The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay Example

The problem of presenting non The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material in Western terms is something that both authors had to work with. Abu-Lughod, on introducing her work, says, the unusual form of this ethnography owes much to the remarkable women in the Awlad Ali Bedouin community with whom I lived (Abu-Lughod 1993: 1). This is a progressive step for ethnography, to fit the form of ones work to the content, inspired by the informants. Conversely, Marjorie Shostak describes the problems she encountered when trying to fit the lives of the ! Kung into the categories she had prescribed. Having mentioned some of the topics I hoped to cover (Shostak 1982: 21), she found the informants difficult and unreliable. Shostaks material was gathered mainly through formal interviews (often with informants receiving payment), in contrast to Abu-Lughod who had built up a rapport with her informants and used mostly informal personal and group conversations, which led her eventually to the conclusion that perhaps my wealth, status and foreignness kept the women from trusting me (ibid. : 33). Shostak seems not to recognise the divide she creates and maintains between herself and her informants in her thoughts and actions, while Abu-Lughod is very self-conscious and self-aware. For all her determination to create an ethnography that does not perpetuate a cultural hierarchy, Abu-Lughod can not escape the fact that she remains in ultimate control of her material, and so potentially a superior and authoritative voice. However, she seems conscious of this fact, and is explicit in her methodology, leaving in the questions asked and not pretending conversations did not take place because of her presence. The final chapter centred around Kamla is an example of Abu-Lughods editorial work being governed by the material she is gathering is shown. The content of the chapter is determined according to the information that Kamla included in her essay, Abu-Lughod merely adds relevant points to each section. Shostak, however, is not so open to suggestions as she has set out with a very clear picture of what she wishes to achieve through her ethnography. She says that she explained to her informants, that I wanted to learn what it meant to be a woman in their culture so I could better understand what it meant in my own (Shostak 1982: 21), which is the kind of construction of self through opposition to others that I described earlier in the essay as contributing to the notion of self and other that perpetrates notions of cultural superiority. As shown at one point when she is reminded of the cultural gulf between Nisa and me (ibid. :350), Shostak seems unwilling to attempt to understand her informants on their own terms and not in contrast to herself. Despite describing the ! Kung in the introduction using many generalisations, the fact remains that Shostak has written, as Abu-Lughod would call it, an ethnography of the particular; she has allowed the voice of one woman to be heard. However, it seems that Shostaks intention was not to allow us to see the intricacies of one persons life so that we may see the boundlessness of cultures or the similarity of living life all over the world, but rather that we may get a general picture of the ! Kung culture through one person. In the epilogue, Shostak writes, perhaps [Nisas] story was too idiosyncratic an interpretation of ! Kung life; perhaps it didnt generalise to other women (Shostak 1982: 350), which shows a certain unawareness of the potential of letting informants speak for themselves, and a simple wish to personify culture. Abu-Lughod, on the other hand, uses the opportunity of describing individual lives to great effect. Her wish, she says, was that each chapter might unravel its title, each one being a conventional Western analytical category, to show the boundlessness of life. She is able to show the tensions and contradictions that exist within the community, even within the individual, which would have been flattened out (Abu-Lughod 1993: 221) in generalisations. For example, Kamla describes the importance of traditional values, but if she were to think about how the extensive bonds between kin are to be maintained, she would have to admit the virtues of marriage to paternal cousins, the kind of marriage she wanted desperately to avoid. (ibid. : 234). This internal conflict between tradition and progress is shown in the contradictions of one girl. The question of exploitation in transferring the information gathered to the public is something both authors address. Abu-Lughods intention with this ethnography is clear, but she is uncertain of her authority in executing it: Do the ends of undermining anthropological generalisations, questioning feminist interpretations, and shaking up assumptions about the Middle East justify the means? (ibid. :38) Abu-Lughod was worried that she was exposing things about her informants that were personal and worried that it may be seen that she was using them for her own purpose. Shostak is not so sensitive to the consequences of her work being published. In debating asking Nisa for her permission, she says, it was my work, certainly but it was her story (Shostak 1982: 350). The notion of self and other in her book is shown again. In this case, the issue of exploitation seems more apparent than in Abu-Lughods book because she has constructed an image of herself in contrast to Nisa, and of Nisas world in contrast to her own, which she was using for her own ends in understanding what it was to be a woman. In this essay I have shown some of the main arguments from Said, Asad, Clifford and Abu-Lughod concerning the authority of anthropologists in speaking for their informants. I have shown, using two ethnographies, the potential for success and failure in letting the informants