Perceptions of climate change at ski resorts in midsouth of Sweden

Climate change as a phenomenon will imply new risks for the ski industry. Intergovernmental Panal on Climate Change presents three future scenarios, during the periods between 1990-2100, in forms of increased temperatures, a rise in the sea level and seasonal variations, variables out of which two have direct impacts on the ski industry. The aim for this study was to explore and compare attitudes towards climate change between five ski resorts located in mid-south of Sweden. This was done through in depth interviews in both face to face and by telephone. The result of the study was that all the chosen ski resorts were aware of climate change as a phenomenon but have not yet recognized its consequences. All ski resorts use methods to maintain skiing i.e. artificial snow production though not because of climate change.

Sports and mediatization : a case of women´s ski-jumping

Ski jumping was the only sport included in the Winter Olympics, where women were not allowed to take part until the first week of April 2011, when IOC decided to let them in to the Olympic family, a major victory for women´s ski-jumping. Since 2004 the Norwegian media had women ski jumping as one important topic in their media coverage. The third of March 2010 the new Holmenkollen ski-jumping hill was inaugurated. It had been rebuilt for the World Championships 2011. The first jump on the hill was surrounded by an intense debate. Annette Sagen was decided to be the first jumper on the hill after a poll on the social media channel Facebook that gave Annette Sagen over 40 000 votes.  However Tuesday the second of March Björn Einar Romören, a world cup jumper, did the first jump during a training session. This act started a significant chain of events. The biggest Norwegian web – magazines Verldens Gang and Aftenposten made this the head story and they invited the readers to interaction. Within 24 hours 11 000 comments were written, most of them in favor of Sagen and against Romören´s behavior. The Norwegian Ski Association excluded Romören from two World Cup competitions. What did happen during these days in the media?  I want to present the activities, which went on in two web-magazines, and analyze the articles written on the topic. Main issues are to show what an impact a social media network had on the sport in this specific case and how different actors appeared in the media and discuss if Romörens exclusion was a result of the mediatization.

Risk of recurrent stroke and death after first stroke in long-distance ski race participants

Background: Physical activity is of benefit for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, but it appears to increase the risk for atrial fibrillation. We aimed to study a cohort of patients following a first stroke in individuals with previous high physical activity, compare them to the general population with respect to recurrent stroke and death, and relate these to atrial fibrillation. Methods and results: From the participants of the Vasaloppet, the world's largest ski-race, and matched individuals from the general population (n=708 604), we identified 5964 patients hospitalized with a first-time stroke between 1994 and 2010. Individuals with severe diseases were excluded. One half percent of skiers and 1% of nonskiers were hospitalized due to stroke. The incidence rate was 8.3 per 100 person-years among skiers and 11.1 among nonskiers. The hazard ratio (HR) for recurrent stroke or death between the 2 groups was 0.76 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.86). The result was consistent in subgroups. The HR for death was 0.66 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.78) and for recurrent stroke 0.82 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.96). After adjustment for smoking and socioeconomic factors, the HR for death was consistent at 0.70 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.87) while the HR for recurrent stroke was not statistically significant. Outcomes for skiers with atrial fibrillation tended to show a lower risk than for nonskiers. Conclusions: This large cohort study supports the hypothesis that patients with a stroke and with prior regular physical activity have a lower risk of death, while their risk for recurrent stroke is similar to that of nonskiers. The skiers had a higher incidence of atrial fibrillation, but still no increased risk of recurring stroke.

The influence of sex, age, and race experience on pacing profiles during the 90 km Vasaloppet ski race

The purpose of this study was to investigate pacing-profile differences during the 90 km Vasaloppet ski race related to the categories of sex, age, and race experience. Skiing times from eight sections (S1 to S8) were analyzed. For each of the three categories, 400 pairs of skiers were matched to have a finish time within 60 seconds, the same start group, and an assignment to the same group for the other two categories. Paired-samples Student’s t-tests were used to investigate sectional pacing-profile differences between the subgroups. Results showed that males skied faster in S2 (P=0.0042), S3 (P=0.0049), S4 (P=0.010), and S1–S4 (P<0.001), whereas females skied faster in S6 (P<0.001), S7 (P<0.001), S8 (P=0.0088), and S5–S8 (P<0.001). For the age category, old subjects (40 to 59 years) skied faster than young subjects (19 to 39 years) in S3 (P=0.0029), and for the other sections, there were no differences. Experienced subjects (≥4 Vasaloppet ski race completions) skied faster in S1 (P<0.001) and S1–S4 (P=0.0054); inexperienced skiers (<4 Vasaloppet ski race completions) had a shorter mean skiing time in S5–S8 (P=0.0063). In conclusion, females had a more even pacing profile than that of males with the same finish time, start group, age, and race experience. No clear age-related pacing-profile difference was identified for the matched subgroups. Moreover, experienced skiers skied faster in the first half whereas inexperienced skiers had higher skiing speeds during the second half of the race.

