John Tower

A recurring theme has emerged from past ANZALS (Australia and
New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies) Conferences’
keynote presentations concerning the status of leisure studies
from a teaching and research perspective. While this broad
discussion has been raised, little is formally known about the
current status of leisure studies in Australian and New Zealand
universities. The ANZALS Board initiated a project in 2015 to gain
insights into this topic. The purpose of the project was to
document issues about leisure studies in Australian and New
Zealand universities and to explore strategies that could assist
ANZALS to promote leisure studies across various sectors. This
initiative sought feedback from the ANZALS Patron organisations
as well as members via a workshop conducted at the 2015
ANZALS Conference. Outcomes from the project have identified
leisure studies as a diverse and disparate field of study. Leisure
studies is no longer a centralised field within Australian and New
Zealand universities. Instead, leisure studies have become
divergent and focused on the elements within leisure such as
recreation, sport, tourism and events, as well as across domains
such as management and health. The project outcomes indicate
the need for organisations such as ANZALS to develop and
maintain collaborative networks with a variety of stakeholders,
both within the tertiary sector as well as amongst practitioners in
various industry sectors. There is also a need for ANZALS and
kindred organisations to recognise and acknowledge the past and
ensure its future by examining how leisure studies can be defined
for application in a realm of related fields of study.

Social capital’s measurement has been limited and an effective scale is needed. This research employed focus groups and interviews and a panel of experts to provide understanding and items for a social capital scale in sport and recreation setting. After a pilot study the Club Social Capital Scale (CSCS) was completed by 1,079 members of sport and recreation clubs. This 42-item scale included the factors trust, friendship, acceptance, reciprocity, norms, and governance. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 20-item four component (governance, norms, friendship-acceptance, and trust-reciprocity) CSCS. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the potential four or five factor model and the hierarchical structure. The CSCS is the first psychometrically developed instrument to measure the factors underlying social capital rather than its outcomes. It can inform policy makers or sport and recreation administrators to establish baseline social capital in their organization and the efficacy of interventions or changes in policy.

ABSTRACT Certain constructs influence relationships within community organizations and the not-for-profit sport sector. This qualitative study identified influences on relationships and determinants of successful and unsuccessful partnerships and determined the application of 28 constructs derived from literature on relationship marketing, education partnerships, and health and community service partnerships. Results of interviews with 15 personnel from Australian sport, education, and health and community service agencies indicated that partnerships achieve goals that the individual partners could not achieve individually, foster innovation, and share knowledge and expertise. A key feature of successful relationships is complementary expertise and knowledge. Factors contributing to an unsuccessful relationship include poor communication, incompatible management styles, lack of commitment (including time), staff turnover, and lack of satisfaction. Key constructs that influence relationships are appropriate partners, commitment, communication, cultural/management style, funding/resource allocation, and satisfaction. This study also identified the need for community agencies to make conscious effort to manage their relationships. Not-for-profit sport organizations did not practice relationship management and tended to take the development of their relationships for granted. Focusing on the constructs that influence relationships can assist sport managers to derive more positive outcomes from their relationships

A recurring theme has emerged from past ANZALS (Australia and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies) Conferences' keynote presentations concerning the status of leisure studies from a teaching and research perspective. While this broad discussion has been raised, little is formally known about the current status of leisure studies in Australian and New Zealand universities. The ANZALS Board initiated a project in 2015 to gain insights into this topic. The purpose of the project was to document issues about leisure studies in Australian and New Zealand universities and to explore strategies that could assist ANZALS to promote leisure studies across various sectors. This initiative sought feedback from the ANZALS Patron organisations as well as members via a workshop conducted at the 2015 ANZALS Conference. Outcomes from the project have identified leisure studies as a diverse and disparate field of study. Leisure studies is no longer a centralised field within Australian and New Zealand universities. Instead, leisure studies have become divergent and focused on the elements within leisure such as recreation, sport, tourism and events, as well as across domains such as management and health. The project outcomes indicate the need for organisations such as ANZALS to develop and maintain collaborative networks with a variety of stakeholders, both within the tertiary sector as well as amongst practitioners in various industry sectors. There is also a need for ANZALS and kindred organisations to recognise and acknowledge the past and ensure its future by examining how leisure studies can be defined for application in a realm of related fields of study.