Background That men are prioritised over women has been called the “gender regime in sport”, and has in part been explained by the gender difference in performance. However, gender differences in physical performance between women and men can be debated to depend on how comparisons are made and on the fact that there are many different confounders that may influence the results. Even if attempts are made to overcome this and the groups of women and men are stated to be matched, there are still often differences in training experience in years, or differences in training load. Women tend to have less experience in ice hockey in relation to age and differences in training conditions have also been reported. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how female and male ice hockey players position themselves in their sport and to visualise the interactions between society and biology that may affect performance. Theoretical approach and methods Harding’s three perspectives (Symbolic, Structural and Individual) were applied on information from team administration as well as on results from questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and tests of puck velocity, anthropometrics, body composition, isokinetic muscle strength, ergospirometry and on-ice tests from female and male ice hockey players. Results Vast differences in structural conditions were found, for example in hockey history and in the financial situation within the teams and both women and men were aware of the gender differences in structural conditions. However these differences were not even considered when comparisons of the ice hockey performance of women and men were made. Nine out of ten female players increased puck velocity when a more flexible stick and a lighter puck were used thus indicating that poorly adjusted equipment may affect performance. Male ice hockey players were taller, heavier and stronger, had more lean body mass and a higher aerobic capacity compared to the women in absolute values as well as in relation to body weight. However, the differences diminished or disappeared when the values were expressed in relation to lean body mass. Men had higher expectations on their situation as athletes and the interviewed women described men’s ice hockey as superior to theirs and consequently male ice hockey players deserved better conditions. Conclusions The views of women and men may affect structural conditions in sport which in turn may affect possibilities in sport for the individual. Gender differences in conditions thus risk confirming the traditional views of femininity and masculinity. However, by moving outside the normal gender boundaries individuals may change the traditional views of femininity and masculinity.

Cette thèse présente une étude théorique et épistémologique du concept de jeu -étude qui, tout en prenant ancrage dans la tradition sociologique, se fonde sur l'herméneutique de H.G. Gadamer ainsi que sur la dialectique hégélienne. Divisée en deux parties -respectivement intitulées Sociologie(s) du jeu et Herméneutique et dialectique du jeu -la thèse examine, dans un premier temps, les principaux textes fondateurs de la pensée sociologique sur le jeu, en suivant l'exigence formulée par l'herméneutique de Gadamer d'un dialogue avec autrui et d'une appropriation et d'une reconnaissance de la légitimité de son propos. Au travers de ce dialogue; les concepts et les représentations qui ont tissé la pensée sociologique du jeu sont identifiés et ressaisis. La première partie de la thèse compte trois chapitres correspondant chacun aux trois principales bases épistémologiques de la sociologie -le situationnisme ou interactionnisme, le monisme ou holisme et l'individualisme méthodologique -qui, elles-mêmes, renvoient à trois manières différentes de concevoir le jeu, c'est-à-dire, respectivement: le jeu comme métaphore de la socialité (Ch. 1), le jeu comme prisme de la civilisation (Ch. 2) et enfin, le jeu comme instrument d'analyse de l'action rationnelle (Ch. 3). Dans un deuxième temps, la thèse relit et relie les différentes études sociologiques sur le jeu en retournant au phénomène du jeu principalement le théâtre, mais aussi les échecs et le hockey -en compagnie de la dialectique hégélienne et du processus de suppression-conservation qui la structure. Se divisant également en trois chapitres, la deuxième partie de la thèse se présente comme un exposé des différentes médiations au travers desquelles le jeu se réalise progressivement. Dans son moment subjectif (Ch. 4), le jeu est travaillé par la médiation des émotions, de l'imagination et du style. L'intermédiation de la liberté, de la règle et de la mesure constitue, par ailleurs, le jeu dans son moment objectif (Ch. 5). Et enfin, dans son moment esthétique (Ch. 6), le jeu accède à la qualité de représentation, voire d'une belle représentation, et il se configure et se montre au travers de l'articulation dialectique de ses qualités musicales, plastiques et dramatiques. En somme, l'examen du devenir du jeu qui est ici mené « fait voir » et « voit-faire » le jeu en le voilant et en le dévoilant à la fois, et ce dans la mesure où la mise à jour des différentes médiations par lesquelles le jeu se constitue, se forme et se déploie sur le plan phénoménal dévoile et fait voir le jeu en tant que concept, mais au travers de son dévoilement, le concept jette en quelque sorte un voile sur le phénomène du jeu et le « fait-voir » et le « voit-faire » en sa qualité de symbole du symbolique, ainsi qu'en son activité de formation de soi, du social et du beau. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Jeu, Sociologie, Théâtre, Hockey, Jeu d'échecs, Gadamer, Hegel, Samuel Beckett.

