Sports fandoms, historically, have been categorized as a male domain, even in academic studies. Therefore, as Formula 1 has been a sport with a remarkable increase in digital engagement and women are one of their main target audiences, I study Spanish F1 female fans’ behaviours, attitudes, and motivations towards F1 and Twitter as part of their fan experience. Through nethnographic methods, where semi-structured interviews and participant observations have been central, I try to gain knowledge about individual experiences as well as the functionality of the F1 Twitter community. It is illustrated that F1 female fans cannot be considered a homogeneous group by applying a postmodern feminist approach where identities are considered to be fluid, fractured, and in constant flux, distancing from previous feminist ideals that promoted binary and determinate gender concepts. Raney’s affective, cognitive and social/behavioural sets of motivations are employed in order to contemplate F1 female fans' motivation for consuming F1 and choosing Twitter as the social network to follow the sport. Moreover, Jenkin’s participatory culture is taken into account to analyse the F1 Twitter community. Patterns regarding becoming a fan due to Alonso's success and family ties, common interests in information and shared F1 popular knowledge are encountered. However, diverse usage of Twitter and different levels of sense of belonging to TwF1 are also displayed. Hence, I conclude that more research is needed to gain a better understanding of them because despite displaying different facets, F1 female fans are ‘authentic’ fans who should be taken into consideration by sports, media and fan studies in addition to sports organizations and fellow fans.

Sport events and attractions which encourage both participants and spectators are seen as significant contributors to the tourism economy (Delpy, 1998; Glyptis, 1991; Standeven & DeKnop, 1999). Further, Gratton and Taylor (2000) note that sport related travel accounts for 7% of total expenditure on sport. To date, the main focus of event sport tourism research has been on the economic impact of large-scale sport events (Burgan & Mules, 1992; Crompton, 1995; Mules & Faulkner, 1996; Walo, Bull, & Breen, 1996). However, Higham (1999) posits that smaller scale events such as regular season games may be of greater benefit to the host community as these events are hosted within existing infrastructure and therefore limit the need for public expenditure. However, fans who travel to regular season competition are a market segment that has been largely ignored by both sport and tourism marketers. Sport marketers have focused on home game attendance, media viewership and product purchases, while tourism marketers have focused on leveraging the destination. Anecdotal evidence suggests that fans who travel organise a substantial proportion of their discretionary time and income around this activity. Recent research by Gibson, Willming and Holdnak (2002, 2003) has begun to understand the behaviours of sport fans who travel to home games. This study seeks to understand the behaviours and experiences of those who travel to attend away games. In particular the study asks: What motivates fans to travel to follow professional sport teams, what experiences fans have and seek during the travel, and what place does travelling to follow a sport team have in the overall consumption behaviour of sport fans. This study examined the motives and experiences of six fan groups travelling interstate to follow their Australian Football League (AFL) team in the 2001 season. As the behaviours and experiences of those who travel to follow sport teams have not previously been explored, exploratory analysis using an iterative process of constant comparison between data colleted from the research setting and the existent literature. Using this method the researcher was able to describe the social world under investigation without preconceived hypotheses. The researcher travelled interstate with each fan group, and collected data via participant observation and interviews with key informants. Data were coded using standard protocols for analysis of qualitative data (Spradley, 1980). The researcher read through the transcripts and field notes and coded all phrases and opinions from the manuscript. Data were analysed through the process of data reduction, selective sampling of the literature, and selected sampling of the data (Stern, 1980). From the initial codes, data reduction identified core variables and emergent themes. Through this grounded theory methodology, a conceptual model was developed which illustrates the motives and experiences of those who travel to follow professional sport teams. Three distinct types of groups were identified, each garnering a distinctive sport tourism experience. The groups identified were: supporter groups, long-term travel groups, and temporary travel groups. While travel to follow the team is the stated rationale for all three groups, the game experience for each is substantially different, four major themes emerged which distinguished the groups and the experiences that they had. These were: (1) group structure, (2) trip characteristics, (3) socialisation, and (4) game experience and reaction to game outcome. Each type of group was found to have a distinct group structure, communication pattern, but differed in terms of the objects to which they identified. Findings suggest that sport fans do not necessarily identify with the team or related object, but can identify with a smaller social group, which has a shared interest in the team. These elements of group structure and point of identification were found to have a reciprocal relationship with various travel elements that were utilised by each group including the mode of transport, temporal elements, choice of destination, and activities at the destination. In particular, the travel elements were chosen so that each group type could best express and experience that which is core to each group. Further analysis suggested that the experience of each of the groups was influenced by the continual development of the group both before and during the travel experience. For the supporter groups and long-term travel groups, rituals, symbols, and folklore played a key role in the experience. These elements of performance were used to continually shape and interpret the travel experience. One would expect that the game would have elevated importance, as it is the activity that legitimates each group. However, the on-field game did not have prime importance. Instead the different points of identification of each group were used as a basis through which the game was experienced. Key implications for sport and tourism marketing suggest that the sport tourism experience is more than an experience of place or an experience of watching the sport. Identification with a small social group is sufficient to generate travel to follow a team. By providing a setting which immerses participants in a particular identity for a prolonged period of time, the act of travelling itself can create a social climate that encourages participants to undertake the trip week after week, and form deep connection to the team. Implications for practice and future research directions are also discussed.

