Studiens syfte är att bidra med en ökad förståelse för vilka pedagogiska färdigheter skidinstruktörerna värdesätter och anser vara centrala i deras arbete och varför. För att undersöka detta så har en fallstudie av en svensk skidskola utförts där skidskolans instruktörer blev intervjuade om vilka pedagogiska färdigheter de värdesatte och även hur den externa samt interna utbildningen upplevdes förhålla sig till dessa. Studiens resultat visar hur instruktörerna värdesatte social kompetens, lyhördhet och förmågan att inspirera som centrala pedagogiska färdigheter för en skidinstruktör. Genom en god förmåga i dessa färdigheter möjliggjordes skapandet av en god relation till elev under lektion och även tillämpning av rätt typ av undervisning som anpassas till eleven och situationen. Den externa utbildningen ansågs inte direkt utveckla dessa färdigheter utan hade snarare ett fokus på skidteknisk förmåga och förståelse. Utbildningen utvecklade dock indirekt färdigheterna genom interaktion med övriga deltagare och ett förebildskap av instruktören. Den interna utbildningen ansågs även den ha ett mer skidtekniskt fokus men också där utvecklades de värdesatta färdigheterna genom deltagande och interaktion mellan skidinstruktörerna. / The purpose of this study is to contribute a deeper understanding about what skills are valued by ski instructors and perceived as central in their line of work and, why. To this end, a case study was conducted of a Swedish ski school. Six ski instructors and one manager were interviewed about what skills they value, and about how the external ski instructor training they underwent were perceived in relation to those skills. The results show that social skills, perceptiveness and the ability to inspire were regarded as central skills for a competent ski instructor. By having this set of skills the instructor is able to create a good social relation to the student by using pedagogy and instruction adapted to the particular student and situation. The external education was not perceived as developing these skills directly; instead, it was perceived as a way of developing a technical understanding of skiing. The instructors however experienced that the education developed the valued skills indirectly through interaction with the participants as well as with the instructor acting as a role model. The workplace education was also perceived as having a ski-technical focus but also as developing the valued skills through participation and interaction between the ski instructors.

The aim of this essay is to study population change in tourism intensive mountain municipalities. Then to investigate whether center displacement takes place from the municipality center to the area with growing tourism. Areas of growing tourism have in this study been delimited to ski resorts. To answer the study’s purpose and questions, both quantitative and qualitative methods have been used. Population statistics have been used to explain population change in Swedish mountain municipalities. Population statistics showed that there are four mountain municipalities that have a shrinking population in the municipality and in the municipality center, while there is a ski resort with population growth in the municipality. These mountain municipalities are Dorotea, Malung-Sälen, Storuman and Härjedalen. Interviews with officials from these municipalities have been used as a complement to analyze the findings from the population statistics. The result of the interviews shows that the ski resorts have characteristics of being so-called ‘center’ with reference to the center-periphery model. At the same time, it also appears that the informants do not think that it is possible to talk about any tourism-driven center displacement. At least not with regard to public service. The municipality house will be remain located where it is today. Based on the given results, this essay conclude that ski resorts should be regarded as commercial centers and that the municipality center is the public center. From this aspect this study also conclude that there is possible to talk about a patriell center displacement from the municipality center to the ski resorts. Which, based on this study, is explained as commercial. The study also conclude that the commercial supply is dependent on the tourist visitors and those who work on the ski resorts, where the result shows that much of those who live in the ski resorts work in the touristindustry. In this way, the commercial center displacement also becomes tourism-driven.