In this thesis, I examine the use of Twitter by NHL athletes to determine how and in what ways professional hockey players’ personal and professional identities are shaped by their use of this medium. I explore the current cultural moment surrounding the lives of NHL athletes, focusing on the increasingly blurred line between their private and professional identities. By grounding my analysis of their Twitter use in a new labour context that is academically situated betwixt the literatures on media studies, celebrity culture and identity presentation, I show that participation in this medium allows both athletes and fans to actively reshape their own and each others’ identities, constructing a new set of standards for professional hockey players that takes into consideration the heightened demand for access to the behind-the-scenes of their lives. The ability of professional hockey players to interact with fans and media on Twitter is also creating new types relationships and producing new discourses for the typical hockey player identity, and the labour this career involves. Finally, through interviews with NHL players, I draw out their motives for using Twitter, their understanding of the impact of their interaction with fans on the perceptions those fans have of their professional identity, and their desire for work-life balance as their professional and personal identities seemingly merge on Twitter in a postmodern labour context fuelled by heightened celebrity culture. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2014-04-27 14:50:32.902

Aim of the thesis The aim of this thesis is to show usage of analysis of basic and advanced statistics to evaluate the game performance in ice-hockey. Using this analysis can be more accurate because it is based on facts. This statement is compared with evaluation of the game performance by the experts that used direct observing method. The main aim of this thesis is to bring this idea to the Czech ice-hockey community which can be helpful to improve the club hockey in Czech Republic or improve Czech ice-hockey itself. Methods of thesis The method of analysis of statistical data to evaluate the game performance is used in this diploma thesis. Statistical data were acquired by indirect watching of video records of the games. This analysis is compared with method of direct observing of the game to evaluate the game performance which was used by experts. Conclusion By analyzing current situation in evaluating the game performance it was found out that many teams are still using method of direct observing to evaluate the game performance. In practical part of the thesis the experts after using method of direct observing of the game came up with different conclusions. In comparison with statistical analysis conclusions of the experts are not based on facts. In the discussion the experts talk that...

The aim of the work was to prove the correlation between the results of MABC-2 (Movement Assesment Battery for Children-2nd edition) and Iowa Brace test in ice hockey players aged 6 - 9 years. Testing was attended by 90 children who regularly attend hockey training HC Motor České Budějovice. Evaluations are based on quantitative results that are presented using tables. The resulting values were compared with the results of other authors. Subsequently, both test batteries were metered using the Spearman correlation coefficient and the Wilcoxon sequencing test. The correlation dependence has been demonstrated for all categories of bases. Wilcoxon's dependence was confirmed only in the younger categories (U6 and U7) in the two older categories was not confirmed. The work has shown that there is a correlation between the results of the MABC-2 test battery and the Iowa Brace test. Measurements took place at the Grünwald Primary School in České Budějovice

