This thesis explores the significance of hosting the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (OGs) on elite sport and sport for all development in China. The impacts of the OGs have received significant attention from both academics and practitioners worldwide in the last 20 years and attention has been predominantly paid to political, cultural, economic, and environmental impacts of hosting them, especially as these emerge after the event. However, little concern was given to changes in the host country s sport development that are due to games related preparations. This study identifies the characteristics of the sport system, the policy actors, and how such actors were involved in preparations for the 2008 OGs, and it also outlines the development of policy concerning elite sport and sport for all. A case study approach was adopted focusing on the 2008 OGs. Adopting a qualitative methodology, the study utilised document analysis and semi-structured interviews to elicit data regarding the significance of preparations for the 2008 OGs on elite sport and sport for all. Globalisation, governance and policy making were found to be useful lenses through which to explore the processes of the emergence of such impacts. This thesis found that central government and the General Administration of Sport (GAOS) were the two most powerful policy actors in both elite sport and sport for all development in China, and made decisions as regards how to develop China s sport taking the opportunities of hosting the 2008 OGs. The research reveals that preparations for the 2008 OGs have various impacts on the elite sport and sport for all sectors. On one hand, the impacts can be witnessed in increased funding, more attention received from central government and GAOS, more sport policies, increased number of sport venues, new and updated facilities and equipment, technological, scientific and medical support, and increased sport participation; on the other hand, through providing such support, GAOS exerted its control over non-governmental organisations and individuals, such as via the restrictions by GAOS on athletes commercial activities, and national competitions. The research found evidence that globalisation had influenced China s general governance (including sport governance) process since the 1970s, with governance becoming more privatised and decentralised. However, sport governance took a different path after China won the bid in 2001. Against the backdrop of decentralisation having been previously officially adopted for Chinese sport governance, the research revealed that in pursuit of the aim of winning more medals in the 2008 OGs temporarily recentralisation occurred as required by central government and GAOS. The research also revealed that increased numbers of policies were produced to develop both elite sport and sport for all, however the interests of the public had not always been satisfied because of China's closed policy making process. Therefore, some impacts had not turned out as expected for the public.

Pastaruoju metu fizinį aktyvumą, kaip vieną iš sveikos gyvensenos sąlygų, pripažįsta vis daugiau tarptautinių ir nacionalinių sporto, sveikatos, švietimo, jaunimo organizacijų. ES dokumentai rodo, kad sporto socialinis vaidmuo vis labiau vertinamas ir tai įpareigoja plėtoti gyventojų sveikatos ugdymo per sportą sritį - masinį sportą. Tačiau mūsų šalyje kūno kultūra dar netapo prioritetine sveikatos stiprinimo dalimi, taipogi netobula visuomenės informavimo fizinio aktyvumo, sveikos gyvensenos skatinimo sistema. Todėl šis darbas yra skirtas išnagrinėti asociacijos "Sportas visiems" veiklą plėtojant masinį sportą Lietuvoje. Nes šiuo metu ši asociacija su savo organizacijomis narėmis labiausiai prisideda skatinant gyventojų fizinį aktyvumą per neprofesionalųjį sportą ir kūno kultūrą. / For the several years physical activities as one of the healthy life condition recognize many international and national sport, health, education, yputh organizations. EU documents shows that sport social role is more estimates and it's obligate to develop inhabitant's health bringing up through sport for all spheres. However in our countri physical activities not become yet a priority part of health bringing up and also there are incomplete public information in physical activity, healthy life stimulation system. That is why this paper separate for investigation association Sport for all development activities in mass sport in Lithuania. Because at this time this organization with her members there are the only organization who takes part in physical activities development for inhabitants through non professional sport.