The economic impact of sports mega-events : The case study of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship Falun 2015

Since the second half of 1990s, the economic impact of sports mega-events concerned the researchers, the public and the professionals. The investment of public funds and the effects on several sectors of the economy motivate the economic impact studies. The economic impact of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship Falun 2015 to the region of Dalarna is the topic of this thesis. This requires the calculation of direct, indirect and induced economic impact. Within the analysis, data from a questionnaire survey conducted on seven different days during the event are used. The final sample of the analysis contains 893 observations. The segmentation approach was applied for the calculations and the visitors were classified regarding their choice of accommodation. The regional economic impact is calculated at 321 M SEK and the employment effect on the tourism sector is estimated. However, the lack of information limits the study. The analysis could be extended with an accurate investigation of certain issues. Further, the impact of the event should be estimated from all the perspectives. The organization of sports mega-events creates tangible and intangible effects to the host-city. The thesis reviews literature on the economic impact studies of sports mega-events. The results of the study can be used for a comprehensive analysis of the case study. Further, the professionals of the tourism and the event could be benefited.

Grafisk profilering för butiksmiljö : Creating a visual identity for a store

A new visual identity for the ski store Alpingaraget in Stockholm has been proposed as the result of this thesis. Theproposal includes a new logotype, various printed matters, design planning of the store, interior design, signs and otherapplications.The theory section is within the field of graphic profiling and with some focus on profiling in stores.A clear visual identity is important for a company because what the company communicates internally and externallyshould be kept as consistent as possible. This is especially important nowadays when more and more similar products andstores are available. This means that the visual identity becomes part of the competition with other products and stores.The base elements in a visual identity are logotype, colors and typograpy. Using these elements according to rules andtemplates makes a consistent visual profile.

Current and future shopping conditions in Sälen

Going from having bought the most essential at the small shops close to home, better communications and an increasingly consumption oriented lifestyle has created a change in shopping behavior and has led to phenomenon such as shopping centres and more. These are constantly being built in Sweden: in the cities, outside the cities and more recently even in small cities -small cities as for one reason or another have access to a larger customer base which can have businesses to flourish economically. During the first decade of the 21st century, shopping centres have been established along the Swedish/Norwegian border. Since the Norwegian Krone is much stronger than the Swedish Krona Norwegians save a great deal of money on going to Sweden to shop. During the shopping trips to Sweden, it is mostly alcohol, meat, tobacco and candy that are being bought. However, other products such as clothing, technology, household appliances and more are also being purchased, all to save money on the trip. Together these cross border shoppers spent 11, 6 billion in Sweden during the year of 2010. This gives an average spending of approximately 10 900 SEK per cross border shopper on annual basis. Nordby, Töcksfors and Charlottenberg (small cities located in southwestern Sweden) are places characterized by Norwegian cross border shopping. Together, they generate billions every year and this only seems to increase. These places are relatively small in size but have prominent attributes such as proximity to the Norwegian border. Apart from these resorts and shopping centres, there are few or none similar places near the Norwegian border in the rest of Sweden. However, a place which is geographically well located and has a relatively large Norwegian and Swedish customer base is the ski resort of Sälen in west central of Sweden. Sälen is a village located near the Norwegian border, although fairly sparsely populated. The destination has annually about one million official guest nights, based on the 414 000 visitors who stay an average of about 4, 5 days.  Per visit, these tourists individually spend an average of 862 SEK on shopping at the destination. The expenditure of the mountain tourists together with the Norwegian border shoppers makes it very interesting to explore the opportunities for shopping development in terms of a shopping centre in the region of Sälen.

