Leisure 17503 224706472 2008-07-10T01:31:14Z Sardanaphalus 427947 updating link using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{two other uses|the state of being|the album by [[Blur (band)|Blur]]|Leisure (album)|the poem by [[W. H. Davies]]|Leisure (poem)}} {{redirect|Free time|the musical term|Free time (music)}} {{redirect|Free Time|The Sims 2 Expansion|The Sims 2: FreeTime}} '''Leisure''' or '''free time''', is a period of [[time]] spent out of [[employment|work]] and essential domestic [[activity]]. It is also the period of [[recreational]] and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities such as [[eating]] and [[sleeping]], [[employment|going to work]] or running a [[business]], [[education|attending school]] and doing [[homework]], [[household chore]]s, and day-to-day [[Stress (medicine)|stress]]. The distinction between leisure and compulsory activities is loosely applied, i.e. people sometimes do work-oriented tasks for pleasure as well as for long-term utility.<ref>Goodin, u Robert E.; Rice, James Mahmud; Bittman, Michael; & Saunders, Peter. (2005). "The time- c pressure illusion: Discretionary time vs. free time". ''Social Indicators Research k '' '''73''' (1), 43&ndash;70. ([http://www.jamesmahmudrice.info/Time-Pressure.pdf PDF file])</ref> For an experience to qualify as leisure, it must meet three criteria: 1) The experience is a state of mind. 2) It must be entered into voluntarily. 3) It must be intrinsically motivating of its own merit. (Neulinger, 1981) ==History== [[Image:Rest-Pearce-Highsmith-detail-1.jpeg|thumb|Detail from ''Rest'' (1896). [[Charles Sprague Pearce]], Library of Congress [[Thomas Jefferson Building]], Washington, D.C.]] The word ''leisure'' comes from the [[Latin]] word ''licere,'' meaning “to be permitted” or “to be free,” via Old French ''leisir,'' and first appeared in the early fourteenth century.<ref>The “u” first appeared in the early sixteenth century, probably by analogy with words such as ''pleasure''.[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=leisure]</ref> The notions of '''leisure''' and '''leisure time''' are thought to have emerged in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] in the late nineteenth century, late in the [[Industrial Revolution]]. Early factories required workers to perform long shifts, often up to eighteen hours per day, with only Sundays off work. By the 1870s though, more efficient machinery and the emergence of [[trade unions]] resulted in decreases in working hours per day, and allowed [[industrialist]]s to give their workers Saturdays as well as Sundays off work. Affordable and reliable transport in the form of [[railways]] allowed urban workers to travel on their days off, with the first [[package holiday]]s to seaside resorts appearing in the 1870s, a trend which spread to industrial nations in [[Europe]] and [[North America]]. As workers channeled their wages into leisure activities, the modern [[entertainment industry]] emerged in industrialized nations, catering to entertain workers on their days off. This Victorian concept—the [[weekend]]—heralded the beginning of leisure time as it is known today. ==Types of leisure== [[Image:Relaxation in Tel Aviv hotel by David Shankbone.jpg|thumbnail|right|Men relaxing in a cafe overlooking the [[Mediterranean Sea]] in [[Tel Aviv, Israel]].]] *'''Active leisure''' activities involve the exertion of physical or mental energy. Low-impact physical activities include [[walking]] and [[yoga]], which expend little energy and have little contact or competition. High-impact activities such as [[kick-boxing]] and [[soccer]] consume much energy and are competitive. Some active leisure activities involve almost no physical activity, but do require a substantial mental effort, such as playing chess or painting a picture. Active leisure and [[recreation]] overlap significantly. *'''Passive leisure''' activities are those in which a person does not exert any significant physical or mental energy, such as going to the [[Movie theater|cinema]], watching [[television]], or [[gambling]] on slot machines. Some leisure experts discourage these types of leisure activity, on the grounds that they do not provide the benefits offered by active leisure activities. For example, acting in a community drama (an active leisure activity) could build a person's skills or self-confidence. Nevertheless, passive leisure activities are a good way of relaxing for many people. ==Examples of leisure activities== [[Image:RBS01.jpg|thumbnail|right|A woman relaxes in an urban [[park]] and enjoys a book during her lunch break.]] People who work indoors and spend most of their time sitting and doing sedentary office work can add physical activity to their lives by doing sports during their leisure time, such as playing a ball game, going camping, hiking or fishing. On the other hand, people whose jobs involve a lot of physical activity may prefer to spend their free time doing quiet, relaxing activities, such as reading books or magazines or watching TV. Some people find that collecting stamps, postcards, badges, model cars or