Weather, Timing, and Promotions in Minor League Baseball: An Examination of Attendance in the International League

Understanding the different factors that impact attendance at sporting events is a timely and relevant topic for researchers and practitioners alike. The present study examines the effects of different types of promotions, weather, and selected temporal elements on attendance in Minor League Baseball. Using data for teams participating in the International League during the 2010 season, results from a multiple regression analysis revealed that special events, promotional giveaways, and non-workdays have a positive impact on attendance; while suboptimal weather conditions have a negative impact. These findings contribute to our understanding of the factors that impact attendance in professional baseball and hold useful implications for future research and managerial practice

Trails and Physical Activity: A Review

To provide a synthesis of research on trails and physical activity from the public health, leisure sciences, urban planning, and transportation literatures. Methods: A search of databases was conducted to identify studies published between 1980 and 2008. Results: 52 studies were identified. The majority were cross-sectional (92*%) and published after 1999 (11%). The evidence for the effects of trails on physical activity was mixed among 3 intervention and 5 correlational studies. Correlates of trail use were examined in 13 studies. Several demographic (eg, race, education, income) and environmental factors (eg, land-use mix and distance to trail) were related to trail use. Evidence from 31 descriptive studies identified several facilitators and barriers to trail use. Economic studies (n = 5) examining trails in terms of health or recreational outcomes found trails are cost-effective and produce significant economic benefits. Conclusion: There is a growing btidy of evidence demonstrating important factors that should be considered in promoting trail use, yet the evidence for positive effects of trails on physical activity is limited. Further research is needed to evaluate the effects of trails on physical activity. In addition, trail studies that include children and youth, older adults, and racial and ethnic minorities are a research priority

Accelerometer and GPS Data to Analyze Built Environments and Physical Activity

Purpose: Most built environment studies have quantified characteristics of the areas around participants' homes. However, the environmental exposures for physical activity (PA) are spatially dynamic rather than static. Thus, merged accelerometer and global positioning system (GPS) data were utilized to estimate associations between the built environment and PA among adults. Methods: Participants (N = 142) were recruited on trails in Massachusetts and wore an accelerometer and GPS unit for 1-4 days. Two binary outcomes were created: moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA vs. light PA-to-sedentary); and light-to-vigorous PA (LVPA vs. sedentary). Five built environment variables were created within 50-meter buffers around GPS points: population density, street density, land use mix (LUM), greenness, and walkability index. Generalized linear mixed models were fit to examine associations between environmental variables and both outcomes, adjusting for demographic covariates. Results: Overall, in the fully adjusted models, greenness was positively associated with MVPA and LVPA (odds ratios [ORs] = 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03, 1.30 and 1.25, 95% CI = 1.12, 1.41, respectively). In contrast, street density and LUM were negatively associated with MVPA (ORs = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.67, 0.71 and 0.87, 95% CI = 0.78, 0.97, respectively) and LVPA (ORs = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.77, 0.81 and 0.81, 95% CI = 0.74, 0.90, respectively). Negative associations of population density and walkability with both outcomes reached statistical significance, yet the effect sizes were small. Conclusions: Concurrent monitoring of activity with accelerometers and GPS units allowed us to investigate relationships between objectively measured built environment around GPS points and minute-by-minute PA. Negative relationships between street density and LUM and PA contrast evidence from most built environment studies in adults. However, direct comparisons should be made with caution since most previous studies have focused on spatially fixed buffers around home locations, rather than the precise locations where PA occurs

Outcomes from the Components of an Outward Bound Experience

Means-end theory provides a useful approach for characterizing the relationship among the attributes or components of an experiential education course (the means ), the benefits, or the outcomes associated with these attributes/course components, and the personal values (the ends ) these outcomes help to reinforce for course participants. The purpose of this article is to show how this means-end perspective can enhance our understanding of the outcomes associated with outdoor adventure programming. A self-administered questionnaire designed to identify the linkages among program attributes (i.e., course components), course outcomes, and personal values was administered to a sample of 216 Outward Bound course participants. Analysis of the data provided useful insights into the outcomes associated with Outward Bound course experiences and with specific course components. The results can assist experiential educators in linking outdoor adventure course outcomes to course components, and in marketing course programs to potential clients

An Employee Perspective of Service in an Outdoor Education Organization: A Means-End Study

This research examined staff perceptions of the outcomes and values of service in an outdoor education organization through an approach known as means-end analysis. Means-end analysis provides a framework to identify and explore the interrelationships among the important attributes, consequences (i.e., benefits and outcomes), and values of a product or service (Gutman, 1982; Klenosky, Gengler, & Mulvey, 1993). Typically, the means-end approach bas focused on decision-making behavior of consumers. More recent applications have used the approach to understand the outcomes associated with ropes course programming (Goldenberg, Klenosky, O\u27Leary, & Templin, 2000) and the components of an Outward Bound experience (Goldenberg, McAvoy, & Klenosky, 2005). The present study expands means-end research by applying the approach to examine perceptions of the service component of Outward Bound\u27 s outdoor education programs. Service projects have been one of the key foundations of the Outward Bound organization; and these projects have become increasingly recognized as key vehicles to augment learning experiences in a variety of outdoor education and general education settings. Given the limited amount of research that has been conducted in this area, the present study examines perceptions of the role and value of service programming among staff members of the Outward Bound organization. The paper begins by providing an overview of the role of service in Outward Bound, the value of service-learning in general, and the key ideas underlying means-­end analysis. Next we present the methodology and results of our empirical study. Finally, we conclude the paper by discussing the contribution of the study results for practice and future research efforts

Accelerometer and GPS Analysis of Trail Use and Associations With Physical Activity

Background: Concurrent use of accelerometers and global positioning system (GPS) data can be used to quantify physical activity (PA) occurring on trails. This study examined associations of trail use with PA and sedentary behavior (SB) and quantified on trail PA using a combination of accelerometer and GPS data. Methods: Adults (N = 142) wore accelerometer and GPS units for 1–4 days. Trail use was defined as a minimum of 2 consecutive minutes occurring on a trail, based on GPS data. We examined associations between trail use and PA and SB. On trail minutes of light-intensity, moderate-intensity, and vigorous-intensity PA, and SB were quantified in 2 ways, using accelerometer counts only and with a combination of GPS speed and accelerometer data. Results: Trail use was positively associated with total PA, moderate-intensity PA, and light-intensity PA (P < .05). On trail vigorous-intensity PA minutes were 346% higher when classified with the combination versus accelerometer only. Light-intensity PA, moderate-intensity PA, and SB minutes were 15%, 91%, and 85% lower with the combination, respectively. Conclusions: Adult trail users accumulated more PA on trail use days than on nontrail use days, indicating the importance of these facilities for supporting regular PA. The combination of GPS and accelerometer data for quantifying on trail activity may be more accurate than accelerometer data alone and is useful for classifying intensity of activities such as bicycling