Key Knowledge & Tasks- Factors that affect access to and kinds of outdoor experiences
Cultural background
Cultural background is the context of one’s life experience as shaped by membership in groups based on ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, gender, exceptionalities, language, religion, sexual orientation and geographical area. Cultural background is a large and diverse topic and you could teach this topic for a long time therefore this is just a short sharp introduction in cultural background.
Each country in the world has a culture and this culture has a background, when someone moves somewhere or has been brought up in a culture they will often take this culture with them when they move. For example the Australian culture is very diverse as Australia has a lot of immigration. The Census revealed that over a quarter (26%) of Australia's population was born overseas and a further one fifth (20%) had at least one overseas-born parent, therefore Australia as a multicultural background. Compare this to Islamic culture where for example; females cannot swim in front of males as it’s against their cultures rules.
Task 1
a) Create 4 key points about the above information.
b) Create 4 questions about the above information.
How Does Cultural Background affect access to and kinds of outdoor experiences
As each culture has its own rules and regulations to abide by it is a common barrier to outdoor experiences. Within the Australian culture there is no negative or positive affect that our culture has on our access to outdoor experiences, although it is in the Australian culture to be in the outdoors therefore cultural background is not a real negative in reference to accessing outdoor experiences. Australia is different to a lot of other countries, it is found that a lot of women from Islamic and the Middle East are severely hampered in relation to accessing and the type of outdoor experiences they can have. In most Middle Eastern cultures females are not allowed to swim in front of males and in some cases they must wear their traditional Burkas at all times whilst in a hot climate, this is a major barrier to accessing the outdoor experiences and to what activities they can do due to their clothing that they must wear.
However, it is every important to know that being from different cultures doesn’t mean they cannot do certain types of activities!
Tasks 2
a)Create 4 key points about the above information.
b)What is your cultural background? In half a page or more, explain how your cultural background and current culture affects the types of outdoor experiences you have.
Age
Age is stated in chronological time. It is defined as the length of time someone or something has lived for.
How Does Age affect access to and kinds of outdoor experiences people have.
Age is possibly one of the biggest things that will affect access to and the kinds of outdoor experiences that a person can undertake. It is accepted that as we age we will become weaker and weaker after hitting our suggested peak of fitness by the time we are 27. Therefore it is common to hear people say I’m too old to do that! People say this as they think their body would not be able to cope with the demand that is set upon them.
Age does not only affect the types of activity someone can do but also the intensity of the activity. For example;bushwalking for 6 days for a 20 year old could be the equivalent of bushwalking for 1 day for a 60 year old as they could both have the same output. Age can have a positive factor on accessing different types of outdoor experiences, For example for someone that is 17 living in the middle of Victoria there chance of getting to have a surf is minimal but with increased age (18) they can drive themselves to the beach therefore age is having a positive effect.
Task 3
a) Create 4 key points about the above information.
b) Explain a personal example of where age has or may affect your participation in an outdoor experience.
c) Give an example of how age may affect a middle aged and old aged persons participation in an outdoor experience.
Gender
Gender is a range of physical, mental, and behavioural characteristics distinguishing between masculinity and femininity and in this case referring to sex (Male and female). This is not taking into account gender identity.
How does gender affect access to and kinds of outdoor experiences?
Australia is a very lucky country as there is minimal gender discrimination in reference to accessing the outdoors and the types of outdoor experiences. Although gender discrimination is still an occurrence within Australia it does not severely hamper outdoor experiences. In Australia it is considered normal for women and men to go bushwalking together or go the beach together, whereas in many other countries women have their own beaches (Dubai for example) where imprisonment will be enforced if males are found within the vicinity, Thisimpacts both males and females. Females can only access one beach in the whole city if they follow their religions guidelines therefore it is harder to get access to. Males this also cuts off the beaches they can swim at as some beaches are women only.
Overall there is no barrier that females cannot get over that males can. Climbing Everest done by both genders or surfing 50 foot waves both genders can do this. One of the main barriers that is often faced in reference to gender and outdoor experiences is that the perception of outdoor experiences and that some experiences are considered “masculine” and some are considered “feminine”. These perceptions greatly influence participation rates of the respective genders within these activities.
Gender can also link back to cultural background (For further information refer to cultural background)
Task 4
a)How does gender discrimination differ in Australia to other countries? Use examples to help explain your view.
b)Explain the masculine and feminine perception towards outdoor activities and its affect on participation rates amongst female and male genders.
Physical ability
Physical ability is ones level of competency at being able to perform physical activity.
Ability - the quality of being able to perform.
Learning disorders, Psychological inabilities or diseases all have some effect on someone’s physical ability to do a task. Physical ability also has a strong link with age as the older you are the less physical ability you tend to have. Personal fitness and physical ability are directly linked and activity related. A person with greater fitness in rock climbing will have greater physical ability in rock climbing.
How does Physical Ability affect access to and kinds of outdoor experiences?
Physical ability has a huge impact on accessing outdoor experiences. Depending on a person’s physical ability some activities may be near impossible to complete due to safety or practicality. However, through modifications and technological advances, a lot of outdoor experiences are now accessible to people of a range of differing physical abilities. For example; disabled wheelchair swings and wheelchairs that can go off-road.
Low physical fitness impacts on a person’s opportunity to develop skills, ability and to experience outdoor environments. For example someone who has a heart condition may not have the stamina to be able to practice surfing for 3 hours a day or a person who is obese they cannot go hiking for a day, instead they may only have the physical capacity to hike for 1 – 2 hours.
Task 5
a)list the 3 things things that may effect a persons physical ability.
b)Explain how age, person fitness and ability are linked.
c)How may physical ability impact on a persons access to outdoor environments.
d)Explain how can low physical fitness impact on a persons opportunity experience outdoor environments? Use examples to help you explain your view.