Heather Mair
Biographic Data
| ID | 75573 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Heather Mair |
| GIVEN NAMES | Heather |
| FAMILY NAME | Mair |
| SIGNATURE | MAIR H |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Waterloo |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 108 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Hurry hard
Amid the well-documented fraying of society, community spaces where people from diverse social locations share time and space are increasingly rare, yet necessary. Participation in curling, a sport known for its sociability, is increasing around the world and receiving growing scholarly interest. In this conceptual paper, we briefly synthesize extant literature related to curling in order to explore how its qualities can help facilitate the (re)b…
Negotiations of responsibility for community and personal care
Uniformed public safety personnels (PSPs) are the first line of care on scenes of distress, where they are put into positions to negotiate the responsibilities of community and personal care. This work helps expose the oppressive nature that systems governing community safety have on bodies that are uniformed. Using critical, narrative approaches, 11 public safety personnel participants were recruited to participate in focus groups and interviews…
The future of leisure studies in six landscapes
This article was originally published as: Adie, B.A., Weighill, A., Dong, E., McGrath, R., Mair, H., & Mowatt, R.A. (2025). The future of leisure studies in six landscapes. Loisir et Société / Society and Leisure. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/07053436.2025.2474281
Introduction to the Special Issue, “The Fraying of Society
Wasted
‘Garbage Island’. ‘The Pacific Trash Vortex’. ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’. Titles abound for the growing build-up of waste, mostly microplastic and non-biodegradable, floating in the North Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, Garbage Island is just one egregious example of how human activities are exacting an enormous toll on the planet. Considerations of waste should be central to our field, not merely due to the degree to which leisure practices…
Insurgent citizens
Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) emphasizes the importance of providing just and inclusive societies for all and target 16.10 underscores the importance of ‘protect[ing] fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements’. The United Nations (UN) and World Tourism Organization (WTO) frequently describe tourism as a phenomenon that promotes peace and dialogue between different cultures. No…
Disrupting structural violence in South Africa through township tourism
This paper describes the potential that tourism encounters have in disrupting structural violence (conceptualized as silencing and invisibilization) in South Africa. Based on PhotoVoice research undertaken with a small number of residents of three Cape Town-area townships, we consider how residents’ descriptions of their encounters with the tourists can be seen as helping to “polish the wounds of the past” as they shared a sense of being seen and…
Understanding the experiences in adult introductory sport programmes
Little is known about the experiences of adults as they try a new sport. In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative case study where we sought to understand the experiences of adults trying the sport of curling in two introductory leagues in a central Canadian city. Findings indicate curling, as experienced by participants in these introductory leagues, can be effective in terms of building community and meeting the diverse needs of ad…
Between space and place in mountaineering
The liminal status of mountains makes them attractive destinations for adventure, and related tourism and recreation activities. Stemming from critiques of Nepal's growing adventure tourism industry, and recognising the centrality of Sherpas' roles within it, of interest are the ways Climbing Sherpas experience liminality in mountaineering. Liminality, an anthropological concept introduced by Arnold van Gennep (1960 van Gennep, A. (1960). The rit…
The Gendered Natures of Polar Bear Tourism
This article offers a critique of nature-based Arctic tourism through a gender-aware analysis of representations associated with polar bear tourism in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The guiding purpose of our study was to analyze how "nature" is gendered in its construction and presentation through tourism, and to what effect. Our study focused on revealing dominant gendered expectations and understandings (re)produced in the Churchill polar bear t…
Making health and wellbeing
Modeling a Demonstration Effect
The purpose of this study was to identify cognitive and affective mechanisms by which the experience of live sport spectating might inspire new sport participation. A conceptual model of demonstration effects that explored relationships among cognitive dimensions of spectators' consumptive experiences (i.e., fantasy, flow, evaluation, aesthetics and physical attractiveness), an affective state of inspiration, and intention to try a sport on displ…
(Re)constructing the Canadian border
Drawing from an analysis of Canadian travel security and border policies, which is grounded in a critical mobilities approach, the article sheds light on the normalization and moralization of travel and tourism policies in the post-9/11 era as well as the implications thereof. In particular, the article aims to problematize the ways (tourism) mobility is constructed in contemporary Canadian policies and programmes (as deeply influenced by America…
Organic farm volunteering as a decommodified tourist experience
Volunteer tourism has been shown to foster cross-cultural understanding between participants and hosts. Providing opportunities to connect with like-minded participants, volunteer tourism experiences encourage consciousness-raising and future social and environmental actions. However, the laudable aims of volunteer tourism have been critiqued as their transformative capacities are overshadowed by industry attributes. Volunteering on organic farms…
Magical activism
