Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social aspects of Riding clubs'

This thesis features a qualitative analysis of eight Korean media products — both fiction and nonfiction. For many years, South Korea (hereafter also called Korea) has been called the "world's plastic surgery capital" by many publications, such as Business Insider and The New Yorker. Although Business Insider considers the United States the "vainest country in the world," the numbers of cosmetic surgeries, percentage wise, per person in Korea still outnumber those in the United States, with 20 procedures per 1,000 persons. In this thesis, I argue by using the cultivation theory that Korean television, such as K-Dramas, talk shows and films, which celebrate transformations and feature makeovers and thus normalize cosmetic surgery, create a fantastic space for viewers where the viewers are compelled to act on a media-generated desire to undergo cosmetic surgery in the belief that doing so will also transform or better their lives in the same way it does for the characters in these Korean television productions.

This study examines the specific elements of youth’s experiences at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada (BGC) that contribute to the development of their social and emotional competencies. Social and emotional competencies include managing one’s emotions, developing concern for others, and making responsible, ethically informed decisions. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 respondents ranging in age from 16 to 18 years old. This study gave adolescents a voice, empowering them to contribute to a deeper understanding of the ways in which community youth programs can assist in positive youth development. Data analysis revealed three categories of themes: social setting at the BGC, interpersonal connections, and personal development. The CASEL model of social and emotional learning (SEL) was used as a conceptual framework, and evidence from the research themes was used to demonstrate how SEL skills may have been fostered at the BGC. The four elements of the BGC that were mentioned by respondents most frequently in relation to the development of SEL competencies were receiving and offering social support, acquiring successful coping skills, engaging in formal leadership opportunities, and developing conflict prevention and resolution strategies. The results of this study have implications for theory and practice. The information presented in this study can guide onsite workers to focus on specific aspects in their interactions with youth and inform future youth program planning.
x, 278 leaves ; 29 cm

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Humanities, Department of Contemporary Music Studies, 2007.
Bibliography: p. 291-313.
Introduction -- "Back to this subculture thing": literature review and methodology -- "The crowd went berserk": dance music and club culture in Sydney and Australia -- "Once you find a groove you've got to keep it locked": the role and significance of the DJ -- "There's a great myth about that": DJ culture in Sydney -- "You're not a real DJ unless you play vinyl": technology and formats: the progression of dance music and DJ culture -- "What is underground really?": defining the structure, significance and meaning of dance culture -- "Where are they going to go next?": shifting the focus of dance music studies.
The development of contemporary, post-disco dance music and its associated culture, as representative of a (supposedly) underground, radical subculture, has been given extensive consideration within popular music studies. Significantly less attention has been given to the commercial, mainstream manifestations of this music. Furthermore, demonstrating the influence of subculture theory, existing studies of dance culture focus largely on youth-based audience participation, and as such, those who engage with dance music on a professional level have been somewhat overlooked. In an attempt to rectify these imbalances, this study examines the contemporary commercial dance music scene in Sydney, Australia, incorporating an analytical framework that revolves mainly around the work of DJs and the commercial scene they operate within.--An ethnographic methodological approach underpins the majority of this thesis, with interviews forming the main source of research material. Beginning with a discussion of the existing academic literature on dance culture and dance scenes, an historical context is subsequently established through a section that traces the development of dance culture from an underground phenomenon to a mainstream leisure activity, both within and outside Australia.--The ideas, opinions and interpretations of a selection of local DJs and other music industry practitioners who work in Sydney are central to the analysis of DJ culture herein. Issues discussed include the interaction and relationship between the DJ and their crowd, the technology and formats employed by DJs, and the DJ's multiple roles as entertainer, consumer and educator. The final part of the study gives consideration to the structure of the Sydney dance scene, in regard to the frequently used, but rarely critically analysed, terms 'underground' and 'mainstream'. The thesis concludes with a discussion that challenges the structural rigidity imposed by subcultural theory and scene-based analysis, arguing instead for a greater degree of fluidity in the theoretical approaches taken towards the study of contemporary dance music scenes.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
vi, 334 p