speak. I realise that I was very critical of Shostaks work in comparison to that of Abu-Lughod, and that this followed theoretical suggestions from, amongst others, Abu-Lughod, which may seem biased. However, the arguments put forward by Abu-Lughod for better and more representative ethnography were theoretically supported by other anthropologists and seemed to me to be sensible and appropriate for this discussion. In conclusion, if approached and executed in the right manner, I believe the work anthropologists do in making known the lives of others is not exploitative, but informative and useful. Bibliography Abu-Lughod, L. 1991. Writing Against Culture in (ed. ) Fox Recapturing Anthropology. University of Washington Press, Washington. Abu-Lughod, L. 1993. Writing Womens Worlds. University of California Press, California. Asad, T. 1973. Introduction in (ed. ) Asad, T. Anthropology and the Colonial Encounter. Ithica Press, London. Clifford, J. 1986. Introduction: Partial Truths in (eds. ) Clifford Marcus Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. University of California Press, California. Said, E. 1995. Orientalism. Penguin Books Ltd, Middlesex. Shostak, M. 1982. Nisa: The Life and Words of a ! Kung Woman. Penguin Books Ltd, London. AN101 Lent Term Assessment Essay Joanna Clarke

The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay Example

The problem of presenting non The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material in Western terms is something that both authors had to work with. Abu-Lughod, on introducing her work, says, the unusual form of this ethnography owes much to the remarkable women in the Awlad Ali Bedouin community with whom I lived (Abu-Lughod 1993: 1). This is a progressive step for ethnography, to fit the form of ones work to the content, inspired by the informants. Conversely, Marjorie Shostak describes the problems she encountered when trying to fit the lives of the ! Kung into the categories she had prescribed. Having mentioned some of the topics I hoped to cover (Shostak 1982: 21), she found the informants difficult and unreliable. Shostaks material was gathered mainly through formal interviews (often with informants receiving payment), in contrast to Abu-Lughod who had built up a rapport with her informants and used mostly informal personal and group conversations, which led her eventually to the conclusion that perhaps my wealth, status and foreignness kept the women from trusting me (ibid. : 33). Shostak seems not to recognise the divide she creates and maintains between herself and her informants in her thoughts and actions, while Abu-Lughod is very self-conscious and self-aware. For all her determination to create an ethnography that does not perpetuate a cultural hierarchy, Abu-Lughod can not escape the fact that she remains in ultimate control of her material, and so potentially a superior and authoritative voice. However, she seems conscious of this fact, and is explicit in her methodology, leaving in the questions asked and not pretending conversations did not take place because of her presence. The final chapter centred around Kamla is an example of Abu-Lughods editorial work being governed by the material she is gathering is shown. The content of the chapter is determined according to the information that Kamla included in her essay, Abu-Lughod merely adds relevant points to each section. Shostak, however, is not so open to suggestions as she has set out with a very clear picture of what she wishes to achieve through her ethnography. She says that she explained to her informants, that I wanted to learn what it meant to be a woman in their culture so I could better understand what it meant in my own (Shostak 1982: 21), which is the kind of construction of self through opposition to others that I described earlier in the essay as contributing to the notion of self and other that perpetrates notions of cultural superiority. As shown at one point when she is reminded of the cultural gulf between Nisa and me (ibid. :350), Shostak seems unwilling to attempt to understand her informants on their own terms and not in contrast to herself. Despite describing the ! Kung in the introduction using many generalisations, the fact remains that Shostak has written, as Abu-Lughod would call it, an ethnography of the particular; she has allowed the voice of one woman to be heard. However, it seems that Shostaks intention was not to allow us to see the intricacies of one persons life so that we may see the boundlessness of cultures or the similarity of living life all over the world, but rather that we may get a general picture of the ! Kung culture through one person. In the epilogue, Shostak writes, perhaps [Nisas] story was too idiosyncratic an interpretation of ! Kung life; perhaps it didnt generalise to other women (Shostak 1982: 350), which shows a certain unawareness of the potential of letting informants speak for themselves, and a simple wish to personify culture. Abu-Lughod, on the other hand, uses the opportunity of describing individual lives to great effect. Her wish, she says, was that each chapter might unravel its title, each one being a conventional Western analytical category, to show the boundlessness of life. She is able to show the tensions and contradictions that exist within the community, even within the individual, which would have been flattened out (Abu-Lughod 1993: 221) in generalisations. For example, Kamla describes the importance of traditional values, but if she were to think about how the extensive bonds between kin are to be maintained, she would have to admit the virtues of marriage to paternal cousins, the kind of marriage she wanted desperately to avoid. (ibid. : 234). This internal conflict between tradition and progress is shown in the contradictions of one girl. The question of exploitation in transferring the information gathered to the