Witch camps are part of a contemporary philosophical and spiritual movement that encourages social, political and environmental activism. Through an examination of the witch camp experience, this paper highlights the lived intersections of alternative spirituality, community and activism in leisure. Using a critical constructionist, qualitative design, data were collected through participant observation at 2 witch camps, 21 semi-structured intens…
Political economy of tourism
Notes from the Sports Club
Reflexive forms of field research acknowledge the impact of the researcher in the production and interpretation of ethnographic data. In this article we highlight and discuss issues that stemmed from their critical reflection while conducting field research in a small sports club in rural Canada. We give consideration to the nature of their role relationships, participation, performances, and negotiation of balance and distance. The resultant sel…
Seeking Judgment Free Spaces
This study explored the experiences and meanings of leisure for individuals living in poverty and who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Results show that a key component for moving toward leisure that addresses our most challenging social ills rests with its power to create "judgment free spaces." Three themes emerged: (1) the significance of vibrant organizations where acceptance, not exposure, is fostered; (2) a need for in…
Rural Tourism Development
Rural tourism represents a merging of perhaps two of the most influential yet contradictory features of modern life. Not only are the forces of economic, social, cultural, environmental and political change working to redefine rural spaces the world over, but broad global transformations in consumption and transportation patterns are reshaping leisure behaviour and travel. For those concerned with both the nature of change in rural areas and tour…
Club Life
This paper presents a day in the life of the Walnut Lake Curling Club. The reflexive analytic story is crafted from ethnographic research undertaken in 18 curling clubs across rural Canada. Contrary to a growing tendency toward individualized and privatized leisure, curling clubs in rural Canada remain sites for shared leisure. Building on recent efforts to position leisure sites as third places, the paper enhances an understanding of curling clu…
Searching for a New Enterprise
While many have explored fantasy-based and themed cities, relatively few consider these developments within small communities. This paper investigates the implications for fantasy-themed tourism development in one small community on the Canadian Prairies. Vulcan, Alberta was a product of the agricultural industry but economic hardships have threatened the community, leading to ongoing attempts to 'cash in' on the community's name in connection wi…
Curling in Canada
Curling is a central part of winter life for many Canadians and our curlers dominate the world stage. Yet the topic remains dramatically understudied. Building on the limited writing in this area and presenting research undertaken in curling clubs across western Canada, the author seeks to help fill this gap by exploring the changing role of curling in the construction of social identities at the local community and national level. It is argued t…
The Potential of Interdisciplinarity for Leisure Research
I would like to thank Deb Bialeschki for her helpful suggestions throughout the writing of this essay
Tourism, Globalisation, and Cultural Change
Community Tourism Planning
Seeking Judgment Free Spaces
This study explored the experiences and meanings of leisure for individuals living in poverty and who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Results show that a key component for moving toward leisure that addresses our most challenging social ills rests with its power to create "judgment free spaces." Three themes emerged: (1) the significance of vibrant organizations where acceptance, not exposure, is fostered; (2) a need for in…
Club Life
This paper presents a day in the life of the Walnut Lake Curling Club. The reflexive analytic story is crafted from ethnographic research undertaken in 18 curling clubs across rural Canada. Contrary to a growing tendency toward individualized and privatized leisure, curling clubs in rural Canada remain sites for shared leisure. Building on recent efforts to position leisure sites as third places, the paper enhances an understanding of curling clu…
Community Tourism Planning
Searching for a New Enterprise
While many have explored fantasy-based and themed cities, relatively few consider these developments within small communities. This paper investigates the implications for fantasy-themed tourism development in one small community on the Canadian Prairies. Vulcan, Alberta was a product of the agricultural industry but economic hardships have threatened the community, leading to ongoing attempts to 'cash in' on the community's name in connection wi…
Between space and place in mountaineering
The liminal status of mountains makes them attractive destinations for adventure, and related tourism and recreation activities. Stemming from critiques of Nepal's growing adventure tourism industry, and recognising the centrality of Sherpas' roles within it, of interest are the ways Climbing Sherpas experience liminality in mountaineering. Liminality, an anthropological concept introduced by Arnold van Gennep (1960 van Gennep, A. (1960). The rit…
The Potential of Interdisciplinarity for Leisure Research
I would like to thank Deb Bialeschki for her helpful suggestions throughout the writing of this essay
(Re)constructing the Canadian border
Drawing from an analysis of Canadian travel security and border policies, which is grounded in a critical mobilities approach, the article sheds light on the normalization and moralization of travel and tourism policies in the post-9/11 era as well as the implications thereof. In particular, the article aims to problematize the ways (tourism) mobility is constructed in contemporary Canadian policies and programmes (as deeply influenced by America…
Community Participation in Rural Tourism Development
