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.

In Sweden athlete schools, where students are attending in terms of optimizing their athletic careers in correlation with their studies, are a widely spread phenomena over the country and the system is included within the ordinary school system. This study aims to examine how the subject Physical Education and Health (PEH) is taught at athlete schools in comparison to how it is taught in classes with ordinary upper secondary school students. This study is based on interviews with eight teachers from two different Swedish schools. The results show that teachers do adjust their teaching in order to achieve quality teaching to give the athletic students optimized possibilities to improve. The results show different teacher perspectives about what knowledge that is prioritized. Admittedly, the teachers confess having problems with whether they assess these students on their previous skills or if they actually learn new skills during their PEH. Hence, this study serves the purpose of revealing the importance of developing new and individualized strategies on how to form an optimized educational environment and quality teaching for those students.

There is a general perception in the public that mental health problems scarcely exist among elite athletes. The aim of this thesis was to investigate mental health among Swedish elite athletes with a particular focus on depression, overtraining, help seeking and stigma. The sample consisted of 100 athletes; of these 32 % were male and 68 % female, 53 % team athletes and 47 % individual athletes representing 15 different sports. A cross-sectional research design using self-report measures examined variables associated with the mental health of athletes. Results showed the prevalence of depression in the sample was similar to that of the general population. Athletes who reported symptoms of overtraining also reported symptoms of depression. Depressed athletes showed significantly more symptoms of overtraining than non-depressed athletes. Athletes who reported greater symptoms of depression or overtraining also reported higher levels of stigma associated with the condition. In the sample 45 % of participants reported that it was unlikely or extremely unlikely that they would seek help for mental health problems. The results indicate that mental health problems among elite athletes do exist. Athletes that experience problems with their mental health also do not want to disclose these problems. The established relationship between depression and overtraining highlights the difficult in distinguishing between the concepts that may ultimately lead to misdiagnose and ineffective treatment of the symptoms. Sport specialization in health care is required in order to meet the needs of elite athletes. / Det finns en allmän syn i samhället att psykisk ohälsa bland elitidrottare är väldigt ovanligt. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka psykisk ohälsa bland svenska elitidrottare med fokus på depression, överträning, hjälpsökande och stigma. Urvalet bestod av 100 elitidrottare; av dessa var 32 % män och 68 % kvinnor, 53 % lagidrottare och 47 % individuella idrottare vilka representerade 15 olika idrotter. En tvärsnittsstudie genomfördes med hjälp av självskattningsformulär vilka undersökte variabler förknippade med elitidrottares psykiska hälsa. Resultaten visade en prevalens av depression bland elitidrottarna motsvarande den allmänna populationen. Elitidrottare som rapporterade symptom på överträning rapporterade även symptom på depression. Deprimerade elitidrottare hade signifikant fler symptom på överträning än icke-deprimerade elitidrottare. Elitidrottare som rapporterade fler symptom på depression eller överträning rapporterade även högre nivåer av stigma. I urvalet rapporterade 45 % av deltagarna att det var osannolikt eller extremt osannolikt att de skulle söka hjälp vid problem med psykisk ohälsa. Resultaten visar på att psykisk ohälsa bland elitidrottare existerar. Elitidrottare med psykisk ohälsa är obenägna att avslöja dessa problem för andra. Den påvisade relationen mellan depression och överträning visar på att det är svårt att skilja mellan dessa koncept vilket i förlängningen kan leda till feldiagnostisering av symptomen samt att fel behandlingsinsatser sätts in. För att möta behoven från elitidrottare bör hälso- och sjukvården erbjuda idrottsspecifik behandling.

