In my diploma work on the topic {\clqq}Appearance of socially-pathological events of children in relation to unemployment in the family``. I concentrated on finding out connections between employment of parents, appearance of socially-pathological events of their children and their pocket money. The basic complex was formed by respondents at the age of 15 - 20 years who live in the region of Klatovy, on a scale of 200 respondents. The aim of my theoratical part was a summary of information about the family, its housekeeping, about socially - pathological events, unemplayment and spending leisure time of children. In my practical part I tried to find connections between the appearance of socially - pathological events, unemployment of parents and the pocket money of children. The importance of my diploma work is especially in the possibilities to inform parents, teachers, educators and the public, which are interested in bringing up, about the proven results from the research work. These results showed that the socially - pathological events, have the connection with unemployment of parents, because their appearance was 30 per cent bigger in the family with unemployed parents. Employed parents more often give their children pocket money that leads to increased smoking. The amount of the pocket money doesn{\crq}t influence the appearance of socially - pathological events because the important statistical difference in the amount of the pocket money in the group of respondents with the pocket money and the appearance of socially - pathological events in the general file wasn{\crq}t proved. Respondents who have experience with the unemployment of their parents are less satisfied in the family. Employed parents spend more leisure time with their children in the active way. These established facts can influence parents in their unbringing of their children. Knowledge and appreciation of connections of above - mentioned factors can lead up educators to the prevention of socially pathological events of children.

Interest-based education and leisure time are important in every person's life and they influence the proper functioning of the whole society. In order to fulfil its functions, it is important to emphasize its quality. The aim of the Diploma Thesis The Management of Interest Based Education Quality in the Ústí Region is to reveal the real status of the quality management of the interest-based education in the leisure time centres; and to identify the possibilities to innovate the leisure time education quality management. The questionnaire survey was used as the main research method of data collection. Interviews were used as the supplementary method. KEYWORDS interest-based education, quality management, leisure centres, quality

Today’s Internet of Things (IoT) is often employed to connect material artefacts to digital identifiers and a digital record of their history and existence. This has been heralded as a coming together of our material existences and our increasingly-digital lives. Bringing each object that we create, use and cherish into the IoT, is an outwardly appealing prospect. Using material objects is an accepted part of connecting with narratives and our history, and such a technological boon already enables the storytelling opportunities that are supported by rich digital records. However, in everyday life and in the practices that occupy them, people consider and share stories about the things that they feel to be meaningful to them in complex ways which do not necessarily conform to the expectations of the designers and developers who attempt to intervene and support such practices by focusing on the material objects at hand. This thesis draws upon observations from a thorough engagement with the community of practice of the Tabletop Miniature Wargaming pastime, which involves the acknowledged craft and use of objects deemed as meaningful, to reveal that the practitioners, in reality, construct their shared records and narratives around intangible Identities, both singular and collective, which they find to be the actual ‘meaningful things’ of their activities. These findings contravene the conventional emphasis on the material objects, and pose technological and conceptual challenges. Considering these findings through a lens informed by philosophical grounding, the thesis examines the distinctions between ordinary objects and extraordinary things; how things become meaningful; and the interplay between material and abstract things. The culmination of these efforts is the Meaningful Things Framework, which aims to help disambiguate the complex ways by which practitioners create, perceive and treat the meaningful things involved in their activities, and aid designers, developers and the communities themselves in understanding and supporting their practices.

The objective of this thesis was to examine how psychological theories and sociological concepts can be used to better understand health behaviour change amongst families living in Everton, north-west England. In doing so, three research questions are addressed: (1) What is the social composition and health status of Everton families and how can these insights be used to inform the development of an intervention which aims to generate positive behaviour change within these families?; (2) How can sociological theories and psychological concepts be used to explain processes of behaviour change amongst families involved in The People’s Family Project?; and (3) How effective is the community-based People’s Family Project in generating positive behaviour change and what are the core mechanisms and processes which help account for any behaviour change? A three-phase approach to the research was adopted in this mixed-methods study undertaken with parents and children and explored using an ecological framework. A process evaluation approach, which drew upon the key sociological theories of figurations, networks of interdependency, habitus, power and capital alongside the psychological constructs of behaviour change, namely self-efficacy and motivation was also used. Phase 1 explored the social demographics and health behaviours of families living in Everton (N=55) to provide the basis of a holistic family-based health intervention (the PFP). Phase 2 included the deployment of pre-intervention measures, intervention delivery, and mid- and immediate-post-intervention outcomes (N=14 families), and Phase 3 included repeat measurements at 6- and 12-months post-intervention (N=7). Results demonstrated that the intervention had little impact on smoking and alcohol behaviours but did have a significant and long-term impact on parental physical activity (PA), and a significant impact on mental well-being and dietary quality, however these changes were not maintained statistically at follow-up. Qualitative analysis suggested the intervention led to various physical, social and psychological benefits for families, which were explained using the programme theory developed as part of the process evaluation.

