Why Serbia’s path towards EU membership has been so contentious and fraught with difficulty? Why did Europeanization happen more ‘smoothly’ in some countries, while it stalls or fails in others? This study shows Serbia’s reluctance to Europeanize by exploring how the Serbian ruling elite received the EU’s norms of peace, media freedom and rights of migrants and refugees. As such, it contributes to the emerging research agenda on norm diffusion and Normative Power Europe. Through an analysis of key public statements of Serbian political leaders over the past four years, the present thesis examines how politicians discursively framed EU’s ideas, standards and normative convictions within the Belgrade-Pristina normalization dialogue, in light of the refugee crisis and in terms of media freedom. The findings indicate that the Serbian governing elite has responded differently to the EU’s normative influence in different policy domains with resisting and rejecting certain norms while adopting and adapting other. In general, the thesis evaluates that despite the significant efforts of the EU to export its ideas and values, it has only had a limited effect on Serbia. I conclude that these results further cast doubt on the future of Serbia’s accession to the EU.

This thesis seeks to analyse the policy making and policy implementation processes of elite sport in China and the UK, covering the period 1992-2012. Three sports are selected for detailed cases studies: artistic gymnastics, swimming and cycling. They represent a wide range of sports in two countries, based on their varying competiveness, weights and traditions. Key areas including organisational structure, financial support, talent identification and athlete development, coaching, training, competition opportunities, scientific research and others (including international influence and other sport- and country-specific areas) are identified to organise the discussion. The aim is not only to present key characteristics of the development of each sport in China and the UK respectively and to introduce the successful experience and problems but also to form a basis for the discussion of policy making, policy implementation and policy changes.

A global race between countries for the most valuable medals has triggered the demand of the athletes even more than before. To cope with the increased pressure the athletes not only need physical but also mental strength. Athletes and coaches stresses the importance of motivation to build the mental strength that is needed. This study researched Swedish wrestling and was built on eight elite wrestlers thoughts and experiences regarding motivation. The goal was to examine these experiences in relation to the athletes ongoing athletic career and goal achievement. The study started as a working project from the Swedish Wrestling Association and their purpose was to study the athletes road to becoming wrestlers at the highest levels of the game. Qualitative data form the eight elite wrestlers was gathered from interviews with questions regarding their journey from starting with wrestling to becoming athletes at the highest level of the game. The respondents ages varied from 19 to 31 and during the interviews they had to reflect on the subjects at hand. Results of the study pointed out the importance of high objectives and the self belief that is necessary to become the best in the world. The athletes that participated in the study also felt the need for interim goals to push forward and pinpointed all the sacrifices that is key to succeed at the highest level of international wrestling. The paper also discusses three key psychological needs within the Self-Determination theory connected with the athletes experiences. The essential need to be apart of something larger, be able to influence their own existence and also be pushed to limits where development occur but not surpass their own ability. As a conclusion this study tries to give answers to how the athletes stay motivated in the ever-changing sports climate.