You may have to register before you can download all our books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
This book examines the relationships between the Nordic social democratic welfare system (‘The Nordic Model’) and physical culture, across the domains of sport, education, and public space. Presenting important new empirical research, it helps us to understand how the paradoxical blend of social democracy and liberalism in the Nordic countries influences physical culture, which in turn contributes to a quality of life that ranks highest in the world. Drawing on perspectives from sociology, cultural studies, history, education, political science, outdoor studies, and urban studies, the book explores topics such as dance education for sport students, doping in cross-country skiing, outdoor education, the active body, and the ideology of public parks. It includes research material from across the region, including Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark. This is fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in physical culture, sport studies, leisure studies, or outdoor studies, as well as sociologists or political scientists with an interest in Nordic politics, culture, and society.
Sport, Outdoor Life and the Nordic World explores the Nordic model of sport and outdoor life with respect to such issues as sport facilities, mountain guiding, women and ethnic minorities, urban planning, anti-doping, health, elite sport coaching and leadership, and the globalization of sport. The aims of the volume are twofold. First, it advances knowledge of Nordic sport and outdoor life, as important fields of social activity in their own rights. Second, it enhances the understanding of the ‘Nordic model’ of society, and the ways in which this is constructed, explored and challenged within and through sport and outdoor life activities. In doing so, the contributors explore a range of ...
This is a book about sound studios, focusing on their architectural and geographical aspects. It explores how music is materialized under specific spatial and technological conditions and the myths associated with this process. Through ten in-depth studies, it examines the design, evolution and current function of sound studios amidst economic and technological shifts in the music industry. Traditional studios are in flux between the past and future. The industry, while steeped in romanticism and nostalgia, also embraces forward-driven pragmatism and an extensive reuse culture, encompassing heritage audio, building materials and existing buildings. A surprisingly diverse architectural herita...
Sport Policy: a comparative analysis of stability and change builds on the growing general interest in the comparative study of sport policy and the more specific interest in processes of policy change and issues associated with policy convergence. In stark contrast to many other areas of public policy such as education, personal welfare and health care there is a paucity of theoretically informed comparative studies in sport. Over recent years there has been a steady increase in public investment in sport and frequently, as a consequence, a sharper debate about how public resources should be used. However, there has been little analysis of the factors that shape the generation of domestic s...
Although there is growing interest from governments in participation levels in sport, the extent to which governments actively promote ‘sport for all’ and their motives for doing so vary greatly. This is the first book to examine the sport participation policies of national governments across the world and to offer a comparative analysis of the motives for, and successes and failures of those policies. Organized around a series of sixteen national case studies, including the UK, the US, Australia, China and India, the book enables students and practitioners to compare and contrast the development, implementation and impact of sport participation policies throughout the world. An introduc...
The sociology of sport is a core discipline within the academic study of sport. It helps us to understand what sport is and why it matters. Sociological knowledge, implicit or explicit, therefore underpins scholarly enquiry into sport in every aspect. The Routledge Handbook of the Sociology of Sport is a landmark publication that brings together the most important themes, theories and issues within the sociology of sport, tracing the contours of the discipline and surveying the state-of-the-art. Part One explores the main theories and analytical approaches that define contemporary sport sociology and introduces the most important methodological issues confronting researchers working in the s...
In this new edition of his acclaimed book, Richard Giulianotti provides a critical sociological interpretation of modern sport. As global festivals such as the Olympic Games and football’s World Cup demonstrate, sport’s social, political, economic and cultural significance is becoming ever more apparent across the world. Ten years after its original publication, the text has been completely revised and updated to cover the most recent literature and to tackle the key contemporary issues of sport and society. Chapter by chapter, Giulianotti offers a cogent examination of widely taught sociological theories and topics that relate to sport, skilfully weaving together theory and examples. Th...
Sport and Secessionism examines how sporting cultures reflect, inform and sometimes frustrate secessionist movements around the world. Investigating a wide range of cases, the book explores key themes including nationalism, nation building, state-region antagonisms, independence movements, identity and ethnic politics, sovereignty and autonomy processes, all through the lens of sport. Sports are uniquely positioned to shed light on secessionist politics due to their pervasiveness in society, and their ability to absorb, reflect and produce political projections. The book presents analyses of a wide range of geographical, cultural and political contexts in which sports are deployed to pursue ...
Social inclusion is a pressing issue confronting all levels of sport today, and community sport in particular. Sport is being promoted as an inclusive environment in which people of all backgrounds and abilities can participate and access a range of social and health benefits. Moreover, sport is often heralded as a vehicle for promoting social inclusion in other societal domains. Yet, the policy ideal of ‘sport for all’ is not always realised in practice, and community sport continues to be plagued by various forms of discrimination and social exclusion. This book brings together a team of scholars from across the globe whose research addresses the complex relationship between community ...
The summer Olympic Games are renowned for producing the world’s biggest single-city cultural event. While the Olympics and other sport mega-events have received growing levels of academic investigation from a variety of disciplinary approaches, relatively little is known about how such occasions are experienced directly by local host communities and publics. This ethnography examines the everyday policing of the London Borough of Newham in relation to the London 2012 Olympics. It explains how police defined, monitored, prioritized, contained and investigated ‘Olympic-related’ crime, and how ‘Olympic-related’ policing connected to the policing of Newham. The authors examine how the ...