Cognitive gambling research has focused mainly on the irrational beliefs and cognitive biases that differentiate problem (PGs) and non-problem (RGs) gamblers. Whilst this research has been informative by highlighting that greater irrational beliefs are associated with gambling severity, the research has failed to determine cause and effect. This thesis proposes that metacognition is an area that may play a central role in the development and/or maintenance of problem gambling. Type-2 Signal Detection Theory (SDT) was used to analyse the data to measure three cognitive and metacognitive components of gambling performance: accuracy, resolution (metacognitive monitoring) and gambling criterion (metacognitive control). Optimality of gambling decisions was also explored. Experiment 1 used a simplified blackjack task, which demonstrated resolution differences between non-gamblers(NGs) and RGs. Experiments 2 to 5 examined the transference of gambling expertise of RGs and NGs in a novel dice gambling task. Experiment 6 demonstrated that the type of task can account for some cognitive and metacognitive variation observed between PGs and RGs, but impaired gambling criterion setting is a pertinent component of PGs’ gambling performance that is not dependent on gambling task. Finally, Experiment 7 showed that feedback enables participants to effectively shift gambling criteria to a more optimal position - and may have considerable implications for the treatment of problem gambling. The results are discussed in relation to four specific research questions and underscore the relative contribution of using a SDT approach in the study of gambling behaviour.

This thesis used a multi-methods approach to explore children’s out-of-school physical activity (PA). Study 1 found that children living in the most deprived neighbourhoods represent an important target group for future PA and health interventions. Further, the study also revealed that self-reported PA was positively associated with independent mobility. Study 2 confirmed that the weekend was a period of low moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and revealed that raw PA levels derived from the wrist-worn GENEActiv are not comparable with hip-worn ActiGraph. Agreement between the devices differed according to PA intensity and time of day, with the greatest difference occurring in light PA (LPA) during school hours. Using children’s recounted perceptions and experiences of out-of-school PA, study 3 demonstrated how an inclusive, interactive and child-centred methodology (i.e., write, draw show and tell; WDST) may be advantageous when compared to traditional singular qualitative methods. In study 4 parental safety concerns were reported to be the most consistent barrier to children’s out-of-school PA. The family case studies demonstrated how family perceptions and constraints can influence children’s out-of-school PA levels and activity mode (i.e., active school travel, outdoor play and organised sport). Such constraints include factors such as, school proximity, neighbourhood perceptions and family context. Study 5 revealed substantial intra-individual variability in children’s weekend MVPA. PA diary data revealed that children's weekend PA was mostly unstructured in nature and undertaken with friends, whereas a greater proportion of parents’ weekend PA was undertaken alone in structured settings. Family case studies demonstrated that in the selected cases MVPA levels and variability across weekends were contingent on mode of PA participation. This thesis contributes evidence to inform future out-of-school PA interventions. The research has demonstrated that children’s out-of-school PA is influenced by a complex interaction of individual, social and environmental factors. Specific highlights include the family and neighbourhood environment. The weekend is associated with low PA and as such represents an important time period to promote PA in children. Future weekend PA interventions should target specific modes of activity, as the facilitators and barriers to these activities vary considerably. Moreover, in future, research and practice should focus on ways in which to modify neighbourhood attributes to support children’s out-of-school active living.