Nesta dissertação estão apresentados os principais conceitos teóricos envolvidos na ação dos jatos formados em dissipadores tipo salto esqui sobre fossa de erosão pré-escavada, desde o trajeto do jato em sua fase aérea e em sua fase submersa, dando especial ênfase às pressões hidrodinâmicas e sua caraterização junto ao fundo da bacia. Para estudar experimentalmente a ação dos jatos nas bacias de dissipação, utilizou-se de um modelo físico de escala 1:100 construído no Laboratório de Obras Hidráulicas do IPH/UFRGS com ensaios de diferentes vazões e diferentes profundidades de fossas pré-escavadas. Os dados foram extraídos dos ensaios no modelo físico através de vasta instrumentação, utilizando-se comportas, pontas linimétricas, piezômetros, sensores de pressão, imagens e outros equipamentos. Foi realizada uma análise criteriosa dos dados gerados no modelo físico a partir das imagens do jato na sua trajetória aérea e no escoamento do jato em sua fase submersa, comparando os dados do modelo aos resultados obtidos por métodos tradicionais de cálculo. Também foram analisados os dados de pressão gerados durante os ensaios, sendo apresentados os resultados relativos às pressões médias e às pressões dinâmicas. As pressões dinâmicas observadas no modelo físico foram comparadas com as calculadas por meio de metodologia teórica abordada na bibliografia com a finalidade de avaliar a qualidade dessa metodologia para aplicação em projetos de engenharia, onde se observou grandes diferenças de magnitude da pressão quando em colchões rasos, e diferenças de distribuição de pressão ao longo do fundo da bacia de dissipação, principalmente quando em colchões profundos. No sentido de ajustar a metodologia aplicada, foi proposta a variação de parâmetros que regulam a forma do bulbo de pressões e a aplicação de um coeficiente de amortecimento de pressões, sendo que assim foi possível melhorar significativamente a distribuição e a magnitude das pressões calculadas devido à ação dos jatos no fundo da bacia de dissipação. Os resultados se mostram satisfatórios até determinada distância após o pico de pressão provocado pelo jato, sendo que após este ponto os efeitos de ressalto hidráulico prevalecem e devem ser pesquisados em estudos futuros. / In this dissertation are presented the main theorical concepts involved in the action of the jets formed in ski jump spillways on stilling basins type pre-excavated scour hole, from the path of the jet in its air stage and in his submerged phase, with particular emphasis on hydrodynamic pressures and its characterization by the bottom of the basin. To experimentally study the action of the jets in stilling basins, was used a physical model in scale 1:100 built in Hydraulic Works Laboratory of IPH/UFRGS with experiments of different flow rates and different depths of pre-excavated scour hole. The data were extracted from experiments on the physical model through extensive instrumentation, using gates, piezometers, pressure sensors, images and other equipment. A careful analysis of the data generated in the physical model from the jet images in your path through the air was performed and the flow of the jet in its submerged phase, comparing the model data to the results obtained by traditional methods of calculation. The pressure data generated during the tests and presented the results for the mean pressures and dynamic pressures were also analyzed. Dynamic pressures observed in the physical model were compared with those calculated by means of theoretical methods for the purpose of evaluating the quality of this methodology for use in engineering projects, where we observed large differences in magnitude of pressure when in shallow water beds, and diferences in pressure distribution over the stilling basin bottom, especially when in deep water beds. In order to adjust the applied methodology, it was proposed to change parameters governing the shape of the pressure bulb and the application of a pressure damping coefficient, and thus was possible to significantly improved the distribution and magnitude of the calculated pressures due to action of the jets in the stilling basin bottom. The results have been satisfactory up to a certain distance after the peak pressure caused by the jet, and after this point the hydraulic jump effects prevail and should be investigated in future studies.

Ski areas attract and cater to tourists and are often powerful symbols of cultural identity and place-based meaning. Within contexts of mountain tourism development, ski areas also communicate messages to orient visitors and residents to special features and qualities of the natural environment. This research specifically focuses on how Vermont ski areas and their neighboring rural communities use language, symbolism and imagery, within the context of website communications, to shape cultural meanings of nature and place. A sample of small, medium, and large ski areas, representing a range of development sizes, locations, and recreational offerings, were paired with their adjacent rural communities. A qualitative content analysis and a textual analysis of photographic images and written texts from ski area and town websites examined presentations of “nature” and place. Website presentations were compared across ski areas of different sizes, and between towns and ski areas. Findings show that portrayals of “nature” differ by the size of the ski area, but are similar across rural towns – though towns tended to produce a discourse about “nature” divergent from that of ski areas. In addition, both ski resort and town websites used images and texts of “Vermont” symbolically in constructing their place identity, though they did this in different ways. This study contributes a better understanding of the ways that ski areas and rural communities work both independently and collaboratively to create and sustain meaningful physical places and cultural myths. Aligning public communications electronically to present a more unified place identity to visitors and residents alike has potential planning and management implications for tourism development, especially in rural regions in Vermont and elsewhere.

Dans le contexte des stations de sports d'hiver, l'émergence du mouvement des « sports de glisse » dans les années 70 a mené à l'apparition de nouveaux engins tels que le snowboard. Ces nouvelles pratiques ont véhiculé des cultures originales notamment basées sur la transgression des normes et la prise de risque, faisant l'objet d'un sentiment d'appartenance groupale au sein de la communauté des pratiquants. Néanmoins, depuis une vingtaine d'années, il semble que le « style de glisse » (freeride et freestyle) revendiqué par certains pratiquants devienne un référent identitaire marqué et qu'il apporte de nouveaux éléments culturels influençant les perceptions du risque des pratiquants. Afin d'analyser ces perceptions, nous avons eu recours à la théorie des représentation sociales (Moscovici, 1961). Cette thèse a permis, entre autres, de révéler que la pratique du snowboard et l'adhésion à un style de glisse sont génératrices de prises de position particulières par rapport au risque en station. Ces différentes populations de pratiquants valorisent davantage le risque bien que l'on ne puisse pas conclure à une inclination pour le risque. Enfin, la pratique du snowboard est toujours porteuse d'une culture particulière par rapport au risque même si cette variable semble aujourd'hui moins différenciatrice que le sentiment d'appartenance à un « style » de pratique.