This thesis explores the development of public policy aimed at achieving adult life-long participation in sport in Australia, Finland and New Zealand. Adult life-long participation has frequently been claimed as an aspiration of sport policy in Australia, Finland and New Zealand. This study identifies the characteristics of the sport systems and sport policy process in each of the three countries and outlines the development of policy concerning participation in sport amongst adults. A case study approach was adopted focusing on each of the three countries in turn. Adopting a qualitative methodology the study utilised document analysis and semi-structured interviews to elicit data regarding the development of, and factors impacting upon, the development of sport for all. Focusing upon the meso-level of analysis, policy networks was found to be a useful lens through which to view Finland, drawing attention to a policy subsystem where there has been a consistent focus on sport for all over the last 40 years. The advocacy coalition framework (ACF) provided the greatest utility for providing insights into Australia and New Zealand. The ACF drew attention to competing coalitions within the New Zealand and Australian sport sub-systems highlighting the tensions that had surfaced between elite and mass sport development. Despite little evidence in Australia, Finland or New Zealand of a policy or strategy that could be 'pulled off the shelf and called adult life long participation the findings indicated that Finland has been able to achieve high levels of adult participation in sport. Over the last 40 years successive Finnish governments have been consistent in their approach with regard to the role of national and local government in promoting Sf A. In contrast the Australian federal government has consistently expressed a desire to increase levels of sport participation amongst all Australians, however, despite consistent exhortations policy implementation has failed to reflect the rhetoric. Recent changes to the New Zealand sport policy landscape have made identifying a clear sport development pathway difficult, however, grassroots sport appears to have remained outside the current public policy focus. This study concludes that despite the existence of broadly similar factors such as rising levels of obesity, declining levels of physical activity and continued aspirations for sporting success, quite different sport policy approaches have been adopted in each of the three countries. This draws attention to the role of domestic factors, such as the distinctive socio-economic political and cultural systems in shaping the direction of, and salience of, sport policy to government.

This thesis aims to analyse the sport policy process in the Republic of Korea through an examination of the cases of elite sport and sport for all. This study assesses the utility of a number of theoretical frameworks all of which were created either in the North America or Europe. The following macro-level theories are discussed and assessed: Marxism, Elitism and Pluralism. At the meso-level Policy Community (Marsh and Rhodes 1992), Multiple Streams Framework (Kingdon, 1995) and Advocacy Coalition Framework (Sabatier and Jenkin-Smith, 1999) were investigated and their utility in the Korean context was evaluated. Two case studies, elite sport and sport for all, were chosen and qualitative research methods were used in order to gather empirical data. A series of forty three semistructured interviews were undertaken. The first round of interview was conducted between 22nd June 2007 and 11th July 2007 followed by more extensive second round of interviews from 29th November 2007 to 15th June 2008 in Korea. The interviewees included academics, journalists, elite athletes, senior officers in the government and sub-national government, senior officers in national government organisations such as KSC, NACOSA, SOSFO, senior officials in KISS, NGBs, the business sector, the military sector and voluntary organisations such as YMCA. Interview data was supported by extensive analysis of documents including government reports, annual Sport White Papers, newspapers and magazine articles. One of the central findings is that decision-making in relation to high performance (elite) sport policy is dominated by members of the political, business and military elite. High performance sport decision-making is tightly controlled by the government which has been consistently the core actor in Korea's elite sport policy process with there being little evidence of civil society involvement. As regard Sport For All, different levels of government and also non-government organisations were involved in promoting Sport For All. However of particular note is the lack of contact and cooperation between the government and other nongovernment organisations, for example, YMCA in terms of sharing experiences of promoting sport. Despite the involvement of different levels of government and of non-government organisations policy direction and momentum was largely set by the elite level of central government. The analysis reveals that elitism is the most appropriate framework to apply in Korean sport policy at the macro-level. As for the meso-level, none of the three frameworks were considered to be particularly useful although Policy Community appeared to be appropriate in the early stage of the research.

Viklund, J. & Älgamo, D. (2011). Fysisk aktivitet och idrott för vuxna individer i Västerbottens län – möjligheter och utmaningar för en framtida aktivitetskatalog. (Physical activity and sports for adults in the county of Västerbotten – opportunities and challenges for a future activity directory). Bachelor Essay in Swedish. Umeå: Umeå university, Department of Education. Abstract This paper originates from the need to organize all physical activities in the county of Västerbotten. In collaboration with the sports association of Västerbotten a future project will later be made to gather all these activities in one place. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze different sports clubs in the county of Västerbotten and their range of activities. Further, the purpose was also to assess the need of the sports clubs to develop the accessibility of their activities for adults in the county. The future aim of this study is that the results will compose a foundation for an activity directory which will increase the accessibility of different sports clubs and facilitate for individuals who practise some sort of exercise. Because of the limited research on this area, this study could be of interest for individuals, associations as well as for future research. To get the results interviews were carried out with nine different sports clubs and companies. The interviewees all had managing roles and good insights within their respective company. The respondents were asked about their opinions regarding the need of an activity directory and its possible benefits and disadvantages. The results show an interest for the directory from the majority of the respondents and that one of the primary benefits is that it provides marketing for the sports clubs and companies who choose to participate. One disadvantage with the activity directory could be that people with limited access to the Internet will be excluded, but as long as the marketing is good and the design is simple and well structured, the activity directory may have good future prospects.

