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Successful tourism planning depends on there being effective relationships between central and local government, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and other affected parties. Inter-organisational analysis can be used to examine these relations. While this type of analysis is quite common in other disciplinary fields, its application is less usual in the field of tourism planning. Moreover, most such analysis in tourism has concentrated on a single spatial scale rather than on several scales, and the specific relationships between central and local government have been the subject of little sustained research. This research gap is surprising when the application of tourism plans often depends quite crucially on supportive central-local government relations. This study examines the nature of inter-organisational relations around the development and implementation of a tourism development plan for Belek, a coastal area in Turkey's Antalya region. This case study is of an area experiencing substantial tourism development in a rapidly developing country with a centralised system of governance. The study develops a conceptual framework and seven key conceptual themes that are applied to tourism planning in Belek. The conceptual themes and the related assessment focus on inter-organisational relations, and in particular on relations between central and local government, in a multi-scale network that links the private and public sectors, non-govemmental organisations and local communities. There is consideration of inter-organisational communication, stakeholder involvement and consensus building, resource sufficiency and exchange, inter-organisational co-ordination, the relative roles of central and local government, and the potential for devolving tourism planning powers to the local area. Various participants in Belek's tourism planning process were interviewed in the study order to evaluate their views about inter-organisational relations, notably about relations between central and local government. The strengths and weaknesses of the tourism administrative system were considered, together with the potential to change its character. It was found that the inequalities in power and resources between stakeholders, and their differences in interests, ideologies and values, meant that it was difficult for them to reach mutual agreements about tourism policies. Resource scarcity had actually increased conflict rather than cooperation between organisations. There was much distrust and other negative mutual perceptions between the relevant parties. The study identified numerous barriers to cooperation and coordination. There were differing perceptions of the potential for more decentralised forms of administration, with various types of decentralisation also being considered, such as devolution, deconcentration and delegation. Many obstacles to effective decentralisation were noted. The study, including the conceptual framework and conceptual themes, is intended to assist other tourism researchers examining inter-organisational relations, administrative structures, and the relative merits of centralised and decentralised forms of governance in other developing countries.

The thesis presents the results of a critical investigation of the work and role of 'tourism associations' (TAs) as part of the tourism development system at the local scale in England and Wales. Local tourism development groups existed for a century or more before recent notions of community involvement in visitor industry initiatives came to prominence as part of the debate about 'green' tourism, and the study represents the first in-depth investigation of these groups, aimed at offering some guidance for the community tourism organisations advocated by several tourism authors. Guided by systems analysis methodology, the study presents original data on the nature and role of TM and develops theoretical consideration of such groups. Based upon these contributions to understanding, a critical assessment of the potential contribution of TM towards the development of small-scale local visitor industries as part of the local economies in qualitative terms is made. A review of relevant literature establishes that government policy has sought to develop tourism as a component of local economies in urban and rural areas. The sparse literature on tourism associations generally ascribes them lower-order publicity roles rather than the developmental functions that they could perhaps more usefully fulfil. Visitors represent a major economic opportunity for local communities, and economic multiplier studies show that local economies could benefit from becoming more visitor-oriented. However, relatively few areas benefit from conventional tourism development initiatives, particularly in the countryside, and voluntary effort may be necessary for communities to capitalise upon the visitor market. A postal questionnaire survey of a large sample of tourism associations in England and Wales established that these groups exist as a response to a perception of need for such organisations. During the 1970s and '80s there was a surge in the formation rate of TM. They were found to vary in many respects but shared common characteristics, and were classified into four basic types. While most members were businesses, many had representatives from the public sector and other organisations in membership. They undertook a broad range of useful activities, and certain public sector bodies provide financial assistance for aspects of their work. Some operated mainly as trade associations, but there are grounds for regarding all as community tourism groups to some degree. Measures of sophistication based upon the survey data and analyses are proposed, but the level of sophistication appropriate for any individual group depends upon local circumstances. An interview-based case study of four TAs working in rural Herefordshire reflected and validated many of the questionnaire survey conclusions. Each group had different approaches and priorities, particularly regarding the relative balance struck between promotion and development of the south Herefordshire visitor industry. They worked alongside tourism-oriented public sector bodies to varying degrees, and some received financial assistance for certain activities. While quantification of the effects that the TAs had on the visitor industry proved impossible, interviewees' opinions indicated that the work of the groups was valuable and that, without them, the contribution of the visitor industry to the local economy would be reduced. Analysis of the data collection stages showed that the goals of tourism associations are essentially the same as those of the more formal elements of the tourism development system, with marketing as a key focus. The work of TM can produce positive economic benefits for local economies in urban, coastal and rural locations. Recommendations for best practice are made for the associations and their roles, and the public sector is urged to help establish and help support TM. Conclusions drawn are that tourism associations have a valuable developmental role to play alongside their publicity function, and that the broad-membership association type is probably more appropriate for visitor industry development in lesser-known areas than sectoral types.