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:25:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarciaMFM.pdf: 873217 bytes, checksum: 3a842bd95e03d8fe86e011af8c46979b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-06-27 / Les initiatives du gouvernement ayant pour finalit? une r?organisation de la structure urbaine de la ville au d?but du XX?me si?cle refl?tent le d?sir v?cu par les membres de l'?lite locale d'encadrer Natal dans les moules des grands centres urbains de la m?me p?riode. Les ?lites d?siraient transformer Natal dans une ville moderne. Dans ce but, le gouvernement s'est engag? dans la reformulation de quelques espaces physiques de la ville. N?anmoins, il fallait aussi d autres que les transformations urbaines, la ville devrait passer par des r?formes sociales. De cette fa?on, ces groupes ont cr??es des nouvelles institutions et espaces de sociabilit? qui affirmeraient la capitale de l'?tat comme une ville moderne. Les institutions formelles avaient un r?le imortant dans la construction de cette nouvelle ville convoit?e par l'?lite locale. Ainsi, ? travers celles-ci, se diffusaient des nouvelles pratiques sociales qui seraient refl?t?es dans les espaces urbains. Dans des places tels, des caf?s, des clubs et associations sportives, l'?lite se distinguait du populaire. Dans ces places, leurs pratiques ?taient l?gitim?es, en contrepoint avec les pratiques populaires. C ?tait dans les clubs et par les activit?s pratiqu?es par leurs membres que les id?als de l'?lite circulaient, c ?tait par l? que l'?lite se formait et se transformait. De cette fa?on, les aspirations d'un groupe social refl?taient dans l'organisation sociale des espaces de la ville / As iniciativas do governo no sentido de uma reorganiza??o da estrutura urbana da cidade no in?cio do s?culo XX refletem o desejo vivido pelos membros da elite local de enquadrar Natal nos moldes dos grandes centros urbanos do in?cio do mesmo per?odo. Desejava-se transformar Natal numa cidade moderna. Nesse sentido, o governo empenhou-se na reformula??o de alguns espa?os f?sicos da cidade. No entanto, era preciso tamb?m que, al?m das transforma??es urbanas, a cidade passasse por reformas sociais. Desta forma, esses grupos criaram novas institui??es e espa?os de sociabilidade que afirmariam a capital do Estado como uma cidade moderna. As institui??es formais tinham um papel importante na constru??o dessa nova cidade almejada pela elite local. Pois, atrav?s dessas, difundiam-se novas pr?ticas sociais que seriam refletidas nos espa?os urbanos. Em lugares como caf?s, clubes e associa??es esportivas, a elite se distinguia do popular. Nesses lugares, suas pr?ticas eram legitimadas, em contraponto com as pr?ticas populares. Eram nos clubes e nas atividades praticadas pelos seus membros que os ideais da elite circulavam. Era l? que a elite se formava e se transformava. Dessa forma, as aspira??es de um grupo social se refletiam na organiza??o social dos espa?os da cidade

O presente trabalho aborda as representações presentes na vida social da elite da cidade do Rio Grande – RS. Ao longo de três capítulos, procura-se analisar como esta elite entendia o seu lugar social e quais eram as suas práticas sociais distintivas. A partir de crônicas sociais publicadas no jornal Rio Grande, entre os anos de 1956 e 1960, além de outras fontes, como atas e entrevistas, percebe-se como se desenrolavam as sociabilidades rio-grandinas, seus principais locais, regras e formas de divertimento, além dos recursos – visuais e discursivos – utilizados pelas cronistas para definir as identidades desse grupo. Por meio de uma (re)construção de representações, divulgadas e legitimadas pelas crônicas sociais, a elite diz quem é, reforçando a sua identidade e distinção em relação aos que não fazem parte desse seleto grupo. / This paper addresses the representations present in the social life of the elite of Rio Grande - RS. Over three chapters, it seeks to analyze how this elite used to understand its place in society and what their distinctive social practices were. Using the social columns published in the newspaper Rio Grande, between 1956 and 1960 and other sources, such as interviews, it was possible to perceive how sociabilities developed in the town, their main venues, rules and forms of entertainment, besides resources – visual and discursive – used by chroniclers to define the identity of this group. Through a (re)construction of representations, disseminated and legitimated by social columns, the elite says who it is, reinforcing its identity and distinction from those who are not part of this select group.