Skatte- och sysselsättningseffekter till följd av ett större idrottsevenemang : Förväntade effekter på regionens näringsliv till följd av ett kommande Skid VM i Falun 2015

Syfte: Att mäta turisternas konsumtion i samband med ett större idrottsevenemang samt att beräkna skatte- och sysselsättningseffekter till följd av denna under Skid-VM i Falun år 2015. Metod: Turisternas konsumtion har i denna studie mätts genom att ett urval av besökarna på Skidspelen 2013 fört dagbok över sin konsumtion. Vi har även använt sekundärdata i form av en konsumtionsundersökning som är genomförd under Svenska Skidspelen 2012 samt uppgifter från en rapport författad av HUI Research AB. Slutsats: Tre olika scenarion har använts för att beräkna skatte och sysselsättningseffekter. Ett lågt scenario där vi räknar med 140 000 sålda endagsbiljetter vilket är samma antal som Skid- VM i Falun 1993. Ett medelhögt där vi räknar med 200 000 sålda endagsbiljetter vilket är vad arrangören förväntar sig samt slutligen ett högt scenario med 270 000 sålda endagsbiljetter vilket är vad som såldes under Skid-VM i Oslo 2011. Beroende på valt scenario kommer turisternas totala konsumtion i regionen att uppgå till mellan 147 och 197 miljoner kronor. Denna omsättningsökning uppskattas leda till att mellan 85 och 111 arbetstillfällen skapas i regionen på kort sikt. Summan av samtliga skatter och avgifter uppgår till mellan 27 och 36 miljoner kronor.

Orka hela vägen : Upplevd hälsa, idrotts- och träningsbakgrund bland studenter på en fysiskt inriktad yrkesutbildning. Lärarstudenter GIH 2008 delrapport 1: 2009

Sammanfattning Ett sammanfattande porträtt av den nyantagna lärarstudenten vid GIH med utgångspunkt från enkätsvaren ger vid handen en bild av en person, som är ca 21 år gammal, född i Sverige och uppvuxen i en medelstor stad i Mellansverige. Studenten trivdes mycket bra i skolan och var som elev något över medel med MVG i idrott och hälsa. Valet av yrkesutbildning grundade sig på ett stort intresse för idrott, samt en önskan att få jobba med barn och ungdom. Studievalet hade för många påverkats av en tidigare idrotts-lärare, kompisar och familj. En bra lärare i idrott och hälsa är enligt studenten positiv, engagerad, rättvis, bestämd och kunnig. Lärarstudenten ser sig behärska bollspel väl. Störst kunskap och färdighet uppges i fot-boll och alpin skidåkning. Minst kunskap och färdighet skattades i softboll, baseboll, bergsklättring, långfärdsskridskoåkning och i konsten att kunna valla skidor. Många ser sig ha god kunskap om sambandet mellan hälsa, livsstil och miljö, men mindre god om hur en idrottsaktivitet har betydelse för kulturarvet, samband mellan miljö och männi-skans hälsa i ett historiskt och nutidsperspektiv samt i ergonomi. På sin fritid går lärarstudenten ofta på idrottsevenemang, café, tittar på TV och video eller umgås med vänner och familj. Lärarstudenten går sällan på bio och nästan aldrig på tea-ter, museum eller vernissager. "Vad är vernissage?" undrar en student. Hälsan, både fysiskt och psykiskt, skattas som tillfredsställande och man känner ofta hopp, glädje och meningsfullhet. Emellertid finner man sig även ofta stressad på grund av tidsbrist och alla krav. Många kvinnliga studenter (41%) rapporterade ryggont och många, både kvinnor och män, beskrev att de har besvär från en skadad fotled eller knä. De flesta lärarstudenterna är regelbundet fysiskt aktiva och de finner att mängden motion delvis är tillfredsställande. Förväntningarna är höga på utbildningen både att den är mångsidig och kommer att ge ökad kunskap inom olika områden. Under studietiden förväntar man sig att utvecklas och förbättra sin egen fysiska status och hälsa. En student uttrycker det med orden: "Mitt nya liv startar idag". Den sammanfattande bilden av lärarstudenten på GIH liknar den som tidigare har redovisats av Meckbach och Wedman i en liknande studie från maj 2005. Deras studie genomfördes på studenter efter ett års studier på GIH (Meckbach & Wed-man, 2007).

