Pub Date : 2023-09-22DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2023-11730
Michael Butson, Eric Du, Ruth Jeanes, John Tower
Employees are said to be the backbone of any organization. The aquatic industry is one of the largest employers in the sport and recreation sector and is rapidly growing, with career opportunities available to a diverse workforce for individuals of all ages and backgrounds (Sherry et al., 2021). The aquatics industry is experiencing increased voluntary and dysfunctional swim instructor turnover. Employee turnover is the rate at which individuals leave an organization, and high employee turnover can be disruptive and costly for management, employees, and customers. High swim instructor turnover undermines the effectiveness of swim instruction and exacerbates the risk of swimming-related injuries and drowning. Therefore, a critical first step is to better understand the reasons for turnover to address concerns with recruitment and swim instructor retention. High employee turnover should not be excused as an inherent characteristic of the aquatics industry, but rather the result of individual and systemic factors. As swim instructor turnover is an under-researched issue, we adopted an exploratory approach to this research. We utilized a qualitative research approach, collecting data through a series of semi-structured interviews, to explore the reasons for swim instructor turnover with nineteen (58% male, 42% female) former swim instructors. Most respondents reported a combination of reasons that ultimately led to separation from their position. A deductive analysis of the interview data revealed the reasons for turnover among former swim instructors: swim instructing as a temporary role, limited career progression, failing to understand and underestimating the swim instructor working environment, and a negative view of management. This research extends human resource management literature across the aquatics industry by identifying reasons for turnover from the perspective of former swim instructors. When swim instructors depart, it can disrupt existing relationships and workflows, and makes it so that fewer individuals get the benefits associated with learning to swim. These results suggest managers would benefit from implementing appropriate retention strategies to retain swim instructors, realistic job preview, swim instructor training and personal development, and exit interviews.
员工被认为是任何组织的支柱。水上产业是体育和娱乐行业中最大的雇主之一，并且正在迅速发展，为所有年龄和背景的不同劳动力提供职业机会(Sherry et al.， 2021)。水上运动行业正在经历越来越多的自愿和功能失调的游泳教练更替。员工流动率是指个人离开组织的速度，高员工流动率对管理层、员工和客户来说都是破坏性的，代价高昂。游泳教练的高更替破坏了游泳教学的有效性，并加剧了游泳相关伤害和溺水的风险。因此，关键的第一步是更好地了解人员流动的原因，以解决招聘和保留游泳教练的问题。员工的高流动率不应该被认为是水产行业的固有特征，而是个体和系统因素的结果。由于游泳教练的离职是一个研究不足的问题，我们采用了探索性的研究方法。我们采用定性研究方法，通过一系列半结构化访谈收集数据，探讨19名前游泳教练(58%男性，42%女性)离职的原因。大多数受访者表示，最终导致离职的原因有很多。通过对访谈数据的演绎分析，揭示了前游泳教练离职的原因:作为临时角色的游泳教练、有限的职业发展、不了解和低估游泳教练的工作环境以及对管理的消极看法。本研究通过从前游泳教练的角度找出离职的原因，将人力资源管理文献扩展到整个游泳行业。当游泳教练离开时，可能会破坏现有的关系和工作流程，从而使更少的人从学习游泳中受益。这些结果表明，管理者将受益于实施适当的保留策略，以保留游泳教练，现实的工作预览，游泳教练培训和个人发展，以及离职面谈。
{"title":"Investigating the Causes of Swim Instructor Turnover in the Aquatics Industry","authors":"Michael Butson, Eric Du, Ruth Jeanes, John Tower","doi":"10.18666/jpra-2023-11730","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18666/jpra-2023-11730","url":null,"abstract":"Employees are said to be the backbone of any organization. The aquatic industry is one of the largest employers in the sport and recreation sector and is rapidly growing, with career opportunities available to a diverse workforce for individuals of all ages and backgrounds (Sherry et al., 2021). The aquatics industry is experiencing increased voluntary and dysfunctional swim instructor turnover. Employee turnover is the rate at which individuals leave an organization, and high employee turnover can be disruptive and costly for management, employees, and customers. High swim instructor turnover undermines the effectiveness of swim instruction and exacerbates the risk of swimming-related injuries and drowning. Therefore, a critical first step is to better understand the reasons for turnover to address concerns with recruitment and swim instructor retention. High employee turnover should not be excused as an inherent characteristic of the aquatics industry, but rather the result of individual and systemic factors. As swim instructor turnover is an under-researched issue, we adopted an exploratory approach to this research. We utilized a qualitative research approach, collecting data through a series of semi-structured interviews, to explore the reasons for swim instructor turnover with nineteen (58% male, 42% female) former swim instructors. Most respondents reported a combination of reasons that ultimately led to separation from their position. A deductive analysis of the interview data revealed the reasons for turnover among former swim instructors: swim instructing as a temporary role, limited career progression, failing to understand and underestimating the swim instructor working