Esta tese propõe-se a analisar a adaptação de alguns estádios de futebol no Brasil ao que se convencionou chamar de "Padrão FIFA". Esse processo, aqui tratado pelo termo "arenização", constitui-se em um novo modelo de gestão dos espaços e das pessoas, que tem como objetivos principais transformar o futevol em um "espetáculo seguro, conformtável e rentável". Como consequência e exigência para que o Brasil pudesse sediar a Copa do Mundo de 2014, a reforma das praças esportivas acarretou em consequências diversas para o campo esportivo, sobretudo na administração das arenas, com a constituição de um novo mercado, com novos especialistas e conhecimentos reunidos sob o termo gestão de arenas esportivas. Oriundos do Marketing Esportivo, esses profissionais, em suas entrevistas, textos e livros performam um novo tipo de espectador para o futebol, denominado de cliente ou fã, menos preocupado com os resultados do time e mais centrado no jogo como uma "experiência". Essa nova formatação dos indivíduos que frequentam as arenas é construída a partir da opisição dos atributos que são considerados típicos do tercedor ou do fanático, principalemente em termos econômicos, ao defender a necesisdade de atrair um público mais rico, e morais, considerando o cliente um indivíduo mais "educado" e fácil de ser controlado. Ao mesmo tempo em que se pretendia introduzir um novo tipo de público, deu-se a formação de novos coletivos compostos por torcedores que passaram a perceber o torcer também como um ato político, que se posicionaram contrários às reformas dos estádios de futebol e à consequente mudança no público, a partir da defesa da perservação do que eles chamam de "cultra torcedora". Por meio de uma pesquisa etnográfica, investigou-se a mobilização de um desses grupos, o Povo do Clube, fundado em 2012 por torcedores do Sport Clube Internacional de Porto Alegre, proprietário do Beira-Rio um dos estádios que passou pelo processo de arenização. Tal grupo teve como motivo de sua aglutinação a perda da "identidade popular" atribuída ao clube, que teria se dado com as mudanças arquitetônicas em seu estádio, sobretudo com a extinção da "Coreia", setor onde se pagava o preço mais baixo para assistir às partidas. Desde seu início, o Povo do Clube se propôs a participar das disputas políticias internas ao clube, com a eleição de alguns de seus membros como conselheiros do Internacional nos dois últimos processos eleitorais, em 2014 e 2016. Tendo como estratégia política o resgate de um clube voltado para as classes pobres, com a utilização da frase "O povo fez o Inter", e a busca por representar politicamente os "coreanos", como são chamados os indivíduos que frequentavam o extinto setor, conseguiu aumentar seu capital político a ponto de aprovar uma nova modalidade de associação, com a aliança de grupos políticos mais antigos, direcionada a torcedores com renda de até dois salários mínimos. Assim, o Povo do Clube e os novos coletivos formados no Brasil na última década constituem um novo modelo de torcer, marcado pelo caráter político e pela luta por direitos.

As condições ambientais adequadas para o desenvolvimento do esporte de alto rendimento englobam os aspectos referentes ao treinamento esportivo, às condições psico-socioeconômicas, assim como ao sistema organizacional nacional do esporte na sociedade. Estudos apontam diversos fatores que influenciam a questão do sucesso esportivo. A sistematização da estrutura organizacional de diferentes países reflete-se em bons resultados esportivos internacionais. Os países que alcançam sucesso internacional no esporte de alto nível possuem planos de ações nacionais que são elaborados de maneira central, e aplicados em todo o território nacional. Para um país atingir o sucesso no esporte internacional, é necessário que existam determinadas organizações que exerçam a função de gerenciamento do sistema esportivo nacional, principalmente na elaboração de programas de desenvolvimento de atletas, leis e diretrizes que promovam o esporte de alto rendimento. O esporte brasileiro passa por um período extremamente importante, pois está se preparando para receber os Jogos Olímpicos e Paraolímpicos no Rio de Janeiro em 2016. Parece hoje que o desenho organizacional de sistemas de esporte de alto-rendimento não pode mais explicar as diferenças no seu sucesso. Como a maioria dos sistemas fornece um espectro de apoio (suporte) similar, pode-se argumentar que hoje um dos fatores mais decisivos, e que afeta o desempenho de um sistema de esporte de alto-rendimento, é a forma como os serviços são organizados e administrados. O objetivo do estudo foi descrever as políticas de esporte de alto rendimento do Brasil através de suas ações para a detecção e desenvolvimento de atletas de rendimento. Para isto, definiram-se quatro grandes eixos considerados por especialistas como fundamentais para o sucesso de uma política de EAR: a detecção e a formação de talentos esportivos, a ciência do esporte, a infraestrutura para treinamento, o apoio financeiro e a póscarreira dos atletas. O presente estudo, que focou nas ações de apoio e na política em geral ligadas ao Esporte de Alto Rendimento constatou a preocupação do Ministério do Esporte em fomentar políticas para o desenvolvimento do esporte de alto rendimento brasileiro. O trabalho também evidenciou que, para o Brasil se tornar uma