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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

The development of sport in Portugal with particular reference to women's participation in sport from the Salazar regime to the democratic period

Pinheiro, Maria Claudia Brandao January 2006 (has links)
This study draws on a figurational sociological framework to examine the organisation and structure of sport in Portugal from the period of the dictatorship of the New State (1930-1974) to the current situation, with particular reference to the participation of women in sport. The study is based mainly on data obtained through the analysis of primary historical documents, including newspapers, sports magazines and government and other publications. These data are complemented by data obtained via semi-structured interviews with eight individuals who were/are involved at the present time and/or in the past in sport as leading athletes and/or as sports administrators. The analysis of the data focuses on the broader political, economic and ideological processes during the New State and democratic periods, and on their impact upon sport in general and on women's involvement in sport in particular. The thesis examines and places within the wider social context the ideologies disseminated by the government, by the Catholic Church and by other organisations to limit women's involvement in sport. It also examines the social sources of resistance to these traditional views, and the arguments used by advocates of women's sport. The financial support for sport and the gender images conveyed by media coverage of men's and women's sport during the New State period and during the democratic period are also examined. The study also highlights the unplanned outcomes of government policies in a number of areas and the ways in which these unplanned outcomes have impacted upon the position of women in Portuguese society in general and their participation in sport in particular.
2

An exploration of women working as outdoor and expedition leaders and their professional development in the outdoor industry

Saunders, Nina January 2008 (has links)
Concerns associated with women recreating and working in the outdoors are symptomatic of wider issues within British society. This is based on the rationale that the historical roots of the industry are founded in male philosophy. This study explores the professional development of women working in the outdoor industry and expedition sector.
3

That's what I am, I'm an England player : exploring the gendered, national and sporting identities of England's elite sportswomen

Bowes, Ali January 2013 (has links)
According to Robinson (2008), England exists more in imagination than it does anywhere else, except on the sports field. However, Englishness remains relatively unexplored in discussions of sporting nationalism. For so long, academics have focused on the ways in which male sport plays a key role in (re)producing national identities, with the contribution of women to the relationship between sport and national identity formation undeniably ignored. Based on interviews with 19 elite sportswomen from England s netball, football, rugby and cricket teams, this thesis examines the relationship between gendered, national and sporting identities, giving a voice to England s heroines of sport . These sports were chosen as the women had only represented England, rather than Great Britain, in international sport. Few research studies have adopted this approach of speaking to athletes about their national identities, although significantly, those that have were not concerned with women (see Tuck, 1999; Tuck and Maguire, 1999; McGee and Bairner 2011). The challenge was not only to integrate personal experiences into discussions of sport and national identity, but also to try to incorporate gender into these very discussions. The question here is whether women s sport has a place in the national imagination, and how do those very women who embody their nation on the field of play articulate their experiences. Central to this research is an understanding of the ways in which we perform aspects of our identity. Building on work by Butler (1990) and Edensor (2002), we can understand how international sport provides a site where multiple identities are performed. Findings suggest that performances of femininities are contextual, and that elite sport is an arena where displays of heteronormative femininity are inappropriate. In addition, sport serves to clarify imaginings of Englishness, where previously it may have been confused or conflated with conceptions of Britishness. What was clear throughout the research, however, was the performative nature of the participants identities, as well as the way in which their identities can be conceptualised as multiple and fluid, subject to change depending upon context and circumstance.
4

Extreme volunteering : a holistic perspective on international women sport volunteers

Gipson, Christina Marie January 2012 (has links)
This thesis explores the lives of a group of fifteen exceptional women who were dedicated to the cause of advancing girls and women in sport and physical activity. Over several decades, they worked in a voluntary capacity to transform women in sport through practice and policy development. Moreover, they aligned such unpaid work with personal and local experiences of volunteering that eventually led to their participation in international sport circles and policies. The key settings for their voluntary service came from their roles in the emergence and maintenance of two international women‘s sport organisations – International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW) and WomenSport International (WSI). In addition, their voluntary roles were so substantial that they were inextricably interwoven within all aspects of their lives. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the participants‘ relationships with sport volunteering, in the particular settings of IAPESGW and WSI, whilst analysing the role of volunteering in their lives. The study utilised a holistic framework to gain an in-depth understanding about the women‘s commitment to the cause and how volunteering fits into their lifestyle. As there were no models from the sport volunteering field that were appropriate for this study, the research drew upon and developed Hustinx and Lammertyn‘s (2003) non-sport model called the Collective and Reflexive Styles of Volunteering (SOV). The SOV was valuable because it offered a multi-dimensional approach to explain how, why, and when the participants got involved with advancing women‘s sport and physical activity, and how their involvement related to and influenced their wider lifestyles. A critical realist and social constructionist philosophy was employed to have a greater understanding of the women‘s realities, and life history interviews were conducted to gain a greater understanding about how they constructed their knowledge about themselves, sport, and the world around them. The study illustrated the complexity of the women‘s volunteer participation. The findings suggested that their sport passion and identity guided many of their actions and activities throughout their life, such as choices for higher education and within professional work. In addition, the findings showed that it was their personal experiences and gained knowledge about gender disadvantages in sport that initially stimulated and then repeatedly reinforced their interests and commitment. Although these had strong impacts on the women‘s entrance into and commitment to the cause, the findings highlighted that the women had to identify the conditions of their relationships, family, and types of paid work to be compatible with levels of volunteering. The study concluded that sport researchers can benefit from examining volunteers from a holistic perspective to gain a better understanding of the conditions under which individuals make such an extreme, voluntary contribution to sport.
5