environment, and a negative view of management. This research extends human resource management literature across the aquatics industry by identifying reasons for turnover from the perspective of former swim instructors. When swim instructors depart, it can disrupt existing relationships and workflows, and makes it so that fewer individuals get the benefits associated with learning to swim. These results suggest managers would benefit from implementing appropriate retention strategies to retain swim instructors, realistic job preview, swim instructor training and personal development, and exit interviews.","PeriodicalId":46684,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Park and Recreation Administration","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136059458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-15DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2023-12011
Keri A. Schwab, Ben Sherman, Marni Goldenberg
“Bots,” computer software capable of taking surveys for an operator, pose a serious threat to the integrity of research that relies on publicly available online surveys. This paper addresses the issue of bot responses to online surveys and suggests several strategies for reducing and addressing these fraudulent responses. To combat this threat, researchers should employ specific methods for building, distributing, and processing surveys that deter and eliminate bot responses from the dataset. Methods for anti-bot survey design include building bot detection software into the survey, creating trap questions, and writing questions that require specific free-form answers. Survey distribution methods that avoid or hide monetary incentives, use a password-protected link, or employ some other form of population targeting will also receive fewer bot responses. Finally, data should be screened for bots after collection using a set of reliable criteria to identify and remove bot responses.
{"title":"Too Many Bots: A Lesson for Online Quantitative Data Collection","authors":"Keri A. Schwab, Ben Sherman, Marni Goldenberg","doi":"10.18666/jpra-2023-12011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18666/jpra-2023-12011","url":null,"abstract":"“Bots,” computer software capable of taking surveys for an operator, pose a serious threat to the integrity of research that relies on publicly available online surveys. This paper addresses the issue of bot responses to online surveys and suggests several strategies for reducing and addressing these fraudulent responses. To combat this threat, researchers should employ specific methods for building, distributing, and processing surveys that deter and eliminate bot responses from the dataset. Methods for anti-bot survey design include building bot detection software into the survey, creating trap questions, and writing questions that require specific free-form answers. Survey distribution methods that avoid or hide monetary incentives, use a password-protected link, or employ some other form of population targeting will also receive fewer bot responses. Finally, data should be screened for bots after collection using a set of reliable criteria to identify and remove bot responses.","PeriodicalId":46684,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Park and Recreation Administration","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135396326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-04DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2023-11918
C. Zajchowski, Caleb J. Scruggs, Jessica P. Fefer, Cait Henry, Colin McCormack, Chandler J. Berry
Outdoor recreation is increasing worldwide, driving recreationists to seek new sites for active leisure pursuits. Recreational use at sites of cultural significance (i.e., historic battlefields) may conflict with their primary legislated purpose, diverting financial and human resources. We documented this process at Monocacy National Battlefield, a U.S. National Park Service site in an urbanizing region of the State of Maryland. A novel mixed-methods approach included a 1) scoping review of relevant peer-reviewed literature; 2) an anonymized, spatiotemporal analysis of visitor trips and place of residence; and 3) cross-sectional, on-site visitor survey of local and destination visitors using an Importance-Performance Analysis. Results illustrate a significant segment of local visitors and recent growth in trips to sites other than the battlefield visitor center. Local visitors were also significantly more likely to identify higher importance to recreation-related facilities, services, and park attributes. While population growth slowed in the recent decade within Frederick County, future increases may yield potential for conflict between recreational and historic uses. Triangulating spatiotemporal and survey-based methods can assist managers in understanding recreation demand in similar units experiencing scope creep to inform iterative outreach, monitoring, planning, and adaptive management to respond to changing demography.
