Andrew Lepp

• Ph.D.
• Professor at Kent State University

Increasingly, perceived risk is part of a destination’s image. This is particularly true for Africa. This study investigated images and risks associated with Uganda and whether exposure to Uganda’s official tourism website could induce image change. A classic two group randomized experimental design was used. Exposure to Uganda’s official tourism w...

College students are more likely to use their cell phones for leisure than for school or work. Because leisure is important for health and well-being, and cell phone use has been associated with mental and physical health, the relationship between cell phone use and leisure should be better understood. This research classified college students into...

Modern cellular telephones (cell phones) are ubiquitous and increasingly used for leisure purposes. This article identifies motivations for leisure time cell phone use and associated experiential outcomes. Concurring results from two independent studies are presented. Study 1 used qualitative methods and found that high versus low frequency cell ph...

Awash with studies of Africans as hosts, research has neglected Africans as tourists. In contrast, this study positions the African as tourist. Specifically, this study compared Ghanaians’ perceptions of the USA and UK as tourism destinations. Middle and upper class Ghanaians were asked to consider each destination and what it might be like to trav...

International tourists can be classified according to the degree of novelty and familiarity sought. This study investigated the hypothesis that tourists seeking familiarity would perceive higher levels of risk associated with international tourism than those seeking novelty. A random sample of US-born young adults was surveyed. Seven risk factors w...

International Journal of Exercise Science 18(4): 306-315, 2025. https://doi.org/10.70252/DNVJ9996 The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions placed on daily life may have negatively impacted overall physical and psychological health as well as health behaviors such as decreased physical activity and increased sedentary behavior. It is im...

Introduction: Several studies have indicated that physical activity (PA) declined during the restrictions associated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, research comparing PA before the pandemic and during the pandemic-related restrictions to a more recent period when pandemic-related restrictions ended is limited. The purpose of this...

Literature and governing agencies refer to gamers who partake in esports as “esports athletes,” and research suggests that exercise may be a beneficial component of esports training. Yet esports athletes are stereotyped similarly to casual gamers, for example, sedentary and not physically active. The purpose of this research was to compare physical...

Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to identify lifestyle factors associated with infection outcomes. Physical activity is a lifestyle factor which measurably decreased during the pandemic. Purpose: To examine the relationship between physical activity and COVID-19 infection outcomes. Method: College students owning an iPhone with...

Esports gamers compete in sanctioned tournaments whereas recreational gamers play video games casually for fun. Research suggests exercise might benefit esports performance. Regular exercise combined with prolonged sitting while gaming may lead esports gamers to be “Active Couch Potatoes,” (highly sedentary individuals who meet physical activity gu...

Introduction: Prior research has examined the relationships between cellphone use and physical activity and sedentary behavior as well as measures of psychological well-being and academic performance. This work largely focuses on adults. However, there is an inverse relationship between cellphone use and age. Because their cellphone use may be diff...

Introduction: Cell phone use is associated with physical activity and sedentary behavior. These relationships have not been assessed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the potential effects of pandemic-related restrictions on cell phone use and the possible relationship of altered cell phone use to physical activity, seden...

Introduction: Existing evidence supports a positive relationship between smartphone use and sedentary behavior (i.e., high smartphone use is associated with high sitting). While evidence supports that smartphone use during physical activity reduces intensity, the relationship between daily smartphone use and daily physical activity is equivocal. Pr...

This study examined the multidimension assumption of the often-used 33-item, six-factor Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) by employing four confirmatory factor models (i.e., one-factor, first-order six-factor, second-order six-factor, and bifactor). Survey data were collected from 1155 undergraduate students in a US public university. Findings showe...

Using a within-subjects design, this study assessed the experimental effect of common activities upon positive and negative affect scores in a college student sample. All participants completed the following 30-minute activity conditions: treadmill walking, self-selected schoolwork (i.e., studying), social media use, and a control condition where p...

Research examining video game players from a psychological and behavioral perspective is prominent however there is still a need to better distinguish casual from serious video game players (i.e., gamers). The present research developed a nine-item scale for assessing the extent to which an individual self-identifies as a gamer and tested the scale...

