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Mature Students at McMaster UniversityBrandon, Scott 10 1900 (has links)
This study examines the social worlds of mature students. Data was collected through participant observation in campus settings and in-depth interviews with mature students. The focus is on their experiences as they navigated the passage to student status. A variety of constraints to the progress of the passage are documented, as well as mature students' negotiation strategies used to overcome these constraints. Attention is then paid to how mature students adjust to the new realities that university life poses. Dealing with university administration, learning new skills, and renegotiation processes are analysed. The status passage to mature student is viewed as problematic for the individual, as a new set of meanings must be negotiated with significant others for the passage to be successful. This study suggests that the case of mature students offers explanation into the nature of status passage in later life, and contributes new knowledge to the nature of generic social processes. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)
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Rock climbing sub-worlds: a segmentation studyRapelje, Brandon Wayne 15 November 2004 (has links)
Rock climbing participation is growing throughout the United States. Information on the participation patterns and preferences of groups of climbers can be used to help mangers make better informed decisions, allowing them to cater to the specific interests of climbing participants, ensure participant satisfaction and encourage continued patronage. This study explores variation in participant characteristics across segments of the climbing population. Because an individual's level of specialization will align him with other like-minded participants, an understanding of a participant's stages of involvement and level of specialization assists in understanding the social world's views and behaviors toward the resource and toward other participants. Information on participants' level of experience, level of commitment, and demographic dimensions can be used to better understand and manage climbers. This study aimed to identify differences among groups of climbers. The study measured across 484 participants. The participants were described by various dependent variables, which included demographic factors, level of specialization, motivations for climbing, types of conflicts and constraints experiences, and setting preferences. Measuring the climbers' participation patterns identified participant sub-world groups. The four groups of climbing participants, as identified by this study, were: infrequent climbers, frequent outdoor climbers, frequent indoor climbers, and avid climbers. While demographics are not significantly descriptive of climbing sub-world affiliations, this study found that there were differences among sub-world affiliates in terms of specialization level, motives, conflicts, constraints, and setting preferences.
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Rock climbing sub-worlds: a segmentation studyRapelje, Brandon Wayne 15 November 2004 (has links)
Rock climbing participation is growing throughout the United States. Information on the participation patterns and preferences of groups of climbers can be used to help mangers make better informed decisions, allowing them to cater to the specific interests of climbing participants, ensure participant satisfaction and encourage continued patronage. This study explores variation in participant characteristics across segments of the climbing population. Because an individual's level of specialization will align him with other like-minded participants, an understanding of a participant's stages of involvement and level of specialization assists in understanding the social world's views and behaviors toward the resource and toward other participants. Information on participants' level of experience, level of commitment, and demographic dimensions can be used to better understand and manage climbers. This study aimed to identify differences among groups of climbers. The study measured across 484 participants. The participants were described by various dependent variables, which included demographic factors, level of specialization, motivations for climbing, types of conflicts and constraints experiences, and setting preferences. Measuring the climbers' participation patterns identified participant sub-world groups. The four groups of climbing participants, as identified by this study, were: infrequent climbers, frequent outdoor climbers, frequent indoor climbers, and avid climbers. While demographics are not significantly descriptive of climbing sub-world affiliations, this study found that there were differences among sub-world affiliates in terms of specialization level, motives, conflicts, constraints, and setting preferences.
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Making Meteorology : Social Relations and Scientific PracticeSundberg, Mikaela January 2005 (has links)
This thesis is about the production of knowledge in meteorological research. Meteorology is an interesting case because of its crucial role in defining the climate change problem, but also because of its reliance on simulation modeling, a comparatively little studied scientific practice. The thesis provides an analysis of the central practices of simulation modeling and field experimentation. It draws upon concepts from social world theory, where practice is closely related to work. The thesis also employs the notion of translation, as developed by the actor-network approach, in order to analyse how different practices and entities become associated with each other. Empirical data was collected with interviews and participant observation and most of the fieldwork was conducted at the Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University. The first four chapters are preliminary: Introduction, theory, method and a review of the field and its history (Chapters 1–4). The empirical findings are then presented in four chapters. Chapter 5 presents how meteorological experimentalists organize collaborations by connecting and translating different practices. The use of measuring instruments has an important role in this. In Chapter 6, modeling work is described in detail. The differences between modeling for weather forecasting and for research purposes are analyzed and in particular, the construction of simulation models. It is concluded that this involves a materialization of theoretical models. The next two chapters take their point of departure in intersections where modeling practice meets experimentation. Chapter 7 is focused on model evaluation and I conclude that the comparison of observations and model output is needed to produce reference in simulation modeling and thus, legitimate this practice. The second intersection, discussed in Chapter 8, is the construction of new components of simulation models, so-called parameterizations. In addition to the previously mentioned sources, the analysis in this chapter is also based on research funding applications. It is concluded that climate research is constructed in such a way that parameterizations become potential boundary objects that shape the relationship between experimentalists and modelers. The final chapter discusses the central findings of the thesis. It is structured around different themes within social world theory: subworlds and segmentation, legitimation, arena processes, and intersections. Crucial methodological issues are revisited as well. It is shown how climate modeling shapes meteorological research and the consequences of simulation modeling practice for scientific work more generally are outlined as well. The chapter also includes an extensive discussion of the utility of the concept boundary object.