ships, bottles, or antiques is a relaxing hobby. Free time is organized in many schools and institutions. Schools offer many extracurricular activities including hobby groups, sports activities, and choirs. Other institutions such as retirement homes and hospitals also offer activities such as clubs and meetings for playing games. Most people like socializing with friends for dinner or a drink after a hard day at work. For many young people, having a regular night out a week is a normal part of their free time, whether it is joining friends for a drink in a pub, dining out in a restaurant, watching a film, playing video games or dancing the night away at a club. Some people do leisure activities that also have a longer-term goal. In some cases, people do a leisure activity that they hope to turn into a full-time activity (e.g., volunteer paramedics who hope to eventually become professional paramedics). Many people also study part-time in evening university or college courses, both for the love of learning, and to help their career prospects. ==Cultural differences== Time for leisure varies from one society to the next, although anthropologists have found that [[hunter-gatherers]] tend to have significantly more leisure time than people in more complex societies. As a result, [[band society|band societies]] such as the [[Shoshone]] of the [[Great Basin]] came across as extraordinarily lazy to European colonialists.<ref>{{cite book |last=Farb |first=Peter |authorlink=Peter Farb |title=Man's Rise to Civilization As Shown by the Indians of North America from Primeval Times to the Coming of the Industrial State |pages=28 |year=1968 |publisher=[[E. P. Dutton]] |location=[[New York City]] |id={{LCC|E77.F36}}|quote= Most people assume that the members of the Shoshone band worked ceaselessly in an unremitting search for sustenance. Such a dramatic picture might appear confirmed by an erroneous theory almost everyone recalls from schooldays: A high culture emerges only when the people have the leisure to build pyramids or to create art. The fact is that high civilization is hectic, and that primitive hunters and collectors of wild food, like the Shoshone, are among the most leisured people on earth.}}</ref> Capitalist societies often view active leisure activities positively, because active leisure activities require the purchase of equipment and services, which stimulates the economy. Capitalist societies often accord greater status to members who have more wealth. One of the ways that wealthy people can choose to spend their money is by having additional leisure time. [[Workaholic]]s are those who work compulsively at the expense of other activities. They prefer to work rather than spend time socializing and engaging in other leisure activities. Many see this as a necessary sacrifice to attain high-ranking corporate positions. Increasing attention, however, is being paid to the effects of such imbalance upon the worker and the family.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Throughout its early history, American society has been described as driven by the [[Protestant work ethic]], a cultural view that is said to be inspired by the Protestant preacher [[John Calvin]]. ==See also== * [[Lifestyle]] * [[The Theory of the Leisure Class]] * [[Labour Economics]] * [[Conspicuous leisure]] and [[conspicuous consumption]] * [[Recreation]] * [[Entertainment]] * [[Leisure Satisfaction]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Wiktionarypar|leisure|spare time|free time}} * Peter Burke, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2279/is_n146/ai_17249828 The invention of leisure in early modern Europe], Past & Present, Feb, 1995 * [http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/femhist/leisure.shtml The Develpoment of Leisure Amongst the Social Classes During the Industrial Revolution] ==Further reading== * [http://www.kipnotes.com/Leisure-work.htm See here for a longer bibliography of the subject] * Cross, Gary S. 2004. ''Encyclopedia of recreation and leisure in America.'' The Scribner American civilization series. Farmington Hills, MI: Charles Scribner's Sons. * Jenkins, John M., and J. J. J. Pigram. 2003. ''Encyclopedia of leisure and outdoor recreation''. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415252261. * Peter Borsay, ''A History of Leisure: The British Experience since 1500'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, ISBN 0333930827 {{Template group |list = {{Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights}} {{Human rights}} }} [[Category:Leisure| ]] [[Category:Human behavior]] [[Category:Working time]] [[ar:وقت فراغ]] [[an:Ozio]] [[cs:Volný čas]] [[gn:Mba'apo'y]] [[da:Fritid]] [[de:Freizeit]] [[et:Vaba aeg]] [[es:Ocio]] [[eo:Ripozo]] [[fr:Loisir]] [[fur:Timp libar]] [[fy:Frije tiid]] [[io:Liber-tempo]] [[is:Tómstundagaman]] [[it:Ozio]] [[ja:レジャー]] [[he:פנאי]] [[hu:Szabadidő]] [[ko:여가]] [[nl:Vrije tijd]] [[no:Fritid]] [[pl:Czas wolny]] [[pt:Lazer]] [[ru:Отдых]] [[scn:Passatempu]] [[simple:Leisure]] [[sv:Fritid]] [[ta:பொழுதுபோக்கு]] [[tr:Otium]] [[uk:Відпочинок]] [[wa:Tins fouzeure]] [[zh:休閒]]