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) runs from Mexico to Canada across the western United States. Attempting to complete the entire trail (i.e. thru-hiking) is increasingly popular. We surveyed 560 PCT thru-hikers and found that 97% carried smartphones. This study examined backcountry smartphone use along the PCT. We assessed thru-hikers’ daily smartphone...

Purpose: To assess children's physical activity, sedentary behavior, liking, and motivation during 3 separate simulated recess conditions: playing alone, with their parent participating, and with their peer participating. Methods: Children participated in the 3 separate conditions. During each condition, the children had access to an outdoor pla...

Smartphone and social media use are common leisure activities among college students. These activities are correlated with boredom in survey research, yet causality is undetermined. Using an experimental design, we assessed the effect of smartphone use and other common, free-choice activities on boredom. For this study, 40 college students complete...

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(5): 1326-1339, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has closed non-essential businesses which may alter individuals' leisure behaviors. Consequently, physical activity and sedentary behavior may be negatively impacted as many fitness and recreational centers have been closed. This study aimed to examine the impac...

The relationship between self-selected fitness application software use (henceforth, fitness apps) and physical activity behavior is not well studied, nor is the role that exercise identity may play in predicting fitness app use. This study examined these relationships by evaluating the ability of exercise identity to mediate a hypothesized positiv...

Published in the International Journal of Wilderness at https://ijw.org/cognitive-costs-distract

Five hundred fourteen (514) surveys were conducted at three intercept points along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in California and Oregon to gather information about time on the trail, smartphone use, and their relationship to thru-hikers’ place attachment levels. Ninety-seven (97) percent of the thru-hikers surveyed carried smartphones and reporte...

Research has shown that multitasking in classrooms negatively impacts students' academic performance. This study investigated the indirect effects of multitasking on academic performance (i.e., Grade Point Average [GPA]) through self-efficacy for self-regulated learning (SESRL) in males and females (i.e., by gender). Measures of multitasking behavi...

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between smartphone use, television viewing, and the “active couch potato” in sufficiently active adults. Methods: A sample of 328 sufficiently active adults aged 18 to 80 years (mean ± SD = 38 ± 15 years) completed surveys assessing smartphone use, television viewing, physical activity, and sedentary behavio...

A two-phase study explored the role of academic majors in the identity development and affirmation among undergraduate collegestudents. Phase one of the study examined the existence of identity images for five academic majors (i.e., Hospitality Management;Recreation, Parks & Tourism Management; Journalism; Fashion Design; and Biology). Phase two me...

Objective “Active couch potato” describes an individual who is sufficiently physically active yet highly sedentary. Cell phones promote activities understood as sedentary behaviors (e.g. watching videos). Research demonstrates that cell phone use is positively associated with sedentary behavior. Although sedentary behavior typically displaces physi...

This study compared college students’ multitasking in online courses with their multitasking in face-to-face courses and explored the significance of potential predictors of multitasking in each setting. Students taking both online and face-to-face courses completed surveys assessing multitasking in each setting, self-efficacy for self-regulated le...

Purpose To assess situational cell phone use (i.e., sitting, standing, or physically active) and the relationship between cell phone use, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in adults 18–80 years old. Methods An on-line survey was completed by adults (N = 423; n = 256 females, 40 ± 16 years old) which assessed situational and total cell phon...

The current study aimed to model the relationships between problematic mobile phone use and others variables including internet addiction, gender, academic self-efficacy, and achievement. Path Analysis results indicated that the model had a good overall fit. Internet addiction was positively related to problematic mobile phone use. Additionally, ac...

Background: Mobile Internet-connected electronic devices provide access to activities that have traditionally been associated with sedentary behavior. Because they are portable, these devices can be utilized in any environment. Therefore, providing children with access to these devices in environments that typically promote physical activity may r...

Objective: To assess self-reported walking and sedentary behavior in young adults before and after downloading "Pokémon Go!". Materials and methods: In September 2016, a sample of 358 (19.8 ± 2.1 years old, n = 187 females) college students who had downloaded "Pokémon Go!" on their cellular telephones (i.e., cell phones) were surveyed for weekly...

Happiness can be understood as an internal condition achieved when an individual reflects on his or her life experience and judges it as good. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was designed to assess happiness based on a similarly understood subjective life appraisal. Using a random sample of college students (N = 507) and a paper survey, thi...