<p><strong>Aim of the Thesis:</strong> To investigate the practice of using a CRM strategy in football clubs by comparing earlier successful and unsuccessful CRM implementations by football clubs and study fan relationship theories in a large Swedish football club, thereby presenting guidelines on how to further develop a CRM strategy in a Swedish football club.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>A quantitative approach and a qualitative approach have been used, first collecting empirical data on supporter views through a questionnaire further strengthened by gathering empirical data through an interview. The quantitative data has been presented with descriptive statistics and the qualitative data has been analyzed using a realist approach.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Theoretical Perspectives:</strong> A literature review has been conducted and resulted in a theoretical framework illustrating the concepts of benefits and risks with CRM, fan relationship marketing, CRM implementation process, CRM systems in football clubs, and supporter loyalty. A research model, “FRM implementation process” has been developed from the theoretical findings. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Empirical Data: </strong>The quantitative empirical data has been collected by distributing a questionnaire to supporters of AIK Fotboll. The qualitative empirical data has been collected through interviews with the head of sales and marketing within AIK Fotboll AB.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong>:<strong> </strong>A CRM strategy can benefit Swedish football clubs in areas such as to better capture customer data, better communication between the club and its supporters and provide customized offers as long as the supporters are informed about the changes in strategy. In order for Swedish football clubs to successfully implement a CRM strategy they need to ensure adequate financing and management commitment since an unsuccessful implementation can be devastating to a Swedish football club’s finances.</p>

<p>The main purpose of this essay is to study ideas concerning the concept of ”art” within the discourse of the exhibition space that is part of a fanart community. In order to do so I have used a hermeneutical and to some extent structuralistic, discourse analysis. I have examined structure and rhetorics in two established and popular communities, Fanart-Central and deviantART.</p><p>My conclusions states that personal ideas regarding artistic value are undermined the joint policies, because of a collective rhetoric somewhat inherent in the community structure.</p><p>When a lot of works are being based on internal knowledge of symbolics and historical narratives, this may to some extent have consequences where unfamiliar observers might fail to notice elements of possible significance. Moreover, certain interests in keeping a united front of “quality art” may also affect a general idea immediate to what signifies fanart. By means of for example categorization, censure, and quality control, specific standards of “good art” are framed and conceded within the communities. Trying to sustain specific criteria as emblematic for the entire genre like this seems highly restraining, and also contradicts the essentially liberal principals of fan culture.</p>

<p><!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --></p><p>Japanese presence on the global cultural market has steadily been increasing throughout the last decades. Fan-communities all over the world are celebrating the Japanese culture and cultural identity no longer seems bound to the local. This thesis is an empirical study which aims to examine the transnational flow of Japanese popular culture into Sweden. The author addresses the issue with three research questions; what unique dimensions could be ascribed to Swedish anime-fandom, what is appealing about Japanese popular culture and how is it influencing fan-audiences? To enable deeper understanding of the phenomenon, a qualitative research consisting of semi-structured telephone-interviews and questionnaires, was conducted with Swedish fans of Japanese popular culture. The results presented in this thesis indicate that the anime-community in Sweden possesses several unique dimensions, both in activities surrounding Japanese popular culture and consumption and habits. Japanese popular culture fills a void that seems to exist in domestic culture. It is different, and that is what is appealing to most fans. Anime and manga have inspired fans to learn about the Japanese culture, in some cases, Japanese popular culture has in a way “japanized” fans – making them wish they were born in Japan.</p><p> </p>

Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation method has attracted considerable application in many different areas such as statistical parameter estimation, feedback control, simulation-based optimization, signal & image processing, and experimental design. In this paper, its performance as a viable optimization tool is demonstrated by applying it first to a simple wing geometry design problem for which the objective function is described by an empirical formula from aircraft design practice and then it is used in a transonic fan blade design problem in which the objective function is not represented by any explicit function but is estimated at each design iteration by a computational fluid dynamics algorithm for solving the Navier-Stokes equations / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Thesis (M.Ing. (Electrical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The main purpose of this essay is to study ideas concerning the concept of ”art” within the discourse of the exhibition space that is part of a fanart community. In order to do so I have used a hermeneutical and to some extent structuralistic, discourse analysis. I have examined structure and rhetorics in two established and popular communities, Fanart-Central and deviantART. My conclusions states that personal ideas regarding artistic value are undermined the joint policies, because of a collective rhetoric somewhat inherent in the community structure. When a lot of works are being based on internal knowledge of symbolics and historical narratives, this may to some extent have consequences where unfamiliar observers might fail to notice elements of possible significance. Moreover, certain interests in keeping a united front of “quality art” may also affect a general idea immediate to what signifies fanart. By means of for example categorization, censure, and quality control, specific standards of “good art” are framed and conceded within the communities. Trying to sustain specific criteria as emblematic for the entire genre like this seems highly restraining, and also contradicts the essentially liberal principals of fan culture.

Kultfilmsfankulturen uppstod i början av 1980-talet. Den baseras på en misstänksamhet mot den föreställda mainstreampubliken. Kultfilmerna betraktas av fansen med allt från förakt till dyrkan. Utifrån Sarah Thorntons mer kritiska perspektiv på subkulturer har forskare som Mark Jancovich, Joanne Hollows och Jacinda Reed visat hur kultfilmsfankulturen är en klass-och könsbunden (maskulin) konstruktion och att både ”kult” och ”mainstream” är begrepp som konstrueras inom själva subkulturen. På internet finns en uppsjö av sajter som inriktar sig på att recensera kultfilmer. Båda ovan nämnda typer av fankritik och olika schatteringar däremellan finns representerade. Ofta flyter de in i varandra. På grund av mediets öppna karaktär är sajterna ofta mer censurerade än tryckta kultfilmsfansin. Sidorna riktar sig först och främst till fans och är mer eller mindre exkluderande mot utomstående. Det heterosexuellt ”grabbiga” tilltalet och det sadistiska våld mot kvinnor som förekommer i många av de recenserade filmerna kan ha en utestängande effekt mot kvinnor och icke-heterosexuella. Överlag tycks det dock ha skett en uppluckring av den av fansen föreställda gränsen mellan deras egen subkultur och mainstreamkulturen. Mycket beror det på den ökade mediala och akademiska uppmärksamheten kring kultfilm. Filmerna är också lättare att få tag på. Bilden av det typiska kultfilmsfanet är en utbildad, vit (heterosexuell) man från medelklassen och så tycks även vara fallet på sajterna. Det finns dock några aktiva kvinnor som tycks ha hittat sin plats i fangemenskapen utan att ”kulturellt sett vara en grabbarna”. De manliga sajtinnehavarna har å ena sidan en maskulin roll inom subkulturen som webbmaster, men måste samtidigt tillgripa olika strategier för att värja sig från den feminiserade bilden av fanet/nörden utanför subkulturen. Stämningen sajtinnehavare och recensenter emellan är i allmänhet mycket god och många fans tycks uppleva en stor gemenskap på nätet, samtidigt som det finns en stark individualistisk hållning och ett ägandetänkande kring de egna sajterna.

Aim of the Thesis: To investigate the practice of using a CRM strategy in football clubs by comparing earlier successful and unsuccessful CRM implementations by football clubs and study fan relationship theories in a large Swedish football club, thereby presenting guidelines on how to further develop a CRM strategy in a Swedish football club.   Methodology: A quantitative approach and a qualitative approach have been used, first collecting empirical data on supporter views through a questionnaire further strengthened by gathering empirical data through an interview. The quantitative data has been presented with descriptive statistics and the qualitative data has been analyzed using a realist approach.   Theoretical Perspectives: A literature review has been conducted and resulted in a theoretical framework illustrating the concepts of benefits and risks with CRM, fan relationship marketing, CRM implementation process, CRM systems in football clubs, and supporter loyalty. A research model, “FRM implementation process” has been developed from the theoretical findings.    Empirical Data: The quantitative empirical data has been collected by distributing a questionnaire to supporters of AIK Fotboll. The qualitative empirical data has been collected through interviews with the head of sales and marketing within AIK Fotboll AB.   Conclusion: A CRM strategy can benefit Swedish football clubs in areas such as to better capture customer data, better communication between the club and its supporters and provide customized offers as long as the supporters are informed about the changes in strategy. In order for Swedish football clubs to successfully implement a CRM strategy they need to ensure adequate financing and management commitment since an unsuccessful implementation can be devastating to a Swedish football club’s finances.