The purpose of this study is to examine, from past, present and future perspectives how registered clubs in New South Wales (NSW), Australia strategically manage problem gambling in their machine gambling operations. Seven stages of research are presented and discussed in some detail. The final stage considers implications of key developments during 1998-1999 for the future management of problem gambling by NSW clubs. It was found that by the end 1999, the future direction of NSW in addressing problem gambling pointed toward a combination of legislation and self-regulation, under the leadership of the Registered Clubs Association of New South Wales. The thesis concludes by identifying seven key factors that emerged from the findings as influencing the way in which NSW clubs have managed problem gambling. These are presented as a theoretical framework with potential utility for future investigations of how organisations manage their social impacts.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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FAPEAM - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas
This study presents a discussion of symbolic meanings present in local practices cheerleaders. The research objective was to investigate the social meanings of twist for a professional football team in Manaus. To carry out our research we assume that the initial twist is seemingly simple, seen through the prism of references and identity standards of the population, however, immersed in this apparent simplicity, and in addition to the sports events are present dynamics of intense relations passion, social and cultural meanings ample, where their signs bring with them a symbolic universe that say a lot about the Brazilian society and Manauense so particular. Our research was characterized as an ethnographic study and data collection were used as instruments, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and a field journal. To decode the discourse of the interviewees and extract from them the essence of the phenomenon, we used discourse analysis. In order to unravel the social meanings present in the twist were chosen cheerleaders who cheer the teams, because despite the current state of football amazonenense they exist and have local representation. The data collection of the research involved fans organized cheerleading Alvinegro the Empire Athletic Club Rio Negro, the organized supporters Narraça the National Football Club and the fans organizes Hurricane Blue São Raimundo Esporte Clube. Besides the organized fans were also part of this research the ordinary fans, in order to ascertain their perceptions of the meanings of the twist and these differed from the perception of organized supporters, as well as to know which teams of your choice. The study revealed that the twist to manauenses football fans, who mostly twist primarily by professional clubs of the State of Rio de Janeiro, plays an important role in the social life of the same forms of socialization and identification symbolically present and for its ability to generate exciting and thrilling moments, within a highly regulated and standardized daily
Este estudo apresenta uma discussão acerca das significações simbólicas presente nas práticas torcedoras manauenses. O objetivo da pesquisa consistiu em investigar os significados sociais do ato de torcer por um time de futebol profissional em Manaus. Para realização de nossa pesquisa partimos do pressuposto inicial que ato de torcer é aparentemente simples, visto pelo prisma das referências e dos padrões de identidade da população brasileira. Porém, imersos nesta aparente simplicidade, e para além das manifestações esportivas estão presentes dinâmicas de intensas relações de paixão, significados sociais e culturais amplos, nos quais seus signos trazem consigo um universo simbólico que dizem muito sobre a sociedade brasileira, e manauense, de forma particular. A pesquisa caracterizou-se como um estudo do tipo etnográfico e na coleta das informações foram utilizados como instrumentos questionário, entrevista semiestruturada além de um diário de campo. Para decodificar os discursos dos sujeitos entrevistados e extrair deles a essência do fenômeno, utilizamos a análise do discurso. No intuito de desvendar os significados sociais presentes no ato de torcer foram escolhidas as torcidas organizadas que torcem pelos times locais, pois apesar do atual estágio do futebol amazonenense elas existem e possuem representatividade local. A coleta de dados da pesquisa envolveu torcedores organizados da torcida Império Alvinegro do Atlético Rio Negro Clube, da torcida organizada Narraça do Nacional Futebol Clube e da torcida organiza Furacão Azul do São Raimundo Esporte Clube. Além dos torcedores organizados também fizeram parte dessa pesquisa os torcedores comuns, com a finalidade de se averiguar suas percepções sobre os significados do ato de torcer e se estas diferiam das percepção dos torcedores organizados, assim como também para conhecer quais os times de sua preferência. O estudo revelou que o ato de torcer para os torcedores manauenses de futebol, que em sua grande maioria torcem prioritariamente por clubes profissionais do Estado do Rio de janeiro, exerce uma importante função social na vida dos mesmos pelas formas de sociabilização e identificação presentes simbolicamente e por sua capacidade de gerar momentos excitantes e emocionantes, no seio de um cotidiano altamente regulamentado e normatizado.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Sport Management in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013
Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) initiated a national Club Development Programme (CDP) in 2006. Its aim is to increase sport participation, physical activity, talent identification and fast-track the development of community clubs in South Africa. The CDP has numerous sporting codes: football, netball, cricket, athletics, rugby and aquatics. Football is the main focus for this study because the majority of clubs in the CDP are football associated. There is a perception amongst football clubs that some clubs receive more attention and support in terms of development as compared to others in the CDP. Therefore, the aim of the research is to identify key factors that affect the delivery of the CDP within selected football community clubs in the Cape Metropole. In total, nineteen CDP community football clubs were studied. In each club, key stakeholders such as the chairperson/president, secretary/administrator, captain/vice captain and volunteer/coach were targeted to receive questionnaires, totalling seventy six with fifty seven usable questionnaires returned. Fourteen face-to-face structured interviews were conducted with experienced and key CDP officials representing the three spheres of South African government. The respondents indicated that the CDP has not exceeded their expectations, mainly because of the following: community clubs are still waiting for equipment; a lack of experts to identify talent; lack of motivation from the CDP officials; lack of competency of the CDP officials in terms of their capacity to liaise with stakeholders and develop mechanisms to review the programmes’ impact. CDP appears to be largely ineffective within communities due to a lack of communication, qualified and competent personnel, talent identification, motivation from the CDP coordinators, education and training as well a review mechanism system. Therefore, it is critical for CDP management to ensure that communication systems improve; qualified and suitable personnel are recruited to assist with the programmes’ implementation; talent identification programme is developed; there should be incentive programmes and ongoing sustainable activities throughout the year, as well as structured social leagues in communities where people live; all CDP coordinators need to undergo training to improve their implementation skills; the review mechanism system needs to be developed and effectively implemented within the communities; and the mechanism system should be periodically monitored and evaluated to objectively assess the impact of the programme within communities.