Syfte: Beskriva manliga elitidrottares erfarenheter av hur elitidrotten påverkar deras aktivitetsbalans. Metod: En kvalitativ studiedesign användes med semistrukturerade intervjuer där tio manliga elitidrottare deltog. Data analyserades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Analysen resulterade i fyra kategorier: “Arbetsrutiner ser olika ut under året, “Att hantera med- och motgångar”, “Vardagen med familj och vänner” och “En medveten livsstil”. Resultat:Elitidrotten påverkar de manliga elitidrottarnas förutsättningar för aktivitetsbalans under perioder. Elitidrotten ger tydliga vanor och rutiner som till stor del främjar aktivitetsbalans. Rätt mängd och variation av aktivitet och återhämtning visade sig vara en central och viktig del i demanliga elitidrottares vardagsliv. Faktorer som kunde komplicera aktivitetsbalansen var långa perioder av resor, att kunna hantera med- och motgångar samt anpassningar av sociala relationer och fritidsaktiviteter. Välbefinnandet nämndes i relation till aktivitetsbalans och elitidrotten påverkade till en aktiv och medveten livsstil som främjade aktivitetsbalans och välbefinnande. Slutsats: Elitidrotten påverkade manliga elitidrottares förutsättningar för aktivitetsbalans. Studien kan användas i ett hälsopromotivt syfte för att medvetandegöra denna förståelse hos elitidrottare, arbetsterapeuter och samhället i stort.

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De ideella elitidrottsföreningarna börjar till stor del bli kommersialiserade och gränsen mellan dem och vinstdrivande företag är på väg att suddas ut. De är dock fortfarande en ideell idrottsförening till formen som ska vara allmännyttig, demokratisk, ha folkrörelsekaraktär, vara jämlik och jämställd – de ska med andra ord genom sin huvudsakliga verksamhet bidra till samhället. Trots det tenderar elitidrottsföreningarna att ta ytterligare samhällsansvar genom att bedriva olika projekt och verksamheter med syfte att på olika sätt hjälpa till exempel utsatta grupper i samhället. Syftet med studien är att förstå vilken betydelse de sociala samhällsengagemangen har för ideella elitidrottsföreningar i förhållande till deras intressenter. Genom att utföra semistrukturerade intervjuer med representanter från fem olika ideella elitidrottsföreningar har vi skapat en förståelse kring deras sociala ansvarstagande för att därefter tolka vilken betydelse detta har för föreningarna och för vilka de arbetar med socialt ansvarstagande. Uppsatsen bidrar till att förstå att det finns nya strategier att använda sig av när det handlar om att bedriva en ideell elitidrottsförening. Vi önskar att uppsatsen kan bidra till att inspirera personer inom föreningsvärlden att våga gå nya vägar när det kommer till att leda och utveckla Sveriges idrottsföreningar. / The non-profit elite sports associations are beginning to be largely commercialized and the gap between them and private sector are on the verge of disappearing. However, they still are a non-profit sports association that should be public, democratic, have a people operating character and be equal - they should, in other words, through its main activity contribute to society. Although the elite sports unions tends to take more social responsibility by conducting various projects and activities aimed to help for example vulnerable groups in society. The aim of the paper is to understand what the social community engagements means to the non-profit elite sports association in relation to their stakeholders. By carrying out semi-structured interviews with representatives from five different non-profit elite sports associations, we have formed an understanding of their social responsibility and then interpret the meanings of this for the non-profit elite sports association and for whom they work with social responsibility. The paper helps to understand that there are new strategies to use when it comes to operating a non-profit sports association. We hope that the paper can help to inspire people in sports associations to take new paths when it comes to managing and developing sports associations in Sweden.

Denna uppsats redovisar genom kvalitativ metod hur fystränare i Allsvenskan upplever sin bakgrund och kompetens, och deras syn på ledarskapet i den miljö de verkar i. I takt med att elitfotbollens organisation och prestationskraven inom densamma utvecklas ökar betydelsen av fysträning. Uppsatsen redogör för hur fystränaren som i egenskap av att utöva ett ledarskap når prestationsutveckling – i kontrast till att se fysträning ur strikt fysiologiska eller motsvarande perspektiv. Intervjuer med sex utvalda fystränare verksamma i herrallsvenskan visade vilken betydelse de gav olika delar av sin kompetens och bakgrund, samt hur viktig egen ledarutveckling över tid är. Fystränarna utövade ett situationsanpassat ledarskap med hänsyn till den komplexa miljö de verkade i, där bland annat spelare, lag, övriga ledare och aktivitet påverkade deras ledarbeteende. Deltagarna redogjorde även för deras specifika roll i den tränarstab de ingick i, som en funktion av till exempel övriga tränares ledarstilar och ansvarsområden. Genom att arbeta utifrån ett individfokus använde fystränarna ett relationsorienterat ledarskap som ett verktyg för att utveckla idrottsprestationen hos spelare och lag.