This paper examines rural tourism development at the community level. Research was undertaken in four rural communities in Ontario, Canada which identified outcomes and impacts of unplanned tourism development. The research indicated that critical problems arise as development increases. Frustration sets in after years of the community's inability to solve the issues. Members of the research communities identified the development of a tourism pla…
Political economy of tourism
Making health and wellbeing
Organic farm volunteering as a decommodified tourist experience
Volunteer tourism has been shown to foster cross-cultural understanding between participants and hosts. Providing opportunities to connect with like-minded participants, volunteer tourism experiences encourage consciousness-raising and future social and environmental actions. However, the laudable aims of volunteer tourism have been critiqued as their transformative capacities are overshadowed by industry attributes. Volunteering on organic farms…
Magical activism
Witch camps are part of a contemporary philosophical and spiritual movement that encourages social, political and environmental activism. Through an examination of the witch camp experience, this paper highlights the lived intersections of alternative spirituality, community and activism in leisure. Using a critical constructionist, qualitative design, data were collected through participant observation at 2 witch camps, 21 semi-structured intens…
Notes from the Sports Club
Reflexive forms of field research acknowledge the impact of the researcher in the production and interpretation of ethnographic data. In this article we highlight and discuss issues that stemmed from their critical reflection while conducting field research in a small sports club in rural Canada. We give consideration to the nature of their role relationships, participation, performances, and negotiation of balance and distance. The resultant sel…
The future of leisure studies in six landscapes
This article was originally published as: Adie, B.A., Weighill, A., Dong, E., McGrath, R., Mair, H., & Mowatt, R.A. (2025). The future of leisure studies in six landscapes. Loisir et Société / Society and Leisure. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/07053436.2025.2474281
Wasted
‘Garbage Island’. ‘The Pacific Trash Vortex’. ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’. Titles abound for the growing build-up of waste, mostly microplastic and non-biodegradable, floating in the North Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, Garbage Island is just one egregious example of how human activities are exacting an enormous toll on the planet. Considerations of waste should be central to our field, not merely due to the degree to which leisure practices…
Tourism, Globalisation, and Cultural Change
Community Participation in Rural Tourism Development
This paper examines rural tourism development at the community level. Research was undertaken in four rural communities in Ontario, Canada which identified outcomes and impacts of unplanned tourism development. The research indicated that critical problems arise as development increases. Frustration sets in after years of the community's inability to solve the issues. Members of the research communities identified the development of a tourism pla…
Community Tourism Planning
Tourism, Globalisation, and Cultural Change
The Potential of Interdisciplinarity for Leisure Research
I would like to thank Deb Bialeschki for her helpful suggestions throughout the writing of this essay
Curling in Canada
Curling is a central part of winter life for many Canadians and our curlers dominate the world stage. Yet the topic remains dramatically understudied. Building on the limited writing in this area and presenting research undertaken in curling clubs across western Canada, the author seeks to help fill this gap by exploring the changing role of curling in the construction of social identities at the local community and national level. It is argued t…
Rural Tourism Development
Rural tourism represents a merging of perhaps two of the most influential yet contradictory features of modern life. Not only are the forces of economic, social, cultural, environmental and political change working to redefine rural spaces the world over, but broad global transformations in consumption and transportation patterns are reshaping leisure behaviour and travel. For those concerned with both the nature of change in rural areas and tour…
Club Life
This paper presents a day in the life of the Walnut Lake Curling Club. The reflexive analytic story is crafted from ethnographic research undertaken in 18 curling clubs across rural Canada. Contrary to a growing tendency toward individualized and privatized leisure, curling clubs in rural Canada remain sites for shared leisure. Building on recent efforts to position leisure sites as third places, the paper enhances an understanding of curling clu…
Searching for a New Enterprise
While many have explored fantasy-based and themed cities, relatively few consider these developments within small communities. This paper investigates the implications for fantasy-themed tourism development in one small community on the Canadian Prairies. Vulcan, Alberta was a product of the agricultural industry but economic hardships have threatened the community, leading to ongoing attempts to 'cash in' on the community's name in connection wi…
Seeking Judgment Free Spaces
This study explored the experiences and meanings of leisure for individuals living in poverty and who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Results show that a key component for moving toward leisure that addresses our most challenging social ills rests with its power to create "judgment free spaces." Three themes emerged: (1) the significance of vibrant organizations where acceptance, not exposure, is fostered; (2) a need for in…
Notes from the Sports Club
Reflexive forms of field research acknowledge the impact of the researcher in the production and interpretation of ethnographic data. In this article we highlight and discuss issues that stemmed from their critical reflection while conducting field research in a small sports club in rural Canada. We give consideration to the nature of their role relationships, participation, performances, and negotiation of balance and distance. The resultant sel…