Syfte Syftet med denna uppsats är att identifiera skillnader mellan manliga professionella svenska ishockeyspelare från säsongen 2017/2018 när det handlar om deltagande inom TV-pucken, ungdoms och juniorlandslag samt studier vid RIG. Vidare avses att undersöka Relative Age Effect (RAE) med syfte att identifiera födelsekvartal bland individerna. Metod I detta arbete har en statistisk analys utförts. Informationen har inhämtats från diverse hemsidor. Eliteprospects och SCB är arbetets största informationskällor. Tillvägagångsättet har bestått av en kvantitativ metod där statistik inhämtats och bearbetats samt kategoriserats, vidare har Chi2-tester genomförts för att undersöka om det fanns statistiskt signifikanta skillnader mellan grupperna. Resultat Utifrån en kvantitativ undersökning har resultat angående skillnaderna när det handlar om deltagande inom TV-pucken, ungdoms- och juniorlandslag samt studerande vid RIG tagits fram. Utifrån resultaten syns att NHL är den liga som har flest deltagare inom de sammanhang som undersökts procentuellt. Vidare har SHL en större procentandel som deltagit i sammanhangen än vad HA har förutom i TV-pucken där ligorna i princip är likvärdiga. Frågeställningen kring RAE visar att det finns indikationer på att det förekommer i SHL samt HA, dock inte i NHL bland spelarna i urvalsgruppen. Även genomfördes Chi2 tester som utgått från signifikansnivån 0.05 med ett critical value på 7,82 samt 3, 84 beroende på om det använts fyra eller två variabler i uträkningen. Av femton tester har åtta tester varit statistiskt signifikanta i skillnaderna mellan grupperna som jämförts. Slutsatser Utifrån resultaten som tagits fram är det tydligt att det finns statistiskt signifikanta skillnader mellan ligorna som undersökts. För att nå professionell nivå är det en tydlig fördel att delta i TV-pucken, ungdoms- och juniorlandslag samt studera vid RIG, framförallt om sannolikheten för att ha möjlighet att spela i NHL ska vara hög. Även syns tecken på RAE i SHL och HA, dock skulle en studie med ett större urval där fler idrotter involveras ge möjlighet att generalisera kring hur åldersfördelning ser ut inom professionell idrott generellt. / Purpose The purpose with this essay is to identify the differences between professional Swedish male hockey players from the 2017/2018 season which have played in the NHL, SHL and HA. The compression consists of looking at the differences in participation concerning TV-pucken, youth- and junior national-teams and studies at RIG. Furthermore, it refers to explore if there is any sign of Relative Age Effect (RAE) among the participants. Methods In this essay a statistical investigation has been done. The information has been collected from different websites with open registers. Eliteprospects and SCB is the biggest sources of information for the investigation. Results By a quantitative investigation concerning participation in TV-pucken, youth-and junior national-teams and studies at RIG results has been produced. From that it´s visible that the NHL is the league which have the most participants in the examined contexts based on percentage. Furthermore, the SHL have a bigger percentage which have participated in the examined contexts then HA, with exception for TV-pucken where the results where similar. The issue concerning RAE shows indications of it in SHL and HA, but not in the NHL when looking at the selected group. Also, performed where Chi-2 tests that where compared to a significance level of 0.05 which means a critical value of 7,82 or 3,64 depending on if two or four variables parted in the calculation. Out of fifteen tests, eight of them showed out to be statistically significant. Conclusion By the results which have been brought out its visible that there are statistical significant differences between the examined leagues. To be able the reach professional level there is a clear advantage to participate in the examined contexts, especially if a possibility to play in the NHL will appear. Also, it shows signs of RAE in the SHL and HA, though a study on a larger group of individuals performing different sport would give the possibility to generalize the group of professional athletes.

This dissertation explored how sports organizations approach the communication of a defeat on social media from the perspective of organizational image management. Furthermore, this study sought to identify how sports fans react to a defeat on social media and what kind of implications fan reactions have on the organizational image management process. The sports industry has some unique characteristics compared to other commercial industries. The overall success of sports organizations is to a great extent dependent on the on-field performances of the team and the coherence of the fan community. The image of sports organizations is likewise dependent on the combination of on-field performances and how the fan community perceives the organization. Sports fans have a strong psychological connection to their favorite team. The strong attachment to a sports organization results commonly in biased evaluations of their favorite team. This dissertation examines how this dynamic unfolds in an online media environment using a customized theoretical framework that combines organizational image management theory and social identity theory. The research strategy in this dissertation consisted of a case study of six sports organizations in the Swedish Hockey League and their fans. Empirical data was collected through six interviews with communication specialists employed by the teams and by sampling comments written by fans on the teams’ Facebook pages on posts about defeats. The findings show that sports organizations in the SHL have a desire to appear honest in their approach to communicating a defeat on social media. This desire encompasses a straightforward approach to communicating a defeat on social media to their fans, making the organization to resemble a credible disseminator of information to key stakeholders in online environments. Furthermore, through the strong psychological connection to their favorite team, fans were found to have a role in the image maintenance process on social media after a defeat. Fans took mainly two different stances on social media after a defeat and were found to both hinder and aid the image management process after a defeat.