This study is part of a larger research programme that seeks to contribute towards an understanding of South Africa's complex literacy landscape and formulate strategies that may address these particularly in the Foundation Phase. It is a case study of one public primary school in Grahamstown where isiXhosa is used as a medium of instruction until Grade 3, after which the medium of instruction changes to English. This transition is not helped by the little reading that happens in the language at the FP. The learners under study are Grade 3 isiXhosa first language speakers, learning English as a First Additional Language (FAL) with limited exposure to the language. Through a qualitative participatory action research process, the study investigated the extent to which a reading club in general and a responsive reading programme in particular, might develop learners' English vocabulary at this particular school. The value of reading clubs as a vehicle for second language learning as well as the importance of considering learner needs in the development of the reading programme are key contributions this study makes. The study draws on social constructivism as a theoretical framework based on the principle that learning is a social acitvity. Vygotsky (1978) states that language learning (LL) takes place through interactions in meaningful events, rather that through isolated language activities. The process is seen as holistic, that is, each mode of language supoorts and enhances overall language development. Furthermore, LL develops in relation to the context in which it is used, that is, it develops according to the situation, the topic under discussion and the relationship betwwen participants. Language also develops through active engagement of the learners. The role of the teacher or a more competent other is then seen as that of a facilitator in a learning context in which learners are viewed as equally capable of contributing to their learning through learning from and with each other (Holt and Willard-Holt, 2000). Vygotsky's theory of social interaction has been influential in highlighting the important role of social and cultural contexts in extending children's learning. The preliminary results of this study point toward the importance of the learning environment, particularly an informal environment in second language development. The results also highlight the need for learners (a) to be provided with opportunities to engage with meaningful and authentic texts, (b) to be allowed to make their own book choices, (c) to participate in large group, small group and individual activities to enable them to engage with a variety of texts, and (d) to confront vocabulary in a variety of ways through multiple texts and genres.

