Leisure Management

The main purpose of this study was to explore the positive and negative effects of the internship experience on the behavioural intentions of college students in Taiwan. The results of this study suggest five major types of experience; sensory, affective, creative cognitive, physical and relational; have different effects on satisfaction, willingness to return to the original internship organisation, willingness to work, willingness to recommend the internship organisation to other students, ability to move between departments during the internship, whether to continue with studies or suspend schooling, career transition, complaints to colleagues within the internship organisation and external complaints. Chen, Hu, Wang and Chen (2011) A study of the effects of internship experiences on the behavioural intentions of college students majoring in leisure management in Taiwan Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 10(2), 61 – 73 62

Previous research has highlighted women’s unequal status in relation to management within a range of service sector industries. Leisure services, however, has remained an under‐researched sector in spite of its growing significance to the economy and its increasing importance as an employer of women. This paper reports selected results from recent research examining gender equity in leisure management. The research, examined gender equity in leisure management and within the professional institute itself. The results demonstrate that women experience both structural and cultural constraints in attempting to secure management careers in leisure but that they remain optimistic about the future. Analysis of the results indicates that this optimism may be misplaced in an industry where women are encouraged to accept large amounts of senior management responsibility for middle management salaries, where routes to promotion remain unclear, and where organisational culture is informed by the dominant “locker room culture” of male sport.

The CCT legislation sought to create a market for the sport and leisure management function in local government. Competition was seen as essential to the achievement of improved efficiency and effectiveness. This paper examines the very limited nature of this 'market' and the constraints on its development. However, CCT left responsibility for policy with the client side and this paper also presents evidence that this responsibility has not been exercised in the 'defence of welfare' and suggests that those responsible for leisure services need to accept greater political and intellectual responsibility for the definition and defence of welfare in the second round of contracting.

The issues of Employability and Experiential Learning continue to attract substantial attention within the Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism (HLST) subject areas (cf. Link, issue 11 http://www.hlst.heacademy.ac.uk/resourc es/link11/link11.pdf). There is also concern over the extent to which graduates are prepared for industry to address the skills gaps that exist (Ravenscroft et al, 2002). Placements are the most promising vehicle through which to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industrial practice. The challenge is to sustain a placement system that assesses the skills and abilities of the students in the context of their knowledge and understanding in order to permit students to diversify, whilst at the same time producing graduates with evidence of their abilities. This case study is based on the placement process established by the Chelsea School at the University of Brighton for the BA (Hons) Sport and Leisure Management (SLM) degree. The case study outlines the practices that underpin the placement process and evaluates the extent to which students benefit from the variety of activities undertaken. Inherent within the practices are two fundamental principles that have been identified as examples of good practice. First, the building of experience with employers and businesses into courses through partnerships, and second, embedding employability within the curriculum and making it explicit within the learning experience. Employers, students and other Higher Educations Institutions (HEIs) have identified the work as innovative, successful and transferable. Objectives The placement process has been continually refined since 1997 with two key aims that shape specific objectives. These are to develop evidence of employability amongst students and graduates, and to examine the usefulness of knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities learned on placement in current employment. Of particular importance has been the extent to which graduates are able to develop a reflective approach to their employment, heighten awareness of their own skills for themselves and others and their ability to embed critical thought into workplace practice. The process aims to adhere to the intended objectives for placements set out in the National Council for Work Experience’s (NCWE) Placement Tutor Handbook. These are to:

Models of curricula development in higher education pay scant attention to the role of self‐interested actors in the construction of knowledge. Rather, it is assumed that curricula develop on the basis of fission within disciplines, fusion between fields, the exertion of pressure by the state or other stakeholders, or the development of knowledge in relation to professional practice. This article argues that the ongoing debate about the nature and appropriateness of leisure management curricula masks the reality of the field as the product of actors whose vested interests and ideological imperatives have shaped the field in its various manifestations. Through analysis of qualitative data gathered at 14 higher education institutions, the article identifies a series of problematic conceptions and approaches which characterise the field of leisure management. It is argued that the nature of the field is best explained with reference to the social antecedents of contributing academics in the traditional middle classes and petite bourgeoisie. The field reflects a series of social and cultural constructions which, through the processes of academic production, have become reified and legitimated.

1. Performance measurement and leisure management Konstantinos Alexandris 2. A focused service quality, benefits, overall satisfaction and loyalty model for public aquatic centres Gary Howat, Gary Crilley and Richard McGrath 3. Can service quality predict spectators' behavioral intentions in professional soccer? Nicholas D. Theodorakis and Konstantinos Alexandris 4. An application of importance-performance analysis (IPA) to the management of sport centres Antonio Rial, Javial Rial, Jesus Varela and Eulogio Real 5. Utilizing importance data to identify customer segments for English public sport facilities Yi-De Liu, Peter Taylor and Simon Shibli 6. Testing the feasibility of performance indicators for play facilities in England Peter Taylor, Ashley Godfrey, Phil Back, Lynn Bennett, Pete Sinclair and Haki Kapasi 7. Work process knowledge and customer service excellence: lessons from the Scottish visitor attraction industry Shuna Marr 8. Theme park employee satisfaction and customer orientation Matt Wagenheim and Stephen Anderson 9. Employees' motivation in the luxury hotel industry: the perceived effectiveness of human-resource practices Leonidas Maroudas, Olivia Kyriakidou and Artemis Vacharis 10. A forecast of the performance of China in the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 and the underlying performance management issues Simon Shibli and Jerry Bingham

(1988). The Professionalization of Public Sector Sport and Leisure Management. Local Government Studies: Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 69-82.

ABSTRACT The field of leisure management and positive youth development (PYD) programmes has expanded with new research highlighting the practical issues of working with a diverse population of clients seeking recreational experiences. One factor contributing to the diverse population in leisure services is the variety of personality differences among individual participants. Research in personality differences examines variations as outlined by McCrae and Costa [(1991). The NEO personality inventory: Using the five-factor model in counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development, (4), 367)] in the “Big Five” otherwise known as the five-factor model; extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness. This is a conceptual paper which advocates for a pedagogy which uses the five-factor personality model in leisure services for PYD programmes. This paper has three main objectives: first, to provide a brief overview of leisure and PYD literature; second, to address the role of the five-factor model of personality in leisure and PYD programmes; and third, to provide propositions regarding practical applications.

This work is a dictionary of around 500 words and terms used in the management of leisure facilities and services. The book also lists 200 principal organizations involved in leisure and recreation, including a number of overseas contacts. The book covers such areas as: sport and recretion, tourism, countryside and the arts. In addition it includes details of legislation, a list of acronyms and a list of UK and international trade associations and professional institutes. It should be useful for students of leisure management, for lecturers and trainers and for practitioners.

"Managing a Leisure Management Contract" provides practical guidance on how to win, manage and retain a leisure management contract. The manual uses the theme of contract management with binding financial targets as a common thread and stresses the need for sound business planning and management of the "bottom line". The manual is also accompanied by a disk containing sample documents, thus enabling managers to produce and adapt letters and forms for their own purposes. Coverage includes winning the contract * business planning * changing cultures * managing the "bottom line". The manual also contains practical examples such as case studies, sample documents, tables, letters and key points.