Fern K. Willits

Gender and Ethnic Variations in Urban Park Preferences, Visitation, and Perceived Benefits

This paper examined how gender and ethnicity are related to preferences for various park characteristics, visitation to urban parks and open spaces, and perception of park benefits as reported by participants in a mail survey of residents in two metropolitan areas in the eastern United States. In total, 1570 questionnaires were completed, but 65 cases were deleted because they failed to identify their ethnicity or gender. The overall response rate for the survey was approximately 27%. Although women were more likely than men to evaluate some park characteristics as “important,” there were no significant gender differences/variation in the types of visits or the perceived benefits of parks. There was significant ethnic variation in preferred park attributes, frequency and type of visits, and perceptions of the positive and negative effects of parks. However, the effects of ethnicity were not found to differ for men and women.

Dimensions of educational transactions in a videoconferencing learning environment

Abstract Moores Theory of Transactional Distance suggests that dialogue, structure, and learner autonomy are the key elements delineating the educational transaction in distance learning environments. However, the conceptualizations of these concepts in a telecommunication era have not been systematically addressed. By investigating 121 learners’ experiences with videoconferencing, this study identified the dimensions (factors) constituting dialogue, structure, and learner autonomy in such a learning environment. Exploratory factor analysis using a principal axis factor method was carried out. It was concluded that each of these three concepts represented multi‐faceted ideas. Dialogue consisted of three dimensions: in‐class discussion, out‐of‐class electronic communication, and out‐of‐class face‐to‐face interaction. Structure contained the dimensions of course organization and course delivery. Learner autonomy was comprised of independence and interdependence. The results of this study can inform videoco...

Adolescent and adult leisure patterns: A 37‐year follow‐up study

Abstract The relationship between adolescent and adult leisure activities was assessed by utilizing longitudinal data from 1298 subjects studied during their high school years and again when they were in their early fifties. For the sample members, the greater the involvement in a specific type of activity during adolescence, the more frequent the participation in the same type of activity at midlife. This was true in regard to participation in formal organizations; socializing; intellectual, creative, and artistic activities; and (for women) sports activities. The positive relationship between adolescent and adult leisure choices was stronger for women than for men in the areas of creative/artistic and sports activities.

Family ties, physical health, and psychological well-being.

Objectives: This study assesses the impact of number and quality of family ties on the health and well-being of elderly people. Method: Measures of the quantity and quality of family ties, adjusting for gender, education, and income, were correlated with the self-rating of health and well-being of a sample of 534 married parents between 68 and 73 years of age. Results: The quality of an individuals relationships with spouse, children, and other family members was associated with personal feelings of well-being, but the quantity of such associations had little impact on either physical or psychological health. Discussion: Researchers and those working with elderly people should not assume that the presence of family members necessarily implies that social support affecting physical health and well-being will be forthcoming.

Church Attendance and Traditional Religious Beliefs in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: A Panel Study

Utilizing data from a sample of persons first surveyed in 1970 when they were high school students and restudied in 1981, this analysis found that, as adolescents, the subjects reported highly traditional religious beliefs and frequent church attendance. Although they saw themselves as attending worship services somewhat more frequently than their parents, youthful attendance and beliefs were significantly correlated with perceived parental attendance. Ten years later, the subjects church attendance had declined and earlier parental patterns had no direct effect on attendance or belief Frequency of spouses church attendance was importantly linked with the respondents own attendance and religious beliefs in young adulthood.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND CASE STUDIES: Marcellus Shale Gas Development and New Boomtown Research: Views of New York and Pennsylvania Residents

