Navigating Tensions Associated with Smartphone Use in Outdoor Recreation Settings

Smartphones are increasingly appearing in outdoor recreation settings despite controversy surrounding their appropriateness. This study examined the perceptions of eight instructors of an outdoor leadership development program regarding appropriate and inappropriate smartphone use, tensions and boundaries that arise during outdoor activities, and how those tensions are navigated. Results indicate that instructors often welcomed smartphones for photography, navigation, and limited communication. In addition to travel and down time, instructors allowed those who participated in program activities to use smartphones during main activities so long as it did not interfere with program goals, distract others, or present safety concerns, even in high-risk and back-country areas. When uses were deemed inappropriate, reminders of established policies, increased communication, and social policing by other group members often resolved concerns.

From carrying capacity to overtourism: a perspective article

Purpose This paper aims to place current burgeoning interest in overtourism into historical context. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws upon the author’s experiences of working for approximately four decades on tourism and recreation using such concepts as impacts and carrying capacity. Findings This paper shows that overtourism is not a new concept. Rather it has a substantial history, although early origins within park and recreation settings in North America have been superseded by an emphasis on the urban areas of historic towns, particularly in Europe. Originality/value The paper provides a corrective to the common assumption that overtourism is a new phenomenon and, in doing so, points out the deficiencies of concepts and approaches, such as carrying capacity, that are being revived but have been used previously, criticized and found wanting.

Practice Makes Perfect: Student Employee Transferable Skill Utilization in Campus Recreation

Student employment is a vital aspect of development for many college students during their matriculation. This exploratory study examined the self-reported utilization of desirable transferable skills by student employees in a variety of campus recreation settings. A survey of 417 campus recreation student employees was conducted, asking how often different transferable skills were utilized within the course of their employment. While it is recognized that no one environment may be able to provide for all transferable skills, analyses were undertaken with regard to the skills that were reported to be the least utilized (writing and computer skills) in an effort to understand what recreational environments better allow for the ongoing development of these skills and to identify areas of improvement for student employees in campus recreation with regard to transferable skill development.

Differences in Employee Perceptions of Entry-Level Competencies of NIRSA Campus Recreation Professionals

Core competencies are defined as skills, knowledge, and abilities that an employee needs to be successful in a job. There has been research examining competencies in a variety of professional recreation settings, including campus recreation. Research in campus recreation has confirmed the understanding of the NIRSA Core Competencies: program delivery; philosophy and theory; personal and professional qualities; legal liabilities and risk management; human resources management; facility planning, management, and design; business management; and research and evaluation. The purpose of this study was to examine competencies of entry-level employees in campus recreation departments. More specifically, this study investigated differences in perceptions of entry-level competencies between entry-level employees, mid-level, and upper-level employees in campus recreation departments. There were 466 campus recreation professionals that participated in the survey research and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests indicated that entry-level employees assign greater importance to specific competencies than employees higher up in the organization.