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This thesis explores and examines the construction of a sense of community and masculine identity in the sport of rugby league. I pose the question of how the game constructs these identities, then the thesis proceeds to synthesise a working theoretical framework which draws upon ideas of the cultural production of class, community, history and gender to provide a focus for the research. I develop the way rugby league becomes an imaginary community, 'the game', and how this sense of community defines the ideas of masculinity and northem-ness, and creates both belonging and exclusion. My theoretical framework develops new ideas about how community is created, and how hegemonic masculinity is produced and maintained in sport. The thesis is situated in a particular research paradigm, the naturalist paradigm, which best serves the aim of exploring the field and developing theory through a grounded theoretical approach. This informs both the synthesis and development of theory around the concept of exploring the field, and suggests a particular methodology. This thesis is based on qualitative research I undertook in a field consisting of a number of rugby league clubs in a district I called Sudthorpe. In addition, I did fieldwork at a rugby union club and a women's rugby league club so that the theoretical concepts I developed could be expanded and explored further. This qualitative fieldwork was flexible enough to allow me to explore the social networks that extended outside Sudthorpe, and I used both ethnography and setni-structured interviews. In addition, I reviewed en-L literature, secondary sources, and consulted archives and experts. Coupled with a literature review, reflexivity and grounded theory, my research was triangulated by a multimethod approach that allowed for a synthesis of ideas. This synthesis of symbolic community and masculine identity in rugby provide the original ideas of the thesis.

Despite football being deeply entrenched in Scottish culture it is under-researched from a business perspective. This research develops a conceptual framework that views professional football clubs from a number of different perspectives. It draws on strategic management literature since this views the firm as the intersection between internal competence, customer perception and competition within an industry. A review of previous sports business research highlighted five main themes that were used to create a structure for the analysis: on-field performance, attendance, finance, the playing squad and the manager. These themes were used as frames to view the firms within the industry from a number of different perspectives. Each frame allows a different aspect of the firm to be considered singly in turn and then collectively to develop a deeper understanding of the existing frames in use within the industry. The research is based on a pragmatic philosophy that allows mixed methods to be combined to provide both an objective and subjective view of the industry. The subjective view was drawn from five interviews with senior figures within Scottish professional football. These participants were from a number of different roles and organisations within the industry to provide a balance of experiences. The views were triangulated with a descriptive analysis of secondary data from a number of industry sources to establish patterns within and between these frames. A peer group of six clubs was selected as they competed in the Scottish Premier League in each of the seasons within an eleven-year period (2000-2011). The peer group clubs selected were: Aberdeen, Dundee United, Heart of Midlothian (Hearts), Hibernian, Kilmarnock and Motherwell. By focussing on a small group of clubs with a similar on-field record a broad study across the five frames could be carried out in detail without the findings being influenced by the impact of relegation to a lower division or sustained participation in European football. Within each of the original five frames a number of sub-components were identified and linked to the framework; this expanded the content to reflect the findings of this project. There appeared to be little link between on-field performance and attendance although progress to the later stages of cup competitions allowed clubs to connect with fans who do not regularly attend. The relationship between a club's income and wage bill should be expanded to include interest repayments since this expenditure can be used to highlight future financial problems caused by increased debt levels. Although all of the interview participants spoke with pride of the players that had progressed from the club's youth academy to success at the highest level the peer group clubs only produced one player each season that played more than ten matches for the club. Almost half of the players signed from the youth academy left the club without playing for the 1st Team. The importance of the relationship between the manager and club chairman was highlighted, although the speed with which managers were appointed suggests that little consideration was given to this before offering a contract. Once appointed there appeared to be little clarity over the job description and areas of responsibility. Several of the interviewees brought experience from other businesses to football but admitted that short-term decision making and entrenched behaviour made change difficult. The conclusion of the research is that by taking a firm-wide view of the club, longer-term decisions can be taken within football. Player development and supporter relationships were both identified as long-term processes that are impacted by the current short-termism. With greater role clarity for managers and a mixture of short and long-term objectives those involved in the industry are more likely to have opportunities to learn from experience and performance, across the different frames, will improve as a result.