The purpose of this case study is to conduct a descriptive analysis of the election of Black males to public office and the role they played in improving the quality of Black life in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The study has analyzed and examined the impact that education, housing, income, and health care demographic factors have contributed to the election of these males to various committees, boards and commissions in the city of Atlanta and Fulton County Georgia. The study has also examined the political activity of college fraternities, urban voluntary associations, and community based organizations that played a role in the city council race of 1992 in electing a Black as mayor and member of the city council. To measure how effective these males were in improving the quality of Black life the following indicators will be utilized in this study, namely: (a) the improvement of the neighborhoods in Atlanta's Black community, (b) the distribution of goods and services to the Black community, (c) the sponsorship of bills and neighborhood economic development related projects through its candidates, in an attempt to exercise political influence, within the state legislature and the city council in Atlanta, Georgia, (d) the improvement of the quality of health care, housing, income, and(e) education. The principal method of analysis employed for explaining Black male political activity in the city of Atlanta, Georgia has been through the use of a research study conducted by the Clark Atlanta University Political Science Department in Atlanta, Georgia. The study was conducted by undergraduate and graduate students and several members of the faculty. The survey comprises telephone interviews with 100 respondents in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The data are a unique resource that now makes possible an in-depth investigation of the urban issues, attitudes, and political beliefs and activity of a representative local sample of adult Black Atlanta residents. Each respondent was of voting age, but was not necessarily registered to vote. The sample for the Atlanta survey was drawn using a random-digit-dial design that selected participants disproportionately from different geographic areas within the city of Atlanta representing varying densities of Black population. The survey was inclusive of only those residents living within the (404) area code listing. The racial composition of the household was determined by including a direct question about race in the screening instrument. Members of eligible households found in the screening were eligible for the study if they were Black Americans and were at least 18 years of age.

This study was about the elite sport environment in a city in the north of Sweden. The purpose of the study was to understand what support and resources that already exists and also are needed for the athletes in floorball and cross-country skiing to proceed to the absolute elite in their sports. The purpose was also to get knowledge about what economic, human and material resources that are deeming to have in order to create a good elite sport environment and finally, when an organization or athlete are successful. The study analyzed the current situation and how an organization can create an even greater environment that produces top athletes. To answer the purpose of the study, interviews were conducted with representatives from special sport districts federation, sport clubs and athletes from the chosen sports in the study. The result showed many similarities and differences between the two sports. The two sport clubs does not make enough money to fully support their athletes as in football for example. Differences in the chosen sports were mainly in the cooperation were floorball had far better cooperation between special sport districts federation and sport clubs in comparison to cross country-skiing.

This study follows students from two Swedish elite upper secondary schools with different profiles when they participate in a parliamentarian role-play game. The game lacks a teacher authority and is not a graded activity, putting the students in a position where they must negotiate what constitutes winning and losing. The game is used as an ethnographic site to investigate what it means to be a ‘successful’ elite school student and how it is embodied. The aim is to explore concrete processes of habitus formation, extending the knowledge regarding elite socialization in the Swedish case. The findings suggest that the game puts notions of what it means to be a ‘successful’ student to its head, giving rise to conflicts between students from the two differently profiled schools. The conflicts articulate differences between schools within the elite school category with regard to student formation. Further, the game singles out a few students and make them feel entitled to become leaders. The study shows that the intersection of students’ school affiliation, gender and social class background is important in order to understand whether they feel entitled or not, as well to understand their more encompassing experiences in this elite school game.