The physicality of sports and outdoor life offers great opportunities for intensive experiences – participants ”feel” the happening in their bodies. As well as looking upon physical activity mainly as something instrumental, as for example in competitive sports and exercise culture, other aspects can also be central, for instance the pure joy of movement. The existential or expressive side of physical activity is examined in this doctoral thesis. In order to study such experiential quality more thoroughly, the author’s attention turns to adventure sports participants, as they appear to have a capacity for becoming highly involved and seeking very intense experiences. Who is involved in adventure sports? Why are they engaged in a sport that demands such great hardships and risk-taking? What do they get out of it? The overall objective of the thesis is to shed light on adventure sports as a practice and to discuss the educational significance of flow and other experiential qualities in adventure sports and in schools. The analyses are based on three empirical sub-studies. The first began with a questionnaire that 161 adventure sports participants responded to. This was followed by an interview study of eleven men and three women, all of whom had extensive experience in adventure sports. The categories of sport were evenly divided between climbing, off-piste skiing and hang gliding. In the second sub-study a detailed investigation of climbing was carried out. A notable sportification has brought about a very clear and interesting change in parts of this activity. Six traditional/adventure climbers and six sport climbers were interviewed, of which half were men and half women. All the climbers were experienced and very much involved in their sport. The aim of the third sub-study was to seek an answer as to whether pupils have experiences in their daily school life that are similar to those of adventure sports participants. An ESM (Experience Sampling Method) investigation was carried out with 60 pupils in compulsory school year nine (corresponding to UK schools’ year eleven) from four different schools. The pupils’ parents answered a special parent questionnaire including questions about academic and professional backgrounds, living conditions, habits, interests, attitudes and leisure time activities. The results were analysed taking into consideration the phenomenological perspective and structuralistic or more correctly expressed the cultural sociological perspective. Mihály Csikszentmihályi’s theoretical argument on optimal experiences, which in turn is based on the flow concept, constitutes the phenomenological foundation. Pierre Bourdieu’s concept apparatus and theories were used to closely examine the participants’ backgrounds, life histories and current living situations. The study shows that a preference for adventure sports is clearly linked to the participants’ backgrounds and earlier life experiences. A behavioural pattern is incorporated and developed into an embodied capacity to master a practice, a result of a long learning process. Participants were clearly concordant in these respects. Participants emphasise the abundant opportunities for intensive experiences that arise from adventure sports. It is a matter of something multidimentional: the active body, outdoor life in natural surroundings, exacting and clear goals, total focus, and about exercising control. This approach presents a model for identification of content qualities, which together create the dynamics that form the meaningful rewards that result from participation in adventure sports. The dimensions include flow experiences, but also go beyond them. The deep sense of presence, the physical involvement, the fact that they can choose the path and increase the degree of difficulty themselves – and simultaneously counter this new challenge with increased capacity so that they are engaged at the ”right level” – also provide favourable conditions for a stimulating and successful learning experience. The observation was made that it was primarily in the practical and aesthetic subjects that school pupils had the same deep feeling of presence together with a meaningful and pleasurable holistic experience as the adventure sports participants had. Here they were actively involved with their hands or with their whole bodies, and they could make their own choices and be in control of the activity, which for most pupils led to a strong feeling of satisfaction.

Film has always been an integral part of the culture of surfing. In the early 1960's, a film by the name of The Endless Summer ushered in the wide acceptance of the medium of film by the culture. As the years progressed and the sport radically adopted new styles, attitudes and lifestyles, surfing films changed along with it. This thesis will show how the aesthetics of surfing films both are shaped by the culture from which they are found and how, in turn, they continually reshape the culture. By looking at the aesthetic theories of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Leo Tolstoy and Walter Benjamin, this thesis will academically survey the aesthetics of the films The Endless Summer, Momentum, and the works of filmmaker Jack Johnson and his studio The Moonshine Conspiracy. This study will provide insight into the significant aspect of , film in a culture so strongly defined by aesthetics, both from within and without.