public is something both authors address. Abu-Lughods intention with this ethnography is clear, but she is uncertain of her authority in executing it: Do the ends of undermining anthropological generalisations, questioning feminist interpretations, and shaking up assumptions about the Middle East justify the means? (ibid. :38) Abu-Lughod was worried that she was exposing things about her informants that were personal and worried that it may be seen that she was using them for her own purpose. Shostak is not so sensitive to the consequences of her work being published. In debating asking Nisa for her permission, she says, it was my work, certainly but it was her story (Shostak 1982: 350). The notion of self and other in her book is shown again. In this case, the issue of exploitation seems more apparent than in Abu-Lughods book because she has constructed an image of herself in contrast to Nisa, and of Nisas world in contrast to her own, which she was using for her own ends in understanding what it was to be a woman. In this essay I have shown some of the main arguments from Said, Asad, Clifford and Abu-Lughod concerning the authority of anthropologists in speaking for their informants. I have shown, using two ethnographies, the potential for success and failure in letting the informants speak. I realise that I was very critical of Shostaks work in comparison to that of Abu-Lughod, and that this followed theoretical suggestions from, amongst others, Abu-Lughod, which may seem biased. However, the arguments put forward by Abu-Lughod for better and more representative ethnography were theoretically supported by other anthropologists and seemed to me to be sensible and appropriate for this discussion. In conclusion, if approached and executed in the right manner, I believe the work anthropologists do in making known the lives of others is not exploitative, but informative and useful. Bibliography Abu-Lughod, L. 1991. Writing Against Culture in (ed. ) Fox Recapturing Anthropology. University of Washington Press, Washington. Abu-Lughod, L. 1993. Writing Womens Worlds. University of California Press, California. Asad, T. 1973. Introduction in (ed. ) Asad, T. Anthropology and the Colonial Encounter. Ithica Press, London. Clifford, J. 1986. Introduction: Partial Truths in (eds. ) Clifford Marcus Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. University of California Press, California. Said, E. 1995. Orientalism. Penguin Books Ltd, Middlesex. Shostak, M. 1982. Nisa: The Life and Words of a ! Kung Woman. Penguin Books Ltd, London. AN101 Lent Term Assessment Essay Joanna Clarke

The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay Example

The problem of presenting non The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material in Western terms is something that both authors had to work with. Abu-Lughod, on introducing her work, says, the unusual form of this ethnography owes much to the remarkable women in the Awlad Ali Bedouin community with whom I lived (Abu-Lughod 1993: 1). This is a progressive step for ethnography, to fit the form of ones work to the content, inspired by the informants. Conversely, Marjorie Shostak describes the problems she encountered when trying to fit the lives of the ! Kung into the categories she had prescribed. Having mentioned some of the topics I hoped to cover (Shostak 1982: 21), she found the informants difficult and unreliable. Shostaks material was gathered mainly through formal interviews (often with informants receiving payment), in contrast to Abu-Lughod who had built up a rapport with her informants and used mostly informal personal and group conversations, which led her eventually to the conclusion that perhaps my wealth, status and foreignness kept the women from trusting me (ibid. : 33). Shostak seems not to recognise the divide she creates and maintains between herself and her informants in her thoughts and actions, while Abu-Lughod is very self-conscious and self-aware. For all her determination to create an ethnography that does not perpetuate a cultural hierarchy, Abu-Lughod can not escape the fact that she remains in ultimate control of her material, and so potentially a superior and authoritative voice. However, she seems conscious of this fact, and is explicit in her methodology, leaving in the questions asked and not pretending conversations did not take place because of her presence. The final chapter centred around Kamla is an example of Abu-Lughods editorial work being governed by the material she is gathering is shown. The content of the chapter is determined according to the information that Kamla included in her essay, Abu-Lughod merely adds relevant points to each section. Shostak, however, is not so open to suggestions as she has set out with a very clear picture of what she wishes to achieve through her ethnography. She says that she explained to her informants, that I wanted to learn what it meant to be a woman in their culture so I could better understand what it meant in my own (Shostak 1982: 21), which is the kind of construction of self through opposition to others that I described earlier in the essay as contributing to the notion of self and other that perpetrates notions of cultural superiority. As shown at one point when she is reminded of the cultural gulf between Nisa and me (ibid. :350), Shostak seems unwilling to attempt to understand her informants on their own terms and not in contrast to herself. Despite describing the ! Kung in the introduction using many generalisations, the fact remains that Shostak has written, as Abu-Lughod would call it, an ethnography of the particular; she has allowed the voice of one woman to be heard. However, it seems that Shostaks intention was not to allow us to see the intricacies of one persons life so that we may see the boundlessness of cultures or the similarity of living life all over the world, but