Leisure Studies Commons^™

An Evaluation Of The Junior Sailing Program At The Norfolk Yacht And Country Club, Bryce Mahler

Undergraduate Research Symposium

With COVID-19 becoming a lingering and dangerous issue in everyday life, youth are struggling to have outdoor outlets for memories, physical health, and to acquire important skills. The Norfolk Yacht and Country Club Junior Sailing Program was created to give the youth the opportunity to learn about sailing and compete. They compete with different yacht clubs from all over the Chesapeake Bay Area. There are slightly less participants in this fall program due to concerns of COVID-19. Data was collected over roughly a month period (February 21 – March 28). With White Fleet and Blue Fleet meeting Saturday and Green …

Impact Of A Summer Nutrition And Physical Activity Intervention To Attenuate Obesity In Urban African-American Youth, Jermaine B. Mitchell, Antonio J. Gardner, Zachary Wahl-Alexander, Ben Schwamberger, Douglas Craddock Jr., Carol N. Agomo, Myia C. Lang

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Improved eating behaviors and daily participation in physical activity such as swimming might abate the likelihood of African American youth becoming obese. Yet many African American youth neither consume the recommended daily servings of nutritious foods nor know how to swim. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a culturally tailored multicomponent summer intervention to reduce obesity and unintentional drownings among underserved African American youth. Children (n = 145) participated in a three-hour, community-based intervention for four weeks. Measures of children’s attitudes perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms toward swimming, nutrition, and physical fitness were …

Immortal Celebrities: Tourism In Hollywood Cemeteries, Marta Soligo

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

This research is a critical study of tourism at four cemeteries in the Los Angeles area between 2013 and 2019. We examined these venues through the lens of celebrity tourism, since they are known as “Hollywood memorial parks,” hosting the graves of some of the most famous stars in the world. Through a qualitative study, we aimed to understand how the relationship between these venues and the entertainment industry works as a “pull factor” for tourists. Firstly, we identified the motivations behind the increasing number of tourists who add Los Angeles cemeteries to their must-see list. Although scholars often define …

Ecological Risk Assessment Of Managed Relocation As A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, Aviv Karasov-Olson, Mark W. Schwartz, Julian D. Olden, Sarah Skikne, Jessica J. Hellmann, Sarah Allen, Christy Brigham, Danielle Buttke, David J. Lawrence, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Gregor W. Schuurman, Melissa Trammell, Cat Hawkins Hoffman

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

Changing climate and introduced species are placing an increasing number of species at risk of extinction. Increasing extinction risk is increasing calls to protect species by relocating, or translocating, them to locations with more favorable biotic or climatic conditions. Managed relocation, or assisted migration, of species entails risks to both the conservation target organisms being moved as well as the recipient ecosystems into which they are moved.

Recognizing this risk, calls have been made for practitioners interested in considering a managed relocation project to engage in a serious risk assessment prior to advancing a project. We engaged a …

Choose Your Own Adventure: A Comparative Analysis Of Storytelling Elements In Selected Immersive Experience Attractions, John E. Balido

Experience Industry Management

Stories are powerful tools used to both connect and communicate through a multitude of mediums. Movies, marketing campaigns, and experience design in theme parks are modern examples of storytelling, using various practices to bring the narrative to life. The purpose of this study was to analyze the manipulation of storytelling elements to create and build an immersive adventure experience in selected theme park attractions. A comparative analysis was conducted on theIndiana Jones Adventure and the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance rides at Disneyland using an instrument that analyzed both experience design and storytelling practices. Findings concluded that the practices …

Protocol For Monitoring Fish Communities In Small Streams In The Heartland Inventory And Monitoring Network, Version 2.0, Hope R. Dodd, David G. Peitz, Gareth Rowell, Janice A. Hinsey, David E. Bowles, Lloyd W. Morrison, Michael D. Debacker, Jennifer L. Haack-Gaynor, Jeffrey M. Williams

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

Fish communities are an important component of aquatic systems and are good bioindicators of ecosystem health. Land use changes in the Midwest have caused sedimentation, erosion, and nutrient loading that degrades and fragments habitat and impairs water quality. Because most small wadeable streams in the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network (HTLN) have a relatively small area of their watersheds located within park boundaries, these streams are at risk of degradation due to adjacent land use practices and other anthropogenic disturbances. Shifts in the physical and chemical properties of aquatic systems have a dramatic effect on the biotic community. …