Highly fluorinated organic compounds are emerging environmental contaminants of concern, due to their persistence, ubiquitous distribution, bioaccumulation potential and toxicity. Ski waxes are sources of highly fluorinated chemicals to the environment that have not been investigated so far. Some contain fluorinated additives such as semifluorinated n-alkanes (SFAs). This thesis investigated the fate of SFAs after abrasion onto snow through skiing activities. Furthermore, perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs) were found to be present in fluorinated ski waxes. A lot of attention has been paid to elucidating the environmental fate of PFAAs during the past decade. However, nothing was known so far about their release from melting snow packs. Analytical methods for quantification of SFAs in different environmental matrices were developed. The methods were used to investigate the fate of SFAs during snow melt and to study their occurrence in ski areas. Laboratory snow melt experiments and model-based fate simulations suggested that SFAs will sorb to the snow grain surface and particles in the bulk snow and, after snowmelt, will end up on the underlying (soil) surface. SFAs were detected and quantified for the first time in snow and soil samples taken from a ski area in Sweden. Comparison of concentrations in snow and soil did not give any evidence for long-term accumulation of SFAs in surface soil, but suggested volatilization of shorter chain homologues during snow melt. Such a volatilization could also explain an observed SFA pattern difference between snow and soil samples. Laboratory scale snow melt experiments were also used to investigate the behavior of PFAAs during snowmelt. PFAAs were released with the melt water from the snow pack in pulses. The pulses occurred early, late or with a so far unknown peak elution in the middle of the snowmelt, depending on the hydrophobicity of the PFAAs. These peak releases were further influenced by the age of the snow pack and thus the snow surface area and to a lesser extent by pH and ion concentrations.

The Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model is an innovation created in response to the Canadian Sport Policy (Canadian Heritage, 2007). The LTAD is an “athlete centered, coach driven, and administration, sport science, and sponsor supported” (Canadian Sport Centres, 2006, p. 33) athlete-development model. Since little research has been completed focusing on this model (viz., Black & Holt, 2009) this thesis had the purpose to better understand the adoption of the LTAD by cross-country ski (XCS) coaches. Two articles present a case study of three XCS club’s coaches, and a descriptive qualitative analysis of XCS coaches (N=13). Both analyses used Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations theoretical framework to structure the narrative-interview guide, coding structure, and thematic analysis. Two key results of the thesis were an understanding of the link between a club’s characteristics and a coach’s perceived attributes of the LTAD, and secondly a proposed classification system for XCS coaches.

This Master’s thesis explores environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) in the alpine sport industry. A mixed methods case with a single alpine sport provider in Quebec was performed. The first study is a qualitative examination of how and why ECSR is employed and communicated. Results indicate ECSR is strategically motivated, and as such, the focal organization runs the risk of using several greenwashing techniques in communications that could jeopardize gaining competitive advantage. The second study quantitatively investigates alpine sport consumers’ environmental expectations, engagement with environmental products, and perceptions of the focal organization’s environmental reputation. The results show the focal organization’s customers do indeed have environmental expectations, but believe the focal organization’s environmental reputation remains neutral. The thesis supports arguments of corporate social responsibility (CSR) being strategically motivated and other findings of skiers having conflicting environmental values. Lastly, the thesis provides insight regarding greenwashing, a phenomenon that remains unexplored in sport management.

The Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model is an innovation created in response to the Canadian Sport Policy (Canadian Heritage, 2007). The LTAD is an “athlete centered, coach driven, and administration, sport science, and sponsor supported” (Canadian Sport Centres, 2006, p. 33) athlete-development model. Since little research has been completed focusing on this model (viz., Black & Holt, 2009) this thesis had the purpose to better understand the adoption of the LTAD by cross-country ski (XCS) coaches. Two articles present a case study of three XCS club’s coaches, and a descriptive qualitative analysis of XCS coaches (N=13). Both analyses used Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations theoretical framework to structure the narrative-interview guide, coding structure, and thematic analysis. Two key results of the thesis were an understanding of the link between a club’s characteristics and a coach’s perceived attributes of the LTAD, and secondly a proposed classification system for XCS coaches.

This Master’s thesis explores environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) in the alpine sport industry. A mixed methods case with a single alpine sport provider in Quebec was performed. The first study is a qualitative examination of how and why ECSR is employed and communicated. Results indicate ECSR is strategically motivated, and as such, the focal organization runs the risk of using several greenwashing techniques in communications that could jeopardize gaining competitive advantage. The second study quantitatively investigates alpine sport consumers’ environmental expectations, engagement with environmental products, and perceptions of the focal organization’s environmental reputation. The results show the focal organization’s customers do indeed have environmental expectations, but believe the focal organization’s environmental reputation remains neutral. The thesis supports arguments of corporate social responsibility (CSR) being strategically motivated and other findings of skiers having conflicting environmental values. Lastly, the thesis provides insight regarding greenwashing, a phenomenon that remains unexplored in sport management.