The diploma thesis deals with the speech of sport commentaries and expressions used by sport commentators during sport broadcast. The thesis focuses on the lexicological level of their speech. The theoretical part at first presents a short summary of language of sport journalism and then the major part of the theoretical part is dedicated to meaning. Several different approaches to meaning are presented in this part as well as definition of meaning itself. Theoretical part also defines semantic change and it focuses on polysemy and homonymy and their distinction. The practical part is dedicated to the occurrence of polysemous and homonymous words among arbitrary chosen sport terms. The diploma thesis should contribute to the further study of the language of sport commentaries. The thesis should also be useful for the scientific and public society and it should serve as a link between those two areas.

In recent years researchers have argued that in order to fully understand perceptual cognitive expertise in sports, representative tasks must be used to preserve the tightly coupled links between perception and action that experts exploit. Previously, tasks have been considered as representative or not, with little evidence existing to indicate the degree to which a task is representative enough. This thesis primarily aimed to investigate experimentally representative tasks in cricket batting and the degree to which a laboratory-based task of cricket batting was able to represent batters’ emergent perceptuo-motor behaviour for perceiving bowlers’ delivery length. A secondary aim was to re-evaluate perceptuo-motor behaviours thought to contribute to skilled performance and their development. In chapter 2 skilled batsmen’s foot movements were recorded in response to balls bowled to a range of lengths under in situ and video-based laboratory conditions. Kinematic analyses quantified decision-making skill and movement scaling. Analyses revealed the laboratory condition to have a high degree of fidelity. Skilled batter’s Foot movements were reliably replicated and differences were found compared to a novice group. In chapter 3, response mode, occlusion condition and skill level were compared on the representative laboratory test developed in chapter 2. Analyses identified that skilled performance was only aided by maintaining coupled responses under occluded conditions, whilst no differences were observed under un-occluded conditions. Skilled performers were also shown to possess greater anticipation skills compared with novices under both coupled and un-coupled conditions. In Chapter 4, the effects of manipulating information present in situ, through simulated ball flight, and fully simulated training aids were compared in a novel experimental paradigm. Skilled batsmen faced deliveries across a range of lengths from a bowler (in situ), from a bowling machine (simulated ball flight) and from a ProBatter simulator (fully simulated action and ball flight). Results showed that simulated ball flight condition resulted in foot movements that were closer to in situ than the fully simulated condition, suggesting that if present, the link between bowling action and ball flight needs to be tightly coupled. These results demonstrate for the first time that representative tasks must not be considered unilaterally as representative or not, but instead the degree of representativeness should be quantified and evaluated against the expert behaviour under investigation. Determination of the degree of representativeness would allow researchers to apply findings to the performance environment with greater knowledge of their potential impact.

As an area of academic and popular interest it is generally acknowledged that migrant British players and coaches were instrumental in football's global diffusion and that different technical and tactical emphases developed according to particular geographical locations and cultural milieu. As the twentieth century unfolded the trend reversed with increased inward flows of elite foreign playing and coaching labour into the upper tiers of UK football, challenging the distinctive and erstwhile dominant occupational culture of the English game. This study examines this process of sub-cultural adaptation. It is principally concerned with critical evaluation of the dynamics of occupational culture modification and any resultant tensions evidenced between expatriate and indigenous coaching talent and other interest groups operating within the higher echelons of English professional football.

