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The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declared leisure time and cultural participation to be human rights, but the idea of leisure rights has not featured significantly in the field of leisure studies, including the sociology of leisure. The recent revision of the World Leisure Organisation's Charter for Leisure provides an opportunity to reconsider this omission. The article comprises five main sections: an introduction to the place of leisure in the UDHR and related treaties; an overview of the disciplinary contexts within which human rights have traditionally been conceptualized; an outline of the United Nations human rights system in international law and the obligations it places on member states; the WLO Charter for Leisure revision process and how it sought to align the charter more closely with the UN system; and a sociological perspective on the link between human rights and the study of leisure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is, in part, a response to previous leisure research that finds the social nature of gaming surprising and unusual. These works separate the individual benefits from the social benefits, overlooking symbolic interactionist insights into social life. As Fine (1983) describes in his seminal work on the "shared fantasy" of table-top role-playing gamers, social play is tantamount to gamers' leisure activities. To build on more recent leisure research that establishes the importance of social gaming, we explore the social dynamics of video and table-top gamers' leisure and its impact on their relationships. Using interview and ethnographic data from two independent studies, we examine three emergent gaming processes: gamers' focus on social play, developing social skills, and passing games up/down to relatives and friends. Overall, this work draws attention to how gamers engage in social play, a direct contrast to gamer stereotypes still held by many non-gamers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Art-E is the property of Suleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Fine Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Akademik Hassasiyetler is the property of Huzeyfe Suleyman Arslan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The first part of the paper summarises the historical background, circumstances, and context of the emergence of leisure. In the second part, the author deals with the development of leisure in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s and 1970s, drawing on the results of contemporary sociological research, including the Czechoslovak stratification survey of 1969, which is still unique today. The third part deals with the leisure of Hungarians in Slovakia, also based on sociological research conducted in the 1960s and 1970s, with a special focus on Hungarians in Slovakia. The paper will serve as an introduction to the study to be published in the next issue of Fórum Társadalomtudományi Szemle, in which the author will analyse the development of the leisure of Hungarians in Slovakia after the 1989 change of regime up to the present day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the digital revolution continues apace, emergent technologies and means of communication have presented new challenges and opportunities for the field of football studies. In turn, researchers active across the social sciences and beyond have responded and are beginning to carve out a new field of study – digital football studies. In the absence of any concentrated review of this field, the purpose of this paper is threefold: (1) to critically revisit previous 'waves' of football studies scholarship; (2) to identify themes in current digital football studies scholarship and identify areas for future study; and (3) to begin to map out some theoretical and conceptual traditions that might better equip scholarly enterprises for the study of football, and by association leisure and sport, in the (hyper)digital moment. We also postulate the establishment of digital football studies as a collective enterprise will be especially important for a post-Covid-19 globe given the rapid acceleration towards digital during the pandemic. To this end, we argue that leisure and football studies must develop empirically, methodologically, and theoretically to better capture the nature of (hyper)digitalised societies and the ways audiences are playing with, and shifting, the boundaries and possibilities for football and leisure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ciudad Juárez-Mexico, like many other cities, concentrates its identity constitution processes in scenarios and spaces of disagreement between what is experienced, what is thought, and daily expectations. Bordering northern Mexico, the city has endured periods of public insecurity and violence in recent decades, such as femicides and the "war" against organized crime. However, at the same time, during the final two decades of the twentieth century to date, a socio-cultural manifestation emerged concerning professional football (soccer): the citizens identification with the highest national circuit's teams. Juárez has been historically characterized as a region fond of baseball, basketball and athletics, with a certain rejection of soccer, especially due to its distance from the center and south of the country, where soccer is more firmly stablished. The article aims to describe some socio-cultural prints, as representations of soccer and the city. They are inscribed in an identity conformation of violence, but also of hope and exaltation, involving processes that articulate migration, duality, the centralism-regionalism dyad, national and international influences and meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Recerca is the property of Universitat Jaume I and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study aims to underline the importance of continuing sociological research into leisure practices, in order to better understand social life. I start by explaining the concept of leisure, after which I go over the main approaches and established sociological theories dealing with the topic of leisure. The text aims to highlight the importance of maintaining leisure sociology as a field of study. In order to have a complete and complex image of societies, sociological studies cannot neglect leisure, which is an integral part of the daily life of every individual. Leisure should not be seen merely as a time free from obligations and worries, but instead must be understood in the context of the meanings that individuals in contemporary societies attribute to it. Recent analyses of leisure practices underscore the necessity of involving individuals