The thesis identifies a lack of research in the general subject area of sports geography and in particular Scottish sports geography. A new conceptual framework for the analysis of the geography of sport is developed from an extensive review of the literature. This framework is then used to illustrate three case studies of the sports landscape in Scotland at three geographical scales. Case study one considers a national sport and traces curling, from its origin to the international Olympic sport it is today, through time and the geographical concepts of space, place, and environment. The sport of curling is shown to be a distinctively Scottish despite influences of modernisation and internationalisation. At the regional scale, case study two identifies two key sporting attributes. Recent survey data are used to highlight regional variations in sports club membership and volunteering in sport. For example the highest rate of sports volunteering in the population is found in the north of Scotland, while the biggest contribution to the sport volunteer workforce comes from large urban towns nearer the central belt. Finally case study three examines a local sportscape. Factors relating to the local population and to the individuals within the sportscape are combined to propose a model for the analysis of sports places. Each case study has added to the knowledge of sports geography in Scotland, however the real benefit of the thesis is to the overall understanding of sports geographical analysis. A new conceptual framework has been developed for the geographical analysis of sport and this has been applied to three case studies to illustrate its efficacy. This is a first Geography of Sport in Scotland.

This thesis examines provincial literary culture in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, through the printed and manuscript records of reading associations, the diaries of their members, and a range of other print materials. These book clubs and subscription libraries have often been considered to be polite and sociable institutions, part of the cultural repertoire of a new urban, consumer society. However, this thesis reconsiders reading associations' values and effects through a study of the reading materials they provided, and the reading habits they encouraged; the intellectual and social values which they embodied; and their role in the performance of gender, local and national identities. It questions what politeness meant to associational members, arguing for the importance of morality and order in associational conceptions of propriety, and downplaying their pursuit of structured sociability. This thesis examines how provincial individuals conceived of their relationship to the reading public, arguing that associations provided a tangible link to this abstract national community, whilst also having implications for the 'public' life of localities and families. The thesis also considers how these institutions interacted with enlightenment thought, suggesting that both the associations' reading matter and their philosophies of corporate improvement enabled 'ordinary' men and women to participate in the Enlightenment. It assesses English and Scottish associations, which are usually subjected to separate treatment, arguing that they constituted a shared mechanism of British literary culture in this period. More than simply a 'polite' performance, reading, through associations, was fundamentally linked to status, to citizenship, and to cultural participation.

Human beings have been gathering with other human beings for any and all reasons. These gatherings have occurred since biblical times. The Roman baths were the first gatherings that can be classified as clubs. In contemporary terms, humans gather in small numbers for a coffee with friends at a coffee restaurant, they gather in the thousands to show their dejection of wage offerings and they gather in the millions to support a sports jersey. The common factor in all of these gatherings is that they do it because of one shared goal, one shared vision. The places where people with the same interests gather, called clubs and organisations, have been around for many years. They fulfil some of the very basic human needs as well as some of the most intricate human wants. Ensuring that clubs or organisations remain in our social fibre for many years to come is in the best interest of all of their stakeholders. These clubs or organisations need to adjust to the times of present and adjust the offering they make to the members as the needs of the members change over time. It is this premise that led the researcher to The Port Elizabeth Club. This social club is struggling with dwindling membership numbers and the development of a membership strategy that will increase its membership numbers and the benefits that are offered to them. The secondary literature study conducted revealed many benefits and strategies that clubs currently use or that they could use to improve their membership brand. It further showed the different approaches, of the different clubs, to attracting and retaining the members they wanted. These benefits and strategies formed the basis iv of the primary study that was conducted by the researcher and were the main constructs in the study. The primary study was in the form of questionnaires and these were given to the target market of The Port Elizabeth Club as well as The Port Elizabeth Club members themselves. The primary study revealed that many of the benefits and strategies found in the literature can be used by The Port Elizabeth Club to improve their membership offering. The literature also stated this type of study, a questionnaire or survey, should be done on a regular basis by The Port Elizabeth Club to ensure that it is on track with its members’ needs and wants. The literature revealed that many club members feel that the value that is offered by clubs are diminishing and this results in the loss of members and disinterest from prospective members. It is for this reason that the research study conducted is important to The Port Elizabeth Club and shows that they should focus on the value they offer to their members and continue to improve this value offering. The research study concludes with a detailed description of benefits that The Port Elizabeth Club could implement for its members as well as strategies that will assist it in attracting new members and retaining its current members.