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BACKGROUND: Agility is the ability to change direction rapidly in response to a stimulus. Agility is made up of many physiological qualities, such as change of direction speed, straight sprinting speed, leg muscle qualities and anthropometry, but also factors like perceptual decision-making factors, visual scanning and knowledge of situations. Agility can be divided into reactive agility and non-reactive agility where reactive agility involves a response to an unpredictable stimulus whereas non-reactive agility is a response to a predictable stimulus. Handball is a team sport that has both physical and physiological demands such as agility, strength, endurance and cognition. AIM: The aim of this study was to compare and investigate the relationship between two agility test in order see if reactive and non-reactive agility can be seen as two different qualities in adolescent handball players. METHOD: This study included 15 adolescent handball players (median age: 13 years; median/mean height: 168.5/170.4 cm; median/mean weight: 57.3/58.76 kg). The participants were tested in a non-reactive agility test, the Agility T-test, and a reactive agility test, FiTRO Agility Check. The Agility T-test was evaluated using a stopwatch and the software FiTRO Agility Check was used to determine the reaction time. The data colletion occured during a training session. For the statistical analysis Spearmans correlation test was used. RESULTS: This study showed a weak correlation between the two tests (r= -0.33, p=0.23). CONCLUSION: The result indicates that there is a weak correlation between the two tests and this could imply that reactive and non-reactive agility might be two different qualities in team-handball, however more studies are warrented.

The study is concerned with an examination of outdoor recreation at three forest recreation areas situated within and at the periphery of a large and major population region in Peninsular Malaysia. It was undertaken primarily to investigate the features that describe the use of these areas and to estimate the use-demand and quantification of consumers' surplus. Initially, a brief description of forest recreation in Peninsular Malaysia is presented. This is followed by a review of techniques for estimating consumers' surplus, after which it was concluded that an application of the travel cost method was appropriate for this study. An on-site questionnaire survey was used to gather a reasonable amount of user information. The questionnaire surveys carried out were found to be valuable; the information gathered facilitated the description and analysis of the areas' consumption, travel and use patterns and the behaviour of the users. Thus the surveys also provided information which was appropriate for the application of the travel cost technique. Subsequently, a detailed description of user behaviour is presented. Difficulties of the travel cost approach, were identified and addressed through the use of appropriate sample and extra-sample data. Particular attention was paid to the problems of multi-purpose trips, travel time bias and the influence of alternative sites on participation. Problems with functional forms and the weighting of points for the trip demand model were also given considerable attention. It is believed that the model selected in this study is an improvement on previously known models. The resulting estimates of consumers' surplus for the three areas are reasonably acceptable and conform to a priori expectations. Finally, the main conclusions of the thesis are highlighted and some aspects that have a bearing on planning and management issues are discussed along with brief recommendations for further and future research efforts.

This thesis is a theonsed history of skateboarding. It aims to make a contribution to the methodology of architectural and urban history, positing a general conception that architecture and the city are best understood neither as objects nor as the sole province of architects and urban managers, but better as flows of time and space produced through particular social activities. The first part is theoretical, and investigates the need for a re-consideration of space, principally through an investigation of the writings of Edward Soja (Chapter 2) and Henri Lefebvre (Chapter 3). Time, space and social being are found to be interdependent constituents of social processes, and - together with ideas concerning the political objectives of the author, the body, everyday life, architecture and activities - necessary subjects for historical writing about architecture and the city. The second part undertakes a detailed study of a specific urban practice - that of skateboarding - with particular reference to the usA and UK. The ideas of Henri Lefebvre in particular are used to provide methodological direction and interpretive tools. Chapter 4, focused mainly on the late 1950s through to the mid 1 970s, explores themes of technology, emulation of surfing and initial appropnations and colonisations of space by skateboarding. Chapter 5 explores the constructed spabe of the purpose built skateparks of the 1970s and the ramps of the 1980s, and also the body space of skateboarders and their engagement with these terrains. Considerations of representation and the lived nature of images are also introduced. Chapter 6 explores the subculture of skateboarding. Themes of gender, race, class, age, sexuality and the family are investigated with reference to the clothes, board design, music, language and other cultural aspects of skateboarding. Chapter 7, focusing on the streetstyle skateboarding of the 1980s and 1990s, explores skateboarding as a critique of architecture. the city, capitalism and socio-spatial censorship. The performative nature of skateboarding as an urban activity is found to be an essential part of its historical importance. Chaper 8 provides a summary conclusion of the thesis, and also suggests some tentative directions of future work regarding the further development of a materialist history of the experience of architecture.