Leisure and Leadership

      Observations and research findings indicate that people in advanced industrial societies are increasingly concerned with opportunities for leisure and what they can do in their leisure time. The importance people attach to paid holidays and the rapid development of services for mass entertainment and recreation are signs of this increasing concern.

      The term "quality of life" is difficult to define. It covers a very wide scope such as living environment, health, employment, food, family life, friends, education, material possessions, leisure and recreation, and so on. Generally speaking, the quality of life, especially as seen by the individual, is meaningful in terms of the degree to which these various areas of life are available or provide satisfaction to the individual.

      As activity carried out as one thinks fit during one's spare time, leisure has the following functions: relaxation, recreation and entertainment, and personal development. The importance of thesevaries according to the nature of one's job and one's life-style. Thus, people who need to exert much energy in their work will find relaxation most desirable in leisure. Those with a better education and in professional occupations may tend more to seek recreation and personal development (e.g., cultivation of skills and hobbies) in leisure.

      The specific use of leisure varies from individual to individual. Even the same leisure activity may be used differently by different individuals. Thus, the following are possible uses of television watching, a popular leisure activity: a change of experience to provide "escape" from the stress and strain of work; to learn more about what is happening in one's environment; to provide an opportunity for understanding oneself by comparing other people抯 life experiences as portrayed in the programmes.

      In an urban society in which highly structured, fast-paced and stressful work looms large in life, experiences of a different nature, be it television watching or bird-watching, can lead to a self-renewal and a more "balanced" way of life.

      Since leisure is basically self-determined, one is able to take to one's interests and preferences and get involved in an activity in ways that will bring enjoyment and satisfaction.

      Our likes and dislikes, tastes and preferences that underlie our choices of such activities as reading books, going to the cinema, camping, or certain cultural pursuits, are all related to social contexts and learning experiences. We acquire interests in a variety of things and subjects from our families, schools, jobs, and the mass media. Basically, such attitudes amount to a recognition that leisure is an important area of life and a belief that leisure can and should be put to good use.

      Professional workers in recreation services, too, will find that to impart positive leisure attitudes to the general public is essential for motivating them to use their leisure in creative and satisfying ways. Hence, it can be argued that the people with whom we come into contact in these various contexts are all likely to have exerted some influence in shaping our attitudes, interests and even skills relevant to how we handle leisure. Influence of this kind is a form of leadership.

      Parents, teachers in schools, work associates and communicators in or using the mass media are all capable of arousing our potential interests. For example, the degree to which and the ways in which a school encourages participation in games, sports and cultural pursuits are likely to contribute to the shaping of leisure attitudes on the part of the students.

      Schools usually set as their educational objective the attainment of a balanced development of the person. The more seriously this is sought, the more likely positive attitudes towards leisure as well as academic work will be encouraged.

     

      观察与研究结果显示，生活在高度发达的工业社会中的人们越来越关心休闲的机会和休闲时做什么。这种关心体现在人们对带工资休假的重视上和面向大众的娱乐休闲业的迅猛发展上。

      “生活质量”一语不好下定义，因为它的涵盖面太广，如生活环境、健康、职业、食物、家庭生活、友谊、教育、物质财产、休闲和消遣等等。一般地说，生活质量，特别是在个人看来，其意义是由在多大程度上这些不同的生活领域可以被个人享受或可以使个人满意来衡量的。

      休闲是在个人空闲时间进行的个人认为适宜的活动，它有以下作用：放松、休闲和娱乐以及个人的自我发展。这些作用的重要程度是因个人工作的性质和生活方式而异的。所以，工作中消耗体力的人觉得休闲的最佳方式是放松放松。那些受过高等教育、从事专门职业的人更倾向于休闲时消遣和自我发展(如培养技能和爱好)。

      休闲时间的利用因人而异。即使同样的休闲活动不同的人也有不同的玩法。故而，看电视这种普遍的休闲方式有以下几种可能的用途：变换一下体验来“逃脱”工作带来的压力和紧张情绪；了解一下自己周围所发生的事情；通过电视节目了解别人的生活体会，为了解自身的情况提供机会。

      在城市社会中，结构严密、步调迅速、充满压力的工作笼罩着人们的生活，某种不同性质的经历，不管是看电视还是看鸟，都能导致自我更新和一种“平衡”的生活方式。

      由于休闲基本上是自己决定的事，个人就可以培养自己的兴趣和爱好，并以能为自己带来享受和满足的方式来从事某项活动。我们的喜恶、品味和偏爱使我们选择去读书、去看电影、去野营还是去来点文化求索的依据。好与不好、品味与偏爱都和社会环境和学习经历有关。我们从家庭、学校、工作岗位和传媒中获得对许多事物的兴趣。从根本上讲，这些态度逐渐发展成一种认识：休闲是生活的重要方面；同时也形成一种观念；休闲能够也应该过得有意义。

      从事娱乐业的专业工作者也发现，使公众具有积极的态度对待休闲对促使他们以创造性的满意方式利用闲暇时间十分必要。可以说，我们在各种各样的场合下接触的人，都有可能对形成我们的休闲态度、我们的兴趣、甚至是我们利用休闲的技巧起到一定的影响。这种影响就是一种引导。

      父母、学校的教师、同事和通过或使用大众传播工具的传播工作者都能激发我们潜在的兴趣。例如，学校在多大程度上采用什么方式鼓励学生参加游戏、体育和文娱活动，就可能对学生的休闲态度的形成有一定的作用。

      学校一般把教育的目标定为实现一个人的全面发展。越是认真地坚持这个目标，就越是能够促进学校的教学活动，也就越能鼓励积极的休闲态度。 

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