Health, Leisure, and Exercise Science

ABSTRACT: Context: Challenged with a higher incidence of disease, reduced social support, and less access to physical activity facilities and services, rural older adults may find healthy active living a challenge. Despite these challenges, some rural older adults manage to achieve active lifestyles. Purpose: This study investigates the relative importance of 4 extra-individual correlates of physical activity to physical activity achievement in rural seniors. Methods: Data were drawn from mail questionnaires completed by 454 adults age 65 and over in 7 rural North Carolina counties. Findings: Results from an analysis of covariance indicate that respondents who approached CDC/ACSM recommended levels of physical activity were significantly more likely to report that they lived within walking distance to parks, perceived they had transportation to physical activity areas, had a partner with whom to be active, and felt activity facilities were safe. Next, 7 extra-individual correlates of physical activity were entered into a backward logistic regression. The resultant model predicting physical activity achievement among rural older adults included social support for physical activity, a safe environment for physical activity, and reported ability to walk to a local park. Conclusions: Interventions designed to provide social support, heighten safety at activity areas and improve park infrastructure may provide opportunities to increase physical activity among seniors.

Objective. A physical activity disparity exists between rural and urban residents. Community parks are resources for physical activity because they are publicly provided, available at a low cost, and accessible to most residents. We examine the use of and physical activity outcomes associated with rural and urban parks.

Seven operationalizations of equity that offer alternate criteria for allocating resources for leisure services were assessed using residents in a Texas city. The operationalizations were compensatory, equality, taxes paid, direct price, efficiency, advocacy and professional judgment. Two samples of data were selected using mail surveys of 903 households and by personal delivery and pickup at 200 additional minority households. A preference/perception grid showed professional judgment as being the only operationalization which received an above average score on both scales. Differences in residents' preferences and perceptions were related to gender, ethnicity and home value and not related to years of residence in the community or frequency with which residents used park and recreation services.

This paper revises an earlier taxonomy of equity models that was published in this journal in 1988. This revised taxonomy consists of three elements. First, it extends the original taxonomy by proposing a set of moral philosophies, positioning them as antecedents of the operational strategies that determine equity outcomes. Six are identified: Rawlsian, egalitarianism, benefit principle, utilitarianism, libertarianism and paternal professionalism. It is suggested that communitarianism offers a philosophical basis for reconciling some of the antithetical perspectives embedded in these six moral philosophies. A second element in the taxonomy suggests the operational criterion flowing from each of the moral philosophies when it is adapted as the basis for policy decisions regarding the allocation of resources to leisure services. The third element identifies 14 operational strategies that determine equity outcomes. Their linkage to operational criteria and moral philosophies is shown. Potential equity consequences and implications of the operational strategies are illustrated and compared by use of a scenario relating the allocation of resources to park land acquisition.

We investigate the relationships between two work-related attitudes (the love of money and leisure ethic) and affective, continuance, and normative occupational commitment controlling gender, organizational tenure, and career tenure and test the model across Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers in a multi-group analysis. We collected data from a stratified random sample of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) in the USA (N = 397). Results suggested that leisure ethic was positively related to affective commitment for Baby Boomers, whereas the love of money was negatively related to affective commitment for Gen-Xers. Career tenure was positively related to all three components of occupational commitment for both age cohorts. Gender (male) was positively related to love of money and negatively related to leisure ethic for Gen-Xers, but not for Baby Boomers. Further, the love of money was negatively related to affective commitment for male Gen-Xers, but not for female Gen-Xers. Results provide important implications for managing Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers.

The concept of ecotourism is maturing. With this development has come a search for standards to guide ecotourism suppliers and destinations. Ecotourism, unlike other forms of specialty travel, is defined by responsible practices on the part of travel businesses. ...