potência olímpica, os investimentos públicos devem ser direcionados para a criação de um efetivo sistema que fomente a detecção, o encaminhamento, a formação, o desenvolvimento e o aperfeiçoamento de atletas das diversas modalidades olímpicas. E nesse sistema deverão constar ações que visem o aumento no número de praticantes das diferentes modalidades esportivas, além de um sistema efetivo de identificação e desenvolvimento do talento esportivo e adequadas instalações esportivas a fim de que os atletas possam ter onde treinar adequadamente. / Appropriate environmental conditions for the development of high performance sport include aspects related to sports training, psycho-socio-economic conditions, as well as the national sport of the organizational system in the society. Studies suggest several factors that influence the sporting success. The systematization of the organizational structure of different countries reflects on good international sporting results. Countries that achieve international success in high-level sports have national plans of actions that are designed centrally and applied across the entire national territory. For a country to achieve international success in sport, it is necessary that there are certain organizations that perform the function of managing the national sports system, especially in the preparation of the development of athletes, laws and guidelines that promote high performance sport programs. The Brazilian sport goes through an extremely important time because it is preparing to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. It seems today that the organizational design of the sport of high-performance systems cannot explain the difference in your success. Like most systems provides a spectrum of support similar, it can be argued that one of the most decisive factors, which affect the performance of a system for high-performance sport, is now the way services are organized and administered. The study aimed to describe the policies of high performance sport in Brazil through their actions for the detection and development of athletes performance. For this, we defined four major areas considered by experts as key to the success of a elite sport policy: athletic talent detection and training, sports science, the infrastructure for training, financial support and post-career of athletes. This study, which focused on the actions of support and in politics in general related to High Performance Sport noted the concern of the Ministry of Sports in policies to foster the development of the Brazilian elite sport. The work also showed that, for Brazil to become an Olympic power, public investment should be directed towards the creation of an effective system that fosters detection, referral, training, development and improvement of athletes from various Olympic disciplines. And in this system must include actions aimed at increasing the number of practitioners of different sports, as well as an effective system for identifying and developing sporting talent and appropriate sports facilities so that athletes can have where to train properly.

Economic elites have not received enough attention in the economic literature. The obvious reason is limited access to information. This paper seeks to contribute to contemporary knowledge on elites in two ways. First, it employs a new unique data set on the world economic elite covering 2002-2014 to develop a method of measuring the degree of elite circulation; second, it provides a theoretical explanation of the observed facts. The empirical finding is that the world economic elite is subject to a low degree of circulation. Despite increased globalization, liberalization, longterm economic growth, and the recent Great Recession, the core of the elite remains mostly unchanged. Our theory attempts to explain this fact by introducing the analytical distinction between market competition and elite competition, which is a kind of meta-competition. Thus,the following relationship is derived from the theory: The low level of elite circulation, that is, the low meta-competition, underlies the oligopolistic market structures that we observe in the real world. / Las élites económicas no han recibido suficiente atención en la literatura económica. La razón evidente es el acceso limitado a información. Este estudio busca contribuir al conocimiento contemporáneo sobre elites de dos maneras. En primer lugar, utilizando una nueva base de datos de las élites económicas mundiales que cubre el periodo 2002-2014, se desarrolla un método paramedir el grado de circulación de las élites; en segundo lugar, se ofrece una explicación teórica de los hechos observados. El hallazgo empírico consiste en que la élite económica mundial muestra un bajo grado de circulación. A pesar de la mayor globalización, liberalización, crecimiento económico de largo plazo y una gran recesión económica reciente, el núcleo de las élites permanececasi inmutable. Nuestra teoría explica este hecho introduciendo la distinción analítica entre competencia de mercado y competencia de la élite, la cual es una especie de meta-competencia.  Luego, la siguiente relación es derivada de la teoría: el bajo nivel de circulación de las élites, es decir, la baja meta-competencia, subyace a las estructuras oligopolísticas de mercado que se observan en el mundo real.