The thesis presents the results of a critical investigation of the work and role of 'tourism associations' (TAs) as part of the tourism development system at the local scale in England and Wales. Local tourism development groups existed for a century or more before recent notions of community involvement in visitor industry initiatives came to prominence as part of the debate about 'green' tourism, and the study represents the first in-depth investigation of these groups, aimed at offering some guidance for the community tourism organisations advocated by several tourism authors. Guided by systems analysis methodology, the study presents original data on the nature and role of TM and develops theoretical consideration of such groups. Based upon these contributions to understanding, a critical assessment of the potential contribution of TM towards the development of small-scale local visitor industries as part of the local economies in qualitative terms is made. A review of relevant literature establishes that government policy has sought to develop tourism as a component of local economies in urban and rural areas. The sparse literature on tourism associations generally ascribes them lower-order publicity roles rather than the developmental functions that they could perhaps more usefully fulfil. Visitors represent a major economic opportunity for local communities, and economic multiplier studies show that local economies could benefit from becoming more visitor-oriented. However, relatively few areas benefit from conventional tourism development initiatives, particularly in the countryside, and voluntary effort may be necessary for communities to capitalise upon the visitor market. A postal questionnaire survey of a large sample of tourism associations in England and Wales established that these groups exist as a response to a perception of need for such organisations. During the 1970s and '80s there was a surge in the formation rate of TM. They were found to vary in many respects but shared common characteristics, and were classified into four basic types. While most members were businesses, many had representatives from the public sector and other organisations in membership. They undertook a broad range of useful activities, and certain public sector bodies provide financial assistance for aspects of their work. Some operated mainly as trade associations, but there are grounds for regarding all as community tourism groups to some degree. Measures of sophistication based upon the survey data and analyses are proposed, but the level of sophistication appropriate for any individual group depends upon local circumstances. An interview-based case study of four TAs working in rural Herefordshire reflected and validated many of the questionnaire survey conclusions. Each group had different approaches and priorities, particularly regarding the relative balance struck between promotion and development of the south Herefordshire visitor industry. They worked alongside tourism-oriented public sector bodies to varying degrees, and some received financial assistance for certain activities. While quantification of the effects that the TAs had on the visitor industry proved impossible, interviewees' opinions indicated that the work of the groups was valuable and that, without them, the contribution of the visitor industry to the local economy would be reduced. Analysis of the data collection stages showed that the goals of tourism associations are essentially the same as those of the more formal elements of the tourism development system, with marketing as a key focus. The work of TM can produce positive economic benefits for local economies in urban, coastal and rural locations. Recommendations for best practice are made for the associations and their roles, and the public sector is urged to help establish and help support TM. Conclusions drawn are that tourism associations have a valuable developmental role to play alongside their publicity function, and that the broad-membership association type is probably more appropriate for visitor industry development in lesser-known areas than sectoral types.

This research explores the dynamic interplay between self-organised tourism planning and formal, linear and institutionalised tourism governance structures in the Santa Elena province, Ecuador. Complexity theory provides a framework and a language to understand actor-led, non-linear, bottom-up, and highly contextualised self-organised planning efforts that can change the future of tourism destinations amidst unstable and changing tourism governance conditions.

Within competitive sport the coach–performer relationship is of central importance to the performance enhancement process. Such relationships may develop over many years, with effective communication and mutual understanding core components. Despite the obvious importance of the coach–performer relationship, very little is known about coach–performer compatibility, especially from a cognitive perspective. Attribution theory has been shown to be useful in explaining behaviour, cognitions and affect, both in achievement and social settings. A key feature of this approach has been the emergence of what has been termed actor–observer differences; this has been little examined within sport psychology. Where attribution theory has been applied in sport, it has tended to focus exclusively on the performer. The aim of this research, therefore, is to explore coaches' and their performers' attributions, and specifically to examine the presence or otherwise of coach–performer attribution differences.

