Global Leisure and the Struggle for a Better World

1. Introduction .- Section 1: Local Leisure, Meaning and Resistance .- 2. Sexlessness among Contemporary Japanese Couples; Alice Pacher .- 3. Singing Group: The Playful Present in Health Promotion; Miraíra Noal Manfroi et al. .- 4. Celebration of Ramadam: The Case of Turkey; Zuhal Yonca Odabas and Günnur Ertong Attar .- 5. Youth's Well-Being and Leisure Time: An International Perspective; Anju Beniwal .- Section 2: Virtual Leisure and Pop Culture .- 6. Japanese Idol Culture for 'Contents Tourism' and Regional Revitilization: A Case Study of Regional Idols; Yuki Takima .- 7. Being There and Being Someone Else: Leisure and Identity in the Age of Virtual Reality; Jonathan Harth .- 8. Video Games in the Family Context: How do Digital Media Influence the Relation Between Children and Their Parents?; Damian Galuszka .- 9. Projecting Gender, Sexuality Through the Nigerian Music Industry; Aretha Oluwakemi Asakitikpi .- 10. Doing Manga as Leisure and Its Meaning and Purpose: The Case of Japanese Female Manga Fans called Fujoshi; Hiromi Tanaka and Saori Ishida .- Section 3: Global Leisure and Responses .- 11. The Globalization of Comic-Con and the Sacralization of Popular Culture; Michael A. Elliot .- 12. Verification of Leisure and Practical Environmental Education in Japan; Munehiko Asamizu .- 13. Internalizing Serious Leisure to Enhance Well-Being in Adventure Recreation; KoFan Lee .- 14. Leisure and Meaning-Making: The Pursuit of a Meaningful Life through Leisure; Yoshitaka Iwasaki .- 15. Conclusion.

Anju Beniwal is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Govt Meera Girls College, India. Her areas of specialisation include tribal welfare, rural development, women's issues and leisure studies.

Rashmi Jain is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Director of the UGC Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, University of Rajasthan, India. She has an interest in the area of Leisure Studies, Development Communication, Gender studies, and Sociology of Law.

Karl Spracklen is Professor of Music, Leisure and Culture at Leeds Beckett University, UK and the author of over ninety books, papers and book chapters on leisure. He is the Secretary of Research Committee 13 (Sociology of Leisure) of the International Sociological Association.