Ce mémoire propose de conceptualiser la culture organisationnelle d’un angle nouveau. Mary Jo Hatch (1993), dans son modèle de Cultural Dynamics, soutient que la culture d’une entreprise favorise la modulation de l’identité des individus y travaillant. Partant de cette affirmation, je me questionne à savoir si l’inverse est aussi possible. La culture de l’organisation et l’identité des individus y travaillant peuvent-ils évoluer dans une dynamique de co-construction? Afin d’étudier ce phénomène, j’ai mené une série d’entrevues selon la méthode du récit de vie au sein d’Empire Sports, une chaîne québécoise de boutiques de vente au détail d’articles de sports extrêmes. En me basant sur la théorie des communautés de pratiques, j’ai analysé et interprété les résultats obtenus lors des entrevues. J’arrive à identifier et à préciser ce phénomène de co-construction que j’interprète à l’aide d’un nouveau concept appelé la culture extrême. Comme cette recherche est exploratoire, les conclusions ouvrent la possibilité d’approfondir davantage les connaissances à propos de la culture extrême en l’examinant dans d’autres contextes organisationnels. / This Master’s thesis proposes looking at organizational culture in a new light. In her model of cultural dynamics, Mary Jo Hatch (1993) suggests that a company’s culture influences the identity of the individuals working there. Starting from this affirmation, I ask if the inverse is also possible. Do organizational culture and individual identities evolve together in a dynamic of co-construction? Using a method inspired by the « life story », I conducted a series of interviews at Empire Sports, a Quebec chain of boutiques specializing in extreme sports. I use the communities of practice framework to analyze and interpret the intreviews. My results identify a phenomenon of co-construction at work. I interpret this using a new concept which I call « extreme culture ». The conclusions of this exploratory research suggest that further research in other organizational contexts could be useful in deepening of the concept of extreme culture.

<p>”Longboards” är ett examensarbete utfört av Leo Ekbom och Sammy-Sebastian Tawakkoli för innovations- och designingejörsprogrammet vid fakulteten för teknik och naturvetenskap på Karlstads Universitet. Uppdragsgivaren är Space Production AB, projektägare är Dan Edanius, art director och projektledare på företaget. Ett av företagets projekt var våren 2008 att producera Slalom Skateboarding VM och med anknytning till detta växte ett examensarbete fram.</p><p> </p><p>Space Production AB började som ett montersnickeri men har idag utvecklats till ett företag som driver fullständiga utställnings- och eventprojekt. Företaget tillhandahåller allt från idéskiss till montering och servning även då huvudsysslan ligger i att producera, installera och lagra utformning från annan part.</p><p> </p><p>Uppgiften var att ta fram en produktserie innehållande tre modeller av longbaords med bred spridning. Produkterna skulle vara unika och nischade men ändå säljbara och tillhöra ett övre segment av marknaden. Därtill gavs lite friare händer i att ta fram en rad vilda koncept som idébank för senare projekt.</p><p> </p><p>Genom en djupgående researchfas, där information rörande materialkunskap, marknad, målgrupper och kultur, mynnade projektet ut i en kreativ designprocess. Målgruppsanalysen lade grunden till en rad referenskunder vars behov inspirerade och analyserades. Två skilda idegenereringstillfällen lade grunden till en kategorisering där åtta starka koncept presenterades för en sammansatt styrgrupp.</p><p> </p><p>Arbetet resulterade i tre längre utvecklade koncept vilka har potential att bredda den befintliga marknaden för longboard försäljning samt en idébank för framtida utveckling av produkter.</p> / <p>”Longboards” is a degree project in the Innovations- and design engineering program at Karlstad University. The job requestor is Space Production AB with Dan Edanius, Art director and senior project manager, as the project owner.</p><p> </p><p>Space Production AB started out as a showcase carpentry company but has today evolved into a company that operates complete exhibitions and events. The company’s main business is to produce, install and store branded environments designed by another party but also supplies everything from idea sketches to assemblage and service. One of Space projects spring 2008 was the production of Slalom Skateboarding World Championships and it was through this a degree project was created.</p><p> </p><p>The task was to create a diverse product line containing three models of longboards. The products would be unique and aimed at a niche market but yet be sellable and appeal to the upper segment buyer. Further the opportunity to create more wild concepts that could be used in future projects was given. </p><p> </p><p>An extensive research on materials, market, target group and culture, resulted in a creative design process. Through a target group analysis a number of reference consumers were created. Their needs worked as inspiration and was analysed. Two separate sessions of idea generating were the fundament of a <strong>categorization</strong><strong> </strong>that eventually resulted in eight strong concepts that was presented to the management group.</p><p> </p><p>The project has resulted in three developed concepts that could potentially broaden the existing longboard market as well as a band of ideas that could be used for inspiration of future projects.</p>

