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442 play
displacement of original users. Second, carrying
capacity planning is based on a permit
system which imposes limits on the use of facilities
to avoid overcrowding, which may lead to
environmental damages and erosion of the quality
of recreational experience. Third, recreation
opportunity spectrum planning pays attention
to the changing structure and composition of the
user population which may result in corresponding
changes in use patterns. This approach incorporates
the concept of social succession, which
suggests that recreational preferences will change
following the displacement of original residents by
recent migrants. Before such succession occurs,
planners may introduce a range of new recreational
activities which would allow original users to
mitigate negative impacts of change while continuing
to enjoy preferred activities. The third
approach allows for a comprehensive area planning
while offering a greater variety of recreational
opportunities.
As a society undergoes changes, both in
demographic structure and social values, the
patterns of recreation behaviour also change.
One of the goals of recreational planning is to
create desirable futures based on an anticipation of
these changes. This calls for forecasting of
recreational demand. There are three notions of
forecasting: positive forecasting which extends the
past into the future by extrapolation, normative
forecasting which takes into account society's
future values, and prescriptive forecasting which
begins with the establishment of values based on
experts' opinions. One such approach is the
Delphi technique.
Since the early 1990s, following a widespread
awareness of the shortcomings in the traditional
advocacy approach in recreational planning, there
has been a noticeable shift in approach in favour of
participatory planning. The new orientation calls
for more public debates and citizen involvement in
the planning process. This stage marks a shift from
supply to market orientation in recreational
planning. With expansion in the tourism industry,
recreational sites, originally designed for local
community use, have begun to cater to touristic
needs and consequently have become part of the
tourism attractions.
Further reading
Lieber, S.R. and Fesenmaier, D.R. �eds) �1983)
Recreational Planning and Management, State College,
PA: Venture Publications.
Van Lier, H.N. and Taylor, P.D. �eds) �1993) New
Challenges in Recreation and Tourism Planning,
Amsterdam: Elsevier.
play
SULONG MOHAMAD, MALAYSIA
Play is a behavioural disposition, characterised by
pleasure, enjoyment, freedom, and spontaneity,
which elicits engagement by participants, and
which is manifest in a variety of different forms.
Since play is a behaviour so ubiquitous in humans,
mammals, and birds, one can assume it serves
some evolutionary function. Assuming that play
does have survival value, the challenge is to
delineate what its properties, functions, benefits,
and consequences are.
A feature that is almost unanimously acknowledged
to be the hallmark of play is that it is
intrinsically motivated behaviour. The designation
intrinsic or extrinsic motivation is closely connected
with the question of the function, purpose, and the
goal of certain patterns of subjective experience.
Intrinsically motivated behaviour is centred within
the individual and occurs in the absence of any
external force or event instigating it. In contrast,
extrinsically motivated behaviour is centred outside
of the individual, leads to aims outside itself, and is
more a means to an end. Play is regarded as such
because it is activity performed for its own sake and
in which pleasure is inherent in the activity itself.
Play is characterised by attention to means
rather than ends. Attention to means allows for the
creation of new combinations of behaviours, which
themselves may lack the efficiency of acts that are
employed to achieve a goal. This may be
characterised by a lack of economy of movement.
Without having to worry about efficiently achieving
some completed product, the individual is able
to dismantle established instrumental behavioural
sequences and reassemble them in new ways. This
characteristic helps distinguish play from other
intrinsically motivated behaviours directed toward