Lower rates of computer adoption and usage in rural areas has been called a "digital divide." This work explores the current state of connectivity within a rural town of the Pacific Northwest with a quantitative and qualitative overview of computer usage and access within civic and activity clubs, ranging from town's Rotarians to its bowling leagues. An Anthropological Rapid Appraisal Process (RAP) leverages focus groups, mini-surveys and ethnographic methods within the clubs to explore the topography of the digital divide. Civic clubs with younger, higher-income, better-educated members have higher rates of e-mail penetration (93%-56%) while activity clubs fare far worse on average (28%). Research establishes a link between club demographics and e-mail penetration rates, by showing that older clubs report less e-mail usage. This work explores the conditions that exacerbate the digital divide as well as highlighting those which may mitigate it. Variables include the presence or absence of technological leadership and the nature of ties to corporate and/or national organizations. Additionally, research shows that rural settings limit and structure the opportunities for computer skill acquisition. Civic clubs are increasingly reliant on computer-mediated communication (CMC) and computer-mediated information (CMI) sources and correspondingly, also upon the computer proficient members who can manage websites, or create and distribute electronic bulletins. "New media" is challenging traditional club norms and favors the contributions of more technological literate members, while handicapping the participation of non-computer using members. Beyond the hyped-up prospects of increased efficiency and communication amongst geographically dispersed members of such clubs, the technology is also creating new forms of exclusion. Recommendations include: 1) a technology decision-making process that ensures consensus among club members by including non-users; 2) creative capacity-building to support computer usage; and 3) by-laws which ensure that members are not marginalized because of a current or chronic lack of computer usage. This work grounds expectations of new technology, by providing a factual account of computer usage within clubs and exploring how clubs are using computers to facilitate their activities.
Graduation date: 2003

This is an ethnography of the lives of sex workers in two clubs in Johannesburg. It aimed to explore the intimate lives of sex workers, focusing on how sex workers maintain boundaries between their work and their private lives. Difficulties and issues of time and access meant the research increasingly became one of illuminating the rich texture and social worlds of the two clubs. As it turns out, these women’s private lives are intricately linked to their work. The ethnographic research method uncovered the complex and otherwise hidden processes in the clubs, from the regimes of work, to the surveillance, drugs and money. The research revealed the exploitative nature of sex work at the clubs, but also the agency and choice that these women exercised in their work and private lives, challenging the notion of sex workers as mere victims.

This research explores the lives and experiences of female exotic dancers with the aim of gaining an empathic understanding of their involvement in the stripping industry. The stereotypes and generalizations of exotic dancers and the stripping industry undermine the exotic dancer's ability to be seen as an individual with her own story and her own experiences. The participants of this research were selected through convenience sampling and consist of three female exotic dancers. The researcher interviewed the participants using a semi-structured interview format and focused on the dancer's experience within the exotic dancing industry, her family history, her relationships, and personal life. The data was analysed using thematic network analysis. The thematic networks are often contradictory and inconsistent with the common stereotypes and ideas held about exotic dancers. The results indicate that some exotic dancers experience meaning, healing, gratification, and power within their work and live responsible, productive lives.
Psychology
M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