This thesis investigates the civic life of a Balinese community in the context of ritual activities and traditions taking place in a coastal village, tracing relationships between ritual itinerary and topography, and highlighting the tensions and conflicts that have emerged between these ritual practices and recent developments in tourism. In the context of the littoral regions of Bali, the concept of the civic realm serves as a broad framework of the research which focuses on the village of Kuta. The choice of Kuta Village for this investigation was based on the following criteria: 1. the historical importance of the village, 2. its significance as a known tourist destination, and 3. its urban/coastal complexity. In order to address the relationships between these three criteria, the research adopted a mixed method approach, incorporating a range of quantitative and qualitative material. Participants in the research project are all, in various ways, stakeholders in the future of Kuta Village who are involved in the usage, monitoring and management of the beaches, including environmentalists. From the perspective of an outsider visiting Kuta Village, there seems to be little evidence of conflict between the local community’s ritual traditions and tourist activities in both the village and on the beaches. However, underlying this apparent tranquillity a rather different situation emerges, which concerns the sometimes conflicting interests of three parties; hotel companies, the community of environmental supporters, and the government. This conflict, which is manifested in disputes over claims of territorial ownership and control, is in danger of leading to long term negative impacts on the social life and beach environment. Furthermore, initial investigations of the key issues, arising from this conflict, suggests that a significant part of the problem is due to a combination of unplanned tourist development, weak management, ineffective law enforcement and the effect of beach erosion. Due to these negative impacts, and their implications on the civic life of the community, this thesis aims to initiate discussions for a revised planning and design strategy for Kuta Village in order to achieve a more balanced relationship among ecological needs, custody of the civic realm and a sustained development in tourism. Such a strategy aims, ultimately, to improve understanding of the key challenges facing the town for benefit of practitioners, planners, government bodies and academia.

Este estudo teve por objetivo estabelecer os aspectos a serem considerados para o desenvolvimento das atividades físicas de aventura na natureza (AFAN) em Porto Alegre. A pesquisa empregou análise de documentos, entrevistas semi-estruturadas e observações. Os documentos consistiram de diretrizes, programas e planos sobre as características geográficas e sócio-ambientais da cidade elaborados por órgãos municipais. As entrevistas foram realizadas com representantes do poder público, federações esportivas, organizações não-governamentais, docentes de instituições de ensino superior, empresários do setor de equipamentos especializados e instrutores de AFAN, num total de 29 entrevistados. As observações, num total de 8, aconteceram em regiões cujas características geográficas indicavam potencial para a prática das AFAN. Os resultados evidenciaram que Porto Alegre, devido as suas características geográficas, principalmente os morros e o Lago Guaíba, possui vários locais com potencial para a prática das AFAN. A infra-estrutura pública é insuficiente e encontra-se em condições precárias, enquanto a privada, embora em boa qualidade, atende apenas a um número reduzido de atividades, em especial náuticas e eqüestres, e se destina a grupos restritos. As contribuições econômicas e sociais, como geração de emprego e renda, disseminação de uma consciência ecológica e integração social existem, porém são ainda incipientes. Os riscos sociais e os riscos que os ambientes poluídos oferecem estão entre os aspectos que dificultam o desenvolvimento das AFAN em Porto Alegre. / The aim of this study was to establish the aspects to be considered for the development of the physical activities of adventure in the nature (AFAN) in Porto Alegre. The research used analysis of documents, semi-structured interviews and observations. The documents consisted of guidelines, programs and plans on the geographical and socialenvironmental characteristics of the city elaborated by municipal institutions. The interviews were accomplished with representatives of the public sector, sporting federations, non-government organizations, higher education institutions, managers of the sector of specialized equipment and instructors of AFAN, in a total of 29 interviewees. The observations, in a total of 8, were carried out in areas whose geographical characteristics indicated potential for the practice of AFAN. The results highlighted that Porto Alegre, due its geographical characteristics, mainly the hills and Lake Guaíba possesses several places with potential for the practice of AFAN. The public infrastructure is insufficient and in precarious conditions, while the private, although in good quality, just assists to a restricted group of people and a reduced number of activities, especially nautical and equestrian. The economic and social contributions, as employment generation and income, environmental education and ecological conscience, and social integration exist, though they are still incipient. The social risks and the risks that the polluted environment offers are among the aspects that hinder the development of AFAN in Porto Alegre.

My thesis is about the values, opinions and leisure time of non-racist skinheads. Using qualitative research, it provides insight into their lives, clarifies their opinions about current topics and views towards our society. It explains their inner and outer goals, as well as their leisure time, an important feature of this subculture. It includes the history of the skinheads subculture in the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. It also explains the reasons for joining the non-rasist skinheads and makes an attempt to comprehensibly compare the different branches of the skinheads subculture.

This diploma thesis deals with the position, leisure time and life of a healthy sibling in a family which takes care of a family member with disabilities. The theoretical part is divided in four chapters, which are aimed at a family, a family with a disabled member, healthy siblings, constellations between siblings, the definition of leisure time, particular developmental psychological characteristics of healthy siblings and disabled siblings and also the actual division of disability. The practical part is based on qualitative research. Due to the semi-structured interviews it attempts to differentiate how the quality of leisure time and especially their own personal life is perceived by healthy siblings themselves.