rather that we may get a general picture of the ! Kung culture through one person. In the epilogue, Shostak writes, perhaps [Nisas] story was too idiosyncratic an interpretation of ! Kung life; perhaps it didnt generalise to other women (Shostak 1982: 350), which shows a certain unawareness of the potential of letting informants speak for themselves, and a simple wish to personify culture. Abu-Lughod, on the other hand, uses the opportunity of describing individual lives to great effect. Her wish, she says, was that each chapter might unravel its title, each one being a conventional Western analytical category, to show the boundlessness of life. She is able to show the tensions and contradictions that exist within the community, even within the individual, which would have been flattened out (Abu-Lughod 1993: 221) in generalisations. For example, Kamla describes the importance of traditional values, but if she were to think about how the extensive bonds between kin are to be maintained, she would have to admit the virtues of marriage to paternal cousins, the kind of marriage she wanted desperately to avoid. (ibid. : 234). This internal conflict between tradition and progress is shown in the contradictions of one girl. The question of exploitation in transferring the information gathered to the public is something both authors address. Abu-Lughods intention with this ethnography is clear, but she is uncertain of her authority in executing it: Do the ends of undermining anthropological generalisations, questioning feminist interpretations, and shaking up assumptions about the Middle East justify the means? (ibid. :38) Abu-Lughod was worried that she was exposing things about her informants that were personal and worried that it may be seen that she was using them for her own purpose. Shostak is not so sensitive to the consequences of her work being published. In debating asking Nisa for her permission, she says, it was my work, certainly but it was her story (Shostak 1982: 350). The notion of self and other in her book is shown again. In this case, the issue of exploitation seems more apparent than in Abu-Lughods book because she has constructed an image of herself in contrast to Nisa, and of Nisas world in contrast to her own, which she was using for her own ends in understanding what it was to be a woman. In this essay I have shown some of the main arguments from Said, Asad, Clifford and Abu-Lughod concerning the authority of anthropologists in speaking for their informants. I have shown, using two ethnographies, the potential for success and failure in letting the informants speak. I realise that I was very critical of Shostaks work in comparison to that of Abu-Lughod, and that this followed theoretical suggestions from, amongst others, Abu-Lughod, which may seem biased. However, the arguments put forward by Abu-Lughod for better and more representative ethnography were theoretically supported by other anthropologists and seemed to me to be sensible and appropriate for this discussion. In conclusion, if approached and executed in the right manner, I believe the work anthropologists do in making known the lives of others is not exploitative, but informative and useful. Bibliography Abu-Lughod, L. 1991. Writing Against Culture in (ed. ) Fox Recapturing Anthropology. University of Washington Press, Washington. Abu-Lughod, L. 1993. Writing Womens Worlds. University of California Press, California. Asad, T. 1973. Introduction in (ed. ) Asad, T. Anthropology and the Colonial Encounter. Ithica Press, London. Clifford, J. 1986. Introduction: Partial Truths in (eds. ) Clifford Marcus Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. University of California Press, California. Said, E. 1995. Orientalism. Penguin Books Ltd, Middlesex. Shostak, M. 1982. Nisa: The Life and Words of a ! Kung Woman. Penguin Books Ltd, London. AN101 Lent Term Assessment Essay Joanna Clarke

Cynics and Cynosures

Cynics and Cynosures Cynics and Cynosures Cynics and Cynosures By Maeve Maddox These two â€Å"doggy† words have quite different meanings. The word cynic comes from a Greek word meaning â€Å"dog-like, currish, churlish.† The word became a nickname for a school of Greek philosophers who disdained the luxuries and polite behavior of cultivated Greeks. Cynic is capitalized when it is used to refer to the philosophers. Pronunciation Note cynic [SIN-ik], cynical [Sin-uh-kl], cynicism [SIN-uh-sizm] cynosure Am. [SYNE-uh-SHOOR] Br. [SIN-uh-SHOOR] The most famous Cynicone might even say the cynosure of Cynics–was Diogenes. A most committed curmudgeon, Diogenes is remembered for having chosen to live in a tub instead of a house, and for telling Alexander the Great to move because he was blocking the sun. The word cynosure comes from a Greek word meaning â€Å"dog’s tail.† This was the name given by the Greeks to the northern constellation Ursa Minor, the â€Å"Small Bear† in whose tail is the Pole-star, also known as the North Star. Because the North Star is bright and a means of finding the direction of north, the word cynosure acquired the figurative meaning of â€Å"something that is bright and serves as a guide.