Political economy of tourism
Organic farm volunteering as a decommodified tourist experience
Volunteer tourism has been shown to foster cross-cultural understanding between participants and hosts. Providing opportunities to connect with like-minded participants, volunteer tourism experiences encourage consciousness-raising and future social and environmental actions. However, the laudable aims of volunteer tourism have been critiqued as their transformative capacities are overshadowed by industry attributes. Volunteering on organic farms…
Magical activism
Witch camps are part of a contemporary philosophical and spiritual movement that encourages social, political and environmental activism. Through an examination of the witch camp experience, this paper highlights the lived intersections of alternative spirituality, community and activism in leisure. Using a critical constructionist, qualitative design, data were collected through participant observation at 2 witch camps, 21 semi-structured intens…
(Re)constructing the Canadian border
Drawing from an analysis of Canadian travel security and border policies, which is grounded in a critical mobilities approach, the article sheds light on the normalization and moralization of travel and tourism policies in the post-9/11 era as well as the implications thereof. In particular, the article aims to problematize the ways (tourism) mobility is constructed in contemporary Canadian policies and programmes (as deeply influenced by America…
The Gendered Natures of Polar Bear Tourism
This article offers a critique of nature-based Arctic tourism through a gender-aware analysis of representations associated with polar bear tourism in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The guiding purpose of our study was to analyze how "nature" is gendered in its construction and presentation through tourism, and to what effect. Our study focused on revealing dominant gendered expectations and understandings (re)produced in the Churchill polar bear t…
Making health and wellbeing
Modeling a Demonstration Effect
The purpose of this study was to identify cognitive and affective mechanisms by which the experience of live sport spectating might inspire new sport participation. A conceptual model of demonstration effects that explored relationships among cognitive dimensions of spectators' consumptive experiences (i.e., fantasy, flow, evaluation, aesthetics and physical attractiveness), an affective state of inspiration, and intention to try a sport on displ…
Understanding the experiences in adult introductory sport programmes
Little is known about the experiences of adults as they try a new sport. In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative case study where we sought to understand the experiences of adults trying the sport of curling in two introductory leagues in a central Canadian city. Findings indicate curling, as experienced by participants in these introductory leagues, can be effective in terms of building community and meeting the diverse needs of ad…
Between space and place in mountaineering
The liminal status of mountains makes them attractive destinations for adventure, and related tourism and recreation activities. Stemming from critiques of Nepal's growing adventure tourism industry, and recognising the centrality of Sherpas' roles within it, of interest are the ways Climbing Sherpas experience liminality in mountaineering. Liminality, an anthropological concept introduced by Arnold van Gennep (1960 van Gennep, A. (1960). The rit…
Insurgent citizens
Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) emphasizes the importance of providing just and inclusive societies for all and target 16.10 underscores the importance of ‘protect[ing] fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements’. The United Nations (UN) and World Tourism Organization (WTO) frequently describe tourism as a phenomenon that promotes peace and dialogue between different cultures. No…
Disrupting structural violence in South Africa through township tourism
This paper describes the potential that tourism encounters have in disrupting structural violence (conceptualized as silencing and invisibilization) in South Africa. Based on PhotoVoice research undertaken with a small number of residents of three Cape Town-area townships, we consider how residents’ descriptions of their encounters with the tourists can be seen as helping to “polish the wounds of the past” as they shared a sense of being seen and…
Wasted
‘Garbage Island’. ‘The Pacific Trash Vortex’. ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’. Titles abound for the growing build-up of waste, mostly microplastic and non-biodegradable, floating in the North Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, Garbage Island is just one egregious example of how human activities are exacting an enormous toll on the planet. Considerations of waste should be central to our field, not merely due to the degree to which leisure practices…
Introduction to the Special Issue, “The Fraying of Society
Negotiations of responsibility for community and personal care
Uniformed public safety personnels (PSPs) are the first line of care on scenes of distress, where they are put into positions to negotiate the responsibilities of community and personal care. This work helps expose the oppressive nature that systems governing community safety have on bodies that are uniformed. Using critical, narrative approaches, 11 public safety personnel participants were recruited to participate in focus groups and interviews…
The future of leisure studies in six landscapes
This article was originally published as: Adie, B.A., Weighill, A., Dong, E., McGrath, R., Mair, H., & Mowatt, R.A. (2025). The future of leisure studies in six landscapes. Loisir et Société / Society and Leisure. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/07053436.2025.2474281
Political science (22 works) · Sociology (18 works) · Law (12 works) · Tourism (12 works) · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research (11 works) · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts (11 works) · Economics (8 works) · Engineering (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Psychology (8 works)