies to degree of subsequent participant involvement. Using a national online survey of US birdwatchers, we measured the degree of recreation specialization among birdwatchers along affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions. We also determined whether respondents had social connections (acquaintances, close friends, or relatives) who birdwatch. We then used logistic regression to determine which ethno-racial groups were more likely to have birdwatcher social connections, and multiple linear regression to investigate how our measures of recreation specialization varied by ethno-racial group. As expected, the ethno-racial composition of the birdwatchers we studied was significantly less diverse than that of the American public. Of the 29,380 respondents who reported their ethno-racial group, 5.2% were BIPOC (including Native American, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, or multiracial), while 94.8% were non-Hispanic White. However, we observed no statistically significant ethno-racial patterns in overall degree of recreation specialization, even when controlling for social connection and demographic characteristics. Considering the three dimensions of specialization individually, we found that some ethno-racial predictors were statistically significant, but coefficients were too small to be practically significant. We conclude that while some ethno-racial groups are underrepresented among birdwatchers, there is insufficient evidence that they are also under-specialized. Understanding the racial and ethnic dynamics of outdoor recreation is crucial as wildlife agencies and organizations seek to diversify wildlife-related recreation and serve the breadth of their public constituencies. We found that although Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the United States are underrepresented in birdwatching, the degree of their involvement (i.e. recreation specialization) does not differ substantially from that of White birdwatchers. Efforts to build a more diverse birdwatching community should therefore focus on increasing participation from, and developing opportunities that are inclusive of, underrepresented ethno-racial groups.

Effect of Outdoor Sports Participants on Leisure Facilitation, Recreation Specialization, and Leisure Satisfaction: Yacht and Golf Participants.

The purpose of this study was to investigate leisure satisfaction among outdoor sports participants in golf and yachting. Influence was also measured of recreation specialization on leisure satisfaction, and the effect of the relationship between leisure facilitation and leisure satisfaction on golf and yacht participation was investigated as well. Frequency, reliability, confirmatory, and correlation analysis, as well as structural equation modeling results, indicate that leisure facilitation had no influence on outdoor sports participants’ recreation specialization. Leisure facilitation had a positive influence on leisure satisfaction among the golf and yachting participants, and their recreation specialization had a positive influence on their leisure satisfaction. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are addressed, specifically the constraints that the disease has imposed on outdoor sports and leisure, and strategies are presented for addressing these constraints and promoting outdoor sports participation.

The Influence of Recreation Specialization of Ice Hockey Club Participants on Sport Commitment

본 연구에서는 아이스하키 동호회 참여자의 레크리에이션 전문화가 스포츠몰입에 미치는 영향을 규명함으로써 생활 스포츠의 균형적 발전과 대중스포츠로서 자리 잡을 수 있는 방안을 규명하고자 한다. 아이스하키 동호회 운동 전사전 동의를 받은 후 회원들에게 설문 작성방법 및 기입 방법에 대해 설명한 후 비확률 표본 추출법 중 할당표본추출 법을 사용하여 총 230부의 설문지를 배부하였다. 배부된 설문지 중 회수하지 못한 16부의 설문지와 무응답 또는 불성실하게 응답했다고 판단되는 12부의 설문지를 제외하고 202부의 자료가 본 연구에 활용되었다. 첫째, 레크리에 이션 전문화의 하위요인 중 경험, 중요성, 중심성은 심리적 몰입에 통계적으로 정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 숙련도는 심리적 몰입에 통계적으로 부적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 레크리에이션 전문화의 하위요인 중 중요성, 물리적 열정은 교육적 몰입에 통계적으로 정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다.

Users of a citizen science platform for bird data collection differ from other birdwatchers in knowledge and degree of specialization

Citizen Science (CS) projects are important for scientific research and for biodiversity conservation. In ornithology, citizen scientists make important contributions to biological conservation, because they have a highly developed knowledge about birds, making their data more valuable than those from lay persons. However, to make the data even more valuable for conservation, it is important to learn more about the citizen scientists themselves. In this study, birdwatchers using a CS portal for data collection (ornitho) were compared with birdwatchers not using it. The theoretical framework was based on the recreation specialization concept. Different measurements for birding specialization and demographics were used in an online questionnaire survey. A total of 2964 people participated in the study (1119 (37.8%) were ornitho users; mostly from Germany; 1551 (52.3%) were males). Men more than women were submitting observations to the CS platform. Users of the platform scored significantly higher in skill/competence, behavior, and in commitment than non-users, with medium to large effect sizes. However, CS users were significantly younger than non-users. CS users reported to be able to identify 4 times more bird species by song and appearance and spent more days birdwatching, owned more bird books and a more expensive equipment compared with non-users. Higher specialized birdwatchers contributed more observations to the citizen science platform. The study shows considerable differences between birdwatchers using the CS platform ornitho and non-using birdwatchers. This gives some insight into different specialization grades and supports the view that CS data from such portals have important conservation implications.

비선형 회귀분석을 이용한 자전거 라이딩 참여정도와 레크리에이션 전문화의 최적 모형 탐색

비선형 회귀분석을 이용한 자전거 라이딩 참여정도와 레크리에이션 전문화의 최적 모형 탐색