† The philosophy of the Cynics had much to recommend it. Their goal was to live life according to Nature, a philosophy similar to that expressed by Thoreau in Walden. Thoreau, however, minded his manners and didn’t despise creature comforts. The Cynics embraced poverty, hardship, and toil. They criticized the emptiness and hypocrisy of social convention and organized religion; as a result they earned the reputation of people-haters and grumps. In modern usage, a cynic is a person disposed to find fault with everything and to rant about it to everyone. A cynic trusts no one’s sincerity or good intentions. The adjective is cynical; the noun is cynicism. Here are a few current applications of these words: Bill Maher is a playful microphone-toting cynic, roaming the landscapes of Christianity, with a few references to Judaism, Islam, and Scientology. Cynical politicians disingenuously mouth slogans of liberty and national security in order to manipulate the uncertain masses. The media framing of political news is implicated in activating, if not creating, cynicism about campaigns, policy, and governance. Social cynicism results from excessively high expectations concerning society, institutions and authorities: unfulfilled expectations lead to disillusionment, which releases feelings of disappointment and  betrayal. A few commenters on cynicism, it appears, are a bit limited in vocabulary: As I got older I found my cynical-ness had mostly gone away. Thats just pure speculation based on my cynicalness that companies always make deals better after Ive already gotten mine to make me feel bad. I think another technique that the author uses is Holden’s cynicalness and over all hypocriticalness. Cynicism is the noun; no â€Å"ness† needed. Hypocrisy is the noun for hypocritical. Unlike cynic, the word cynosure has positive connotations. A cynosure is someone or something that serves for guidance or direction, a â€Å"guiding star.† Not as common as cynic and its related forms, cynosure is nevertheless in current use: One critic wrote that admiration has grown such that Vemeer is now â€Å"displacing Raphael as Europe’s cynosure of artistic perfection. They have been the subject of many sighs and the cynosure of billions of eyes I am talking about the paintings that have defined the world of art. Da Vinci Robotics Exhibitions-conceptualised by  Leonardo da Vinci, Open vibe- the brain-computer interface show how brain activity, PR2 Robot, Eccerobot 2–an anthropomimetic robot acting as a human replica–were the cynosure of all eyes in 2011. Deepika Padukone, who was once a hot favourite with Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, will be  the cynosure  of all eyes this cricket  season. If you decide to use cynosure, be sure to avoid the clichà © â€Å"cynosure of all eyes.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About Numbers10 Colloquial Terms and Their MeaningsEnglish Grammar 101: Prepositions

Statistics Mini-project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Statistics Mini-project - Essay Example And the equation is as below. In work fields, it is the order of the day that you can work with a person and end up being paid very little as compared to what he/she is getting at the end of the pay period (Mailu, S 2000). This is caused by many factors but majority tend to thing that, the level of education, sex, work experience, his/her race, the occupation one is in, the sector, the marital status, where one lives and whether one is a member of the union, has a lot to do with the remuneration package one gets. In view of this, the above project was carried out to determine whether this is true and if not what really matters in such situations. Data was collected and analyzed according to Jacob, C (1998). The way a certain group is represented in the sample determines a lot how that groups will behave and also how their findings will be generalized (Agnes, W 2002). In this case regression analysis is used to determine if the coefficients used are significant or not. According to Smith (2000), regression tells more of how a certain factor contributes towards the other. From tables 1-5 above, the whites earn a bit high than the other races although the difference in wage is not significant. The same applies to the gender; males are a bit high in wage than the females with a difference of 2.11 which is statistically different. Union members earn better than their counterparts who are not union members and have a significant difference of 2.16. In the different job categories, those working in management earn better followed by those that are professionals although the difference is not statistically significant. However, management and professional earn differently from the others categories and the various mean differences are statistically different at 95% confidence level. Clerical jobs are the poorly paid. Experience contributes much as well as the level of education one has attained. Furthers, those that have spend many years in

Las Meninas and Allegory of Painting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Las Meninas and Allegory of Painting - Essay Example The essay "Las Meninas and Allegory of Painting" compares Diego Velasquez's 'Las Meninas' and Jan Vermeer's 'The Allegory of Painting'. These two paintings are clearly Baroque art pieces. Las Meninas was made on 1656 and The Allegory of Painting was made on 1666 to 1668. Their subjects are slices of life, one in the castle and one in a non-specific room. Both paintings use light and shadow very well, providing depth and dimension to both paintings. Both evoke the same feelings of the viewer being in the room with the subjects, as the paintings are all open. However, they are also indifferent at the same time. They both have the element of mystery. They also feature the painter character in the painting. In Las Meninas, it is clearly identified that that character was Velazquez but in The Allegory of Painting, the painter is turned back, so positive identification of the subject is impossible. Both paintings tackle everyday life. In Las Meninas, it features the scene in the castle. Ac cording to various literature, it is in a room of the palace of King Philip IV of Spain. There are many characters in it, like the young Princess Infanta Margarita Teresa together with her maids of honor, chaperone, bodyguard and two dwarfs. However, there is the mirror element at the back wall of the room reflecting the images of the King and Queen of Spain. That implies that the painter is painting the King and Queen, and that the King and Queen are in the place of the viewer, out of the painted space.