Title: Applying the European Customer Satisfaction Index in the area of sport Objectives: The main objective of this paper is to determine customer satisfaction of the Czech Association Sport for All (ČASPV) using the methodology of the European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) and following the results of the research propose recommendations. The sub-objectives include modification of the ECSI methodology for the area of sport and comparison of the resulting ECSI index values in terms of the quality management system applied in ČASPV, different methods of determining the weights of measurable variables and already conducted research in the Czech commercial environment. Methods: The work uses, through the methodology of the European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI), the method of quantitative marketing research. For the primary data collection from ČASPV agents and clients, electronic and written inquiries were used. Results: According to the resulting ECSI index values, ČASPV clients have been very satisfied with the services and activities of the Association. In terms of the quality management system applied in ČASPV, the Sport for All (SPV) union group, which is linked to the system, achieved a higher ECSI value. When compared with already completed studies at commercial entities, the total...

<p>This paper has it’s background in Physical Activity on Prescription, a projectwhich the Swedish sports movement is part of. The study refers to a limiteddivision of sports for adults, namely a phenomenon here by referred to as dropin-activity. This form of physical activity is characterized by an understandingthat the participant often lack experience and that it is possible to pay for eachoccasion. The purpose of the study was thus to take a closer look on organized,non-profit sports clubs which offer this type of exercise for adults. To get theresults interviews was carried out in three different sports clubs with leaders ofthe activity and members from the board. The respondents were asked to talkabout their thoughts and experiences of the activity involving physical activity ofdrop-in nature executed in each sport club. The theoretical framework used toanalyze the interviews was the phenomenon of logics within sport, as describedby Stenling and Fahlén (2009). The analysis resulted in the identification of twomain logics; Social values and Resources for continued existence. The healthperspective were analyzed on the basis what had, or had not been said abouthealth in the interviews. The results show that growth is a main issue which canbe used to motivate the Swedish sport clubs to develop their activities. It’s alsoshown that the participants of the drop in-activities don’t get as much attention asthe ordinary members of the sport clubs which is crucial if the social values areto be obtained. The conclusions are that in order to make the healthimplementations work the programmatic approach has to be clear and consist ofterms that is easily related to.</p>

This paper has it’s background in Physical Activity on Prescription, a projectwhich the Swedish sports movement is part of. The study refers to a limiteddivision of sports for adults, namely a phenomenon here by referred to as dropin-activity. This form of physical activity is characterized by an understandingthat the participant often lack experience and that it is possible to pay for eachoccasion. The purpose of the study was thus to take a closer look on organized,non-profit sports clubs which offer this type of exercise for adults. To get theresults interviews was carried out in three different sports clubs with leaders ofthe activity and members from the board. The respondents were asked to talkabout their thoughts and experiences of the activity involving physical activity ofdrop-in nature executed in each sport club. The theoretical framework used toanalyze the interviews was the phenomenon of logics within sport, as describedby Stenling and Fahlén (2009). The analysis resulted in the identification of twomain logics; Social values and Resources for continued existence. The healthperspective were analyzed on the basis what had, or had not been said abouthealth in the interviews. The results show that growth is a main issue which canbe used to motivate the Swedish sport clubs to develop their activities. It’s alsoshown that the participants of the drop in-activities don’t get as much attention asthe ordinary members of the sport clubs which is crucial if the social values areto be obtained. The conclusions are that in order to make the healthimplementations work the programmatic approach has to be clear and consist ofterms that is easily related to.