Graduation date: 2004

”Longboards” är ett examensarbete utfört av Leo Ekbom och Sammy-Sebastian Tawakkoli för innovations- och designingejörsprogrammet vid fakulteten för teknik och naturvetenskap på Karlstads Universitet. Uppdragsgivaren är Space Production AB, projektägare är Dan Edanius, art director och projektledare på företaget. Ett av företagets projekt var våren 2008 att producera Slalom Skateboarding VM och med anknytning till detta växte ett examensarbete fram.   Space Production AB började som ett montersnickeri men har idag utvecklats till ett företag som driver fullständiga utställnings- och eventprojekt. Företaget tillhandahåller allt från idéskiss till montering och servning även då huvudsysslan ligger i att producera, installera och lagra utformning från annan part.   Uppgiften var att ta fram en produktserie innehållande tre modeller av longbaords med bred spridning. Produkterna skulle vara unika och nischade men ändå säljbara och tillhöra ett övre segment av marknaden. Därtill gavs lite friare händer i att ta fram en rad vilda koncept som idébank för senare projekt.   Genom en djupgående researchfas, där information rörande materialkunskap, marknad, målgrupper och kultur, mynnade projektet ut i en kreativ designprocess. Målgruppsanalysen lade grunden till en rad referenskunder vars behov inspirerade och analyserades. Två skilda idegenereringstillfällen lade grunden till en kategorisering där åtta starka koncept presenterades för en sammansatt styrgrupp.   Arbetet resulterade i tre längre utvecklade koncept vilka har potential att bredda den befintliga marknaden för longboard försäljning samt en idébank för framtida utveckling av produkter. / ”Longboards” is a degree project in the Innovations- and design engineering program at Karlstad University. The job requestor is Space Production AB with Dan Edanius, Art director and senior project manager, as the project owner.   Space Production AB started out as a showcase carpentry company but has today evolved into a company that operates complete exhibitions and events. The company’s main business is to produce, install and store branded environments designed by another party but also supplies everything from idea sketches to assemblage and service. One of Space projects spring 2008 was the production of Slalom Skateboarding World Championships and it was through this a degree project was created.   The task was to create a diverse product line containing three models of longboards. The products would be unique and aimed at a niche market but yet be sellable and appeal to the upper segment buyer. Further the opportunity to create more wild concepts that could be used in future projects was given.    An extensive research on materials, market, target group and culture, resulted in a creative design process. Through a target group analysis a number of reference consumers were created. Their needs worked as inspiration and was analysed. Two separate sessions of idea generating were the fundament of a categorization that eventually resulted in eight strong concepts that was presented to the management group.   The project has resulted in three developed concepts that could potentially broaden the existing longboard market as well as a band of ideas that could be used for inspiration of future projects.

Ce mémoire propose de conceptualiser la culture organisationnelle d’un angle nouveau. Mary Jo Hatch (1993), dans son modèle de Cultural Dynamics, soutient que la culture d’une entreprise favorise la modulation de l’identité des individus y travaillant. Partant de cette affirmation, je me questionne à savoir si l’inverse est aussi possible. La culture de l’organisation et l’identité des individus y travaillant peuvent-ils évoluer dans une dynamique de co-construction? Afin d’étudier ce phénomène, j’ai mené une série d’entrevues selon la méthode du récit de vie au sein d’Empire Sports, une chaîne québécoise de boutiques de vente au détail d’articles de sports extrêmes. En me basant sur la théorie des communautés de pratiques, j’ai analysé et interprété les résultats obtenus lors des entrevues. J’arrive à identifier et à préciser ce phénomène de co-construction que j’interprète à l’aide d’un nouveau concept appelé la culture extrême. Comme cette recherche est exploratoire, les conclusions ouvrent la possibilité d’approfondir davantage les connaissances à propos de la culture extrême en l’examinant dans d’autres contextes organisationnels. / This Master’s thesis proposes looking at organizational culture in a new light. In her model of cultural dynamics, Mary Jo Hatch (1993) suggests that a company’s culture influences the identity of the individuals working there. Starting from this affirmation, I ask if the inverse is also possible. Do organizational culture and individual identities evolve together in a dynamic of co-construction? Using a method inspired by the « life story », I conducted a series of interviews at Empire Sports, a Quebec chain of boutiques specializing in extreme sports. I use the communities of practice framework to analyze and interpret the intreviews. My results identify a phenomenon of co-construction at work. I interpret this using a new concept which I call « extreme culture ». The conclusions of this exploratory research suggest that further research in other organizational contexts could be useful in deepening of the concept of extreme culture.