The diversity of the leisure industry

The diversity of the leisure industry 1.0 Introduction For many people leisure to them might mean when one has free time or when one is unoccupied with duties or responsibilities. For some, leisure could be a luxury for their free time; this could be because of a number of reasons such as, they could be a workaholic where they work compulsively at the expense of their activities or they could be people who live in complex societies such as in robust towns and cities. For some, leisure could be a necessity because they believe in proper balance of social and family life. For some others, leisure to them might mean to just socialize and communicate with one another. For example going to the cinema with your friends is considered a leisure activity, but some people believe that leisure is all mainly active sports such indoor football or squash which means they all have their own definition on leisure. This would suggest that people define leisure on different terms depending on how their backgrounds are and other key factors such as culture, gender, age, economic status and social class. Leisure is defined as: ‘Time at ones command, free from engagement; convenient opportunity; hence, convenience; ease. (BrainyMedia, 2009) The Leisure industry has much diversity such as various activities and the many elements of it such as race/ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation and ability/disability. Some activities would be linked to a cultural and linguistically diverse background. There is a diverse range of activities available for your unoccupied time such as, your hobbies like gardening, shopping, spectators sport, holidays and gambling. There are three main types of leisure, active, passive and home based. All three include many diverse activities such as, hiking, home entertainment or even just reading could be considered as a leisure activity. Many school students can benefit from the diverse leisure pursuits because they get offered a range of after school clubs making leisure activities more participle and recreational. 1.1 Active leisure activities There are many active pursuits that we can take part in. Active pursuits can be high impact or low impact activities. Low impact activities like walking and yoga do not expend high levels of energy, usually have little contact or competition and does not require much equipment. In the other side there are high impact activities such as wrestling and rugby, which are competitive sports that require quite a fair amount of equipments. Active Pursuits: Indoor Badminton, basketball, squash, volleyball, athletics, gymnastics, hockey, bowling and boxing. Outdoor – Motocross, jogging, beach volleyball, golf, canoeing, cycling, skiing, snowboarding, rowing, sailing and handball Team- Rugby, water polo, netball, American football, cricket, baseball, soccer, rallying and korfball. Individuals Surfing, archery, triathlon, canoeing, barrel racing, snooker and pool. Countryside – Walking, mountain biking, sailing, hiking, cross country and climbing Urban Skateboarding, free running, wakeboarding, ultimate, parkour and BMX They are described as ‘active leisure because it requires some level of movement and skill for that particular sport. Some because of its competitiveness or some because of its high energy level input towards the sport. For it to be a high energy sport, the activity has to initiate a higher heart rate than normal, for example skiing because it involves a lot of focus, awareness and adrenaline rushes. Some sports such as sky diving, bungee jumping and base jumping are considered high impact active pursuits because it exerts high levels of adrenaline and elevates heart rates to exceedingly high levels. Those types of pursuits require a lot of motivation and some skills. Whether its for competition or for thrills and excitements they all share a common characteristic: theyre all dynamic; require high levels of motivation and some degree of skills; and are usually practiced outside our homes with other people. The benefits with all active pursuits are that it keeps us fit and healthy (physically and psychologically), it improves our general health, it helps us meet new people (psychologically and socially) and it can increase our poise and self-esteem (psychologically). Active Leisure activities however old we are and what motivation or skills we have, there is an active leisure pursuit to suit all our needs. The range of active pursuits is very diverse, from boxing to playing hockey and even to visit theme parks is considered as an active leisure pursuit, because they all involve some type active motion at high levels. Some activities dont even require much energy outputs such as chess and painting. The reason they are considered as active leisure activities is because they both require a substantial amount of mental effort and so cannot be considered as passive activities. Definition: â€Å"engaged in action; characterized by energetic work, participation, etc.; busy: an active life, being in a state of existence, progress, or motion: active hostilities†. (Dictionery, 2002) 1.2 Passive leisure activities Passive activities are as diverse as active pursuits; they both share similar amounts of motivation and skills. Passive activities mainly benefit a persons mental health; it is most commonly related to a source of relaxation or to unwind from daily stress. In terms of health, passive pursuits dont offer as many benefits as active pursuits but it is ideally reflected on the persons age, lifestyle and interests. Passive pursuits: Shopping ‘UK and Mintels research reveals that 84% of the UKs adult population enjoy shopping/browsing for goods in person, while 33%, or 60% of Internet users, enjoy shopping or browsing for goods online.(Mintel, 2009) The UK is arguably one of the most sophisticated retail environments in the whole of Europe. This data also states how popular shopping as a passive leisure activity really is among Great Britains population. Cinema Age has no relative effect on visiting cinemas as a passive activity but there have been many new releases of universal and PG movies for young people. There is a steady increase in the amount of young people attending cinemas but the large majority of visitors are still the adult group, as shown in figure 1. There are many reasons why there are a larger majority of adults over young people in cinemas. One because of age limits for certain films, where only the adults can benefit from this and not the young. Two because of the amount of free time the adults have against a stricter curfew for the young. Or thirdly because the adults have more spending ability than most young people. Eating out This relates to night time entertainments such as going to the pub and clubbing. The reason why people eat out more is because its a lot less stress to cook yourself, a lot cheaper and its more relaxing to order from a menu rather than have to get up and self serve again and again. This graph shows that people with a high income salary can buy more amounts of pizza than the other groups. The people with a low income salary prefer to have fish and chips over the rest, most probably because its cheaper to buy or it could be their pattern of food choice (interests). The people with an average salary buy more fish and chips than the other groups and have the occasional hamburgers and pizza. Passive leisure activities are mostly based on your free time and what you do with it. This means the person is away from any type of work or duties/responsibilities. Passive pursuits dont exert or expand your physical or mental energy. Most of our pursuits tend to reflect on our age, lifestyle, interests and spending power. An example would be figure 2 where it shows clearly how it affects peoples choices. Definition: ‘not participating readily or actively; inactive:being the object of action rather than causing action (opposed to ACTIVE);inert or quiescent.