in activities to which they ascribe meanings and purposes, beyond being purely hedonistic. In order to illustrate the change we are currently experiencing in terms of the perspective we have of leisure, the last part of the text presents the results of a qualitative sociological research, undertaken a few months prior. As long as sociological analyses continue to neglect leisure practices, our understanding of power dynamics will be an incomplete one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is full of suffering. How then can we justify spending time at play? Given certain utilitarian assumptions, it becomes clear that time spent playing could be put to better use. Furthermore, if a life could have been saved by working instead of playing a "round of golf," then our passion for play and games is not only a matter of morality, but likewise a matter of life and death. In this article I argue that such thinking is confused; primarily about how we develop a healthy concern for other people. Using the idea of "mediating institutions," play and games are defended on the grounds that human particularity necessitates learning compassion--needed to reduce suffering--through the kind of intimate human relationships found at play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined if the environmental variables related to transportation walking were related to leisure-time walking. Methods: The sample (N = 452) was 71% female, 79% Hispanic, age 42 ± 17 y, and moder-ately acculturated. The data was analyzed with multiple stepwise regression. Results: For the entire sample, total time spent walking was related to higher socioeconomic status (SES) (P = 0.02; R2 = 0.06), walking frequency was related to fewer barriers (P = 0.03; R2 = 0.07), and walking duration was related to higher SES (P = 0.02), better health (P = 0.40), fewer barriers (P = 0.02), and living in a residential area (P = 0.04; R2 = 0.08). Among regular walkers, total time spent walking was related to older age (P = 0.03) and fewer physi-cal activity facilities (P = 0.04; R2 = 0.11). Walking frequency was related to older age (P = 0.02), fewer facilities (P = 0.04), and living in a commercial neighborhood (P = 0.02; R2 = 0.11). Conclusions: Most of the variables that influence transportation walking were not related to leisure-time walking. Land use had differential impacts on walking depending on the sample examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores four modes of critical social theory in the sociology of sport and leisure, and attempts to identify common ground between these, especially in relation to their treatment of gender issues. Perspectives differ not only in their concepts and explanations but also in their underlying domain assumptions. First, the Weberian/Figurational perspective taken by Rojek is considered; this approach is the least concerned with gender, although breaking new ground in other ways. Second, the article looks at the work of the neo-Marxist, Hargreaves, which does include gender and race as issues, although secondary to class. Third is the work of Clarke and Critcher, with an important emphasis on the politics of culture and consumption, but again gender is seen as secondary to class. Finally, recent feminist perspectives are analyzed; here gender is primary, but other issues like class have not always been fully incorporated. Synthesis between different critical approaches to sport and leisure is seen as desirable because of the huge task of transforming these social phenomena. The paper suggests, however, that since the domain assumptions of all four are so different, their best way forward may lie in a new radical pluralist approach that does not a priori see any one social division as paramount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the dichotomy between work and play. American citizens both value and fear technology for its ability to diminish the time spent working and increase the time devoted to leisure, but people often end up spending their leisure time doing work and avoiding free time in the pursuit of personal gain.

The influences of several personal, preference and situational variables, along with their interaction terms, on time behavior were examined using a self-reported time diary. Findings show: (a) that some of the interaction variables accounted for statistically significant and important proportions of the total variance in reported time behavior; (b) that these proportions are relatively higher in leisure type activities; and (c) the impact of situational events increases when moving from obligatory to discretionary activities. Overall, results indicate that ultimately it is the environment that accounts for much of consumers' time behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sociocultural approach is used to explore voluntary high-risk consumption. Specifically, we examine the dynamics of individuals' motives, risk perceptions, and benefit/cost outcomes of participation in increasingly popular high-risk leisure activities such as skydiving, climbing, and BASE jumping (parachuting from fixed objects). An ethnography of a skydiving subculture provides the primary empirical data. We propose an extended dramatic model that explains both macroenvironmental and inter- and intrapersonal influences and motives for high-risk consumption. Key findings indicate (1) an evolution of motives that explains initial and continuing participation in high-risk activities and (2) a coinciding evolution of risk acculturation that leads to the normalization of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates six determinants of the subjective leisure experience and attempts to validate them within the framework of existing leisure theory. Mixed results suggest that three of these--intrinsic satisfaction, perceived freedom, and involvement--are invariant across situational contexts, while the remaining ones--arousal, mastery, and spontaneity--are more activity, specific. Interactions between personal variables and the situation are shown to affect the leisure dimensions perceived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of taxation on the wife's choice between home and market production by treating the marginal tax rate as a decision variable. The data analyzed, from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, provide information on the annual hours that husbands and wives devote to market work and housework, including child care, whereas previous studies have measured only changes in market hours and have assumed, in effect, that all other hours were devoted to nonproductive leisure. The empirical results indicate that wives working outside the home react to higher levels of taxation by reducing their market hours and increasing their home production time. In fact, the hypothesis cannot be rejected that wives completely reallocate time lost from the labor market to nonmarket production in an attempt to restore household real income. The authors conclude that the production loss from progressive taxation is usually overstated, though wives may lose through depreciation of their market skills and society loses to the extent that specialization in the economy declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates day-trippers' attitudes toward different types of leisure attractions. The analysis of 15 attraction types generated one common perceptual space whose axes were interpreted as underlying competing dimensions. Data were collected by self-administering computer-assisted interviews using the technique of individual grouping which consists of an unconstrained sorting task of the stimuli. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedures were employed in order to reveal a three-dimensional configuration. Besides the direct stimuli comparisons, attribute data were generated for avoiding a completely subjective interpretation of the perceptual map. Individual difference scaling (INDSCAL) procedures were applied for an a priori segmentation approach which resulted in remarkable perceptual differences among the analysed sub-groups. The MDS configuration suggests that despite the obvious unique character of every leisure attraction the descision process for visiting a particular attraction site is based upon a few perceptual dimensions. Implications of these results for marketing purposes are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leisure—defined as a state of mind characterized by feelings of freedom, pleasure, and growth—is employed as a vehicle for examining changing women's roles in feminist fiction. Such fiction suggests that many women experience a dearth of leisure in the traditional roles of wife, homemaker, and mother. Women who assume these roles more often view their lives as dominated by anti-leisure, that is, by activity undertaken compulsively, as a means to an end, and from a perception of necessity. In the novels chosen for consideration, a pattern emerges. The sequence of getting married, making a home, and having children means an increasing abridgement of leisure for women, while this same sequence results in an increasing realization of leisure for men. The recurring theme in this literature is that women, like men, have compelling leisure needs which may take them beyond the bounds of homemaking and child-rearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leisure sport is a rising industry in recent decades. Its development speed is far more than that of other industries. Despite the rapid development of sports industry, the number of leisure sports enterprises in China is still scarce. Therefore, this paper put forward the research on the competitiveness of leisure sports, combined the data of leisure sports industry with computer technology, and solved the problem of lagging development of sports in China through statistical operation. In order to optimize the model, we added the association rule algorithm to further improve the accuracy of data, so as to further expand the leisure sports market. Through a comprehensive test of the function of the algorithm, the results show that the system is feasible in the use of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction and domestication of the information and communication technologies –ICT, in the home has transformed leisure activities Now, those technologies have an important role on leisure of households’ members and the transformation in leisure activities and experiences is a necessary issue to explore, because we actually know little about these changes and transformations. Leisure at home has a digital aspect we called here as home-based digital leisure. In this article we expose some aspects from a study developed under a constructivist and interpretive perspective, analysing 30 informants narratives that explain leisure activities undertaken during informant’s free time at home, using any kind of digital technologies in different households of Barcelona, Spain. Analysis was conducted under thematic analysis to construct and interpret texts, looking for patterns, creating categories and properties to find themes and elements shared in order to describe and interpret how digital technologies have transformed home-based leisure activities. Main findings show how individuals use available technologies for home-based leisure activities, how traditional leisure activities are changing, how domestic leisure and individual and household maintenance activities overlap, and how the appeal of traditional leisure activities has changed in the home when digital leisure activities are performed. Changes brought about are qualitatively different from those produced by radio and television devices, digital technologies increase the exposure to different experiences and allow people to control them. Technologies consumption for leisure is no longer homogeneous within household members due to the nature of ICT and Internet, narrative led us to report how our informants have greater freedom regarding their choice to do home-based leisure activities with more satisfaction given a decrease in time and money costs. Findings can be used for the design and development of home leisure technologies and services. There is an opportunity to go deeper and find more information about digital leisure in other areas of people’s life, considering social connections and according to the evolution of digital technologies, devices and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of the information and communication technologies in the home has transformed free-time leisure activities. Adopting a constructivist and interpretive perspective, we analysed 30 individual narratives in order to describe how digital technologies have transformed home-based leisure activities. The findings show that the changes brought about are qualitatively different from those produced by previous technological devices. The digital technologies have not only increased exposure to different experiences, they also allow people to control those experiences. The consumption of experiences is no longer homogeneous among household members and individuals now have greater freedom regarding their choice of home-based leisure activities. The findings of this study, suggest that digital leisure has transformed home-based leisure, can be used to understand home-based leisure technologies. Further studies are required to explore home-based digital leisure in other areas of people’s lives as digital technologies, devices and applications evolve.

