Refelection: Are we an island?

Relating the clip from ‘About a Boy’ your own experience, do you agree with the statement “no man is an island,” and why or why not? Do you feel that this notion is applicable to the way you live you day-to-day life?  Think about the times where you have acted as your own island- did you find it fulfilling or lacking?

I don't think that people can have a full and happy life as an island but that it is possible to feel like one is and island.  I learned a long time ago to relay on myself and that things can change and you can be hurt if you relay on others to much.  This weekend I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with some family (my mom, aunt and cousin).  These are family members that I do not get to see very often and never in my environment (ie, my home).  It reminded me of the fact at even though I and happy in my life I need/miss having that family connection on a regular biases.  Now this is not coming out of not seeing family members for an extended period of time because 2 weeks ago I was just with 2 other aunts and a different cousin but it was centered around a family event and it had a much different feel.  While both situations were good but very different, and reminded me that you do need many different types of relationships, especially in your family, to round out your life.  

Post-it: Social Processes of Aging and Old Age Ch. 5 Emergence of Social Theories of Old Age by Brown

• Active theory
• inactivity is related to low levers of happiness, little sense of usefulness, and a inadequate adjustment to life in general 
• popular assumption, influenced a major social policy effort
  
• senor centers established to provide more activity
• Disengagement theory
• disagreement with active theory
• as people age most basic social psychological need changes from active involvement to inactive contemplation about meaning of life in the face of impending death
• condition of U.S.  abnormal other countries had different outcomes due to cultural characteristics
• 2 other countries were studied
• Yugoslavia 
• India
• Loss of major life roles theory
• disengagement was a form of behavior imposed upon the aged as a consequence of societal goals in which older citizens were systematically and abruptly denied the part.
• severe loss of life satisfaction (example, forced retirement)
• Continuity theory
• personality types to explain weather or not disengagement was part of individuals old-age experience
• Socially disruptive events theory
• disengagement was related to number of events (loss of spouse/physical capacity, etc.) that tend to severely disruptive of elderly people's life
• Reconstruction theory
• break down of syndrome model of mental illness to explain their view of the situation of age in modern society
• to reverse effects:
• substantially improving the social series offered to the aged
• teaching them how to have better internal control and greater self-confidence
• redefining the importance of work in society 
• focused on role changing rather then role loss
• Age stratification theory
• explaining whatever forms and levels of inequity might exist between young and old in given societies
• inequality of aged at any given time and cultural situations depends upon:
• typical life course experiences, due mostly to the physical and mental changes that take place
• historically based experiences they have part of the age cohort to which they belong
• Modernization theory
• old age basically negate experience was being defined and treated not just as a culturally bound phenomenon, but as universally applicable
• Cross-cultural application, 4 "most salient aspects of modernization with reference to aging"
• development of health technology
• economic modernization or development
• urbanization
• formalized education

Questions:
How do you feel seinors are treated in old age?
Do you hope it is different when you are at that stage?  Why or why not?

Post it: 21st Century Leisure: Ch 16 Popular Culture and Mass Media by Freysinger & Kelly

• What is popular culture?
• Popular suggests lots of people like it
• Mass denotes use by most of the population as distinct from special minories
• Popular culture may not last through the centuries, but it is what most people are doing now.
• Mass culture came with the rise of cities and industrialization
• Popular culture is not age specific is divided into groups (children, youth, adult singles, parents, older adults, etc.
• Print Media
• Publishing
• reading is not a growing industry
• growth market seems to be specialized publications bases on interest in particular leisure actives
• books are more accessible (drug store, book store, airports, etc.)
• newspapers declining in readership, many publications combined, not many people read full newspapers
• Visual Media
• TV
• watching TV is listed as most people's #1 leisure activity
  
• amount of TV watched decreases with education level and income
• large amount of time spent "watching" TV is actually spent doing other things while TV is on as background noise
• Motion pictures
• primary domestic market, secondary market in theaters around the world, aftermarket very important
• movie theater attendance has going down by 65% since WWII because of TV
• Auditory Media: Popular Music
• Music very portable
• Largest market is under 25 yrs old
• Many buyers cross music styles
• Popular Culture, Taste, and Social Identity
• Supply is a huge asset
• Markets are finely segmented and marketed very specificaly

Reflection: Time

At this point in my life I have a very free schedule unlike in the past.  Over the past few days this has been my schedule:

Friday
Work 8am-4pm
Shopping/Relaxing 4-6:30pm
Movie with friend 7-9:30pm
Weekend Walkers 10:30pm-1am

Saturday
Meet bus at 7am
Deerfield Fair 8am-4pm
Wedding 6-10pm

Sunday
Housework in morning
Homework midday

Questions:
Does your schedule account for all of your time?
Nope, it does not.  I tend to just schedule the time sensitive actives.