(Dictionery, Passive, 2002) 1.3 Home-based leisure pursuits Home-based leisure pursuits arent as diverse or dynamic as active or passive pursuits because youre confined to your home with fewer contacts to socialize with. The more money spent indoors the better the home entertainment but this would depend on the persons lifestyle, age, interests and income value. There has recently been a government initiative to get the UK ready for a digital revolution, so home-based leisure pursuits can increase in popularity because with the new additions people can expect changes in picture quality, variety, sound quality and the availability of channels. There are four main categories for home-based leisure and they are: Reading – There are many varieties of texts which anyone could read such as newspapers, magazines, novels, documents and short stories. There are many people who read these for their home-based pursuit. Reading has many benefits, for example it can develop a persons literacy skills and make the person more confident (psychologically). Reading is typically an individual activity, where if you prefer to read out loud than you relate to a form of intrapersonal communication. Reading can be done almost anywhere but its preferable to read at home than somewhere else, also people can read books and other texts online for free so there are more benefits by saving money If someone does read through the internet. House and garden – There are more and more people participating in improving their homes, mainly because of popular DIY related TV shows and magazines. This has lead to an increase in homes being developed for profitable use. The DIY market hasnt been recovering much with all servicing for the mortgage and securing employment it seems to be difficult for the DIY market to progress. Gardening is an activity which is popular amongst older age groups and is increasing in popularity. The increase in the demographic population could be one of the reasons why gardening has had its boost in participants. Home Entertainment There has been many new innovations in home technology such as with cable, digital, satellite TV, Blue ray players, DVDs and internet TV . The biggest increase in the market has to be with computers and computer games. Hobbies and past times There has been a recent trend to fuse traditional and modern concepts. Electronic toys are particularly popular, and keeping a pet as a hobby is ever popular despite increasing pet-care costs. They are described as home-based pursuits because they all involve the use of the persons home in one way or another. Whether its gardening, DIY or playing computer games it is directly stated as home-based leisure because its activities you participate in, while at home. 1.4 Regional variation Regional variations have impacts on certain types of sports or leisure activities. For example mountaineering would be more popular in Scotland rather than in rural parts of England and Wales. With variations come differences in sports, such as Gaelic football may be a local favourite in some parts of Ireland but in some other regions they may prefer flat green bowling. Some reasons for the difference could be because, various regions might have a high elderly age average and so prefer flat green bowling over other activities or it may be because Gaelic football might not be part of their history or culture, so it would not be passed down from generation to generation. Age and athleticism isnt the main factor in regional variations. There are many criterias which limit the popularity and importance of an activity in various regions. For example weather, skiing is far more popular in places like France and Sweden rather than in Great Britain mainly because the climate in Great Britain always changes, so snow can never be guaranteed. While places in France and Sweden can guarantee snow most of the year round. Equivalent with sailing, Great Britain would have a much higher participation rate in sailing compared to other countries such as Netherlands or Belgium because Great Britains coastline is around ‘12429 km'(Wikipedia, 2007) long and Netherlands is estimated to be about ‘451 km (Answer, 2008). Some regional variations could occur because of a lack of space. People who live in urban areas have to find other activities which best suit their lifestyles, such as indoor activities (where space is open and not limited) Parkour, free running and other urban activities. Participation rates are also affected by regional variations because people who live in built up areas are less likely to take up an active activity than other regions. ‘There are surprisingly wide variations in levels of participation. For example, sports participation rates in Moray are nearly twice those of Glasgow.(Sports Scotland, 2006) Landscape is also an important factor in regional variations. Hiking and mountain climbing would be much more popular in Scotland rather than in England because Scotland has many mountains and wilderness/countryside whilst England lack the mountains and wilderness. Demographic population levels also affect regional variations because countries with a high population level will take part in more well known sports such as rugby or football. Whilst countries with less populated people would prefer their home sports rather than most common ones such as bandy in Poland. 1.5 Summary The diversity of the leisure industry ranges from many criterias such as skydiving to spectator sports to working out to even just loving cars. It is one of the most commonly used aspects in our lives because it plays a key role in the economy, business, marketing and communities across the UK and Europe. This chart below shows the diversity and range of the leisure industry. 