Serious Leisure and Place Attachment: A Case Study of Amateur Athletes in Rural Oklahoma

Abstract The purposes of this study were to investigate serious leisure characteristics as personal traits while examining amateur athletes’ leisure pursuits associated with a specific place where they enjoy their leisure time and to examine which characteristics of serious leisure enhance or reduce the person-place relationship for rural amateur athletes. Data were obtained from on-site and self-report surveys given to amateur softball players enrolled in the community-based adult programs of the City of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was employed to investigate the interrelationship between six qualities of serious leisure and three dimensions of place attachment. The result showed that amateur athletes’ systematic pursuit has significant correlation with the place where they enjoy their chosen leisure activity, and all the serious leisure characteristics of softball players positively enhance the person-place relationship. The strong identification and unique ethos of serious leisure are two of the strongest indicators reflecting the softball players’ seriousness of their leisure pursuit, and social bonding is the most important element facilitating softball players’ attachment to the field

The relationship between alcohol consumption, academic success, and athletic identity in colligate student-athletes

Upon entering college in the United States, students are exposed to alcohol and, relatedly, the potentially dangerous experiences and effects that come with consuming alcohol. This is especially true for collegiate student-athletes, who have been found to have the highest consumption rate among student groups on campus. The purpose of the study was to understand the relationship between how student-athletes at a focus university, a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, experience alcohol consumption, how their consumption affects their academic grade point average (GPA), and how athletic identity plays a role in their experiences. While the research focuses on this one university, the findings are congruent with similar studies which focused on other colleges and/or the American college experience as a whole. Due to the large number of student-athletes in collegiate athletics, understanding and examining the correlation between alcohol consumption and the effect it has on academic success can be beneficial for multiple entities within a college dynamic. Survey data was collected from current student-athletes at a mid-sized Division I college in the Midwestern region of the United States. From this data, chi-square analysis showed that female student-athletes had statistically higher GPA than males, and a substantial sum of overall participants binge-drank during their last drinking occasion, and on both game and non-game days. A majority of respondents identify more with being a full-time athlete than being a full-time student. Results provide validity to past research studies, and allow for understanding to why student-athletes are at a higher risk of binge drinking. Practical implications and limitations are noted. Suggestions for future research include a larger sample from a variety of different universities, and understanding motivations between specific sports for academic success and alcohol consumption. Keywords: alcohol consumption, identity, gender, sport, culture, academic

The Relationship between Alcohol Consumption, Academic Success, and Athletic Identity in Collegiate Student-Athletes

Upon entering college, students around the United States are exposed to alcohol and the potentially dangerous experiences and ef­fects that come with consuming alcohol. Whether the individual is a general col­lege student or a college student-athlete, the issues are prevalent. According to the 2014 United States Census, there are ap­proximately 23 million students attending U.S. colleges. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), there are 460,000 student-athletes across the United States (NCAA, 2017). When National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) student-athletes are in­cluded, the overall number then surpasses 500,000. A student-athlete (SA) can be defined as an individual who is enrolled in college classes and also participating in a varsity athletic program on a collegiate level. Therefore, SAs comprise approxi­mately 2 percent of the general student population. Taking into consideration this segment of the student populace (partic­ipants in university-sanctioned athletics), the differences shown between this group and the general student community in regard to consumption of alcohol are significant. Gordner (2014) found that 90% of college students who classified as a SA reported drinking alcohol; that is 8 percentage points higher than the rate for the overall student population. Extensive research has been com­pleted on the topic of collegiate SA and alcohol consumption, and researchers have concluded that college SAs consume a disproportionate amount of alcohol in comparison with their non-athlete peers

Gateway to Outdoors: Partnership and Programming of Outdoor Education Centers in Urban Areas

The purpose of the study is to understand the challenges and opportunities of urban outdoor education centers in partnership and programming. The context for this study involves efforts by all-season outdoor education centers, Outdoor Campus (OC), in two urban areas in South Dakota (SD). Outdoor education scope and social-ecological framework were applied to guide this qualitative study. Semi-structured interview questions were used to interview eight outdoor educators in 2019, including four individuals from each service location composed of three males and five female educators. Qualitative content analysis was applied to identify common themes and essential quotations that emerged from the data analyzed through the interviews. Three main themes emerged: (1) gateway to our outdoor legacy (2) working together for outdoor education, including three sub-themes: formal partnership, programmatic partnership, and finding balance in partnership, (3) challenges as opportunities in outdoor education programs, including two sub-themes: common challenges and evolving process

Identifying Destination Image of Rural Areas: The Case of Brookings, South Dakota

A clear understanding of destination image is crucial for developing effective marketing and positioning strategies. The purpose of the study is to examine the images of Brookings perceived by actual tourists. An online questionnaire was developed and sent to email subscribers of the largest local event center. A total of 344 valid responses were received. Overall tourists had positive perceptions of Brookings as a tourism destination. The study identified six Brookings’ image dimensions, including Outdoor Activities and Natural Scenery, Atmosphere, Tourism Infrastructure, Value for Money and Convenience, Historic Attractions, and College Town Style. The social and cultural environment is the most favored element in Brookings. As a college town, Brookings was differentiated from other rural tourism destinations. It is suggested that the city and the university work in partnership to increase visitation both to the campus and the community. To enhance Brookings’ image, destination marketers should focus on the low-rated image items and incorporate them in destination marketing materials

To Fee or Not to Fee? Satisfaction, Service Quality, and Support of an Entrance Fee of a State Park System

In the past decade, state government appropriation reductions have forced park agencies to seek other sources of revenue to support park operations. To overcome shrinking budgets, many public park agencies embrace private sector business models and investigate customer satisfaction, service quality, and user fee structures. The purpose of this study was to obtain public input regarding service quality, general satisfaction, and experience use history of state park visitation. A total of 382 Oklahoma state park users completed an online survey and were sorted into Pro-Fee (n = 200, 52%) and No-Fee (n = 182, 48%) groups for one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests. The researchers found a significant difference between the two groups on service quality, but not on overall satisfaction or behavioral intention (e.g., revisit, recommending the park). When comparing Pro-Fee and No-Fee groups, researchers found no statistically significant variance in visitors’ demographics, such as gender, education level, and income, whereas the number of years that had passed since the visitors’ first visit showed a significant difference between the groups. The findings of this study provide valuable insight for discussions related to entrance fees and service fees in state park systems

Resident Perceptions of Black Bear Management in South Central Kentucky

The growth and sprawl of the American black bear (Ursus americanus ) population have been observed and monitored in the past two decades, especially in south-central Kentucky. To better manage human-black bear interaction and develop informed policy and best practices, the current study sought to 1) understand south-central Kentucky residents’ current knowledge of and previous experience with black bears, 2) investigate residents’ attitudes toward black bears and regulated hunting in wildlife management; and 3) identify residents’ level of acceptance of various black bear related management actions in south-central Kentucky. From February to April 2017, residents of London and Stearns districts (southeastern regions) of the Daniel Boone National Forest, a black bear habitat, were invited to participate in this study. The results from 139 completed surveys showed that residents lacked sufficient knowledge about black bear populations in the region and received minimal information regarding black bear management efforts. In comparison to education efforts and relocation, regulated black bear hunting could be a cost-effective option to promote responsible use of wildlife resources and black bear population control. This study provided lessons and recommendations for black bear management in south-central Kentucky and may be of utilization for any other wildlife conservation areas

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts