Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-04T22:02:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 1 / Nenhuma / O presente estudo analisa as potencialidades de humanização do tempo livre e verifica quais as práticas propostas de lazer e ócio, segundo Joffre Dumazedier e Manuel Cuenca Cabeza, respectivamente, autores referenciais em seus estudos analítico-propositivos sobre as temáticas abordadas. A partir da identificação das concepções do tempo livre e as práticas de lazer e ócio em Dumazedier e Cuenca, verificamos o potencial de humanização que tais práticas dispõem. O entendimento sobre humanização, que se configura no engajamento com o outro, está amparado em Reinholdo Ullmann. O aporte teórico está apoiado em Agnes Heller, Hannah Arendt e Norbert Elias. Henri Lefebvre que faz um contraponto às perspectivas dos três autores. A metodologia utilizada para desenvolver este estudo foi a pesquisa bibliográfica, ancorando-se em obras selecionadas de Dumazedier e Cuenca, sobre lazer e ócio. Com relação aos resultados do estudo, é importante enfatizar que as hipóteses se confirmaram, conforme a linha proposta. Neste moment / This study analyses the potentialities of the free time humanization and verifies which are the proposed practices of leisure and idleness proposed by Joffre Dumazedier and Manuel Cuenca Cabeza, respectively, authors that are regarded in their analytical and proposing studies concerning the approached topics. By identifying the conceptions of free time and the practices of leisure and idleness in Dumazedier and Cuenca, we verified the humanization potential these practices provide. The comprehension about humanization, as the commitment process with the other, is based on Reinholdo A. Ullmann. The theoretical approach is based upon Agnes Heller, Hannah Arendt and Norbert Elias; as well as in Henri Lefebvre withstands the ideas of the three authors. The methodology used in this study was the bibliographic research, supported by Dumazedier’s and Cuenca’s selected literature about leisure and idleness. Concerning the results of the study, it is important to point out that the hypotheses were confirmed in accorda

Adriaan de Groot, the Dutch psychologist and chess Master, argued that “perception and memory are more important differentiators of chess expertise than the ability to look ahead in selecting a chess move” (Groot 1978). A component of expertise in chess has been attributed to the expert having knowledge of ‘chunks’ and this knowledge gives the expert the ability to focus quickly on “good moves with only moderate look-ahead search” (Gobet and Simon 1998). The effects of chunking in chess are widely reported in the literature, however papers reporting the nature of chunks are largely based on inference from psychological experimentation. This thesis reports original work resulting from extensive data mining of a large number of chessboard configurations to explore the nature of chunks within the game of chess and the associated moves played by expert chess players. The research was informed by work in the psychology of chess and explored with software engineering techniques, employing large datasets consisting of transcripts from expert players games. The thesis reports results from an analysis of chunks throughout the game of chess, explores the properties of meaningful chunks and reports effects of the application of chunk knowledge to move searching.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has adopted tourism as one of the main vehicles for promoting economic integration within Southern Africa, an approach referred to in the study as 'tourism integration '. Using a critical realist approach, the research investigates the political , economic and social context within which tourism integration has evolved and elicits stakeholder perceptions and attitudes towards the strategy. The study involved three field research visits to Southern Africa over the period 2000 to 2006, intended to find out how the strategy manifests in several areas of economic integration. The findings and recommendations are based on field research on the education and training sector and the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP). The research finds that 'tourism integration' has been prompted by a combination of political, economic and social developments at international, regional and national levels and the study also shows that the strategy faces many challenges including, the large size of the region, asymmetric economies at different levels of economic development, lack of political will among the ruling elite ; limited resources and lack of widespread stakeholder participation in policy processes. From this, the research develops a framework for examining the process of tourism in general and concludes that although SADC has been highly imaginative regarding policy formulation, but this has not been matched in practice since, by the end of 2006, many of the policies had not been implemented. However, a number of factors, including a long history and noticeable successes with economic integration; and the existence of lock-in effects and widespread stakeholder support for tourism integration, make tourism integration a viable and enduring approach to economic integration. In view of this, the research makes a number of recommendations including wider stakeholder participation in policy formulation and implementation, greater resourcing of strategies and more academic research on the desirability and feasibility of using tourism as a basis for promoting wider and deeper economic integration.