1.6 Scale of the industry The scale of the leisure industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the UK and Europe. A good example of this criterion is the new development of Camberly town centre. The following data shows the scale of the Atrium, its developments, its participation rates and its plans for housing and employment. Original Development: The development of Camberley as an original development only had one shopping centre (The Mall) which is built around the Main Square in the late 1980s. The Mall hosts a large variety of high street shops such as H.Samuel, Argos, Primark, House of Fraser and many more. These shops today really have anchored the development of Camberley towards higher grounds for a much more efficient and entertain able Camberley. Multiplier effect stage 1: There was much debate and delays (plans having been discussed for over half a decade) on the construction of ‘The Atrium which started in May 2006. The new development includes ‘residential, leisure and retail facilities, as well as a 900 space car park. There are 217 design-led apartments divided into three areas within the complex (named Centro, Aspect and Courtyard). (Wikipedia, 2008) Multiplier effect stage 2: Month (2009) Unique Individuals Jan 42,774 Feb 47,250 Mar 45,997 Apr 42,971 May 39,756 Jun 40,124 Jul 39,451 Aug 38,500 After the development of ‘The Atrium many associated leisure venues were built soon after. These include Nandos, Frank and Bennies, Bella Italia, Starbucks and a Vue cinema theatre. Transport to the new attraction sites was predominantly important in the planning stages so they decided to build a convenient bus stop right outside the site for easier access to ‘The Atrium, ‘The Mall and the residential area. For this to happen there needed to be a new road built which would allow easier access for all convenient transport. (Surrey Heath Borough Council Leading for tommorow, 2009) The graph above shows the number of unique individuals who enter ‘The Atrium each month. The average amount of people who do enter ‘The Atrium is 36,731. The graph also shows that there were more people visiting ‘The Atrium in the earlier months from January towards April. Multiplier Effect Stage 3: There are also many sports facilities (old and new) around ‘The Atrium such as Windlesham Golf Course, Vital club, Fitness First Camberley, Golds Gym and many more. ‘The Atrium has many leisure facilities which include pool tables, arcade, bowling, bars and a lounge with monitors. Housing and Employment plans: Below are the set plans for the development of housing and employment in the Camberley district. It explains the availability of affordable accommodation for residents and its future plans. The employment development will include new offices, shopping facilities and some key schemes. 2 bedroom flats will be sold for around  £216,950 with kitchen en suite and outside parking. ‘The provision of residential units as part of mixed use development will be encouraged throughout much of the town centre. This will enable the current very low levels of residential accommodation within the Centre to be increased thereby enhancing its vitality and making it a more sustainable location. Higher density accommodation with an affordable element will be the most appropriate form of residential. Around 500 dwellings could be built up to 2026 around the town centre. This includes the 217 dwelling currently being built as part of The Atrium. Source: (Surrey Heath Borough Council Leading for tommorow, 2009) ‘New employment development such as offices will be allowed. The Town Centre needs to keep most of its offices its a good location for employment floor space being close to transport and shopping facilities. There is a high vacancy rate in the stock of offices in the Town Centre. For this reason, the loss of some offices will be allowed where it helps achieve some key schemes in the Town Centre. Source: (Surrey Heath Borough Council Leading for tommorow, 2009) Recent Economy: The graph below shows the properties in Camberley sold per month. As seen on the graph the most properties that were sold were the new residential flats near The Atrium, from May to July 06 the properties sold were at their highest, peaking at more than 100 flats sold in a space of two months. That would average about 2 flats sold a day. So as soon when The Atrium opened with the apartments the pattern in property sales rose significantly to a much higher level. Source: (Globrix Corporation, 2009) So the economical value for Camberley Town is at a high rate with new jobs being created and more leisure activities available and new apartments being built, The Atrium should show a significant rise in profit in a few years time, even when the recession hits hardest. 1.7 Importance of the industry Participation rates for the teen and adult groups Participation: Gymnastics ‘There has been a significant increase (from 0.1% to 0.2%) of 30,000 gymnastics participants between 2005/6 and 2007/8. 89,000 adults (age 16 and over) have participated in gymnastics at least once a week. Male participation has also increased from 0.07% in Active People Survey 1 to 0.10%. Overall participation in gymnastics has increased in England; there has also been a statistically significant increase in the South East, South West and West Midlands regions. Participation: Badminton ‘Participation in badminton has increased among the non white population from 1.7% to 2.1%, an increase of 25,000 participants. There has been no statistically significant change in participation within gender or disability sub groups such as the age groups 16-19, 20-24 and 25-29. Participation – once in the last four weeks ‘940,000 adults have participated in badminton at least once in the last four weeks. This represents 2.3% of the adult population, and there has been no statistically significant change in participation between 2005/6 and 2007/8. (Sport England Government, 2008) There has been no significant statistical change in badminton participation in any of the English regions recently, reflected by the static participation rates at a national level. Active Lifestyle: Sport England plan to encourage an active lifestyle by using sport and recreation as one of the building blocks of planning and delivery for sustainable and healthier communities. They Identify opportunities for delivering and enhanced quality of life for communities, in the short, medium and longer term. ‘Sport England seeks to engage with planners at regional and local levels to help ensure that the interests of sport and active recreation are well represented actively promoted and appropriately developed in the interests of all. (Sport England Government, 2009) Themes for Spatial Planning Outcomes of Change for Sport and Active Recreation Environmental sustainability Community safety Local economic viability Improving quality of life and well-being Health improvement Raising standards in schools Increasing participation on sport and active recreation Improving levels of performance Widening access Improving health and well-being Stronger and safer communities Improving education Benefiting the economy (Sport England Government, 2008-2009) Other benefits: Other benefits which could lead to inspiration and encouragement is different strategies such as respect of community, crime/disorder reduction, neighbourhood renewal strategies and corporate plans. Environmental Sustainability – sport and recreation can contribute to the sustainable use of natural resources. Community Safety – sport can help to directly reduce social neglect and participation. Quality of Life and Well-Being – physical activity contributes to peoples experience of well-being and sense of partnership with their surroundings. Health Improvement – physical activity should be a natural part of everyday life. Raising Standards in Schools – the foundations of life-long health and sporting excellence lie in early opportunities for taking part in sport and active leisure.