Glossary
Aerobics and fitness
Includes gym, exercise bike and circuits.
Art and craft activities
Includes painting, drawing, photography, macramé, origami, needlework and model making. Excludes attending live performances (e.g. theatrical productions and visits to art galleries.)
Basketball
Includes organised indoor and outdoor basketball.
Computers
Includes portable computers (e.g. laptops, notebook computers), personal organisers which can be plugged into larger computers and dedicated word processors.
Excludes calculators. Computers used in the home include home business computers and computers brought home from work.
Computer usage
Relates to the following activities: Internet based, including email; playing games; school or educational and other.
Couple family
For the purposes of this publication, a family consisting of two persons in a registered marriage or de facto relationship and at least one child aged 5-14 years who are usually resident in the household. The family may also include any number of other dependents, non-dependents and other related individuals.
Cycling
Includes organised BMX and mountain bike riding.
Dancing
Includes ballet, street funk, tap, Irish, callisthenics and musicals (e.g. Rock Eisteddfod) where the child's predominant activity was dancing. Includes lessons, practising and performances outside of school hours.
Drama
Includes acting, designing and organising of props and costumes, set design and construction, lighting and front of house activities (such as organising venues, production and distribution of programs, ticket sales, ushering, etc.). Includes lessons, practising and performances outside of school hours.
Electronic or computer games
Includes game machines such as Playstations, Nintendo, hand-held computer games and electronic games in video arcades.
Gymnastics
Includes organised trampolining.
Hockey
Excludes underwater and ice hockey.
Horse riding
Includes organised equestrian and polocrosse.
Ice/snow sports
Includes organised ice hockey, ice-skating, snow skiing and snow boarding.
Internet usage
Relates to the following activities: using email or chat rooms; playing games; school or educational; browsing the Internet for leisure and other.
Leisure activities
For the purposes of this publication, leisure activities refer to watching TV or videos; playing electronic or computer games; art and craft; reading for pleasure; skateboarding or rollerblading; and cycling.
Martial arts
Includes organised tae kwon do, aikido, judo, karate and kickboxing.
Mean
The mean is the arithmetic average of a group of values. It is calculated by adding the observed values and dividing by the number of observations.
Median
The median is the middle value when values are sorted by order of size.
Netball
Includes organised indoor and outdoor netball.
One-parent family
For the purposes of this publication, a family consisting of a lone parent and at least one child aged 5-14 years usually resident in the household. The family may also include any number of other dependents, non-dependents and other related individuals.
Organised cultural activities
The organised cultural activities considered in this survey are playing a musical instrument, singing, dancing and drama. Time spent outside of school hours practising, having lessons and giving performances in these activities are included. 'Practising' refers to organised or structured practice sessions only. For example, practising scales and pieces set by a music teacher is included.
Organised sport
In this survey, sports played or trained for outside of school hours which were organised by a club, association or school are included. The club or association did not need to be a sporting body; for example, it may have been a church group or the local gymnasium. Any organised or structured training or practice sessions are included as long as they have been set by the instructor or coach.
Other computer activities
Includes writing letters or correspondence, hobbies (e.g. clip art) and keeping a diary.
Other countries
The group comprises all countries except Australia and the other main English-speaking countries (the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Canada, the United States of America and New Zealand).
Other Internet activities
Includes downloading music or pictures and downloading information (e.g. recipes, sports results, hobbies or other interests).
Other main English-speaking countries
Comprises the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Canada, the United States of America and New Zealand.
Outside of school hours
The period generally outside of the hours of 9am to 3pm (or as appropriate) Monday to Friday. Lunchtime is considered to fall within school hours.
Participants
Persons playing a sport or undertaking physical activity. Persons involved only in non-playing roles such as coach, umpire or administrator are excluded.
Participation rate
For any group, the number of persons involved (either as participants or otherwise) in sports or physical activities, expressed as a percentage of the total population of that group.
Playing a musical instrument
Includes practising, having lessons and giving performances outside of school hours. Includes playing as part of learning (e.g. playing a musical instrument to learn chords without actually being able to play a set piece of music).
Public library computers
Includes computers provided in the library for public access for library catalogue searches, Internet use and word processing.
School weeks
Weeks during the school term including weekends and public holidays. Excludes weeks during the school holidays.
Singing
Includes formal singing lessons (e.g. learning scales, voice training, etc.), practice sessions to learn songs (e.g. choir songs etc.) and singing performances outside school hours.
Someone else's home
Includes the homes of neighbours, friends and relatives.
Sport
Whether an activity was regarded as a sport was left to the judgement of the respondent.
Surf sports
Includes organised surfing and windsurfing. Excludes surf-lifesaving.
Tennis
Includes organised indoor and outdoor tennis. Excludes totem-tennis.
Volleyball
Includes organised indoor and outdoor volleyball and beach volleyball.