The role of women in decision-making positions : the case of Israeli sport organisations

Betzer-Tayar, Moran January 2013 (has links)
This thesis analyses discourses about the roles and barriers to access for women to decision-making positions in Israeli sport organisations. In particular it focuses on the exploration of discourses of masculinity and femininity that underpin the relatively recent construction of Israel society and the institutions of sport within it. It is observed that for the most part, Israeli sport organisations are governed by men and have served the interests of forms of hegemonic masculinity. In order to understand and explore the social construction of these gendered discourses in Israeli sport, two innovative and significant policy initiatives toward gender equity in sport were explored through the perceptions and discourses of key actors. These include the establishment of a Volleyball Academy for Young Talented Girls (VAYTG) and the creation of the National Project for Women and Sport (NPWS). The theoretical framework for this thesis is informed by poststructuralist feminism, which provided an alternative way to understand and analyse voices of the (predominantly female) 'other' and thus to explore the historical contextual construction of current discourses of masculinity within Israeli sport organisations and society as a whole. The process of narrative revisions and production of gendered knowledge revealed how discourses produce and reinforce gender inequities in Israeli society, such as the discourse of militarisation or the unique political affiliation system in the sporting arena which continue to implicitly exclude women (and some men) from gaining access to leadership positions in sport organisations. Within this theoretical frame, Critical Discourse Analysis was employed as a methodological approach to analyse how female and male interviewees, all considered to be 'insiders' within their organisations, explained the process of the construction of gendered roles and barriers. Included in the interview data was also the auto-ethnographical accounts of the author, who was a primary actor in the process of developing policy in the two case study initiatives addressed. Dominant discourses of femininity (such as the discourse of sisterhood and of the processes of mentoring), and of masculinity (and how these promote uniformity) were identified as mechanisms for reproducing the gendered reality of sport leadership in Israel. The implication of a critical theoretical approach is that it should be emancipatory in its ambitions and impact, and the study is intended to contribute to enhancing the understanding of how discourse not only reflects but also creates barriers and opportunities so that the construction of such barriers can be challenged in progressive policy discourses.
6

Leaving competitive sport : Scottish female athletes' experiences of sport career transitions

Gilmore, Orla January 2008 (has links)
Over the last three decades, the sports research community has demonstrated a growing interest in the process of sport retirement. The majority of the sport retirement research has focused on male professional athletes, traditionally those in the popular spectator sports. Yet, the process of leaving sport applies to thousands of individuals, both male and female, who engage in competitive sport. To date very little consideration has been given to the retirement experiences of female athletes. Three separate studies have been undertaken to address this identified gap in the literature. Studies One and Two aimed to explore the experiences of sport retirement for elite female athletes in Scotland, using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. In Study One questionnaire data was collected from 92 former Scottish elite female athletes. Questionnaire sections were designed to examine what were felt to be the major elements of the Taylor and Ogilvie (1994; 2001) conceptual model of adaptation to retirement from sport, in order to explore the applicability of this model to female athletes in Scotland. The results of the study provide support for the use of this model to assist in our understanding of the retirement transition. The findings highlighted the importance of athletic identity, reason for retirement, and perceptions of control in predicting the level of difficulty and adjustment that an athlete may experience upon their retirement. The most significant finding was the effect that athletic identity had on the retirement process, with those identifying strongly with the athletic role reporting significantly higher levels of difficulty, emotional adjustment, and social adjustment. 29 of these athletes participated in an in-depth interview within Study Two, enabling a more in-depth analysis of their retirement experiences. In this study particular attention was paid to the effect of athletic identity on this transition. In support of the findings of Study One, athletes with a strong and exclusive athletic identity were found to be more likely to experience difficulties when they retire. In comparison, athletes with lower levels of athletic identity generally experience some mild negative emotions after initially retiring, followed by a relatively smooth transition into their life after sport. The second part of this thesis examines formal programmes available to support female athletic retirement in Scotland. Study Three provides an evaluation of the Performance Lifestyle programme offered by the Scottish Institute of Sport, focusing in particular on the services related to preparation for life after sport. The perspectives of a number of different groups with an interest or involvement in the programme were examined and comparisons made with the delivery of Performance Lifestyle to other athlete groups in Great Britain. The results show that Performance Lifestyle is a very valuable source of support for athletes who are part of the Institute Network. The programme does deal with the issue of the end of the career, but it is definitely a weaker aspect, largely due to lack of resources. Performance Lifestyle in Scotland compares favourably with programmes offered by the Institute Network in England and by Welsh Rugby. However other professional sports are currently offering superior programmes due to higher levels of investment and resources.

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