Shaw (1985) acknowledged a fundamental problem with 'leisure studies', this being the problem of conceptualising [of] the term leisure itself. It is possible that different groups within a given population will define leisure or the meaning of leisure (in everyday lives) differently. Shaw grounded theory as to what actually constitutes leisure and concluded that leisure is a meaningful concept that people use in defining and categorising aspects of their everyday life. Further, that in order to understand the meaning of leisure in people's lives it is necessary to be concerned with the attitudes and perceptions surrounding particular situations, rather than with the types of activity per se. In essence, this is what this research sets about achieving; in an angling context.
Leisure is also sometimes treated (perceived) as an economic good, where demand is a function of consumers' preferences, amount of disposable income and the costs associated with a specific recreational experience (Adams, 1979).
Boy fishing from pier
Leisure
leisure world lutonHowever, many commentators reinforce that full understanding of this interaction of supply (the leisure good) and demand (the leisure participant) is still somewhat vague. That is, the drivers in creating leisure demand and the resulting levels of satisfaction derived from it, are much less understood (cf. ibid; Sofranko and Nolan, 1972; Knopf et al, 1973; Anon, 1974; Wellman, 1979; Crandall, 1980; Beard and Ragheb, 1983, Ewart, 1985; Weissenger and Bandalos, 1995; Gawwiler and Havitz, 1998; Laverie, 1998).
Leisure is defined as: "Free time, time at one's disposal, enjoyment of this" (Oxford English Dictionary). Hence, leisure is by definition, an activity that individuals enjoy doing and generally, is pursued solely out of personal choice and self-motivation (unlike work for example, which is often performed against one's will for the purpose of remuneration). Leisure activities can be classified in terms of: ÷ tourism - e.g. getting...