Leisure as a Primary Institution (original) (raw)
5-CONCEPTIONS of Leisure : A Historical Approach on Societies
2013
Introduction Leisure has been the focus of countless studies on contemporary society. This is due mostly to the strong correlation among leisure activities and quality of life and the social development of individuals. Although it is impossible to precisely foresee the starting point of concerning about leisure activities, it is known that those have accompanied man ever since the beginning of humankind. Although leisure has been the focus of studies in different areas, it should be studied from the precept that man is a biophysicosocial being, and his biological, psychological and sociological characteristics cannot be dissociated. An investigation concerning leisure can reveal several characteristics that show the social and cultural context of a society. Eventually leisure is conceived as a synonym of free time, nevertheless, such proposition is not true. Leisure activities are practiced during free time, but free time is not completely fulfilled with activities characterized as ...
Recreation and leisure in modern society
Recreation and leisure in modern society., 1971
In part 1, The recreation movement today, a detailed survey is given of the recreational facilities in the USA, whether organized by governmental, voluntary, private or commercial institutions. In part 2, The history of recreation and leisure, recreation is outlined in ...
The Concept of Leisure as Culture-dependent–Between Tradition and Modernity
Journal of Cultural and Religious Studies, 2014
The article deals with the concept of leisure in Israel in terms of time, activity, state of mind, and Jewish values. The purpose of the study is to examine changes in how leisure is conceived in Judaism and the differences in the secular and religious conception of leisure, and the special relationship between leisure, work, and religious obligations and tradition. The study reviews the factors that have shaped the conception of leisure and its developments over time in Jewish religious society in general and in Israel in particular, which is a country with cultural foundations in both tradition and modernity, and one that strives to strike a balance between its multiple commitments to its religious roots and its modern democratic nature. The study proceeds to discuss the implications of such conceptions and developments for the Israeli education system. The article may have practical implications for imparting leisure behaviors, an educational challenge involving people's attitude to leisure.
Reinforcement of the Leisure Culture
This paper examines major trends in leisure in an attempt to trace some possible future developments in the consumption and production of leisure in general, and tourism in particular. The first part of the analysis concentrates on the time dimension, examining the changing relationship between work and leisure time in the developed world. This is followed by an analysis of the social consequences of the ‘growth’ of leisure, particularly in terms of the growing imbalance in the distribution of work and leisure time. The future implications of this imbalance are then considered, particularly in terms of its potential influence on tourism consumption.
Leisure and culture – the (in)visible link in modern societies
World Leisure Journal, 2011
Leisure and culture Á the (in)visible link in modern societies Overview: culture and creative leisure Leisure often evokes ideas synonymous with different modes of easy living: entertainment, distraction, sports and relaxation, including tourism. As the antithesis of labour, leisure is thus often perceived as a time of luxury, idleness and inefficiency. But, although powerful, this view that free time is time lost may not be accurate. Many thinkers have insisted on the idea that leisure, authentic leisure, is time dedicated to developing one's capacities, a time of learning and cultivation. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, ''Leisure is time for doing something useful'' (Franklin, 1758). A life dedicated solely to work would not be a decent human life Á this is implicit in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, in its Article 28, that ''Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits'' (United Nations, 1948). In terms of human development, we could say that our bodies need rest, but that our minds need creative leisure. In terms of economic development also, equating leisure with inefficiency is questionable. Economic success is often associated with striking the right balance in the division of labour, that is production; but consumption mostly happens when people are not working, that is when they participate in the life of their cultures. In that, leisure can be credited with giving a boost to creativity, innovation and related synergies. Thus, contrary to commonly held views, leisure is a special feature of culture, be it individualised or organised. As culture determines our lifestyles, our consumption and our production patterns, we need to realise that the culture of creative leisure includes tourism, travel and vacation, fashion and dressing, eating, epicurean pleasures and hospitality, sports, reading, museums and exhibitions, media and the visual arts, concerts, opera and music. Building on this, we can give a quick account of how the leisure-culture link positively relates to different approaches to development.
Becoming Sociological: A Brief Historical Review of Leisure in the Social Survey 1880–1939
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure
Adopting the social survey as an analytical tool, this paper explores the origins of a sociology of leisure. Modern social understandings of leisure were formed in the expansion of the social sciences in the late nineteenth century in parallel with the growth of systematic and scientifically informed social work. In both Great Britain and the United States of America the survey became a widely adopted method of gathering data to inform social work. Through advances in social work and the settlement movement's association with universities an embryonic sociology of leisure had emerged by 1914. After the First World War leisure became a field of policy discourse in postwar reconstruction and the subject of large scale surveys in both countries. These surveys give insight to new and changing sociological understandings of leisure which provided the foundations for the formal recognition of leisure as a sociological field in the late twentieth century.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 14927713 2009 9651449, 2010
What does leisure mean to people? Has the essence of leisure been changed? The individuals may feel controlled by a system that values material possessions more than emotional and spiritual wealth. In the present context, it seems that people respond to the pressures of being productive and of consumption by measuring what they are and how much they have rather than analyzing the quality of who they are and what they have. These extrinsic motivators tend to govern people's lives and behaviours influencing how they relate to others. These motivators have also impacted the spiritual and emotional elements of quality of life. Leisure is no longer a disposition of the mind, spontaneous and genuine; it has become a disposition of the society. Thus, the historical sense of freedom in leisure has been lost to consumerism. This paper analyzes the elements that have transformed leisure behaviour and explores alternatives to help regain the philosophical essence of leisure.
2021
A paradigm shift to working to protect the leisure of people in later life from the machinery of growth and consumption is needed. Recognition of the rational instrumental drivers behind active ageing is overdue, research in this area could be about enhancing quality of life, instead it focuses on how to make lives cost less. This book offers a modest development in Leisure Constraints Theory, developing understanding of the interaction of interpersonal and structural constraints in later leisure lives, thus troubling ideas of separate levels of constraints. The Mass Observation Archive offers additional voices for the study of leisure in the context of everyday life. It supported this study of later life leisure to see beyond the noisy concepts of death and disability and ‘age induced constraints’ that direct much leisure in later life research.