The aim of the current thesis was to investigate athletes’ perceptions of coaching effectiveness in team and individual sport. The introduction reviews the literature on coaching effectiveness of direct relevance to this thesis. This chapter also identifies a number of theoretical frameworks to the investigation of coaching effectiveness in sport, and subsequently uses these to inform the empirical studies that follow. The first of these Chapter 2, investigated a number of antecedents of athletes’ perceptions of their coach’s effectiveness, finding athlete sex, sport type (i.e., individual vs. team) coaching behavior were all predictive of athletes’ perceptions of their coach’s effectiveness. Next, Chapter 3 focused on outcomes of athlete perceptions of their coach, showing such perceptions of coaching effectiveness were predictive of athlete-level outcomes representing all four of the key outcomes. This was shown in two separate samples of athletes representing a range of team and individual sports, one from the UK and one from Malaysia. Then, Chapter 4 investigated whether athletes’ perceptions of coaching effectiveness mediated longitudinal predictive effects of perceptions of coach’s transformational leadership behavior on three different athlete outcomes. This study demonstrated the longitudinal predictive effects of appropriate role model behaviour on antisocial teammate behavior and individual consideration behavior on trust were mediated by athletes’ perceptions of their coach’s effectiveness in character building and motivation, respectively. Finally the present thesis extend the coaching effectiveness literature by furthering our understanding on antecedents and outcomes of coaching effectiveness in team and individual sport, as well as the possible processes involved.

Academic literature has examined how the development of tourism destinations involves collaborative relationships between the various actors that participate in tourism policy and planning. In terms of an institutional analysis this thesis is about similar processes, yet it also explores the ways in which place- and time-specific material factors and perceptions characterize different patterns of tourism politics. Without making assumptions about the harmonious or conflicting nature of interactions among actors and the contexts surrounding them, the thesis advances the idea of a relational-evolutionary perspective on the processes of tourism policy and planning. Studying the governance of tourism development requires an assessment of the contextual coupling of different elements as both the corollary of earlier events and the precursor of future developments. In this thesis, a strategic-relational approach to tourism governance comprises the conceptual framework that provides explanatory depth into the contextual analysis of experiences and events. The case study approach is employed for the operationalization of the strategicrelational approach in the context of Athens as a tourist-historic and capital city of a highly centralised Southern-European state. The endeavour is based on the collection and analysis of data from documentary sources and semi-structured interviews. The interpretation of empirical evidence through the strategic-relational approach reveals the irony of a multifarious and multi-scalar governance context, which has not met the expectations of interest groups, especially in recent years, concerning tourism development in Athens. In other words, the thesis portrays the challenges and weaknesses that expand within and beyond the boundaries of state apparatus and hinder the enhancement of Athens as an urban tourism destination while recording the perceptions, experiences and practices of various actors.

This thesis seeks to contribute to the literature on Walter Benjamin and Jean Baudrillard, but not to merely retread old debates. It is concerned instead with a re-evaluation of the work of both thinkers in a particular context: the experience of the new cultural spaces, of twenty-first century post-industrial cities, and in relation to each other. I argue, following Benjamin, that these spaces function as contemporary ‘dreamhouses’. Deploying a constellation of Benjamin and Baudrillard’s ideas to read such spaces illuminates the experience of the contemporary cityscape around the themes of spectacle, distraction, interactivity, simulation and consumption. The thesis examines how these iconic architectural projects, the technological body of the cityscape, mediate our experiences of art, nature, personal and collective memory, and notions of public culture. I argue that we must read Benjamin again after Baudrillard in order to assess the value of both thinkers’ contribution to the understanding of contemporary cities organisation of space and culture. The contingent proximity that is uncovered when reading the theorists both together and against each other, is one which ultimately argues for the persistence of certain ‘messianic’ moments; traces or interruptions which can be uncovered against the notion of Baudrillardian ‘simulation’. This is to take seriously, rather than dispense with, Baudrillardian ideas. Both Benjamin and Baudrillard, together, are necessary to understand the experience of contemporary urban culture. Taking the form of four empirical encounters between the theoretical concepts and the cultural spaces themselves, I set out to locate these messianic possibilities. Each of the analytical chapters focuses on a different cultural space: The Lowry, Salford; The Deep, Hull, The Sage, Gateshead; and The Public, West Bromwich.