We developed a model and investigated the relationship between (1) leisure ethic, money ethic and (2) occupational commitment. We collected data from 397 professionals in the public sector using a stratified random sample of National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) professionals in the USA. Results suggested that females had high leisure ethic, low money ethic, and low continuance commitment. Career tenure was associated with high leisure ethic and all three components of commitment. After controlling for gender and tenure, leisure ethic was positively related to affective commitment; but money ethic was negatively related to affective commitment. Moreover, for males, leisure ethic was positively related to affective commitment; whereas money ethic was negatively related to affective commitment, but positively related to continuance commitment. Males with affective occupational commitment had high leisure ethic and low love of money; those with continuance occupational commitment had high love of money. For females, these results failed to exist. Females do not stay in the profession due to their values and interests in leisure activities. Managers need to develop different strategies to attract, retain, and motivate male and female professionals in the public sector.

We investigate the relationships between two work-related attitudes (the love of money and leisure ethic) and affective, continuance, and normative occupational commitment controlling gender, organizational tenure, and career tenure and test the model across Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers in a multi-group analysis. We collected data from a stratified random sample of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) in the USA (N = 397). Results suggested that leisure ethic was positively related to affective commitment for Baby Boomers, whereas the love of money was negatively related to affective commitment for Gen-Xers. Career tenure was positively related to all three components of occupational commitment for both age cohorts. Gender (male) was positively related to love of money and negatively related to leisure ethic for Gen-Xers, but not for Baby Boomers. Further, the love of money was negatively related to affective commitment for male Gen-Xers, but not for female Gen-Xers. Results provide important implications for managing Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers.

Gateway communities serve as entry points to our nation's public lands and are desirable to live within, but commonly subject to indiscriminate growth. The researchers used a variation of Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) to chart resident types and their evaluations of environmental, cultural and economic attributes to better understand perspectives on tourism development. IPA was chosen because it can serve as a simple evaluative tool for communities in gateway areas interested in employing a more comprehensive Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) planning framework. Environmental attributes were found to be what make the area special with it considered both important and of real concern from each resident-type perspective. With the exception of a few items no other cultural or economic attributes were perceived the same in importance and concern as the environmental items with few meaningful differences found between resident types. In summary, IPA is a tool that can provide insight about resident perceptions while serving to inform a larger LAC tourism development framework.

We are pleased to announce the publication of the newest issue of the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership (JOREL) Volume 2(1) located at http://www.ejorel.com/ As in Volume 1, a variety of interesting research topics are presented. Gregor Kay begins by exploring the relationship between student involvement, outdoor recreation, course grades and environmental attitudes. Using a case study approach, Ann Gillard and Rachel Aaron examine how interest in camp is formed in girls with limited previous camp experience. Brad Daniel, Andrew Bobilya, Ken Kalisch, and Betsy Lindley investigate the solo experience, a component in most Outward Bound courses to better understand what students transfer back into their home environments. Mark Roark and Jonathan Norling apply a modified Experiential Learning Theory model in an undergraduate outdoor recreation management course to find any evidence of increased student learning. The outcomes of a college outdoor orientation program that utilized 3, 4, 5, and 12-day adventure based trips is reported by Mathew Austin,

Research in Environmental Socialization (ES) and the impact of significant life experiences suggest that childhood play in outdoor environments shape later adult activities or career interests. Few studies have investigated how childhood experiences influence curricular interests of preservice and inservice teachers. This preliminary study examines what ES factors of teachers raised in rural and/or non-rural environments reveal about their interests in science topics and field-based learning opportunities. Results suggest that teachers growing up in rural areas were slightly less interested than non-rural teachers in field-based learning and expressed less experience with environmental education. Teachers with more ES experiences (e.g., played in the woods, built forts) expressed greater interest in science-related topics than those who had indicated fewer experiences. Rural teachers tended to have more ES experiences than non-rural teachers. The authors discuss how environmental socialization factors influence teacher preference for curricular programs specific to environmental and ecological topics and raise questions about the changing environmental socialization experiences of preservice and novice teachers.