Free sports are the phenomena that have rapidly developed from lifestyle activities to professional competitive sports over the last several decades. Known for distinctive counter-culture values, many popular free sports, such as snowboarding or BMX, have recently become largely commercialized and experienced significant organizational change. The main research question of this study is how free sports have organizationally evolved over time. This thesis focuses on patterns and mechanisms of structural change and evolution of values of these sports. The research utilized a multiple case qualitative methodology and is presented as a cross-case study of three international sports: competitive snowboarding, competitive skateboarding, and sport climbing. A review of existing literature identified the theory of new institutionalism as being particularly relevant to this study and thus, supplemented by resource-dependence theory, this forms the theoretical framework for this research. This study found that as a result of organizational evolution, informal organizational arrangements, which were historically typical for free sports, have not been uniformly replaced by formalized structural arrangements of mainstream sports. In addition, the organizational fields of these free sports are found to have adopted multiple logics, such as commercial, competitive, and traditional free sport logics. The notion of cultural legitimacy of international sport organizations appears to be central to explaining organizational evolution of free sports. As conflicts revolving over the “ownership” of international sports and the practice of “umbrella” governance are found to be of great concern in free sports, it is the relationship between cultural and regulatory legitimacy that these issues are addressed through. Finally, it is found that multiple power/dependence relationships existing in organizational fields of free sports are largely underpinned by commercial interests and strategies of the Olympic movement. In terms of contribution to theoretical knowledge, this study extends previous applications of institutional and resource-dependence theories to free sports and reveals that the process of institutionalization of sports does not necessarily lead to change of values in macro perspective. However, it can facilitate and foster a separation between two different “versions” of the same sports: competitive sports and traditional sports. This study contributes to wider practical sport management knowledge by raising a question of sustainability of culturally legitimate but unconventional international sport organizations in the global sport business. Another implication of this study is challenging the IOC as a source of regulatory legitimacy for sports and questioning the belief that all sports strive for the Olympic Games, which is taken for granted as the ultimate goal of evolution of sports in a global context. This is a major call of this study to both academics and practitioners, as governance of international sports is expected to remain the topic of a great debate in academic literature and popular media.

A análise da concentração de metabólitos no sangue pode refletir o comportamento metabólico durante o exercício físico. O presente estudo teve por objetivo analisar o comportamento eletroquímico e do distúrbio ácido-básico de praticantes de Parkour, durante a realização de um percurso que utilizou movimentos fundamentais desta modalidade. Foram avaliados 23 praticantes de Parkour do sexo masculino, com idade média de 21,4±2,7 anos, com no mínimo dois anos de experiência na modalidade. Foram realizadas cinco coletas de sangue capilar da polpa digital dos dedos da mão, em diferentes momentos: (1) repouso, (2) após aquecimento, (3) logo após o esforço, (4) após cinco minutos e (5) após dez minutos. Foi realizado um percurso usando movimentos fundamentais da modalidade para caracterizar o esforço. A amostra foi analisada utilizando o aparelho de gasometria GEM Premier 3000, utilizando os parâmetros pH, Na+, K+, pH, lactato e HCO3−. Os valores de pH, lactato e HCO3− apresentaram diferença significativa (p<0,05) na maioria dos momentos analisados. Os valores de Ca2+, Na+, K+ apresentaram diferença significativa após o esforço, e uma rápida recuperação após cinco e dez minutos, quando comparados com os valores de referência. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram uma adaptação fisiológica dos eletrólitos, com rápida recuperação aos valores de referência. As alterações dos valores do pH, lactato e HCO3− identificam a utilização de vias anaeróbias para a produção de energia, assim como uma evidente acidose metabólica após o esforço. Os valores obtidos são similares a atletas de alto rendimento, principalmente de modalidades de força e velocidade. O presente estudo contribuiu para o entendimento do comportamento eletroquímico e do equilíbrio ácido-básico da modalidade Parkour, preenchendo assim uma lacuna na literatura. / The analysis of the blood metabolites can show the metabolic behavior during physical exercises. This study aimed to analyze the electrochemical and acid base disorders behavior in Parkour athlets, during an exercise routine that used basic movements of this particular sport. Twenty three male athletes (average of 21,4±2,7 years old) with a minimum of two years of experience in Parkour were evaluated. The capillary blood was collected through the fingers in five diferent moments: (1) rest, (2) after warm-up, (3) after exercise, (4) five minutes later and (5) ten minutes later. A course using basic Parkour movements was used as reference. The samples were analyzed by the gasometric equipment GEM Premier 3000. The variables pH, sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), lactate and bicarbonate (HCO3−) were used. The pH, lactate and HCO3− showed significant variation (p<0,05) in most of the analyzed moments. Ca2+, Na+ and K+ values showed significant difference right after the exercise and a fast recovery after five and ten minutes when compared to the reference values. Results showed a physiological adaptation of electrolytes with a fast recovery back to the reference values. The values of pH, lactate e HCO3− present an anaerobic system usage, as well as a clear metabolic acidosis post exercise. The values obtained in this study are similar to high performance athletes values, mostly in strength and speed modalities. This study contributes to the understanding of the eletrochemical and acid-basic disorders behavior of Parkour athletes, filling a gap in the literature.