Previously, our group have shown that interacting with peers and/or parents, relative to playing alone, increases physical activity behavior in children without altering perceived exertion. It is possible that the enriching nature of interacting with peers and parents distracts children from how intense their physical activity is thus disrupting th...

College students spend hours each day using their cell phones. A common motivation for this behavior is the maintenance of social relations. Yet depending on cell phone use behavior, cell phone use could potentially strengthen or weaken social relations. We investigated this possibility with a survey (N = 493) assessing students' perceptions of imp...

Cellular telephone (cell phone) use decreases walking speed in controlled laboratory experiments and there is an inverse relationship between free-living walking speed and heart failure risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of cell phone use on walking speed in a free-living environment. Subjects (n = 1142) were randomly observe...

Research suggests that cell phone use is related to sedentary behavior, that cell phone use during exercise reduces intensity, and that high frequency cell phone users are less fit than other users. Thus, cell phone use appears connected to health and fitness behaviors and should be better understood within this context. The present study investiga...

Objectives: To assess the amount, intensity, enjoyment, and preference of children's physical activity in a controlled gymnasium setting under 3 experimental, social conditions: alone, with a parent watching, and with a parent participating. Study design: Children (n = 10 girls, 10 boys), 3-6 years old, along with 1 parent (n = 17 mothers, 3 fat...

Participation in canoeing and recreational kayaking (paddling) is growing rapidly. In response, this study identified paddlers’ (N = 221) motivations for paddling Ohio’s Cuyahoga River and paddlers’ preferences for specific river management practices. Next, this study tested whether these variables relate to paddlers’ Level of Specialization (LoS)....

While mobile phones (henceforth cell phones) provide nearly constant access to activities (eg, watching videos, playing games) traditionally associated with sedentary behavior, the relationship between cell phone use, sedentary behavior, and physical activity is untested. The purpose of this study was to assess these relationships. A sample of coll...

Transgender individuals are more likely to have lower social support and a more negative self-image than their cisgender (i.e., non-transgender) counterparts. While emerging research has demonstrated a potential association between these factors and physical activity behaviour, no studies have examined this relationship in transgender individuals....

This study used a within-subjects design to assess the effect of three common cellular telephone (cell phone) functions ( texting , talking , listening to music ) on planned exercise. Forty-four young adults ( n = 33 females, 21.8 ± 1.3 years) each participated in four, separate, 30-minute exercise conditions on a treadmill in a random order. Durin...

OPEN ACCESS: http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/5/1/2158244015573169 The cell phone is ever-present on college campuses and is frequently used in settings where learning occurs. This study assessed the relationship between cell phone use and actual college grade point average (GPA) after controlling for known predictors. As such, 536 undergraduate st...

Destination marketers increasingly rely on the official tourism website as an early point of contact with potential tourists. This research examined the effect of Uganda’s official tourism website on interest in traveling to Uganda, travel motivations, and travel constraints. Novelty preference and gender were included as moderators. A two group ra...

With the functionality of an internet-connected computer and an array of creative software, the modern cell phone is designed to entertain. Yet, the potential intersection of cell phone use and leisure has not been well explored. For this study, a random sample of 379 students from a large public US university completed a brief survey measuring cel...

Today’s college students are among the first cohort of young people raised entirely in the digital era and are rapid adopters of cell phone technology. An emerging line of research, from the broader social science and technology literature, is investigating the influence of cell phone use on college students’ behavior. This research suggests that c...

While functional differences between today’s cell phones and traditional computers are becoming less clear, one difference remains plain – cell phones are almost always on-hand and allow users to connect with an array of services and networks at almost any time and any place. The Pew Center’s Internet and American Life Project suggests that college...

With its expanding international tourism market, China is an increasingly attractive destination country for student travelers and backpackers. This study explores American university students’ perceptions of youth hostels in China as a brand and their intention to use youth hostels, based on brand personality and self-congruity theories. The use o...

Today's cell phones increase opportunities for activities traditionally defined as sedentary behaviors (e.g., surfing the internet, playing video games). People who participate in large amounts of sedentary behaviors, relative to those who do not, tend to be less physically active, less physically fit, and at greater risk for health problems. Howev...