State agencies in many Western nations have utilised sport and physical activity as a means of facilitating various sporting and non-sporting policy outcomes. Surprisingly, however, there remains a dearth of empirical research addressing the working lives of those community sports coaches who are responsible for enacting such initiatives. This includes not only what community sports coaches consider to be the everyday challenges, tensions, and dilemmas that they experience in their work, but also how and why they attempt to navigate these issues in the ways that they do. Similarly, little consideration has been given towards understanding how the employment demands of community sports work impacts upon their health and well-being. To partially address the situation, this thesis provides an insight into the micropolitical and emotional challenges faced by two community sports coaches, Greg and James, when enacting a government-funded initiative to increase young people’s participation in sport and physical activity. Data for this study were collected in two interrelated phases. Phase I entailed the use of participant observations to explore the behaviours and interactions of Greg and James as they sought to realise the programme outcomes in practice. Following the observations, Greg and James participated in a series of in-depth, one-to-one, informal interviews. The fieldnotes and interview transcripts were subjected to an iterative and recursive process of analysis that occurred alongside data collection and writing. Several interrelated themes were identified across Greg’s and James’s career stories and were principally understood in relation to the work of Kelchtermans (e.g. Kelchtermans, 2005; 2011; Kelchtermans & Ballet, 2002a, 2002b), Goffman (1990 [1959]), Hochschild (2012 [1983]), Bauman (2007), Burke and Stets (2009), and Stryker (2002 [1980]). I contend that the inherent structural vulnerabilities of their community coaching jobs, as well as their determination to protect and advance their respective careers in order to fulfil various non-workplace ambitions, meant that Greg and James had to learn to act micropolitically. It is believed that by recognising the ambiguity, pathos, and dynamic complexity of Greg’s and James’s community sports work this investigation offers a more reality grounded understanding of this topic area.

Submitted by Elizabete Silva (elizabete.silva@ufes.br) on 2015-02-25T16:45:07Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertacao.Cecilia Nunes da Silva.pdf: 5048108 bytes, checksum: cb752dc4426283e24c60dd2a473869b3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Elizabete Silva (elizabete.silva@ufes.br) on 2015-03-06T19:04:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertacao.Cecilia Nunes da Silva.pdf: 5048108 bytes, checksum: cb752dc4426283e24c60dd2a473869b3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-06T19:08:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertacao.Cecilia Nunes da Silva.pdf: 5048108 bytes, checksum: cb752dc4426283e24c60dd2a473869b3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Essa dissertação tem por objetivo de estudo investigar as imagens do feminino presentes na revista Vida Capichaba, periódico de publicação quinzenal que circulou, no Estado do Espírito Santo, entre as décadas de 1920 e 1950. Diante da longevidade do periódico, optamos por concentrar nossos esforços analíticos nas décadas de 1920 e 1930, especificamente entre os anos de 1925 e 1939. Entendemos que o ideal de mulher presente na revista passou pela construção de requisitos morais e uma formação adequada para desempenhar papéis concebidos como naturalmente femininos como o casamento e a maternidade. Além dessa característica, outras práticas se fizeram ainda mais destacadas. A construção da beleza, de um corpo magro e jovem associado à valorização dos esportes e da moda, se tornaram características da nova mulher capixaba. Eficiência e delicadeza, sensualidade e obediência, maternidade e independência, agilidade e elegância, beleza e liberdade. São dualidades como essas, nas quais códigos sociais tradicionais e novos valores culturais se articulam definindo novos modos de ser, que compuseram o quadro de imagens presente na Vida Capichaba. / The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the images of feminine in the magazine Vida Capichaba, a periodical published biweekly in the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, between the decades of 1920 and 1950. Due to the magazine’spublication longevity, the authors decided to focus on the decades of 1920 and 1930, particularly between 1925 and 1939. It was found out that the woman ideal present in that magazine went through both the construct of moral requisites and an appropriate education to play roles known to be naturally feminine, such as marriage and maternity. Beside this characteristic, other practices were even more emphasized. The construct of beauty, of a thin and young body associated with the valorisation of sport and fashion became characteristics of the new woman of Espirito Santo. Efficiency and delicacy, sensuality and obedience, maternity and independance, agility and elegance, beauty and freedom. It is in such dualities that traditional social codes and new cultural values fit together, defining new ways of being, which composed the frame work of images in the magazine Vida Capichaba.