In the realm of therapeutic horseback riding one becomes aware of the idiosyncratic way in which each unique individual depicts his or her experience of a therapeutic riding endeavor. This study focuses on the meanings attributed to therapeutic riding in the lives of children with cerebral palsy because the complementary use of horses in therapy with these children may be of great importance to the medical fraternity. This exploration investigated the influence of the children's relationship with a horse, and the parents' perception of horseriding as a complementary therapy to occupational- and physiotherapy. The theoretical background and a literature review on therapeutic horseback riding and cerebral palsy were presented in this study. This study followed a holistic, ecosystemic epistemology. Both a qualitative approach and a quantitative approach were adopted as two complementary sides of a more encompassing whole and provided rich descriptions of the context and research process.
Psychology
M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Transparencies: New Zealand from 1953 to 1974 through the Slide Photography of Gladys Cunningham This thesis focuses on the amateur slide photography of Gladys Cunningham, formerly of Onehunga, Auckland. Viewed collectively, these slides provide a visual autobiography of a New Zealand woman’s life, as well as a larger social narrative. As Gladys’s granddaughter, I argue that Gladys’s 35mm colour transparencies, nostalgic fragments that memorialise a family history, are informed by the social history of European New Zealanders between the early 1950s and early 1970s. Gladys’s slides reflect stabilities and changes for the photographer herself, her family and New Zealand society. While the term “transparency” suggests that the meaning of a slide can be understood by all, in reality further contextual information is necessary to appreciate the family and public histories from which these scenes have been separated. To situate Gladys’s slides, I refer to popular magazines and tourist texts from this period, including The Weekly News, National Geographic and New Zealand Holiday, and to commercial slides, postcards and travel marketing texts. I analyse the near absence of Maori within Gladys’s slides and travel journalism, suggesting that their omissions represent a lack of dialogue between Pakeha and Maori. In New Zealand and overseas, slide photography was the popular medium for recording extraordinary family events during the 1950 and 1960s. Through an analysis of memory, leisure and photography, this study examines how Gladys’s photography documents family and community membership and celebration. I explore how aesthetically pleasing representations of family leisure also contain partly concealed clues to less positive memories and to secrets that were not unique to this family. I discuss the impact of private and public transport on Gladys’s slide photography, noting how car travel facilitated spatial and temporal freedoms, and how slide photography strengthened connections to extended family and distant communities. In contrast, Gladys and Jim’s later dependence on coach transport enhanced their ability to take slides and expanded the “family” gaze of their camera, but limited their photographic opportunities.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
The narrative of the Fall Creek Parkway YMCA is central to the record of the historically black community northwest of downtown Indianapolis, which was established in the early 1900s, as well as reflective of the urban revitalization projects and demographic fluxes that changed this community beginning in the 1960s. This is because the conflict between administrators of the Fall Creek YMCA branch and Greater Indianapolis YMCA or Metropolitan YMCA over the viability of the branch at 10th Street and Indiana Avenue was a microcosm of the conflict between community and city leaders over the necessity of large-scale forces. This thesis specifically examines the large-scale forces of urban revitalization, defined in the study as the city’s implementation of construction projects in Indianapolis’ downtown area, and school desegregation, which was the focus of a federal court case that affected Indianapolis Public Schools. Delineating the contested visions held by Fall Creek and Metropolitan YMCA administrators about how the Fall Creek YMCA should have functioned within an environment changed by urban revitalization and school desegregation is crucial to understanding the controversies that surrounded major construction projects and desegregation measures that took place in the downtown area of Indianapolis during the late twentieth century. The study therefore understands the conflict between the Metropolitan and Fall Creek YMCAs over targeted membership groups and autonomy as a reflection of changes in the branch’s surrounding area. Moreover, the study utilizes such conflict as a lens to the larger conflict that took place in Indianapolis between the agents of citywide urban revitalization plans and community leaders who opposed the implementation of these plans, as well as school desegregation measures, at the expense of the historically black community located in the near-downtown area of the city. This thesis is informed and humanized, respectively, by archival research and oral history interviews with individuals who were involved in either the administration or advocacy of the Fall Creek YMCA between 1971 and 2003.