{"title":"Recreation on the Battlefield: Planning for Shifting Visitor Use at Monocacy National Battlefield","authors":"C. Zajchowski, Caleb J. Scruggs, Jessica P. Fefer, Cait Henry, Colin McCormack, Chandler J. Berry","doi":"10.18666/jpra-2023-11918","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18666/jpra-2023-11918","url":null,"abstract":"Outdoor recreation is increasing worldwide, driving recreationists to seek new sites for active leisure pursuits. Recreational use at sites of cultural significance (i.e., historic battlefields) may conflict with their primary legislated purpose, diverting financial and human resources. We documented this process at Monocacy National Battlefield, a U.S. National Park Service site in an urbanizing region of the State of Maryland. A novel mixed-methods approach included a 1) scoping review of relevant peer-reviewed literature; 2) an anonymized, spatiotemporal analysis of visitor trips and place of residence; and 3) cross-sectional, on-site visitor survey of local and destination visitors using an Importance-Performance Analysis. Results illustrate a significant segment of local visitors and recent growth in trips to sites other than the battlefield visitor center. Local visitors were also significantly more likely to identify higher importance to recreation-related facilities, services, and park attributes. While population growth slowed in the recent decade within Frederick County, future increases may yield potential for conflict between recreational and historic uses. Triangulating spatiotemporal and survey-based methods can assist managers in understanding recreation demand in similar units experiencing scope creep to inform iterative outreach, monitoring, planning, and adaptive management to respond to changing demography.","PeriodicalId":46684,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Park and Recreation Administration","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46518639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-11DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2023-11898
Rosalyn M. Brown, Alexa Schaufler, D. C. Castellanos, Corinne M. Daprano
Childhood obesity remains a pertinent problem in the United States, with dietary intake being one modifiable risk factor (Center of Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022a). Thus, developing healthy dietary habits in children and adolescents is important in reducing the risk of obesity. An opportunity for this occurs in youth sport snacking behaviors. Research has indicated that snacks provided after youth sport games are often energy dense and high in sugar, sodium, and fat (Bennion et al., 2020; Irby et al., 2014; Rafferty et al., 2018). The purpose of the present study was to first observe the influences on snack choice in youth sport. Secondly, the effects of a multifactorial educational intervention guided by the social cognitive theory (SCT) on snack choice was examined. The intervention consisted of a handout, a Healthy Snack and Beverage page in the parks and recreation district guidebook, an educational booth during the first game, and an education session during the coaches’ meeting. Participants included 121 parents who had children participating in the youth soccer or volleyball league administered by a local parks and recreation district. A questionnaire was developed to determine parental perception of what is a healthy snack, after game snacking practices and influences on snack choice. The questionnaire was administered online to participants during league registration and during the last week of the season. Paired sample t-tests were performed to examine the differences in snacks purchased from pre- to post-intervention. Further, a multiple analysis was used to predict snack choice based on six identified influencing factors. There were 121 parents and coaches who responded to the pre-intervention questionnaire and 32 of those participants responded to the post-intervention questionnaire. There was a significant decrease in unhealthy snacks brought by parents (p=<0.05). The “health of the snack” (p<0.01) and “social media/advertising” (p=0.02) were independent predictors of snack choice (p<0.05). In conclusion, addressing the unhealthy snacking environment in youth sport through targeted educational interventions, could promote a healthier snacking environment.