Experiencing The Unfamiliar Through Mobile Gameplay: Pokémon Go As Augmented Tourism, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Whilst tourism involves encountering the unfamiliar, digital technologies play an increasingly prominent role in mediating these encounters. Augmented reality applications can cause encounters with the unfamiliar to become relational constructs, as difference is mediated through the familiar interface of the digital. Augmented tourism is a concept through which these mediations can be understood. Specifically, augmented reality mobile games bring people and places together through one, integrative, experience of the world. When played in unfamiliar environments, these games provide an interpretive lens that can shape the tourist experience. I draw on an analysis of 22 in-depth interviews with Singapore-based players of …

Second Spring Semester Meeting: February 26th, 2021

Golf Management Program: Publications

Second Spring Semester Meeting: February 26th, 2021

PGM Student Club, PGA Golf Management, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Applying Interpretation Principles To A Non-Western (Japanese) Training Context, Naoko Yamada, Jeffrey Skibins, Betty Weiler

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

Interpretive guides play an indispensable role in achieving tourism and sustainability outcomes. Although interpretation theory and best practice principles are supported by literature, they have been primarily developed in Western countries. Little work has been done to evaluate the cross-cultural applicability of using Western-based interpretation in training non-Western interpretive guides. This study evaluates the use of Western-based interpretive competencies in a Japanese training context. The efficacy of the training was assessed using quantitative and qualitative pre- and post-training data from all 42 trainees. Training programs were successful in improving trainees’ perceptions of the importance of links between individual roles and …

Getting In: Safe Water Entry Competencies, Kevin Moran Dr, Jennifer Blitvich, Lauren Petrass, Keith Mcelroy

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

In high income countries, jumping and diving into water are a small but persistent cause of death and serious injury especially among male youth and young adults. Although water entries maintain a high media profile, little is known about what entry competencies and underlying water safety knowledge youth bring to this practice. Undergraduates enrolled in aquatics (N= 76) completed a survey before attempting 7 entry jumping and diving tasks. While safety attitudes and self-reported behaviours were generally good, considerable variation in practical entry competence was evident. Most completed a deep-water compact jump (87%) and PFD jump (88%) with …

Perceptions Of Water Competencies, Drowning Risk And Aquatic Participation Among Older Adults, Teresa Stanley, Kevin Moran

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

New Zealand has an aging population and, despite falling drowning tolls in all other age groups (WSNZ, 2019c), older adults have continued to drown in both increasing numbers and proportion. The reasons for this are not well understood since very little drowning research has focused on older people. A water safety survey (N = 389) seeking information on older adults’ aquatic recreational practices and perceptions of safety was conducted at the end of the summer season, 2019. Most adults (86%, n = 335) reported some aquatic activity in the previous year, but those aged 65+ years (66%) were significantly …

The Lifeguard Rescue Reporting System: Survey Results From A Collaborative Data Collection Method, William D. Ramos, Roy Fielding, Kristina R. Anderson, Peter G. Wernicki Md

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Several water safety organizations have attempted to improve reporting regarding lifeguard actions in order to better understand the characteristics of successful, non-fatal rescues. In 2003, a collective effort initiated the Lifeguard Rescue Reporting System, an online survey distributed to lifeguards and facility managers across the United States and Canada to better understand rescue actions performed in pools/spas, water parks, and open water areas. After seven years of data collection, the online survey accumulated data reflecting 1,676 rescue actions, collecting information including location, victim characteristics and outcome, rescuer characteristics and strategies, and other general circumstances. Descriptive results indicated that at least …

In This Issue (13:2), Stephen J. Langendorfer Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

front matter to Volume 13, Issue 2

Water Safety Education Programs In Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Seattle Communities: Program Design And Pilot Evaluation, William A. Koon, Elizabeth Bennett, Sarah Stempski, Jennifer Blitvich

