Eric Brymer | Southern Cross University (original) (raw)
Papers by Eric Brymer
Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2019
The last few decades have witnessed a surge of interest in adventure sports, and an emerging rese... more The last few decades have witnessed a surge of interest in adventure sports, and an emerging research focus on these activities. However, recent conceptual analyses and scientific reviews have highlighted a major, fundamental question that remains unresolved: what constitutes an adventure sport (and are they ‘sports’ at all)? Despite several proposals for definitions, the field still seems to lack a shared conceptualization. This deficit may be a serious limitation for research and practice, restricting the development of a more nuanced theoretical explanation of participation and prac-tical implications within and across adventure sports. In this article we address another crucial question, how can adventure sports be better understood for research and practice? We briefly summarize previous definitions to address evident confusion and lack of conceptual clarity in the discourse. Alternatively, we propose how an ecological perspective on human behaviors, as in-teractions with the e...
In this chapter we show how, if managed effectively, participation in some sports can cultivate a... more In this chapter we show how, if managed effectively, participation in some sports can cultivate a deeper environmental identity and pro-environmental behaviors. However, we argue that traditional sport will only be able to contribute to the development of an enhanced environmental identity if fundamental characteristics are changed. In the end, this might prove impossible. Instead, we call for a focus on outdoor and adventure sport (OAS) as an appropriate medium for the development of a deeper environmental identity. To do this we invoke an ecological dynamics perspective on sport and sport participation with its focus on the individual–environment relationship as it provides a principled framework for managing and implementing sport participation and the creation of a deeper environmental identity. We use this model to show how OAS might be designed to enhance environmental identity and pro-environmental behaviors. In this chapter, the word environment specifically relates to outdoor, natural landscapes, and the natural world as differentiated from urban, sterile, fixed, or manicured sport pitches and grounds. The argument presented is that sport participation that explicitly balances the relationship between the individual and the environment is more likely to result in the development of a deeper environmental identity. Further, sports that focus on the individual–environment relationship are also more likely to result in positive behaviors towards the environment such as lifelong sustainable practices. Specifically, we present OAS as ideal activities for facilitating an acceptance that humans are part of the environment, promoting the environment over the task, sponsoring respect for the environment, and cultivating a deeper environmental identity.
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 2019
In recent decades, the call for reinvigorating the realisation that human beings are part of natu... more In recent decades, the call for reinvigorating the realisation that human beings are part of nature has grown louder and more urgent. The trigger for this seems to be related to two of the world’s ...
Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2018
Frontiers in Psychology, 2020
Curriculum Perspectives, 2018
Tourism Review International, 2017
Traditional definitions for adventure tourism have focused on the adventure tourism activity or t... more Traditional definitions for adventure tourism have focused on the adventure tourism activity or the adventure tourism environment. In these cases the activity is most often associated with risk and the environment associated with unfamiliarity and natural terrains. Critiques of these definitions have pointed out that this traditional perspective is limited. The risk focus is paradoxical as clients purchase adventure experiences involving risk and uncertainty, whereas tour operators must minimize the risk and emphasize safety. Additionally, adventure tourism can also take place in urban or man-made environments. Furthermore, the traditional definitions mostly ignore the lived experience of the adventure consumer. Individuals undertake adventure for a variety of reasons, including risk and thrills, health and well-being, connection to others and nature, recreational mastery, and personal development. We propose a nuanced conceptual understanding of adventure tourism within an ecologic...
Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 2019
Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 2018
Frontiers in Psychology, 2018
Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 2017
International journal of environmental research and public health, Jul 11, 2017
Procedia Engineering, 2016
Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 2009
Journal of Spirituality, Leadership and …, 2011
Outdoor experiential training is often used for the enhancement of generalised workplace skills i... more Outdoor experiential training is often used for the enhancement of generalised workplace skills including those considered relevant for effective leadership. Traditionally, facilitation processes and strategies employed in outdoor experiential training have often relied on ...
Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2019
The last few decades have witnessed a surge of interest in adventure sports, and an emerging rese... more The last few decades have witnessed a surge of interest in adventure sports, and an emerging research focus on these activities. However, recent conceptual analyses and scientific reviews have highlighted a major, fundamental question that remains unresolved: what constitutes an adventure sport (and are they ‘sports’ at all)? Despite several proposals for definitions, the field still seems to lack a shared conceptualization. This deficit may be a serious limitation for research and practice, restricting the development of a more nuanced theoretical explanation of participation and prac-tical implications within and across adventure sports. In this article we address another crucial question, how can adventure sports be better understood for research and practice? We briefly summarize previous definitions to address evident confusion and lack of conceptual clarity in the discourse. Alternatively, we propose how an ecological perspective on human behaviors, as in-teractions with the e...