Development of unconventional natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale region of the northeastern United States has progressed rapidly over the last decade. The discourse surrounding such development recalls quarter-century-old debates about positive and negative implications for the well-being of such energy boomtowns. Potential support or opposition relates to trust in the industry and its regulators, perceived knowledge, and perceived impacts. Our research project takes advantage of the opportunity for a natural experiment in comparing these elements between two spatially adjacent sites with contrasting approaches to gas development: in Pennsylvania, drilling of unconventional natural gas reserves has been proceeding for nearly a decade, whereas, at the time of this writing, drilling has not begun in New York. A mail survey of a random sample of New York and Pennsylvania residents within the Marcellus region revealed important differences between sites. New York residents were more opposed to development, characterized the industry in a more negative light, and were more likely to have engaged in various forms of public participation. In contrast, respondents did not differ by state on their perceived level of knowledge, even though gas development is more advanced in Pennsylvania. Potential explanations for these findings are offered, as are implications for understanding newly emerging energy boomtowns.

Examining change using regression analysis: Three approaches compared

Although social scientists are frequently faced with the task of assessing the correlates of change, the methods for doing so are often misunderstood. This analysis compares three approaches for dealing with this task using regression procedures: (a) change or difference score (Time2 ‐ Time1 [T2 ‐ T1] as the dependent variable with T1 score included as a covariate; (b) T2 score as the dependent variable and T1, score as a covariate; and (c) residualized T2 score as the dependent variable. All are shown to result in identical interpretations of the relationship between substantive variables and change. We argue, however, that the use of difference scores as the dependent variable is generally preferable (when T1, score is controlled) because the resulting analysis deals directly with adjusted change.

Adolescent participation in leisure activities: "the less, the more" or "the more, the more"?

Abstract Data from a sample of 3,294 eighth‐ and 11th‐grade students in 12 Pennsylvania communities were used to examine two contrasting conceptualizations of participation in leisure activities. The one, termed “the less, the more,” suggests that the less an individual is involved in work and other activities, the more likely it is that he/she will participate in given leisure pursuits. The other, “the more, the more,” hypothesizes that the more an individual is involved in other things, the more he/she will seek out and utilize additional opportunities for leisure participation. Utilizing measures of involvement of the youth in work for pay and chores at home, actual and desired participation in school and community organizations, socializing with peers and family members, reading, and watching television, the analysis provided some tentative support for the hypothesis of “the more, the more.” Only time spent watching television clearly contradicted this perspective.

Personalization of Mail Surveys for General Public and Populations with a Group Identity : Results from Nine Studies

Abstract The effect of personalization on mail survey response rates was examined in nine studies that included 17 comparisons under several research conditions. A study of this variable across multiple experiments in five agricultural experiment stations was undertaken because of conflicting results from previous research and from concern that the effectiveness of personalization might have decreased over time. Results show that, while response to general public surveys appeared to increase modestly across all treatment groups, there was no positive effect for populations in which a group identity (e.g., Dear Oregon Gardner or Dear ATV Owner) is employed to address respondents in cover letters. Personalization appears to remain useful for improving response in surveys of the general public.

TRACKING RESPONDENTS IN LONGITUDINAL SURVEYS

Many of the problems social scientists are called upon to address require information best obtained through longitudinal research. Whether the emphasis of the investigation is practical or theoretical, applied or basic, data on the same people across time are important for understanding the causes or conditions out of which present situations arose and the effects of these situations on future events., However, a relatively small number of reported studies has utilized true time-series information. Instead, investigators usually infer the effects of changes over time from data which are not strictly longitudinal. Several methods are commonly used, including cross-sectional information, aggregate analysis of census cohorts, and respondent-recall data.2 Each of these methods is intrinsically weak. The first two do not follow the same people or else have no way of identifying individual sample members and their specific changes over time. The third, dependent on memory, may be inadvertently or deliberately selective. If these techniques are unsatisfactory, why are true longitudinal studies so rare? Among other reasons, maintaining contact with respondents over a period of years is difficult, costly, and time-consuming. Moreover, almost nothing has been offered in the social science literature concerning the relative effectiveness of different techniques for retrieving respondents.3 The purpose of the study reported here was to assess empirically a variety of tracking procedures and to arrive