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Who are Climbing the Walls? An Exploration of the Social World of Indoor Rock ClimbingKurten, Jason Henry 2009 December 1900 (has links)
This study is an exploratory look at the social world of indoor rock
climbers, specifically, those at Texas A&M University. A specific genre of rock
climbing originally created to allow outdoor rock climbers a place to train in the
winter, indoor climbing has now found a foothold in areas devoid of any natural
rock and has begun to develop a leisure social world of its own providing benefit
to the climbers, including social world members. This study explored this social
world of indoor rock climbing using a naturalistic model of inquiry and qualitative
methodology, specifically Grounded Theory (Spradley, 1979; Strauss & Corbin,
2008). This research borrows from the literature on social world theory, serious
leisure as well as specialization.
This study confirmed indoor rock climbing to be a form of serious leisure
for some participants. Furthermore, it found the social world of indoor rock
climbing at Texas A&M provides a deep sense of belonging to some members
who were found to coalesce at a mesostructural level into a confederacy of peers (R. A. Stebbins, 1993). Bouldering was found to be an avenue for social
world entry for men but the female experience in social world entry was found to
be different. The most prominent finding of the study was that the facility itself
provides a place of belonging for social world members, even diverse and
different groups which, outside of the social world, may be expected to come
into conflict. Lastly, it was found that the social world has the ability to mediate
conflict or negative experiences arising from competition and feelings of risk and
fear.
This exploratory study is expected to provide a framework for which to
conduct further, more in depth studies into phenomena affecting the lives and
experiences of indoor rock climbers. Furthermore this study has practical
significance in assisting climbing wall managers to better understand the culture
that surrounds and utilizes the facilities they operate. A review of the current
literature on rock climbing, research questions that guided the study and
methodologies, as well as the study results and conclusions are discussed in
this paper.
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Peer Dialogue at Literacy Centers in One First-Grade ClassroomMaurer, A. Caroline 24 June 2008 (has links)
No description available.
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Inescapably Social: Dimensions of Self Construction in the Virtual Social World of RunescapeRobe, Isaac 01 May 2018 (has links)
This thesis examines the virtual social world of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, Runescape. I observed several locations in the Runescape world, conducted in-depth interviews with players, and participated in clan activities. I analyzed how individual players develop and extend concepts of self through their participation in the game. Players attach patterned meanings to in-game social objects, particularly their character (avatar) that mediates their experiences in the game. Many players refer to their character’s appearance and accomplishments as an extension of the self, particularly when they master game skills or accumulate in-game wealth. How players spend and think about time in the game suggests that they experience a blurred boundary between “play” and “work.”
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World of Warcraft : En virtuellt social världHermansson, Johan, Svensson, Christian January 2007 (has links)
In today’s modern society with high-speed connections covering the globe people are more than ever finding themselves gazing into the cold lights of the computer screen. On the other side a strange and exciting world yet to be explored awaits. Many are those who spend hour after hour running over green hills swimming in vast blue oceans in the lands of Azeroth, the playfield in the MMORPG game World of Warcraft. In media we often read and hear alarming reports on players stuck in this virtual world, ceasing to play a part in the real world. This thesis will make an attempt as to hear what those who play the game has to say in the matter. Through interviews we’ll try to separate or combine media’s view of the game from that of those who play it.
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World of Warcraft : En virtuellt social världHermansson, Johan, Svensson, Christian January 2007 (has links)
<p>In today’s modern society with high-speed connections covering the globe people are more than ever finding themselves gazing into the cold lights of the computer screen. On the other side a strange and exciting world yet to be explored awaits. Many are those who spend hour after hour running over green hills swimming in vast blue oceans in the lands of Azeroth, the playfield in the MMORPG game World of Warcraft. In media we often read and hear alarming reports on players stuck in this virtual world, ceasing to play a part in the real world. This thesis will make an attempt as to hear what those who play the game has to say in the matter. Through interviews we’ll try to separate or combine media’s view of the game from that of those who play it.</p>
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Community level serious leisure networksLawrence Bendle Unknown Date (has links)
Abstract Drawing on the serious leisure perspective, social world theory, and social network analysis this thesis utilizes an exploratory methodology to develop a structural view of a social world network of 49 social actors comprised of the grassroots associations and the allied organisations expressly concerned with amateur artists in a regional Australian city. Semistructured interviews were conducted with spokespeople in leadership and management roles with the associations and organisations. The purpose of the interviews was to develop an understanding of the key attributes of the grassroots associations and the function of the allied commercial, cultural, and educational organisations, and to discover the patterns of links between these two types of social actors. In addition, the interviews explored the types of social world participation among the associational memberships; and the role, rewards, and costs experienced by the spokespeople who were fulfilling coordinating duties in the grassroots associations. The research found that associations of amateur artists were active in the local community coordinating their memberships, activities, and assets to provide calendars of events for the participants in a regional social world of the creative arts and that, the allied organisations provided complementary goods and services. Further, it emerged that links of varying intensity connecting the associations and organisations coalesced into a network. This comprised a cluster of social actors connected by their concern with actors, dancers, and musicians; a cluster of social actors connected by their concern with craft practitioners, community cultural development workers, visual artists, and writers; and of social actors with bilateral links connecting the two clusters. Also mixed serious leisure emerged as a significant mode of participation among the sample of grassroots association spokespeople who were interviewed and this was important to the sustainability of their associations over time. There are three major outcomes from the research. First, structural concepts from social network analysis in combination with social world theory developed into definition of a community level serious leisure network; second, this definition proved empirically viable in the research context, and third, a model to depict the phenomenon of a community level serious leisure network has emerged from the exploratory process. The findings have both theoretical and empirical implications. Theoretically, they assist research into the structure of community level leisure provision. The findings also encourage investigation of mixed serious leisure. Empirically, the application of network knowledge to improve community leisure resources can improve the outcomes for the social actors involved and the community in which they are embedded.
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