The study of terrorism has gained attention and prominence post-September 11, 2001. Much of the literature on terrorism is teleological, and many authors focus their research on America’s involvement with terrorism in the Middle East beginning with the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. Accordingly, the literature fails to highlight the rise of terrorism in the Middle East and the importance of the Middle East to American foreign policy during the Nixon Administration. This study looks at how the American media and the American government conceptualized terrorism during the Nixon Administration, from 1969 to 1974. An analysis of American print media sources demonstrates that terrorism was associated with the Middle East more than other regions in the later years of Nixon’s presidency. American government documents reveal that the government linked terrorism with the Middle East after a fundamental shift in the perception of terrorism took place after the Munich Olympics massacre in 1972. In order to understand the contemporary manifestation of terrorism in American life, it is imperative to understand the history of how America conceptualized terrorism.

The present study employed Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to understand the motivational factors associated with peoples’ intention to: (a) increase their physical activity levels in response to Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games; (b) watch the event on television; and (c) purchase products or services from companies because they were sponsors of the event. According to the theory, behavioural intentions are determined by individuals’ attitude toward performing the behaviour (i.e., their overall evaluation of the behaviour); the subjective norms they associate with the behaviour (i.e., their beliefs about whether most people approve or disapprove of the behaviour); and perceived behavioural control (i.e., the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior). As well, this investigation hypothesized that additional variables could predict intention. In particular, past behaviour and descriptive norms (i.e., people’s perceptions about the degree to which other people would perform the behavior) were examined in terms of their ability to explain significant proportions of variance in respondents’ intentions above and beyond TPB variables. Participants were enrolled in first and second year undergraduate classes at the University of Waterloo and the University of Victoria during the Fall 2009 and Winter 2010 term (n = 405). The questionnaire assessed each TPB construct (excluding actual behaviour) using standardized Likert-type scaling procedures suggested by Ajzen (2006). Additionally, the questionnaire assessed gender, geographic proximity to the event (i.e., whether students were enrolled at the University of Waterloo or the University of Victoria), past behaviour, and descriptive norms. Results from the regression analyses revealed that the TPB-based models accounted for 50.7%, 61.5% and 66.6% of the variance in respondents’ intentions to become more active in response to the event, watch the event on television, and purchase products or services from event sponsors respectively. Attitude toward the behaviour was the only TPB construct to play a prominent role in the prediction of all three responses of interest in the present investigation. The importance of the attitude construct in predicting such a diverse set of intentions suggests that sport consumer behaviour might be best understood in terms of expectancy-value cognitive theories such as the TPB. These theories suggest that people will be motivated to perform a particular behaviour (e.g., watching a sport event on television) when they expect to attain a valued outcome as a result of performing the behaviour (e.g., feelings of national pride). Descriptive norms and past behaviour explained an additional 29%, 9.3%, and 21% of the variance in respondents’ intention to become more active in response to the event, watch the event on television, and patronize event sponsors respectively. Among this sample of undergraduate students, responses to the event appeared to be strongly associated with beliefs about whether or not referent others would perform each behaviour. Additionally, much of what motivates sport consumer behaviour within this segment of the population may be related to notions of tradition and nostalgia. Implications for future research and the design of behaviour change interventions are discussed.

published_or_final_version / China Development Studies / Master / Master of Arts

This research examines the use of volunteering at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games for the creation of human, social and political capital at individual, organisational and societal levels. Despite a long tradition of Olympic volunteering, this has not been investigated so far. The concept of volunteerism at Beijing 2008, in fact, was constructed upon multiple contexts including the Olympic Movement, Chinese society and an international understanding of the ternl (BOCOG, 2005). Hence, volunteerism as an under-investigated concept is firstly studied individually in each of these contexts. The frameworks underpinning this research include Getz's (2005) human resource planning process which explains how specific policies for managing event volunteers are formulated for fulfilling its vision(s); and theories of social, human and political capital as developed by Putnam (2000), Bourdieu (1986; 1991) and Coleman (1988) respectively. Multiple qualitative case study strategy is adopted for this investigation, following a constructivist paradigm. The subjective and interactive epistemology is constructed upon the knowledge and experiences of a total of fifty-seven infoIDlants, most of whom were directly involved in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Volunteer Programme. The research findings illustrate that the Chinese state and BOCOG's interpretation of the concept of volunteerisrn was manifested in organisational visions for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Volunteer Programme. These visions were accomplished through a range of management policies, which in fact placed volunteerism at Beijing 2008 in line with the maturity stage of volunteerism in the Olympic Movement. During the course of the management practices, social, human and political capital were created in varying degrees at all of the three levels. It was also evident that participation and training were the critical processes in the creation of different forms of capital. Moreover, the findings suggest that the created social, human and political capital have both positive and negative effects on those involved, while full possible long-term effects are yet to become apparent. This research makes distinctive contributions to the body of knowledge. It adds six-dimensional conceptual frameworks for both volunteerism in general and Olympic volunteerism in specific. Investigation into how volunteering for the Beijing Games has been used for the creation of social, human and political capital at individual, organisational and societal levels is deemed to be original. Research findings will contribute to the development of volunteerism in the Olympic Movement and future Olympic volunteer programmes. Suggestions for future research are also proposed to investigate on further issues of issue of the use of volunteering for the creation of social, human and political capital at future Olympic Games as well as other mega events.