As a by-product to the adventure education movement of the 1960s, nonacademic college outdoor programs have flourished in recent decades with hundreds of college and university outdoor programs throughout the United States. Generally administered by full-time professional staff, college and university outdoor programs provide structured training and leadership opportunities for students interested in facilitating outdoor recreation experiences for others. While historically the emphasis of college outdoor programs has been on facilitating adventurebased opportunities (e.g., backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking), primarily on public lands, offering limited outdoor education to reduce negative effects, recent calls from organizational bodies such as the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (n.d.) and Wilderness Education Association (2015) have emphasized "promoting ecologically sound stewardship of the natural environment" (para. 1) and "education in the preservation of this country's wild land areas" (para. 1). Although primarily nonempirically, ecologists have long theorized about humans' psychological relationship to the natural world. The importance of feeling connected to nature is a theme in the writing of ecologists (Leopold, 1949; Orr, 1994; Roszak, 1995). They have argued that this connection to nature is a key component of fostering ecological behavior. Nisbet, Zelenski, and Murphy (2011) suggested being disconnected from nature not only may have detrimental effects on human happiness, but also may contribute to an unhealthy environment. Conn (1998) and others (Feral, 1998; Kals & Maes, 2004) argued that along with physical health, psychological health is linked to perceptions of nature and the planet and that a fragmented human-nature relationship negatively affects psychological health. Given the increasing attention toward stewardship education in college outdoor programs, it seems important to examine some of the influences of connectedness to nature (Mayer & Frantz, 2004), particularly as some of the influences may be the type that college outdoor programs can provide training for and facilitate. Unlike other environmental scales that measure more cognitive beliefs (e.g., New Environmental Paradigm; see Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig, & Jones, 2000), the connectedness to nature measure is "designed to tap an individual's affective, experiential connection to nature" (Mayer & Frantz, 2004, p. 504). As such, the primary purpose of this paper was to examine staff connectedness to nature and how select factors influence connectedness to nature, operating under the assumption that

While the park and recreation profession has grown steadily in recent decades it is generally understood that many current baby boomer professionals will be retiring soon and with it the prospect there may not be enough people entering the profession to meet the current demand for services. With a growing number of the general public recognizing that active lifestyles facilitate a greater quality of life these trends highlight the need to retain workers currently in the profession. As reflected by reviews of commitment research in other service industries (Lee, Carswell, & Allen, 2000; Meyer & Allen, 1997), occupational commitment can be influenced by tenure with an organization, career field, the specific job performed, and the organization in which employed (Frauman, Cunningham, and Ivy, 2009; Morrow, 1983; Wahn, 1998). Two additional factors that may influence occupational commitment, particularly among park and recreation professionals, are monetary compensation and an individua...

The ecotourism field has grown in the last decade from a concept to a reality. During this time period there has been a tremendous amount of discussion about how well ecotourism can contribute to conservation and sustainable development worldwide. Virtually no businesses existed ten years ago that considered or used ecotourism principles or standards when developing itineraries, training guides, or marketing products. Now, many businesses throughout the world are not only aware of ecotourism standards, but are striving towards meeting these standards. This is not to say that many nature tourism business owners were not conservationists even 20-30 years ago. Many business owners say they were already practicing ecotourism, long before it was labelled. However, there were no generally accepted ecotourism standards or guidelines until the late 1980s. In the last five years ecotourism guidelines have been formulated by many different organizations worldwide. This has been an important s...

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the potential differences in the value of leisure and money among students majoring in recreation and leisure services, education, or business administration. Data was collected during fall semester 2002 in courses within the three disciplines. A self-administered survey instrument consisting of the Money Ethic Scale (MES) (Tang, 1992,1995), Leisure Ethic Scale (LES) (Crandall & Slivken, 1978,1980), and select demographic variables were utilized. Although few meaningful differences were found overall, the recreation and leisure services students valued leisure more than the other two groups. This group and the teacher education group were less likely to value money than the business administration group. Moreover, the relationships found between leisure and money ethic for each of the three student groups were relatively insignificant suggesting little to no relationship between leisure and money across the sample population. Implications for practitioners and academicians are addressed.