The goal of this study was to better understand older men's experiences with social leisure in the form of a coffee group. Data collection included participant observation at two different coffee groups and semi-structured interviewswith 14 older menwho attended the groups. Data were analyzed thematically using open and axial coding (Merriam, 2009). Several themes emerged that provided insights into their coffee group experiences and the meanings they attributed to participation. The group was important as an emotional outlet where the men could express their feelings in a supportive environment. The group promoted social engagement and connectedness, offering them a sense of purpose and social interaction. Participants also felt a sense of belonging through the group and expressed that it facilitated experiences of valued fun and enjoyment. Overall, the findings suggest that the coffee group served as a facilitator of emotional health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed young people’s leisure activities in order to identify their leisure habitus, discover how they combined activities into leisure patterns, and examine how leisure patterns were socially structured. We argue that the effects of age, gender, and language on how young people’s leisure patterns are structured are mediated by social class. We found that leisure practices could be classified in terms of three habitus: the frequent leisure habitus, the cultural activity habitus, and the social vs. entertainment habitus. The different combinations of these three leisure habitus by young people resulted in four patterns which we refer to as social, omnivorous, entertainment, and religious leisure patterns. The association of leisure patterns with indicators of social position suggests that, as predicted by our theoretical framework, age, gender, and language effects are diminished once we take into account the mediating role of social class. Young people’s leisure practices are therefore socially differentiated, with young immigrants forming a vulnerable group that should be the particular focus of youth leisure policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of the information and communication technologies in the home has transformed free-time leisure activities. Adopting a constructivist and interpretive perspective, we analysed 30 individual narratives in order to describe how digital technologies have transformed home-based leisure activities. The findings show that the changes brought about are qualitatively different from those produced by previous technological devices. The digital technologies have not only increased exposure to different experiences, they also allow people to control those experiences. The consumption of experiences is no longer homogeneous among household members and individuals now have greater freedom regarding their choice of home-based leisure activities. The findings of this study, suggest that digital leisure has transformed home-based leisure, can be used to understand home-based leisure technologies. Further studies are required to explore home-based digital leisure in other areas of people's lives as digital technologies, devices and applications evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leisure activities are those by which individuals develop their talent and personality free from work obligations or life requirements. The way we spend our leisure time is a reflection of social, economic and cultural circumstances of our society. Effective use of free time could considerably improve the quality of social and economic life of individuals. The present study is explores the social factors affecting the use of leisure time by subjects aged of 15-64 in the city of Jouybar, Mazandaran, Iran. The study uses the survey method a total sample of 510 members was chosen based on multistage cluster sampling. The independent variables of the study whose relationships were examined with the amount of leisure time (active and passive) include: socio-economic status (income, parental education and occupation), marital status, residency, age and gender. The results of study demonstrated that the average active leisure time (1.87 out of 4) was more than average passive leisure time (1.4 out of 4). The examination of the leisure patterns showed that, being with the family and watching television were the most important leisure activities among the respondents. In addition, the results of multivariate linear regression showed that, the four independents variables of age, education, parental education had significant impact on leisure. Beta coefficients indicated that the variable of age had the strongest (-.32) and education had the weakest (.117) effect on leisure time.

Our interest in this research reflection is to introduce what we call extended leisure experiences—activities that leisure participants engage in following the completion of a primary leisure activity. Our approach is largely descriptive and exploratory as we outline some properties of the concept and then flesh them out using observations gleaned from participation in the social worlds of contract bridge and music scenes. An understanding of extended leisure experiences will broaden our appreciation of how different phases of leisure activity are connected with one another and provide insight into how participants create meaning from their involvement in different pastimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Holland’s RIASEC theory of workplace personality posits that most people resemble a combination of six personality types. The Self-Directed Search® provides the user with a Summary Code that represents the three personality types to which they are most similar. The Leisure Activities Finder™ (LAF) includes a listing of leisure activities, with corresponding codes, which allows users to search for activities that match their Summary Code. During a recent revision of the LAF, the authors developed a list of new activities to be included and assigned codes to them. In a validation study, participants rated activities corresponding to their Summary Code and corresponding to their opposite code. Overall, they rated activities corresponding to their code to be relatable and interesting. Implications for career counseling are discussed, as well as the potential for use of the LAF across the life span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Intersecoes: Revista de Estudios Interdisciplinares is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)