{"title":"The Effectiveness of a Healthy Snack and Beverage Handout and Interactive Education on the Youth Sport Snacking Environment","authors":"Rosalyn M. Brown, Alexa Schaufler, D. C. Castellanos, Corinne M. Daprano","doi":"10.18666/jpra-2023-11898","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18666/jpra-2023-11898","url":null,"abstract":"Childhood obesity remains a pertinent problem in the United States, with dietary intake being one modifiable risk factor (Center of Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022a). Thus, developing healthy dietary habits in children and adolescents is important in reducing the risk of obesity. An opportunity for this occurs in youth sport snacking behaviors. Research has indicated that snacks provided after youth sport games are often energy dense and high in sugar, sodium, and fat (Bennion et al., 2020; Irby et al., 2014; Rafferty et al., 2018). The purpose of the present study was to first observe the influences on snack choice in youth sport. Secondly, the effects of a multifactorial educational intervention guided by the social cognitive theory (SCT) on snack choice was examined. The intervention consisted of a handout, a Healthy Snack and Beverage page in the parks and recreation district guidebook, an educational booth during the first game, and an education session during the coaches’ meeting. Participants included 121 parents who had children participating in the youth soccer or volleyball league administered by a local parks and recreation district. A questionnaire was developed to determine parental perception of what is a healthy snack, after game snacking practices and influences on snack choice. The questionnaire was administered online to participants during league registration and during the last week of the season. Paired sample t-tests were performed to examine the differences in snacks purchased from pre- to post-intervention. Further, a multiple analysis was used to predict snack choice based on six identified influencing factors. There were 121 parents and coaches who responded to the pre-intervention questionnaire and 32 of those participants responded to the post-intervention questionnaire. There was a significant decrease in unhealthy snacks brought by parents (p=<0.05). The “health of the snack” (p<0.01) and “social media/advertising” (p=0.02) were independent predictors of snack choice (p<0.05). In conclusion, addressing the unhealthy snacking environment in youth sport through targeted educational interventions, could promote a healthier snacking environment.","PeriodicalId":46684,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Park and Recreation Administration","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48795832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-11DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2023-11968
J. L. Lee, S. Cho, D. Kwak, J. Won
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on leisure and sport consumption. While many sports and recreational activities, including sports, were suspended to contain the spread of the virus, golf presented an opportunity for individuals to engage in outdoor activity where social distancing was possible. We investigated the importance of risk perception and safety management practices in relation to repeated leisure activity participation among recreational golfers via online survey (N = 268). The results indicated that recreational golfers’ perceived risk of leisure activity participation and perceived managerial safety climate had a significant effect, while cognitive and affective COVID-19 risk perceptions did not have a significant influence on recreational golfer’ revisit intention. The findings provide empirical evidence on how recreational golfer perceived the domain-specific risks associated with COVID-19 and managerial safety climate influence their sports and recreational activity consumption decision making.