The thesis examines whether Czech and Slovak printed national daily newspapers reveal expressions of patriotism and fanfare in ice-hockey news reports. Sports matches between two nations, which once formed one state, have all the requisites for being more special and prestigious than regular matchups. For this reason, these two events have been selected as suitable for analysis: the final match in the 2000 World Championship between the Czech Republic and Slovakia (5:3) and the 2012 semifinal between the same opponents (1:3). The theoretical part introduces concepts of nation, nationalism, national identity, national symbols, myths, stereotypisation and fanfare. In the empirical part, a discourse analysis is performed for their examination and application on a research sample, which consists of texts from the time of the given matches between the Czech and Slovak national teams. As an assistant method, a quantitative content analysis has been chosen to provide answers to questions concerning the number and location of articles in each country's newspapers. The results of the analysis proved that Czech and Slovak printed daily newspapers frequently reveal expressions of patriotism and fanfare in the period under review, distinctively using the first person of the plural "we" or a tendency...

På grund av stor konkurrens är det svårt att skapa reklam som fångar uppmärksamhet. Det finns olika verktyg för nå igenom mediaflödet. I den här studien undersöks orsaker och konsekvenser till användning av normbrytande- och stereotypisk kommunikation. Konsekvenser har tidigare studerats ur ett beteendevetarperspektiv. Studierna visar att reklam påverkar samhällets normer. Marknadskommunikativa orsaker tas inte upp och därför behövs en analys som lyfter fram för- och nackdelar ur reklambranschens perspektiv. Det förklarar varför stereotyper används och ger branschens intryck av konsekvenserna i att bryta eller förstärka normer. Den här studien har gjorts för att öka medvetenheten hos yrkesverksamma kommunikatörer. Datainsamling har gjorts genom kvalitativa intervjuer med sju yrkesverksamma kommunikatörer. Två reklamfilmer användes som diskussionsunderlag vid intervjuerna. Intervjuerna övergick sedan i mer allmänna frågor kring stereotyper, normer och normbrytande, informanterna fick reflektera över upplevda orsaker och konsekvenser. Slutsatser som kunnat dras från studien är att både normbrytning och stereotyper kan vara ett sätt att synas i dagens mediaflöde. Reklam är väldigt kundstyrt eftersom det är beställaren som tar störst risker med sitt varumärke och sin investering. Kommunikatörerna anser att deras största ansvar är gentemot beställaren. Stereotyper anses vara den säkra vägen. De identifieras snabbt och mycket slipper förklaras. I snabb kommunikation tar de inte onödig uppmärksamhet från budskapet. En nackdel med stereotyper är att de är opersonliga. De sticker inte ut ur mängden och reklamen glöms snabbt bort. En ytterligare nackdel med stereotyper anses vara att de påverkar samhället genom att förstärka fördomar och könsroller. Normbrytande reklam sticker ut och blir ihågkommen, vilket är en stor konkurrensfördel. Det kan också vara ett verktyg för ett långsiktigt identitetsskapande som skapar en målgruppsgemenskap och ett starkt varumärke. Normbrytning kan även påverka samhället genom att öka acceptans. En oro kring konsekvenserna av normbrytning leder till en försiktighet, både hos byråer och beställare. Risken är att få dålig publicitet och skada varumärket om det görs på del sätt. Det kan också göra kommunikationen otydlig och överskugga företagets produkt. Majoriteten av informanterna finner normbrytande reklam sällan förekommande. De upplever att de yngre generationerna har en större öppenhet och att normbrytning därför är vanligare i reklam riktad till ungdomar.

5 ABSTRACT There is fourteen ice-hockey clubs in the highest Czech professional ice-hockey league (called "Tipsport Extraliga"), but only two of them have a position of personalist in their organizational structure. This dissertation is aimed on the issue of HR operations administrated in terms of Czech professional sport organizations. On the bases of interviews with employees chosen from two Czech ice-hockey clubs I compare the execution of HR activities on the two clubs there is a special position for HR specialist, in the second one there is a leader or sport manager, who is executing the HR activities. There is also the analysis of HC Sparta Praha HR specialist position in the dissertation. In the special chapter there is the specification of HR processes executed in Czech ice-hockey clubs including processes aplicated in the past. Keywords: Personnel Management, HR specialist, HR activities, organizational structure, sports club, hockey club.