Did you schedule free time?
I only tend to schedule my free time when I am arranging actives with other people.

In my personal life I am not currently feeling any time crunching for activities.  The current limitations I have had over the past few years has had to do with finances, availability of resources, and people to do it with.  When I had a more full schedule say when I was in college, working 2 jobs, taking 15 credit hours, holding positions in the sorority and dating a guy long distance I felt much more pressure to ensure that I had down time.  When I started to work full time it took the majority of my energy (much more then I was expecting) and my free time was spent recuperating and spending time with my family. 

Now I enjoy not feeling like I have to go do things in my free time.  If I feel like going for a drive then I go, if I want to go see a movie then I just go and see if a movie that I want to see is showing soon and kill time window shopping while I wait it to start.  For for me, enjoying my free time with minimal commitments is how I schedule for it.     

Post it: Time and Leisure Decisions by June Cotte and S. Ratneshwar

• Timestyle and Leisure Choice
• timestyle- the customary manner in which one perceives and thinks about time
• psychological research on perception of time still mainly compare to "clock" time
• Phenomenologists view time as a mental construction having only subjective meaning

• The 4 Dimensions of Timestyle
• Social Orientation- "time for me" or "time with/for others"
  
• Temporal Orientation- past, present or future
  
• Planning Orientation- time management and planning
• analytic, plan minute by minute
• holistic, spontaneous, think of time in larger chucks
  
• Polychronic Orientations- multi-taskers or single takers
  
• Category Structure for Leisure Time
• Taxonomic-categories  such as trees or birds
  
• Goal-derived- categories such as things to take on a camping trip
  
• Categorization of a Unit of Leisure Time
• Planned leisure time vs windfall of leisure time
• Additional temporal characteristics such as how much time and what time of the day/month/season effect categorization as well as one's cognitive structure.
• Leisure time decisions require that one process temporal information.

Question:
At diffrent times in your life have you found that the dimension of timestyle that you use most changes?

Post it: Play for America Chapter 2 From Ideas to Association by Knapp & Hartsoe

1885 Dr. Marie Zaksewka observed use of sand piles in Berlin, Germany for children’s play. 

Similar concept implemented in Boston, MA.  By 1893 10 summer playgrounds with paid staff.

1895 private groups founded similar playground programs in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Providence

1904 American League for Civic Improvement built street model including model playground, 1907 PAA did another one in Jamestown Exposition in VA.

1905 large number of leaders interested in starting national organization

Options: National Education Association branch, American Civic Association branch or new organization

1907 opening of Playground Association of America headquarters in New York

Major players with start and early years of Playground Association of America

• Joseph Lee
• Large social work interest
• Playgrounds were constructive service to society
• 7 play instincts: creation, rhythm, hunting, fighting, nature, curiosity and team play.
• Henry Curtis
• Initial creator of Playground Association of America
• Luther Gulick
• Physical education and work with YMCA, started Public School Athletic League
• Russell Sage Foundation
• Financing for majority of playground projects for beginning years
• Howard Braucher
• Focus of social work and religion 

Questions:
8 of the 18 people present at the founding PAA conference in 1906 were women. Given the climate in the early 1900's towards women, is this ration surprising?

Theodore Roosevelt was honorary president of the PAA.  Do you think the playground movement would have grown so quickly if the movement had happened at a different time period?

Unexpected Supprises

I keep forgetting that if you want things you have to ask for them.  I know it is silly and is something that you just know to do but still there are times when I forget to ask.  

At work I get tons to junk mail, catalogs, advertisements, etc. and some of the things that come are about conferences.  Now in the past there has not been a lot of money for conferences or opportunities to go so I have gotten into the habit of just ignoring information when it comes in.  On a whim yesterday I started looking through some of the conference stuff and had an ah-ha moment of "duh, why don't you just ask to go?"  Low and behold I was told yes!  

On top of it the conference that I'm going to is right by where one of my family member's lives and so it is an added bonus that I can stay with her and save the department money!  The funny thing is I am going to go see her next week anyway so it will be two visits in a month plus I will be able to see her kids over Halloween!