{"title":"Associations between Risk Assessments of COVID-19, Golf Club’s Risk Management, and Golf Participation","authors":"J. L. Lee, S. Cho, D. Kwak, J. Won","doi":"10.18666/jpra-2023-11968","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18666/jpra-2023-11968","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on leisure and sport consumption. While many sports and recreational activities, including sports, were suspended to contain the spread of the virus, golf presented an opportunity for individuals to engage in outdoor activity where social distancing was possible. We investigated the importance of risk perception and safety management practices in relation to repeated leisure activity participation among recreational golfers via online survey (N = 268). The results indicated that recreational golfers’ perceived risk of leisure activity participation and perceived managerial safety climate had a significant effect, while cognitive and affective COVID-19 risk perceptions did not have a significant influence on recreational golfer’ revisit intention. The findings provide empirical evidence on how recreational golfer perceived the domain-specific risks associated with COVID-19 and managerial safety climate influence their sports and recreational activity consumption decision making.","PeriodicalId":46684,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Park and Recreation Administration","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45433338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-11DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2023-11849
Myles L. Lynch, Nate E. Trauntvein, R. Barcelona, C. Moorhead
Within the United States, recruiting, hiring, and retaining seasonal staff continues to be a major concern for the summer camp industry. In fact, retention of qualified seasonal staff was the number two (of seven) top emerging issues among American Camp Association professionals. Low staff retention rates are problematic because training is expensive, re-hiring consumes resources, and too much turnover creates instability. Camp administrators need solutions and tools to better understand, and support components of counselor needs, which in turn could improve staff retention. The current study utilized Basic Needs Theory (BNT), a sub theory of Self Determination Theory (SDT), to explore how the degree of need fulfillment and counselor experiences impact a staff member's willingness to return to work the following summer. Data were collected at a large rural coed residential summer camp and a total of 114 staff (mean age = 20.5, SD = 2.07) participated. The Work Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale (W-BNS) was administered to understand the fulfillment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness among camp counselors throughout the summer. A quasi-experimental design was used and baseline responses (pretest) for W-BNS items, dosage (weeks worked), camper years, counselor years, and willingness to return to work at camp were compared to posttest responses using independent sample t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Multiple regression analysis was used to develop the process and final model to understand the predictors for the dependent variable of staff willingness to return the following summer. Results indicated that dosage was not a significant predictor of willingness to return the following year. In addition, the number of years working at camp was negatively related to staff retention (β = -.402) and camper years positively predicted retention (β = .282). Relatedness (not autonomy or competence) was the most salient basic need predictor of staff retention (β = .288). Camp experience predictors of dosage, camper years, and staff years did not relate to measures of W-BNS but were the only predictors directly related to willingness to return. Results indicated that camp experience and W-BNS items were separate and distinct predictors of a staff member’s choice to return to work. This study expands upon a model for understanding need fulfillment and motivation amongst emerging adults within a summer camp work setting. Camp managerial and programmatic implications related to need fulfillment, training, and culture are discussed.
{"title":"Retaining Camp's Most Valuable Resource: A Study on the Fulfillment of Counselor Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness and their Impact on Willingness to Return","authors":"Myles L. Lynch, Nate E. Trauntvein, R. Barcelona, C. Moorhead","doi":"10.18666/jpra-2023-11849","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18666/jpra-2023-11849","url":null,"abstract":"Within the United States, recruiting, hiring, and retaining seasonal staff continues to be a major concern for the summer camp industry. In fact, retention of qualified seasonal staff was the number two (of seven) top emerging issues among American Camp Association professionals. Low staff retention rates are problematic because training is expensive, re-hiring consumes resources, and too much turnover creates instability. Camp administrators need solutions and tools to better understand, and support components of counselor needs, which in turn could improve staff retention. The current study utilized Basic Needs Theory (BNT), a sub theory of Self Determination Theory (SDT), to explore how the degree of need fulfillment and counselor experiences impact a staff member's willingness to return to work the following summer. Data were collected at a large rural coed residential summer camp and a total of 114 staff (mean age = 20.5, SD = 2.07) participated. The Work Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale (W-BNS) was administered to understand the fulfillment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness among camp counselors throughout the summer. A quasi-experimental design was used and baseline responses (pretest) for W-BNS items, dosage (weeks worked), camper years, counselor years, and willingness to return to work at camp were compared to posttest responses using independent sample