International sporting events such as the Olympics and FIFA World Cup can affect entire economies, democratic regimes, juridical structures, urban architectures, organizational capacities, and political communities. Whether positively or negatively, undertaking a major sporting event such as the Olympics or FIFA World Cup represents a distinct opportunity for the host-city to embark on the largest ever domestic logistical project ever undertaken within the countries’ borders, which can lead to considerable degrees of short-, medium-, and long-term impacts on a vast array of groups and organizations spanning the public-private divide. Accordingly, the International Olympic Committee has seized on the discourse of legacy to promote and expand the social and political value of infrastructural projects associated with the Games. Over the same period that legacy became a mainstream discourse in the Olympic industry; investment in security, surveillance, and policing infrastructure to protect major sports events simultaneously grew to approximately 20-50% of all expenditures associated with the hosting of an Olympic event. As the discourse of legacy gained currency with Olympic developments, any discourse of security legacies has remained woefully disregarded. Early studies that acknowledge the prevalence of security legacies at major events have focused on event-to-event cases, or have otherwise listed security legacy variables in the absence of any theoretical framework that explains how security governance legacies emerge and endure after the major event has ended. This dissertation presents a robust theoretical framework to address the security governance legacies flowing from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Through empirical case-studies, it details how such investments in security, surveillance, and policing infrastructure often become institutionalized as security governance assemblages that persist after the major event has ended. In particular, the chapters address legacies of redeployable public video surveillance, public-order policing, civilian-military integration, and the legacies of the private security industry. The security governance legacies of the 2010 Games involves significant changes within security, intelligence, and policing assemblages in Vancouver, and Canada as a whole. The dissertation concludes with a discussion on how security governance assemblages from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics might further inform notions of function-creep in the surveillance studies literature. / Graduate / 0615 / 0627

International sporting events such as the Olympics and FIFA World Cup can affect entire economies, democratic regimes, juridical structures, urban architectures, organizational capacities, and political communities. Whether positively or negatively, undertaking a major sporting event such as the Olympics or FIFA World Cup represents a distinct opportunity for the host-city to embark on the largest ever domestic logistical project ever undertaken within the countries’ borders, which can lead to considerable degrees of short-, medium-, and long-term impacts on a vast array of groups and organizations spanning the public-private divide. Accordingly, the International Olympic Committee has seized on the discourse of legacy to promote and expand the social and political value of infrastructural projects associated with the Games. Over the same period that legacy became a mainstream discourse in the Olympic industry; investment in security, surveillance, and policing infrastructure to protect major sports events simultaneously grew to approximately 20-50% of all expenditures associated with the hosting of an Olympic event. As the discourse of legacy gained currency with Olympic developments, any discourse of security legacies has remained woefully disregarded. Early studies that acknowledge the prevalence of security legacies at major events have focused on event-to-event cases, or have otherwise listed security legacy variables in the absence of any theoretical framework that explains how security governance legacies emerge and endure after the major event has ended. This dissertation presents a robust theoretical framework to address the security governance legacies flowing from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Through empirical case-studies, it details how such investments in security, surveillance, and policing infrastructure often become institutionalized as security governance assemblages that persist after the major event has ended. In particular, the chapters address legacies of redeployable public video surveillance, public-order policing, civilian-military integration, and the legacies of the private security industry. The security governance legacies of the 2010 Games involves significant changes within security, intelligence, and policing assemblages in Vancouver, and Canada as a whole. The dissertation concludes with a discussion on how security governance assemblages from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics might further inform notions of function-creep in the surveillance studies literature. / Graduate / 0615 / 0627

The present study employed Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to understand the motivational factors associated with peoples’ intention to: (a) increase their physical activity levels in response to Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games; (b) watch the event on television; and (c) purchase products or services from companies because they were sponsors of the event. According to the theory, behavioural intentions are determined by individuals’ attitude toward performing the behaviour (i.e., their overall evaluation of the behaviour); the subjective norms they associate with the behaviour (i.e., their beliefs about whether most people approve or disapprove of the behaviour); and perceived behavioural control (i.e., the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior). As well, this investigation hypothesized that additional variables could predict intention. In particular, past behaviour and descriptive norms (i.e., people’s perceptions about the degree to which other people would perform the behavior) were examined in terms of their ability to explain significant proportions of variance in respondents’ intentions above and beyond TPB variables. Participants were enrolled in first and second year undergraduate classes at the University of Waterloo and the University of Victoria during the Fall 2009 and Winter 2010 term (n = 405). The questionnaire assessed each TPB construct (excluding actual behaviour) using standardized Likert-type scaling procedures suggested by Ajzen (2006). Additionally, the questionnaire assessed gender, geographic proximity to the event (i.e., whether students were enrolled at the University of Waterloo or the University of Victoria), past behaviour, and descriptive norms. Results from the regression analyses revealed that the TPB-based models accounted for 50.7%, 61.5% and 66.6% of the variance in respondents’ intentions to become more active in response to the event, watch the event on television, and purchase products or services from event sponsors respectively. Attitude toward the behaviour was the only TPB construct to play a prominent role in the prediction of all three responses of interest in the present investigation. The importance of the attitude construct in predicting such a diverse set of intentions suggests that sport consumer behaviour might be best understood in terms of expectancy-value cognitive theories such as the TPB. These theories suggest that people will be motivated to perform a particular behaviour (e.g., watching a sport event on television) when they expect to attain a valued outcome as a result of performing the behaviour (e.g., feelings of national pride). Descriptive norms and past behaviour explained an additional 29%, 9.3%, and 21% of the variance in respondents’ intention to become more active in response to the event, watch the event on television, and patronize event sponsors respectively. Among this sample of undergraduate students, responses to the event appeared to be strongly associated with beliefs about whether or not referent others would perform each behaviour. Additionally, much of what motivates sport consumer behaviour within this segment of the population may be related to notions of tradition and nostalgia. Implications for future research and the design of behaviour change interventions are discussed.

Thesis (M. A.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 106-123).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Kinesiology, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 22, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-287). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alberta, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 226-260). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.