This comparative study assessed the usefulness of the convergence thesis as a tool for understanding developments in leisure, recreation and sport in New Zealand and Malaysia. The study examined the interrelationship between 'global' and 'local' or 'contingent' factors and their impact upon leisure behaviour, leisure policy and leisure structures. 'Local' factors included institutional arrangements (notably political ones) and national cultural practices. A social history of New Zealand and Malaysia with particular reference to leisure, sport and recreation and national cultural practices was provided as a context for discussion of these issues. The study utilised a mixture of archival and library research and semi-structured interview, and was guided by an explicit comparative framework, concentrating on the development of leisure, sport and recreation in the two countries between 1970 and 2002. Interviews with 'key players' in both countries captured valuable data in the form of 'insiders' views' on leisure behaviour, policy and structure. These data were analysed with the relevance of the convergence thesis in mind. This study shows that contemporary leisure behaviour in New Zealand and Malaysia is shaped by the media and is highly commercialised, placing a high value on entertainment, and involves increasingly passive forms of participation. Informal sport and individualised recreational activities are replacing organised team-based sports in popularity. Leisure behaviour trends have led governments in both countries to encourage greater participation in sport and physical activity and to encourage private sector ventures into leisure-related products, services and infra-structures in the form of private-public partnerships. In terms of leisure policy, developments in leisure, recreation and, noticeably, sport, in Malaysia and New Zealand have been shaped by the wider agendas of the governing political parties. This is particularly noticeable at central government level. Individual political leaders in both countries have been influential in setting leisure-related policy. They had the vision to see that sport in particular might serve wider, national interests and that investments in sport could help raise the profiles of their countries in international markets and among trading organisations and the regulatory bodies that oversee trading practices. Malaysian and New Zealand governments seek to make leisure, sport and recreation policy supportive of other priorities. In Malaysia, the government legitimises its control over the policies which affect people's lives by appeals to Islamic principles and the need to put collective needs of nation building ahead of individual concerns for freedom. In terms of institutional, political, arrangements, this impacts at both central and local government levels in Malaysia. New Zealand, following a pluralist, Westminster, tradition of political representation, experiences regular changes in political management at central government level and a system of local government whereby local autonomy is jealously protected. Malaysia has resisted 'the global', by virtue of the nation-building policies of the Barisan Nasional, which has been in power since 1957. New Zealand's 'resistance' stems in part at least from the autonomy which local government enjoys. These experiences demonstrate that resistance to 'global' change can take varied forms at the 'local', contingent, level (Thorns, 1992). Differences in leisure structures reflect, once again, different agendas stemming from different political arrangements. The Malaysian government's approach is multi-Ministry, and micro-managed. In New Zealand, a 'hands off' approach via a quasi-autonomous non-government organisation (‘Quango'), became the favoured means of structuring central government leisure provision in the 1980s and 1990s. This was with a view to encouraging stability and consistency in leisure policy and provision in a pluralistic political system. Overall, and 'cautiously', this study provided support for the convergence thesis as a way to explain development in leisure, recreation and sport in New Zealand and Malaysia over the past 32 years. Although institutional arrangements and national cultural practices have provided some resistance to convergence processes, changing consumer sentiments may weaken such resistance in future.

Title: Sport as a Public Service: Equity and Efficiency of Local Sport Facilities In the Czech Republic, clubs traditionally played a key role in providing sport facilities. In recent years, the role of local authorities in sport has strengthened. Hence, there have been changes in the management of sport facilities in the context of new trends in public administration and sport participation. The thesis analyzes and evaluates current modes of provision of public sport facilities as the consequence of these changes. The examined issue is narrowed down to the two theoretical concepts - sport equity and efficiency of sport facilities. These are perceived as a part of the performance of sport facilities (see Liu et al., 2009 or Kung and Taylor, 2010). The first part of the thesis aims to test the effect of different forms of management of sports facilities on the sport equity score in the framework of institutional analysis (Houlihan, 2005). On the basis of the original instrument for measuring of sport equity, the survey is carried out. The research sample (N = 193) is made up by the municipalities with extended powers, except for regional cities and Prague. The second part of the thesis has the character of an action research. The author evaluates the application of the NBS: Financial questionnaire...