t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Multiple regression analysis was used to develop the process and final model to understand the predictors for the dependent variable of staff willingness to return the following summer. Results indicated that dosage was not a significant predictor of willingness to return the following year. In addition, the number of years working at camp was negatively related to staff retention (β = -.402) and camper years positively predicted retention (β = .282). Relatedness (not autonomy or competence) was the most salient basic need predictor of staff retention (β = .288). Camp experience predictors of dosage, camper years, and staff years did not relate to measures of W-BNS but were the only predictors directly related to willingness to return. Results indicated that camp experience and W-BNS items were separate and distinct predictors of a staff member’s choice to return to work. This study expands upon a model for understanding need fulfillment and motivation amongst emerging adults within a summer camp work setting. Camp managerial and programmatic implications related to need fulfillment, training, and culture are discussed.","PeriodicalId":46684,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Park and Recreation Administration","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41255037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-10DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2023-11923
Robert P. Warner, Jim Sibthorp, Michael Froehly, C. Wainryb, Jennifer M. Taylor
Summer camp is a common seasonal employment setting for emerging adults in North America (American Camp Association, 2016), and although scholars have suggested that camp can be a developmental setting for youth participants (e.g., Garst et al., 2009), far less is known about camp as a developmental employment setting that supports emerging adults’ identity development (Johnson et al., 2011; Povilaitis & Sibthorp, 2022; Warner, Godwin, et al., 2021). Using narrative identity as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to understand if there were differences in evidence of identity-salient meaning-making between emerging adults’ accounts of camp employment and non-camp employment, as well as examine the developmental characteristics of camp employment linked to how emerging adults make meaning about these experiences. To this end, one narrative about camp employment and one narrative about non-camp employment were collected from emerging adults who had worked at least one summer at a camp (N = 67). The results suggested there was more complex meaning-making in participants’ camp employment narratives compared to their non-camp employment narratives. The results also revealed that when participants reported having supportive coworkers and feeling they made a difference their narratives contained more evidence of meaning-making than the narratives of participants that did not report these characteristics. The results provide support for camp employment as a developmental setting by identifying characteristics linked to the meaning emerging adults draw from their experiences working in this setting. Camp administrators may use these results as evidence of the potential non-monetary value of camp employment. Further, these results suggest that when emerging adult staff perceive their camp employment as having a supportive social environment and providing them opportunities to make a difference, the seasonal employment experience is more likely to become an experience that supports their development. These key findings can be used to communicate the value of camp employment to potential employees and those advising them, such as parents or mentors; further, increasing the perceived value of camp employment amongst current staff members only serves to bolster the advocacy for camp work as a developmental setting.
{"title":"A Narrative Identity Approach to Understanding Meaning-making in Summer Camp Employment","authors":"Robert P. Warner, Jim Sibthorp, Michael Froehly, C. Wainryb, Jennifer M. Taylor","doi":"10.18666/jpra-2023-11923","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18666/jpra-2023-11923","url":null,"abstract":"Summer camp is a common seasonal employment setting for emerging adults in North America (American Camp Association, 2016), and although scholars have suggested that camp can be a developmental setting for youth participants (e.g., Garst et al., 2009), far less is known about camp as a developmental employment setting that supports emerging adults’ identity development (Johnson et al., 2011; Povilaitis & Sibthorp, 2022; Warner, Godwin, et al., 2021). Using narrative identity as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to understand if there were differences in evidence of identity-salient meaning-making between emerging adults’ accounts of camp employment and non-camp employment, as well as examine the developmental characteristics of camp employment linked to how emerging adults make meaning about these experiences. To this end, one narrative about camp employment and one narrative about non-camp employment were collected from emerging adults who had worked at least one summer at a camp (N = 67). The results suggested there was more complex meaning-making in participants’ camp employment narratives compared to their non-camp employment narratives. The results also revealed that when participants reported having supportive coworkers and feeling they made a difference their narratives contained more evidence of meaning-making than the narratives of participants that did not report these characteristics. The results provide support for camp employment as a developmental setting by identifying characteristics linked to the meaning emerging adults draw from their experiences working in this setting. Camp administrators may use these results as evidence of the potential non-monetary value of camp employment. Further, these results suggest that when emerging adult staff perceive their camp employment as having a supportive social environment and providing them opportunities to make a difference, the seasonal employment experience is more likely to become an experience that supports their development. These key findings can be used to communicate the value of camp employment to potential employees and those advising them, such as parents or mentors; further, increasing the perceived value of camp employment amongst current staff members only serves to bolster the advocacy for camp work as a developmental setting.","PeriodicalId":46684,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Park and Recreation Administration","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44271128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-01DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2023-11977