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Drowning is a public health concern that disproportionally affects children and minorities in Washington State. Community health educators from Seattle Children’s Hospital designed a Water Safety Education and Lifejacket Giveaway Program for low-income parents of preschool-aged children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The program was interpreted into multiple languages and parents and children in attendance received free lifejackets. The mixed-methods pilot evaluation of this program found statistically significant relationships between language and self-reported parent swim skill level (English-speaker OR 4.6; 95%CI: 1.84 – 11.54); and confidence of keeping one’s child safe (English-speaker OR 3.34; 95%CI: 1.10 – 10.4). Additionally, …

Surfboard Paddling Technique And Neuromechanical Control: A Narrative Review, Wynand Volschenk, Zachary J. Crowley-Mchattan, John W. Whitting, Rudi A. Meir, Alec K. Mckenzie

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Surfboard paddling is an essential activity when surfing. Research investigating surfboard paddling, especially as it pertains to neuromechanical control and techniques used, is limited. Previous research made use of swim ergometers to examine surfboard paddling demands. The validity of using swim ergometers in surfboard paddling research and training deserves further analysis. To establish ecologically valid findings, researchers have begun to use swim flumes and still-water paddling environments to investigate paddling efficiency and technique. This emerging body of research has reported that muscle activation patterns, intensities, and timings differ as surfers move through different paddle stroke phases. A deeper understanding of …

Protocol For Monitoring Aquatic Invertebrates Of Small Streams In The Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network, Version 2.1, David E. Bowles, Michael H. Williams, Hope R. Dodd, Lloyd W. Morrison, Janice A. Hinsey, J. Tyler Cribbs, Gareth A. Rowell, Michael D. Debecker, Jennifer L. Haack-Gaynor, Jeffrey M. Williams

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network (HTLN) is a component of the National Park Service’s (NPS) strategy to improve park management through greater reliance on scientific information. The purposes of this program are to design and implement long-term ecological monitoring and provide information for park managers to evaluate the integrity of park ecosystems and better understand ecosystem processes. Concerns over declining surface water quality have led to the development of various monitoring approaches to assess stream water quality. Freshwater streams in network parks are threatened by numerous stressors, most of which originate outside park boundaries. Stream condition and …

The Lodge In The Wilderness: Ecologies Of Contemplation In British Romantic Poetry, Sean M. Nolan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation argues that contemplation is often overlooked in studies of British Romantic poetry. By the late 1700s, changing commercial and agricultural practices, industrialism, secularization, and utilitarianism emphasizing industriousness coalesced to uproot established discourses of selfhood and leisure, and effected crises of individuation in Romantic poetry and poetics. Closely reading poems and writing about poetry composed between the 1780s and 1830s by William Cowper, George Crabbe, Robert Bloomfield, Charlotte Smith, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Stuart Mill, I probe the relationship between aesthetic, ethical, and emotional responses to depictions of toil, idleness, and leisure. I argue that ecologies …

First Spring Semester Meeting: January 29th, 2021

Golf Management Program: Publications

PGM Student Club PGA Golf Management, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Predicting Young Adults’ Intentions And Involvement In Alcohol-Influenced Aquatic Activity, Hannah L M Calverley, Lauren A. Petrass Ph.D., Jennifer D. Blitvich

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Globally, alcohol consumption is a public health issue and a risk factor for drownings among young adults. While studies have identified a prominence of alcohol in youth drownings, little is known about the factors that influence young adults’ involvement in alcohol-influenced aquatic activity. The current study aimed to identify the predictors of young adults’ intention to participate, and past participation, in alcohol-influenced aquatic activity. A reliable and valid survey, informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, was distributed to young adults (aged 18-24 years) educated in the UK and Australia. Cumulative odds ordinal logistic regressions with proportional odds were …

Therapy Dog Ownership As Serious Leisure For Members Of A Therapy Dog Volunteer Group, Jonathan R. Hicks, Mary Kramer

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

Therapy dogs are used in a variety of settings, including prisons, hospitals, and schools, for the purposes of providing emotional and psychological support to humans. They are trained to be well behaved and to be perceived as supportive of humans. This study sought to explore the benefits to the human individuals who facilitate trained therapy sessions. Specifically considered were the ways in which therapy dog ownership is a form of serious leisure and the ways in which that leisure influences owners’ day- to- day lives. Findings suggest owners of therapy dogs experience enhanced personal enrichment, relationship with dog(s), and sense …