Suchergebnisse

The world of non-work obligations - defined as disagreeable activities that are neither work nor leisure - is a territory of social life that has largely been ignored by scholars of work and leisure alike. The exception to this rule is Robert A. Stebbins, who over the years has written extensively on the significance of non-work obligations and the mundane and often disagreeable tasks that we are all compelled to face in our daily lives. In this new book, Stebbins brings together years of writing and research on this topic to forcefully argue that the current research interest in work-life balance can no longer afford to ignore the effects that non-work obligation has on it. He contends that, whether we like it or not, non-work obligations bear heavily on both our work and leisure. Having to deal with disagreeable tasks and objectionable people on a daily basis, without the support of any outside agency, can seriously undermine our well-being, and it is only through recourse to voluntary simplicity that we can hope to limit the harmful impact of non-work obligations. Written both as a guide to happy living and as a powerful rejoinder to conventional orthodoxy in the fields of leisure and work studies, the book is essential reading for both the general reader and scholars of leisure, consumer, work and happiness studies.

Acknowledging that the challenge facing social science is how to inject some order into the common-sense notion of leisure lifestyles, this book, written by a major player in the field of leisure, considers how to turn the study of both serious and casual leisure into a useful concept for guiding research. Developing the common-sense notion that leisure lifestyles have time and space dimensions, Stebbins delves into distinctive leisure lifestyles which occur around particular free-time activities such as the serious ones where participants must routinely train, practice, rehearse, gather information, and those that are casual such as bingo, lunches with colleagues, and outings of small walking groups. Demonstrating the nuances of each, and analysing how serious activities are structured along the lines of the social world in which every lifestyle is embedded, this book revolutionises the idea of leisure lifestyle, turning it into a workable concept for guiding research, while also enriching our understanding of what it means. Striving to meet the test of a critical challenge in the field, this book is a refreshing new addition to the work on leisure, from a highly-respected and established scholar.

Acknowledging that the challenge facing social science is how to inject some order into the common-sense notion of leisure lifestyles, this book, written by a major player in the field of leisure, considers how to turn the study of both serious and casual leisure into a useful concept for guiding research.

"Publications on arts-related amateur, hobbyist, some professional, and mixed-member associations and some agencies are reviewed. Their mission is to foster, present, and sometimes chronicle the art its members prize. Excluded from this review are the studies of art support organizations, formed to help fund an art, lobby government for support of it, drum up public interest, seek employment for its professionals, and the like. Also excluded are analyses of broad social and cultural effects of an arts association organization. The review covers works bearing on small arts clubs and societies, music associations and agencies (jazz ensembles, symphony orchestras, opera companies), dance associations and agencies, theater associations and agencies, graphic art associations (graffiti, painting, photography), writers' and readers' associations, and craft associations."

Chapter 1. Introduction to the Serious Leisure Perspective. - Chapter 2. The Essential SLP: Foundational Concepts -- Part 1. Micro Level. - Chapter 3. Leisure, Attitudes and Identity. - Chapter 4. Individual Participation in Leisure. - Part 2. Meso Level. - Chapter 5. Small-Scale Social Organizations -- Chapter 6. Middle-Range Processes -- Part 3. Macro Level. - Chapter 7. Social Institutional -- Chapter 8. Culture and Social Change -- Part 4. Theory and Practice. - Chapter 9. The SLP in Practice -- Chapter 10. Conclusion: The Conceptual Composition of the SLP. .

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. Francophones in the City -- 2. From Rouleauville to Urban Francophonie -- 3. Parents, Children, and French -- 4. Francophone Children in the Community -- 5. Adult Linguistic Life-styles -- 6. The Organizational World -- 7. Special Events -- 8. Being Bilingual -- 9. The Future -- Appendix: Interview Guide for the Study of French-Language Life-styles -- Notes -- References -- Index

Anselm Strauss observed 40 years ago that the idea of social world was suffering from weak conceptualization and application to those areas of social life where this formation figures prominently in everyday activities. This book provides a coherent statement about what social worlds consist of, what they do, where they fit in social theory

A main theme running through this book is that we cannot understand the virtues of humility and modesty without an equally good understanding of the vices of hubris and conceit. All four attitudes express self-esteem, which flourishes in the soil of achievement. Achievement is valued in any challenging field, be it art, science, sport, entertainment, business, politics, religion, or administration. And it is for this reason alone that achievers are inclined to discuss their excellence or may be forced to discuss it when others inquire about it or remark on it. By these routes achievement and self-esteem surface frequently in the diverse academic and political exchanges that spawn humility/modesty or hubris/conceit. Achievement in a respectable activity can be a wonderful personal milestone bathed in positive emotions, where in the modern world individualism and individuation are widely valued. It may also be wonderful for other people in the achiever's family, social network, community, or society when they are favorably affected. But in this book, when refracted through three additional analytic lenses: individualism and individuality, big- vs small-picture thinking, and tolerance and compromise, the expression of achievement-based self-esteem takes on some startling new dimensions. One of them is that, at the hubris/conceit end of the continuum of the expression of self-esteem, discussion risks becoming uncivil, owing to the disagreeable ways that achievement is sometimes conveyed (e.g., boasting, name calling, depreciating others' related achievements). Moreover, such can turn out to be enormously unproductive. Or as Leo Tolstoy once put it: Conceit is incompatible with understanding.

chapter 1 Introduction -- chapter 2 The Serious Leisure Perspective -- chapter 3 Islam and the Serious Pursuits in the MENA: A History -- chapter 4 Contemporary Arab/Iranian Leisure, Work, and Community Involvement -- chapter 5 Leisure, Work, and Cultural Development -- chapter 6 6Serious Pursuits of the Brutal Kind -- chapter 7 Implications for the Arab/Iranian MENA -- chapter 8 Into the Future.

"Occupational devotion, as defined by Robert A. Stebbins, is a strong and positive attachment to a form of self-enhancing work, where the sense of achievement is high and the core activity, or set of tasks, is endowed with such intense appeal that the line between work and leisure is virtually erased. This volume examines conditions that attract people to their work in this profound way, and the many exceptional values and intrinsic rewards they realize there. The author sets out by discussing people who are devoted to their occupations, and describes the kinds of occupations in which such people are found, the nature of their commitment to their work, and the kind of values they strive to realize through work. Stebbins frames occupational devotion in four broad social contexts--history, religion, work, and leisure--then considers the further subdivisions of gender, social class, and social character. The heart of the book uses research findings on leisure to develop a powerful critique of the "workaholic" model. Stebbins shows instead that deeply felt worker enthusiasm is devoid of addictive or coerced behavior. Stebbins also explores the role of money. How important is it? What happens when money becomes a major if not dominant value, as has happened, for example, in the realm of professional sports? Finally, he examines the social implications of the compatibility of work and serious leisure, using exploratory research to identify their shared motivational factors. Between Work and Leisure aims to debunk the prevailing myth that work and leisure are wholly separate and, often as not, mutually antagonistic spheres of life. Stebbins shows that a close relationship between leisure and work offers the opportunity for people to find joy in work just as they do in leisure. This volume will be of interest to those interested in work and occupations, as well as those interested in the quality of their own lives."--Provided by publisher.