The power of sport: Building social bridges and breaking down cultural barriers

Is sport effective at breaking down cultural barriers within sporting communities for Indigenous Australians and people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds? Can it build social bridges by contributing to wider social issues? Drawing upon insights from those in this field, this thesis finds that sport is not the magic 'cure-all' that some assume. However, if managed correctly, sport can be an excellent medium for encouraging valuable debate, and can assist with positive social change

The influence of non-domestic factors on elite sport development and anti-doping policy : the cases of Japan and the UK/England

The aim of this thesis is to examine the extent to which selected aspects of sport policy in Japan and also UK/England are influenced by international forces. The objectives which underpin the research aim are to analyse the characteristics of the domestic policy areas and identify the varying degree of impact of external influences on domestic sport policy. The thesis examines the interactions between domestic and international factors that shape elite sport policy and anti-doping policy and seeks to identify how domestic institutional values and ideas have been shaped by global influences. Importantly, by analysing the nature and mechanisms of global influence that are manifest at the domestic level, it is intended to identify varying degree of impact external to national policy. To achieve the above objectives, a qualitative methodology and related documentary research methods are adopted in the empirical investigations. Policy document analysis and semi-structured interviews are employed. The cases of UK (or England where appropriate) are introduced in order to generate a deeper understanding of the development of Japanese elite sport and anti-doping policy. The thesis draws on a range of theoretical frameworks, including international relations theory, international regime theory and globalisation, to analyse the empirical data. By adopting these theoretical frameworks, it is aimed to identify the possible characteristics of international policy regimes in the policy areas of elite sport and anti-doping... cont'd

Bowdoin Orient v.136, no.1-25 (2006-2007)

https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/bowdoinorient-2000s/1007/thumbnail.jp

Bowdoin Orient v.134, no.1-24 (2004-2005)

https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/bowdoinorient-2000s/1005/thumbnail.jp

White farmers, social institutions and settler masculinity in the Natal Midlands, 1880-1920.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.The midlands was the first area occupied and farmed by white settlers. It became the agricultural heartland of colonial Natal. Its farmers became politically and economically powerful. Their success rested on the construction of a community. They formed a close-knit society in which family links and a sense of belonging were constantly reinforced. The community was closed to blacks. A keen sense of class was developed which made it difficult for outsiders to gain admission. In order to become a member, new immigrants could enroll in some of the many social institutions which were created. It was these institutions which served to integrate the community, to order and police it, and to define it. The community was composed of people who all owned land. A sense of belonging to this community was achieved in a number of ways. Families were nurtured, becoming exceptionally important as institutions through which wealth was passed. They were places of social interaction as well as transgenerational units which ensured a continuous presence in the area. Amongst the institutions which the settlers founded were schools, societies, volunteer regiments. agricultural organisations and sports clubs. The institutions were consciously modelled on their metropolitan counterparts. Settler masculinity was nurtured in the institutions. It prescribed male behaviour according to the values of a land-owning settler gentry. This masculinity was disseminated throughout the colony, becoming a key feature of the colonial gender order. A strong emphasis was placed on being tough and fit, on obedience and teamwork. These were values which gave sport major popularity within the colony and which fueled a militarism that had a bloody and brutal climax in the 1906 rebellion. The institutions gave men power and served as networks by which white male prestige and influence was sustained . Although women were formally excluded. they occupied a central position within the family and made a major contribution to the reproduction of the community. White boys and men found the demands of settler masculinity exacting. Nevertheless. apart from providing them with powerful places in the colonial order, its emphasis on male companionship and fit bodies produced a powerful camaraderie. On the other hand. It stigmatised men who did not fit the mould, enforcing conformity as it did so. Settler society was able to renew and reproduce itself largely through its own institutions outside the sphere of the state. The expansion of the state in the twentieth century threatened settler institutions though they were successfully defended. The midland community and its families were not as homogenous as they liked to pretend. They maintained a facade by excluding and silencing dissidents. This process was a necessary part of the creation of a myth which elevated old Natal families to positions of social status and prestige