This thesis examined the regulatory role of emotion in antisocial behaviour using Bandura’s (1991) social cognitive theory of moral thought and action as a framework. In Chapter 2, moral disengagement was associated with reduced, and empathy with increased, negative affective reactions to unpleasant images depicting players hurt or mistreated. In Chapter 3, an initial study yielded a positive link between moral disengagement and antisocial behaviour which was partially mediated by anticipated guilt. In a second study, manipulating attribution of blame (mechanism of moral disengagement) led to reduced unpleasant affective reactions to images depicting aggressive content. Moreover, attribution of blame led to greater likelihood to aggress which was partly mediated by a reduction in anticipated guilt. Chapter 4 revealed that inducing empathy led to more unpleasant affective reactions to antisocial conduct as well as reduced the likelihood to aggress, which was mediated by an enhancement in anticipated guilt. In the final experiment, empathy reduced aggression following provocation during a competitive reaction time task that was partially mediated by guilt, but not anger. Collectively, these results provide support for the role of emotion in regulating antisocial behaviour, and indicate that moral disengagement may negate and empathy may enhance this self-regulatory mechanism.

Wind is fundamentally important to cyclists since it affects their performance, bicycle control, balance and road safety. The overall aim of this research is to improve the understanding of the effect of cycling position and crosswinds on the aerodynamics and performance of a cyclist. The first part of this thesis focuses on cycling position. To minimise air resistance, cyclists lower their torso to become more aerodynamic. Results show that lowering torso angle is associated with impairment of physiological functioning, which can be explained by a combination of mechanical and muscular factors. Consequently, there is a trade-off between aerodynamic gains and physiological impairment. Therefore a mathematical model has been developed predicting the optimal torso angle at different cycling speeds. The second part of this thesis aims to understand the flow mechanics around a cyclist subjected to crosswinds. Both wind tunnel experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations of the flow around a cyclist are used to reveal the effect of crosswinds on cyclists in different cycling positions. This thesis provides a unique approach to study cycling performance and safety by jointly investigating the human physiology and aerodynamic performance.