Att kunna hantera stress, skador, förväntningar och krav är viktigt i en elitsatsande fotbollsspelares vardag. Kvinnliga fotbollsspelare har i större utsträckning en annan utmaning i att behöva kombinera sin elitsatsning med annan sysselsättning, jämfört med manliga fotbollsspelare. Syftet med detta examensarbete var att beskriva hur kvinnliga fotbollsspelare upplever att elitsatsningen påverkat deras aktivitetsbalans och välbefinnande. Det användes en kvalitativ studiedesign med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Urvalet gjordes genom ett bekvämlighetsurval och en kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes vid databearbetningen. Resultatet visade att kvinnliga elitsatsande fotbollsspelare hade en fullspäckad vardag som krävde planering och struktur för att främja aktivitetsbalans. Vardagen bestod av tydliga rutiner och vanor med arbete/studier följt av träning. Det krävdes annan sysselsättning jämsides med sin elitsatsning för att få ihop det ekonomiskt. Informanterna gjorde en medveten satsning där vila, sömn och träning prioriterades. Uppoffringar var en del av det dagliga livet där familj och vänner ofta blev bortprioriterade. Elitsatsningen innebar höga krav och förväntningar vilket påverkade välbefinnandet både positivt och negativt. Slutsatser var att det fanns faktorer i en kvinnlig elitsatsande fotbollsspelares vardag som påverkade deras aktivitetsbalans och välbefinnande. Detta examensarbete var en första inblick i problemområdet men ytterligare forskning krävs. / Being able to handle stress, injury, expectations and demands is important in the everyday life of an elite football player. Female football players have a greater challenge to combine their elite efforts with other employment, compared with male football players. The purpose of this study was to describe female football players’ experiences of how their elite efforts affect occupational balance and well-being. A qualitative study design with semi-structured interviews was used. Data selection was made by convenience sampling. Data was analysed with a qualitative content analysis. The results showed that elite female football players’ had a demanding everyday life that required planning and structure to promote occupational balance. Their everyday life consisted of clear routines and habits for work/ studies and football practice. It was necessary for the players to have another occupation in addition to their elite efforts, to manage financially. The informants made a conscious effort to prioritize rest, sleep and practice. Sacrifices were part of the daily life where family and friends often became less of a priority. The elite efforts meant high demands and expectations, which affected well-being both negatively and positively. The conclusion was that everyday life of a female elite football player consisted of factors that influenced their occupational balance and well-being. This study was an insight into this problem area but further research is required.

Background: Since athletes are often perceived as unbreakable, their mental health problems might be bypassed or denigrated by their coach, peers or even by the media. However, athletes are as, if not more, susceptible to mental health problems as anyone else. As the media continues to be the primary source of information, the way in which the media portrays mental health problems can affect how people perceive and regard them. In this research, I examined how Finnish elite athletes with mental health problems are portrayed in the Finnish news websites by qualitatively analyzing eight articles of four Finnish athletes, two former and two current. Furthermore, I compared the articles with one another in order to study the eventual differences between each article’s portrayal of the athletes’ mental health problems. Method: This analysis was conducted by applying a narrative discourse schema to the selected eight articles, which enabled me to examine both the structures of the articles as well as the underlying discourses and social context. Results: Nearly all of the articles are framed from the athlete’s point of view in terms of including more citations from the athlete than comments from the journalist. Furthermore, none of the articles regarded mental health problems among athletes in general, but rather portrayed each case as a single incident. Male athletes with a depressive disorder were complimented far more compared to female athletes. Moreover, female athletes eating disorder and anxiety were often associated with appearance and pressure regarding their sports career. Conclusion: The way in which athletes with mental health problems are portrayed in the Finnish news websites can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly, they can be perceived as hopeful recovery stories from the athletes perspective, as they portray how successful athletes can also develop mental health problems and still continue their career. Secondly, by not addressing the problem as a whole nor including any factual information in any of the articles indicates the journalists lack knowledge and/or apathy about the issue, and that it is a difficult subject to portray acceptably.