In this chapter we show how, if managed effectively, participation in some sports can cultivate a... more In this chapter we show how, if managed effectively, participation in some sports can cultivate a deeper environmental identity and pro-environmental behaviors. However, we argue that traditional sport will only be able to contribute to the development of an enhanced environmental identity if fundamental characteristics are changed. In the end, this might prove impossible. Instead, we call for a focus on outdoor and adventure sport (OAS) as an appropriate medium for the development of a deeper environmental identity. To do this we invoke an ecological dynamics perspective on sport and sport participation with its focus on the individual–environment relationship as it provides a principled framework for managing and implementing sport participation and the creation of a deeper environmental identity. We use this model to show how OAS might be designed to enhance environmental identity and pro-environmental behaviors. In this chapter, the word environment specifically relates to outdoor, natural landscapes, and the natural world as differentiated from urban, sterile, fixed, or manicured sport pitches and grounds. The argument presented is that sport participation that explicitly balances the relationship between the individual and the environment is more likely to result in the development of a deeper environmental identity. Further, sports that focus on the individual–environment relationship are also more likely to result in positive behaviors towards the environment such as lifelong sustainable practices. Specifically, we present OAS as ideal activities for facilitating an acceptance that humans are part of the environment, promoting the environment over the task, sponsoring respect for the environment, and cultivating a deeper environmental identity.
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 2019
In recent decades, the call for reinvigorating the realisation that human beings are part of natu... more In recent decades, the call for reinvigorating the realisation that human beings are part of nature has grown louder and more urgent. The trigger for this seems to be related to two of the world’s ...
Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2018
Frontiers in Psychology, 2020
Curriculum Perspectives, 2018
Tourism Review International, 2017
Traditional definitions for adventure tourism have focused on the adventure tourism activity or t... more Traditional definitions for adventure tourism have focused on the adventure tourism activity or the adventure tourism environment. In these cases the activity is most often associated with risk and the environment associated with unfamiliarity and natural terrains. Critiques of these definitions have pointed out that this traditional perspective is limited. The risk focus is paradoxical as clients purchase adventure experiences involving risk and uncertainty, whereas tour operators must minimize the risk and emphasize safety. Additionally, adventure tourism can also take place in urban or man-made environments. Furthermore, the traditional definitions mostly ignore the lived experience of the adventure consumer. Individuals undertake adventure for a variety of reasons, including risk and thrills, health and well-being, connection to others and nature, recreational mastery, and personal development. We propose a nuanced conceptual understanding of adventure tourism within an ecologic...
Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 2019
Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 2018
Frontiers in Psychology, 2018
Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 2017
International journal of environmental research and public health, Jul 11, 2017
Procedia Engineering, 2016
Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 2009
Journal of Spirituality, Leadership and …, 2011
Outdoor experiential training is often used for the enhancement of generalised workplace skills i... more Outdoor experiential training is often used for the enhancement of generalised workplace skills including those considered relevant for effective leadership. Traditionally, facilitation processes and strategies employed in outdoor experiential training have often relied on ...
Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Good Health and Well-being. World Sustainability Series, Cham, Switzerland: Springer. , 2019
Full Citation: Parsons, H., Houge Mackenzie, S., Filep, S. & Brymer, E. (2019). Subjective well-b... more Full Citation: Parsons, H., Houge Mackenzie, S., Filep, S. & Brymer, E. (2019). Subjective well-being and leisure. In W. Leal Filho, T., Wall, A. Marisa Azul, L. Brandli, & P. Gökcin Özuyar (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Good Health and Well-being, World Sustainability Series, Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-69627-0_8-1.
This chapter discusses subjective well-being within the context of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encompassed the key social, environmental and economic dimensions that can universally improve peoples’ lives and protect the planet for future generations. Sustainable Development Goal 3 in particular focuses on ensuring health and promoting well-being for all people, at all ages. Statistics on well-being are increasingly measured, in part, through accounts of subjective well-being (SWB). In this chapter we define SWB, placing it within the context of overall well-being, and summarize the relevant literature to date. The chapter examines hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, introduces global measurements of SWB and discusses both barriers to and facilitators of SWB, focusing particularly on the role of leisure, especially nature-based leisure, as a unique and useful way of developing, maintaining and enhancing SWB.
We are witnessing an unprecedented interest in and engagement with extreme sport activities. Extr... more We are witnessing an unprecedented interest in and engagement with extreme sport activities. Extreme sports are unique in that they involve physical prowess as well as a particular attitude toward the world and the self. We have scant understanding of the experience of participants who engage in extreme activities such as Buildings Antennae Span and Earth (BASE) jumping, big wave surfing, extreme skiing, waterfall kayaking, extreme mountaineering, and solo rope-free climbing. The current study investigates the experience of people who engage in extreme sports utilizing a phenomenological approach. The study draws upon interviews with 15 extreme sports participants across 3 continents to explicate 3 unique themes: extreme sports as invigorating experience, inadequacy of words, and participants’ experience of transcendence. The findings provide a valuable insight into the experiences of the participants …