A. Askew, E. White, G. Green
Public lands are an important source of outdoor recreation opportunities. These opportunities provide a variety of public benefits, including promoting physical and mental well-being, contributing to local economies, and raising conservation awareness. In response to current and potential demand, it is ever more important to meet and anticipate infrastructure and user needs. With aging infrastructure (e.g., trails, access points, parking lots), managers face the need to maintain existing, and establish new, recreation opportunities to meet user expectations and contribute to positive perceptions of recreation offerings within the realities of budgetary challenges. Compounding this difficulty is the frequent presence of hierarchical decision-making process within public agencies providing recreation opportunities. For example, within the U.S. Forest Service National Forest System (NFS), recreation investment decisions, such as those under the Great American Outdoors Act, are often made at the regional administrative level after considering the needs and conditions across multiple NFS units within the region. While certain aspects of infrastructure can be measured for quality (i.e., physical attributes like trail conditions), it is difficult to quantify psychological elements of user satisfaction. Recreationist satisfaction is important to promoting supportive and engaged users of public lands. Therefore, a priority for management is understanding how user experiences compare to expectations. Direct ratings from surveys can be useful proxies of user perceptions. For decades, Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) has translated importance and satisfaction ratings to action plans, a valuable management tool in valid application. However, IPA treats each unit as an “island,” and doesn’t fully address the challenge of comparing conditions and needs across units. A variation of IPA, known as Importance Performance Competitor Analysis (IPCA), compares a focal unit against a competitor. Using the National Visitor Use Monitoring Program (NVUM) satisfaction survey module, we adapted IPCA to the NFS regional organizations. Rather than analyzing unit versus competitor, we assessed each unit against its complementary regional aggregate over several points in time. A classification-based percentage identified the highest priorities regionally, selecting attributes for follow-up with IPA to identify relevant units for management. For two NFS regions, we present examples of translating survey output to reports meaningful for management, either as a snapshot in time or across multiple time points. These methodologies are adaptable to other unit networks under the same managerial oversight, with Likert scale data collected on multiple time periods. The primary objective is to translate survey data to recommended actions over a hierarchical network, which can guide managers in prioritizing needs and sustainable planning. In our examples, we identified region-level p
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Pub Date : 2023-06-05DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2022-11260
E. Gómez, L. Usher, K. T. Centers
Two focus groups were conducted as part of a case study to reflect on dog park success in Norfolk, Virginia. One focus group included administrators from Norfolk Parks and Recreation dog park staff. The second focus group included member residents from neighborhood civic leagues or dog park associations. Two general guiding questions for the focus groups were: (a) What are the essential aspects of successful dog parks? and (b) What policies and procedures were developed for dog parks? Topical areas reflecting the first question included essential aspects of successful dog parks and the general benefits of dog parks. Topical areas reflecting the second question included the reasons why dog parks were established in Norfolk and the policies and procedures for establishing dog parks. City administrators and residents participating in the focus groups agreed overall about why dog parks were established in Norfolk—in response to a community need due to dense population, small yards, and apartment buildings. There was agreement between both groups regarding amenities that make dog parks successful—fencing, water, and shade; however, other amenities for success varied according to structural or functional aspects. Despite the similarities in the two focus group discussions about reasons for dog park establishment, the discussions diverged once researchers asked about policies related to the establishment and maintenance of dog parks. Residents expressed frustration with being charged with half of the establishment and upkeep of the dog park. The discussion followed frameworks of public engagement, power dynamics, and co-production/co-governance. Management implications include revisiting or adjusting policies related to dog park development (including fundraising), taking into consideration a highly transient population and its implications for dog park association leadership, consideration of a dog park liaison, and problems associated with unfenced dog parks. Norfolk dog parks were found to be highly successful and civic leaders noted Norfolk park administrators have been responsive to resident needs, and they were given an opportunity for feedback on the process.
