Moving beyond individualism in leisure theory: a critical analysis of concepts of community and social engagement

Arai, Susan; Pedlar, Alison

doi:10.1080/026143603200075489

Cited by 208 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

137

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This finding is supported by Slater (2007), whose research into the motivations of visitors to art galleries also revealed escapism as the core motivator, challenging the widely acknowledged view in the museums and galleries sectors that learning was the primary motivation. But it is contested by other research into consumer behaviour in arts and culture, which delineates shared experience and social engagement as dominant motivators (Arai and Pedlar 2003;Bourgeon-Renault 2000).…”

Section: Understanding Audience Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why people go to the theatre: A qualitative study of audience motivation

Walmsley¹

2011

J. Cust. Behav.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Theatre is a complicated pastime, bridging the fields of arts and leisure and the drivers of aesthetics, hedonics, emotions, education and entertainment, to name but a few. Pincus (2004) claims that quantitative research has failed to provide a true synthesis of motivation; and while some insight can be gleaned from recent research into the motives of event-goers and museum and gallery visitors, as well as from impact analysis of arts and cultural events, the complex motivations of theatre audiences remain unclear.This paper therefore aims to explore the fundamental drivers behind theatre-going and to fill a gap in the literature on audience motivation. The paper achieves this through a comprehensive qualitative study of theatre-going at Melbourne Theatre Company and West Yorkshire Playhouse, which was carried out in 2010. The methods employed comprise a combination of qualitative techniques, including responsive depth interviews and participant observation.The research finds that the key motivating factor for participants was the pursuit of emotional experiences and impact. This contests previous findings in other arts and leisure sectors, which prioritised escapism, learning, enhanced socialisation and fun. The paper concludes that motivation should be regarded as a construct determined by a complex combination of drivers and recommends that theatre organisations invest time and money in customised motivational segmentation and in enhancing the audience experience.

show abstract

Section: Understanding Audience Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why people go to the theatre: A qualitative study of audience motivation

Walmsley¹

2011

J. Cust. Behav.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The concept has captured the attention and application of -and increasingly gaining currency among -social science researchers, policymakers and organizations, with a comprehensive number of publications in recent years, as well as use in education, economics, business and management, epidemiology, health research, leisure studies etc. [34], [35], [37][38][39]. Although the term has been used from large-scale, macro-level, 'cultural' or 'community' phenomena on the one hand, to small-scale, micro-level intra-family phenomena on the other [34], there are arguably currently three main schools of social capital.…”

Section: Social Capitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeding Social Capital? Urban Community Gardening and Social Capital

Christensen¹

2017

cea

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is a continuing debate regarding urban community gardening's benefits to local communities, and a particularly interesting branch of this debate has focused on community gardens capacity to encourage and facilitate social interaction, which may generate social capital. Social capital is an increasingly important concept in international research and measures of social capital have been associated with various measures of health. In a meta-analysis of literature published between 2000 and 2016 regarding community gardens' social advantages, through the lens of the concept of social capital, it is demonstrated that several studies substantiate that urban community gardens create social capital, both bonding and bridging, and exhibit indications of linking. It is moreover identified how there is much to be learned from future research, illuminating how urban community gardens can foster social capital, and thus benefit cities and local communities. The meta-analysis finds that mixed methods approaches can enrich future research on how urban community gardens can foster social capital, and thus benefit cities and local communities. Particular promising would be using qualitative methods that focus on the meanings ascribed to urban garden's activities in combination with documenting the sociodemographic, ethnic, and cultural composition of the volunteers and gardeners, in comparison with the local neighborhood in general. The analysis' findings furthermore implicates there is much to be learned from more focus on the structural dimensions of social capital, in addition to the cognitive dimensions, as this would yield a more nuanced depiction of social advantages of urban community gardening.

show abstract

“…Leisure is defined as a residual time when one is free from obligations and work (Parker, 1976;Stebbins, 2007); a space where one can find enjoyment without guilt (Rojek, 2000); and an experience of enjoyment, escape, relaxation, excitement, development, challenge, and social interaction (Kelly, 1983;Kelly and Freysinger, 2000). Leisure studies assert individuals' universal right to leisure (Arai and Pedlar, 2003). This study focuses on the concepts of serious leisure theory to frame women's experiences as amateur airplane pilots.…”

Section: Chapter II Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leisure allows people to have experiences and develop relationships that are outside of their everyday routines (Lee and Scott, 2006). Engagement in a leisure based community contributes to the development of one's social self and social identity (Arai and Pedlar, 2003). Female-only leisure space is more likely to allow a woman to find empowerment through a leisure activity-based identity, and develop her social self through relationships with others (Gagne and Austin, forthcoming;Green, 1998).…”

Section: Amotivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The personal and social benefits of airplane piloting as a serious leisure activity for women.

Shupe

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Serious leisure theory (Stebbins, 1992) is used to frame this examination of women's long-term involvement in airplane piloting. Through in-depth, semi-structured telephone and e-mail interviews with women having over 15 years experience as private pilots, this study examines their leading motivations and their personal and social benefits realized through airplane piloting as a leisure activity. Women's participation in amateur airplane piloting displays the six characteristics of serious leisure. In addition to the durable benefits ascribed to serious leisure, the respondents demonstrated several other personal and social benefits. The interview data revealed that women pursue airplane piloting as independent, interdependent, or dependent pilots. I identified independent pilots as the women who were intrinsically motivated to become involved with piloting for selforiented rewards. Interdependent pilots who decided with their significant others to engage in airplane piloting as a shared leisure activity demonstrates internalization of extrinsic motivation. Dependent pilots are women whose partner had already been piloting for years before they are extrinsically motivated to pursue their pilot certificates in order to assist their partners. Using grounded theory analysis and feminist research iv methodology, this study allowed a comparison of benefits realized from airplane piloting as serious leisure based upon women's initial motivations to become pilots. This study of women airplane pilots enabled insight into women's involvement in a male dominated serious leisure that requires a significant investment oftime, effort and money in the acquisition and maintenance of specialized skills.v

show abstract

Moving beyond individualism in leisure theory: a critical analysis of concepts of community and social engagement

Cited by 208 publications

References 24 publications

Why people go to the theatre: A qualitative study of audience motivation

Why people go to the theatre: A qualitative study of audience motivation

Seeding Social Capital? Urban Community Gardening and Social Capital

The personal and social benefits of airplane piloting as a serious leisure activity for women.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About