This study examines how backpacking, an activity originating from Western societies, is perceived and practised by the post-1980s generation in China. By locating backpackers’ travel experiences within the context of the circumstances of their life and relating it to wider society, this study not only illustrates the changes and diversity of backpacker culture by providing empirical evidence from China, but also shows how the younger generation living through substantial social transformation reflect on themselves and wider society. This research employs qualitative methods, exploring Chinese backpackers’ characters and life choices, as well as the emergence of backpacking within China. There are two key questions for this study: firstly, how is backpacking perceived and practised by young Chinese people? Secondly, are there any differences among young backpackers regarding travel motivations and life attitudes? Yunnan Province is the primary fieldwork site, and two field trips were conducted there in 2014 and 2015. Thirty semi-structured in-depth interviews with backpackers were conducted in order to examine young backpackers’ travel experiences, as well as their personal life attitudes. Participant observation was also employed as a way to investigate backpackers’ interaction and travel behaviours. Six focus groups, made up of non-backpackers, offer comparative perspectives regarding backpacking from young people who share similar social circumstances and cultural context with travellers. This study reveals that the popularity of backpacking can be understood as primarily due to how the activity represents ‘freedom’ and ‘independence’ within the context of China. Backpacking is not merely a consumption-led mobility, but also widely employed as a process of reflexive awareness by young Chinese people. Four types of backpackers, namely the amateur, the dreamer, the escaper and the alternative seeker, are identified by this study, indicating the diversity of backpacking in China. The amateur and the dreamer acknowledge the vital role of home and consistent and stable employment in their lives; as a result, backpacking is adopted as a way to escape from the daily routine and find self-fulfilment through a meaningful activity. However, the escaper and the alternative seeker tend to question mainstream values and the traditional expectations and conventions; accordingly, their journeys seek to examine the self and help find a personal way to measure success and happiness in lives. Particularly, alternative seekers find life on the road more interesting than a stable life in a city. Accordingly, they extend backpacking to a way of living and develop their own individual routines. Backpacking becomes a debate amongst young people regarding the norms and values of a worthwhile life, and reflects the profound cultural and social change taking place within contemporary China. Traditional expectations and conventions, namely stages within one’s life, such as getting a job, settling down in a city, getting married and having children, are questioned and challenged. Most participants in this study are understood to possess respect for backpackers who pursue freedom and their dreams, as ‘freedom’ is perceived to represent strong individual capabilities and critical thinking. However, they also realise that anxiety consistently accompanies this freedom, particularly within an individualised society such as China’s. In general, the conflict between individual interests/desires and the family/social obligations is highlighted by participants. As a result, the term ‘staged individualism’ is coined by this study, demonstrating how the Chinese path of individualism may force the young generation to separate their lives into different stages, defining different purposes for each stage, as a way to balance individual interests/desires and family/social obligations.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T19:30:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carla Manuela da Silva Vieira.pdf: 7605944 bytes, checksum: 9c5995ebb06ac011fbda6eb1aaf9b139 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-22 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The practices of sociability and culture of a society is a rich field to understand the social relations between the individuals who constitute it. In this study, we get to investigate how these forms and practices were related to the idea and the desire for modernity of the city of Fortaleza, capital of Ceará in the early twentieth century (1901-1910), around the uses and pictures which were made of the leisure facilities of the city. This modernity was materialized in the remodeling and reorganization of the capital's public spaces, but also translated too by the search for modes of conduct and thought of elitist societies, European especially French major paradigm for the rest of the civilized world that it was intended and modern. In this process, the spaces of sociability and leisure appear as a privileged locus for the development of these modes and journalistic chronicle of the period, which recorded aspects of several orders, including those related to mundane sociability, shows up as research source on such matters It is this same chronicle that allows the evaluation of the uses and images that were of leisure facilities available to the city, important icons of modernity and civility to the elites of Fortaleza city dwellers, but also significant windows that exposed the deep contrasts between design of these groups and the reality of the popular classes, always identified with the colonial past and backward country that wanted to overcome / As práticas de sociabilidade e cultura de uma sociedade apresentam-se sempre como um rico campo para compreenderem-se as relações sociais entre os indivíduos que a constituem. Neste estudo, buscou-se investigar como tais formas e práticas relacionavam-se com a ideia e o desejo por Modernidade da cidade de Fortaleza, capital do estado do Ceará, no início do século XX (1901 a 1910), em torno dos usos e imagens que se faziam dos espaços de lazer da cidade. Essa Modernidade materializava-se então na remodelação e reordenação dos espaços públicos da capital, mas também se traduzia pela busca de modos de conduta e pensamento elitistas de sociedades europeias, sobremaneira a francesa, paradigma maior para o restante do mundo que se pretendia civilizado e moderno. Nesse processo, os espaços de sociabilidade e lazer aparecem como locus privilegiado para o desenvolvimento desses modos e a crônica jornalística do período, que registrava aspectos das mais diversas ordens, incluindo aqueles referentes às sociabilidades mundanas, mostra-se como fonte à pesquisa de tais questões. É essa mesma crônica que permite a avaliação dos usos e imagens que se faziam dos espaços de lazer de que dispunha a cidade, importantes ícones de modernidade e civilidade para as elites citadinas fortalezenses, mas, também, significativas vitrines que expunham os profundos contrastes entre o projeto desses grupos e a realidade das classes populares, identificadas sempre com o passado colonial do país que se desejava superar