A análise da concentração de metabólitos no sangue pode refletir o comportamento metabólico durante o exercício físico. O presente estudo teve por objetivo analisar o comportamento eletroquímico e do distúrbio ácido-básico de praticantes de Parkour, durante a realização de um percurso que utilizou movimentos fundamentais desta modalidade. Foram avaliados 23 praticantes de Parkour do sexo masculino, com idade média de 21,4±2,7 anos, com no mínimo dois anos de experiência na modalidade. Foram realizadas cinco coletas de sangue capilar da polpa digital dos dedos da mão, em diferentes momentos: (1) repouso, (2) após aquecimento, (3) logo após o esforço, (4) após cinco minutos e (5) após dez minutos. Foi realizado um percurso usando movimentos fundamentais da modalidade para caracterizar o esforço. A amostra foi analisada utilizando o aparelho de gasometria GEM Premier 3000, utilizando os parâmetros pH, Na+, K+, pH, lactato e HCO3−. Os valores de pH, lactato e HCO3− apresentaram diferença significativa (p<0,05) na maioria dos momentos analisados. Os valores de Ca2+, Na+, K+ apresentaram diferença significativa após o esforço, e uma rápida recuperação após cinco e dez minutos, quando comparados com os valores de referência. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram uma adaptação fisiológica dos eletrólitos, com rápida recuperação aos valores de referência. As alterações dos valores do pH, lactato e HCO3− identificam a utilização de vias anaeróbias para a produção de energia, assim como uma evidente acidose metabólica após o esforço. Os valores obtidos são similares a atletas de alto rendimento, principalmente de modalidades de força e velocidade. O presente estudo contribuiu para o entendimento do comportamento eletroquímico e do equilíbrio ácido-básico da modalidade Parkour, preenchendo assim uma lacuna na literatura. / The analysis of the blood metabolites can show the metabolic behavior during physical exercises. This study aimed to analyze the electrochemical and acid base disorders behavior in Parkour athlets, during an exercise routine that used basic movements of this particular sport. Twenty three male athletes (average of 21,4±2,7 years old) with a minimum of two years of experience in Parkour were evaluated. The capillary blood was collected through the fingers in five diferent moments: (1) rest, (2) after warm-up, (3) after exercise, (4) five minutes later and (5) ten minutes later. A course using basic Parkour movements was used as reference. The samples were analyzed by the gasometric equipment GEM Premier 3000. The variables pH, sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), lactate and bicarbonate (HCO3−) were used. The pH, lactate and HCO3− showed significant variation (p<0,05) in most of the analyzed moments. Ca2+, Na+ and K+ values showed significant difference right after the exercise and a fast recovery after five and ten minutes when compared to the reference values. Results showed a physiological adaptation of electrolytes with a fast recovery back to the reference values. The values of pH, lactate e HCO3− present an anaerobic system usage, as well as a clear metabolic acidosis post exercise. The values obtained in this study are similar to high performance athletes values, mostly in strength and speed modalities. This study contributes to the understanding of the eletrochemical and acid-basic disorders behavior of Parkour athletes, filling a gap in the literature.