{"title":"Focus Groups of Park Administrators and Residents Regarding Dog Park Development and Success: A Case Study in Norfolk, Virginia","authors":"E. Gómez, L. Usher, K. T. Centers","doi":"10.18666/jpra-2022-11260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18666/jpra-2022-11260","url":null,"abstract":"Two focus groups were conducted as part of a case study to reflect on dog park success in Norfolk, Virginia. One focus group included administrators from Norfolk Parks and Recreation dog park staff. The second focus group included member residents from neighborhood civic leagues or dog park associations. Two general guiding questions for the focus groups were: (a) What are the essential aspects of successful dog parks? and (b) What policies and procedures were developed for dog parks? Topical areas reflecting the first question included essential aspects of successful dog parks and the general benefits of dog parks. Topical areas reflecting the second question included the reasons why dog parks were established in Norfolk and the policies and procedures for establishing dog parks. City administrators and residents participating in the focus groups agreed overall about why dog parks were established in Norfolk—in response to a community need due to dense population, small yards, and apartment buildings. There was agreement between both groups regarding amenities that make dog parks successful—fencing, water, and shade; however, other amenities for success varied according to structural or functional aspects. Despite the similarities in the two focus group discussions about reasons for dog park establishment, the discussions diverged once researchers asked about policies related to the establishment and maintenance of dog parks. Residents expressed frustration with being charged with half of the establishment and upkeep of the dog park. The discussion followed frameworks of public engagement, power dynamics, and co-production/co-governance. Management implications include revisiting or adjusting policies related to dog park development (including fundraising), taking into consideration a highly transient population and its implications for dog park association leadership, consideration of a dog park liaison, and problems associated with unfenced dog parks. Norfolk dog parks were found to be highly successful and civic leaders noted Norfolk park administrators have been responsive to resident needs, and they were given an opportunity for feedback on the process.","PeriodicalId":46684,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Park and Recreation Administration","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48813360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-05DOI: 10.18666/jpra-2022-11484
G. Ellis, Kaylee Jorgensen, Jingxian Jiang, Darlene Locke
Substantial gains have been made in recent years toward understanding techniques for immersing participants in recreation activities. Immersed participants “become physically (or virtually) a part of the experience itself” (Pine & Gilmore, 2020, p. 40); their actions merge with their awareness (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). As competition in the leisure and travel industries intensifies, managers and program evaluators will need efficient approaches to measure the ebbs and flows of participants’ immersion during participation. The latest research suggests it is not sufficient to use a single number to represent the entire flow of immersion during an activity. Rather, measures of salient features of participants’ “experience journeys” may be needed. Experience journey measurement requires measuring participants’ immersion repeatedly, at successive intervals as an activity unfolds. We developed an efficient way of measuring immersion experience journeys and examined relations between select experience journey characteristics (central tendency, dispersion, and pattern) and two outcomes ordinarily valued by park and recreation managers: enjoyment and proclivity to recommend the activity to other people. We collected experience observations (n=1,189) from 150 youth in a summer camp, who completed questionnaires immediately following each of eight structured activity sessions: swimming, climbing, archery, riflery, dancing, kayaking, fishing, and crafts. Participants shared their immersion experience journeys immediately after the activity by drawing a line through a time-series graph representing their levels of immersion as the activity progressed. Immersion at each time point in the experience journey was measured as the vertical distance from the baseline to the drawn line, at each of 12 sequential observations. The questionnaire also included conventional post-hoc measures of enjoyment and proclivity to recommend the activity. Dispersion and pattern of immersion experience journeys were found to be important predictors of enjoyment and proclivity to recommend. Two measures of central tendency (peak-end average and global average) were also strong predictors. Models using global summaries as the measure of central tendency of immersion explained greater variance than peak-end averages until pattern and dispersion were added to the models. Results point to the potential utility of new and efficient questionnaires for monitoring experience journeys and continuously improving recreation programs and events.
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