A highly successful International TR Institute was held on September 9, 2000, as a part of the ATRA Annual Conference in Cincinnati. The International TR Institute was the first to be conducted by ATRA and was sponsored by the International Relations Team. International speakers from Spain, Japan, Korea, and Puerto Rico made presentations. Another eight presentations were made by ATRA members who spoke about their international experiences.

Dr. Susana Gorbena delivered a paper on the status of therapeutic recreation in Spain. Dr. Hirolaki Chino presented research on the effects of a leisure education program on independence in leisure among Japanese clients. Dr. Yongkoo Noh gave a research presentation on the effects of leisure education on leisure boredom, leisure attitudes, and leisure satisfaction among Korean older adults. Victor Ramariz, of Puerto Rico, focused on cultural understanding of therapeutic recreation.

ATRA members presenting included: Youngkhill Lee, Heewon Yang, and I-Tsun Chiang (Indiana University); Marjorie Malkin (Southern Illinois University); Jerry Hitzhusen (University of Missouri); John Shank (Temple University); Jane Young (Western Carolina University); Tom Gushiken, Mie Sakai, Urara Kaneko, and Sayaka Sonobe (University of Wisconsin LaCrosse); Dan Ferguson (Brigham Young University); and Lisa Lawson (University of Kansas). The Institute was coordinated by David Austin of Indiana University.

The International TR Institute was more than the sharing of scholarship. The Institute provided an important avenue for international scholars from numerous countries along with ATRA members to share personal experiences and exchange ideas in TR. It was also an important opportunity for presenters as well as audience to appreciate the emergence of the global nature of TR in different regions of the world. The nature of interaction between presenters and audience demonstrated that they learned from each other and enjoyed collegiality and friendships that would not been available if not for the Institute.

Written by David Austin & Youngkhill Lee, Indiana University, and published in ATRA Newsletter, 2000, Volume 16, Number 5, p. 4

" TRStud": A New Zealand Base E-mail Discussion Group

Here is one useful LISTSERV (e-Group or discussion group) entitled "TRStud" for TR students. It is a New Zealand based email group service for students of Therapeutic Recreation. This LISTSERV is an avenue for students and TR professinals to share ideas and opinions about the application of TR in clinical or community settings.

While many people know what LISTSERV is, here is a brief introduction to help those who may not know the concept. LISTSERV is a system that creates, manages and controls electronic "mailing lists" on the Internet. A mailing list is a list of people's names and e-mail addresses that are used to send certain messages or announcements to many people at once, who are usually expected to share a common interest in the contents of the message. You can usually join and leave the list as you see fit, so there is a good chance that you will actually find at least some of the messages interesting. The list owner is the person with formal responsibility for the operation of the list. Interestingly enough, the "TRStud" is owned by Sonya Henderson, a TR student in New Zealand.

You may be able to join the group by simply e-mailing to:

TRstud@egroups.com

If you do not wish to belong to "TRstud" you may unsubscribe by sending an email to

TRstud-unsubscribe@egroups.com

TR Study Tour To Great Britain

Discovering Therapeutic Recreation Across Cultures
By Laura Feitz, Indiana University

TR in New Zealand

Fran Stanat, Ph.D., who teaches at Southern Institute of Technology, will share her experience of TR in New Zealand