Submitted by Maykon Nascimento (maykon.albani@hotmail.com) on 2016-04-01T19:35:39Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertacao karen.pdf: 1370462 bytes, checksum: ac45e7224f0e76fb11660eb94f94a882 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Patricia Barros (patricia.barros@ufes.br) on 2016-04-06T14:34:21Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertacao karen.pdf: 1370462 bytes, checksum: ac45e7224f0e76fb11660eb94f94a882 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-06T14:34:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertacao karen.pdf: 1370462 bytes, checksum: ac45e7224f0e76fb11660eb94f94a882 (MD5) / A partir de uma análise teórico-conceitual da obra do filósofo Hans-Georg Gadamer, este estudo deseja proporcionar um diálogo entre a arte e a educação. Na procura por abrir um caminho alternativo ao “dominante”, oferecido pela racionalidade técnico-instrumental, pensa-se em fundamentar a ideia do professor como artista que faz da sua prática pedagógica uma obra de arte. O texto começa com um capítulo introdutório que descreve o objeto e o método da pesquisa. Expõe também alguns pontos que a justificam. O primeiro deles discute as limitações de uma prática pedagógica fundamentada exclusivamente nos parâmetros da racionalidade técnico-instrumental. O segundo ponto enfoca as mobilizações pessoais que levaram à eleição do tema e o terceiro faz uma pequena descrição de alguns textos que discutem o conceito de professor-artista ou que relacionam a prática docente com a arte. O capítulo seguinte apresenta fundamentos teóricos do pensamento de Gadamer sobre a verdade, vivência, jogo, poesia, diálogo e linguagem, que são a base, em princípio, para a construção da ideia de obra de arte. Finalmente, um capítulo que mostra algumas possibilidades da racionalidade estética e traça as primeiras linhas sobre o que poderia ser o professor-artista baseado na teoria de Gadamer. / A partir de un análisis teórico-conceptual de la obra del filósofo Hans-Georg Gadamer, este estudio desea proporcionar un diálogo entre el arte y la educación. En la búsqueda por abrir un camino alternativo al “dominante”, ofrecido por la racionalidad técnico-instrumental, se piensa en fundamentar la idea del profesor-artista que hace de su práctica pedagógica una obra de arte. El texto comienza con un capítulo introductorio que describe el objeto y la metodología de la investigación. Expone también algunos puntos que la justifican. El primero de ellos discute las limitaciones de una práctica pedagógica fundamentada exclusivamente en los parámetros de la racionalidad técnico-instrumental. El segundo punto enfoca las movilizaciones personales que llevaron a la elección del tema y el tercero hace una pequeña descripción de algunos textos que discuten el concepto de profesor-artista o que relacionan la práctica docente con el arte. El capítulo siguiente presenta fundamentos teóricos del pensamiento de Gadamer sobre la verdad, vivencia, juego, poesía, diálogo y lenguaje, que son la base, en principio, para la construcción de la idea de obra de arte. Finalmente, un capítulo que muestra algunas posibilidades de la racionalidad estética e traza las primeras líneas sobre lo que podría ser el profesor-artista basado en la teoría de Gadamer.

The study is concerned with an examination of outdoor recreation at three forest recreation areas situated within and at the periphery of a large and major population region in Peninsular Malaysia. It was undertaken primarily to investigate the features that describe the use of these areas and to estimate the use-demand and quantification of consumers' surplus. Initially, a brief description of forest recreation in Peninsular Malaysia is presented. This is followed by a review of techniques for estimating consumers' surplus, after which it was concluded that an application of the travel cost method was appropriate for this study. An on-site questionnaire survey was used to gather a reasonable amount of user information. The questionnaire surveys carried out were found to be valuable; the information gathered facilitated the description and analysis of the areas' consumption, travel and use patterns and the behaviour of the users. Thus the surveys also provided information which was appropriate for the application of the travel cost technique. Subsequently, a detailed description of user behaviour is presented. Difficulties of the travel cost approach, were identified and addressed through the use of appropriate sample and extra-sample data. Particular attention was paid to the problems of multi-purpose trips, travel time bias and the influence of alternative sites on participation. Problems with functional forms and the weighting of points for the trip demand model were also given considerable attention. It is believed that the model selected in this study is an improvement on previously known models. The resulting estimates of consumers' surplus for the three areas are reasonably acceptable and conform to a priori expectations. Finally, the main conclusions of the thesis are highlighted and some aspects that have a bearing on planning and management issues are discussed along with brief recommendations for further and future research efforts.