Studying some part of a degree course abroad has witnessed significant growth in the past decade as part of a broader internationalisation agenda of many Higher Education institutions. Within this paper we present a case study of a group of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management students at a state university in the United States of America and lo...

This research explored the image of Wales as a nation and a potential tourism destination in relation to the 2010 Ryder Cup. Despite being promoted and positioned as the third biggest sporting event in the world remarkably little academic research has focused on the Ryder Cup. As part of some ongoing research into this mega-event the study focuses...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: For decades, park and recreation professionals have been creating opportunities for enjoyable experiences. However, the value of enjoyable experiences is only now being widely recognized. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Pine and Gilmore (1998) argued modem economies increasingly rely on experience as an important element...

This research explored the image of Wales as a nation and a potential tourism destination in relation to the 2010 Ryder Cup. Despite being promoted and positioned as the third biggest sporting event in the world remarkably little academic research has focused on the Ryder Cup. As part of some ongoing research into this mega-event the study focuses...

Africa is generally perceived by those living outside the continent as a risky destination for tourism. Many factors influence this perception, some real and some imagined. South Africa is the continent's leading international tourism destination and to maintain this industry it must manage perceptions of travel-related risk which can negatively in...

A nation's image is an important component of a successful tourism policy and since 1994 South Africa (SA) has embarked on a strategy of hosting major sport events to achieve various national goals, including projecting images of the ‘new SA’. This study investigated the role media coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup played in changing images assoc...

The Ryder Cup is the premier team competition in the sport of golf. Contested on a biennial basis between the best players from the USA and Europe, it is now one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Wales hosted the competition for the first time in 2010 when the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport staged the event. The 2010 Ryder Cup provided a...

This research used qualitative methods to examine the relationship between leisure and obligation among volunteer tourists on holiday at Kenya's Taita Discovery Center (TDC). At TDC, volunteer tourists spend their days participating in either a wildlife conservation program or a community development program. These programs are largely dependent on...

Over the last decade, international tourism has grown rapidly in Uganda. This has been planned by a small consortium of tourism officials working with the central government. Through data obtained from interviews with Ugandan tourism officials, this paper critically assesses their understandings of tourism's role in Uganda's development. Officials...

Sensation seeking (SS) is a personality trait associated with the need for novelty and stimulation and has been linked to tourist behavior. Tourist role, perceptions of risk associated with travel to particular regions of the world, and international travel experience were investigated in relation to SS and gender. Survey data were collected from 2...

Rural development is a priority in Uganda, East Africa and tourism is being promoted there for that purpose. However, in Uganda's Bigodi village tourism appears to have encouraged a dependency on Westerners—a situation contrary to development objectives like self-reliance. The research presented here investigated the relationship between tourism an...

This book explores the experiences of the volunteer tourist and the ensuing narratives between host and volunteer as it manifests in diverse and increasingly contested political international contexts. As such, this volume includes case studies conducted in 12 countries across six continents. The book is organized into three parts that explore key...

This study used qualitative methods to assess residents' attitudes towards initial tourism development in the small, rural village of Bigodi, Uganda. Due to geographic and political isolation, residents of Bigodi had little or no experience with tourism prior to the 1990s. This changed in 1991 when a tourism development project was initiated there....

This research was conducted in the rural village of Bigodi, Uganda. Bigodi is a village of approximately 385 adults and has been involved with tourism since 1991. Bigodi's primary attraction is a forested wetland managed by a local tourism cooperative. Tourists are guided through the wetland in search of primates and tropical birds. Village life an...

This article reports on research conducted in a rural Ugandan village. Residents of the village have experience with two types of conservation: one led by the state with minimal local involvement, and another led by community members with abundant local participation. The purpose of the research was to compare residents' attitudes toward the commun...

Uganda is an equatorial nation in East Africa. Over 80 percent of Ugandans are peasants. To develop rural areas, Uganda is heavily promoting tourism. The potential impact of tourism on peasants has not been studied. Uganda’s tourism centers on national parks. National parks are a major source of strife for peasants, mainly because parks’ wildlife d...

This paper examines the current phenomenon of rapidly increasing ecotourism in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, especially regarding ecotourism's impacts on the people of the region. The discussion takes place within the context of globalization as tourism is a tangible manifestation of increasing global interconnectedness. Within this context, ecotour...