Sportevenemangets nyhetsbrev : Råd om utformningen av nyhetsbrev

Samhället blir allt mer digitaliserat, vilket lett till att en stor mängd företagbehövt förändra sin marknadsföring. Många företag marknadsför sig idaggenom digitala kanaler, en av dessa är e-post. Ett sätt att marknadsföra sig viae-post är med nyhetsbrev. Forskningen om e-postmarknadsföring är betydligtmer omfattande än den specifikt om nyhetsbrev, vilket gör nyhetsbrev till ettintressant ämne att studera närmre. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad rådangående utformningen av nyhetsbrev behandlar och om råden som finns äranpassade specifikt för sportevenemangs nyhetsbrev. Studiens syfte är även attgranska om Skid-VM:s allmänna nyhetsbrev följer några av de generella rådensom valts ut och om tillämpningen av råden föredras av mottagarna eller inte.För att besvara studiens frågeställningar har en kartläggning, en jämförelse ochen enkätundersökning genomförts. Kartläggningen gjordes genom eninformationssökning och 65 råd hittades. Sex generella råd valdes ut ochjämfördes mot Skid-VM:s allmänna nyhetsbrev. Nya modifierade varianter pådelar av nyhetsbrevet formgavs utifrån om den ursprungliga delen av Skid-VM:s nyhetsbrev följde det generella rådet eller inte. De modifieradevarianterna och de ursprungliga sattes ihop till bildpar. I enkätundersökningensom publicerades på Facebook-sidor och grupper administrerade av Skid-VMfick deltagarna sedan välja vilken variant de föredrog. Kartläggningenresulterade i slutsatserna att många av råden behandlade utformningen avnyhetsbrevets texter och att råd om utformningen av nyhetsbrev specifiktanpassade för sportevenemang var sällsynta. Slutsatserna blev även att Skid-VM:s nyhetsbrev följde fyra av de sex generella råden och att varianten avnyhetsbreven som följde det generella rådet föredrogs i tre av sex fall.

Sponsring av Skid-VM i Falun : En studie av regionala sponsorers vilja att delta isponsornätverket Beyond Skiing

Stora idrottsevenemang är till stor del beroende av de intäkter som kommer från sponsrandeföretag. Inför skid-VM i Falun 2015 startade organisationen Beyond Skiing Foundation ABett projekt i form av ett sponsornätverk. Projektet kom att kallas Beyond Skiing och syftet varatt försöka locka regionala- företag, kommuner och organisationer att sponsra skid-VM.Tanken med sponsornätverket var att ge ett värde till projektets medlemmar som ville varamed och sponsra skid-VM, men som inte ville betala den summa pengar som krävdes för attbli huvudsponsorer till evenemanget.Syftet med denna undersökning är att förklara varför en heterogen grupp sponsorer utspriddaöver en stor region ingick i ett regionalt sponsornätverk. Urvalet bestod av medlemmarna iBeyond Skiing. Vidare gjordes ett urval att medlemmarna skulle vara lokaliserade i Dalarna,men utanför Falun. Anledningen till varför regionala sponsorer utan direkt geografiskkoppling till Falun valdes, var att kopplingen mellan deras sponsring av skid-VM kan påförhand ses som mer komplex och onaturlig jämfört med sponsorer från Falun, eftersomsponsring i mindre skala tenderar att röra samarbeten med sponsrade enheter inom samma ort.Data till studien samlades in genom fem kvalitativa telefonintervjuer. Resultatet indikerar påatt medlemmarna i Beyond Skiing hade tydliga kommersiella mål med sin sponsring av skid-VM och att sponsra endast genom goodwill var i detta fall mindre förekommande. Studien harvisat att sponsringssamarbetes specifika erbjudanden och regionala motiv har varit tvåbidragande orsaker till varför sponsorerna ville sponsra skid-VM. Särskilt nöjda varsponsorerna med nätverksträffarna som Beyond Skiing Foundation anordnade förmedlemmarna inom Beyond Skiing.

Informal sanctions and conditional cooperation: : A natural experiment on voluntary contributions to a public good.

In a natural experiment, this paper studies the impact of an informal sanctioning mechanism on individuals’ voluntary contribution to a public good. Cross-country skiers’ actual cash contributions in two ski resorts, one with and one without an informal sanctioning system, are used. I find the contributing share to be higher in the informal sanctioning system (79 percent) than in the non-sanctioning system (36 percent). Previous studies in one-shot public good situations have found an increasing conditional contribution (CC) function, i.e. the relationship between expected average contributions of other group members and the individual’s own contribution. In contrast, the present results suggest that the CC-function in the non-sanctioning system is non-increasing at high perceived levels of others’ contribution. This relationship deserves further testing in lab.

The importance of body-mass exponent optimization for evaluation of performance capability in cross-country skiing

Introduction Performance in cross-country skiing is influenced by the skier’s ability to continuously produce propelling forces and force magnitude in relation to the net external forces. A surrogate indicator of the “power supply” in cross-country skiing would be a physiological variable that reflects an important performance-related capability, whereas the body mass itself is an indicator of the “power demand” experienced by the skier. To adequately evaluate an elite skier’s performance capability, it is essential to establish the optimal ratio between the physiological variable and body mass. The overall aim of this doctoral thesis was to investigate the importance of body-mass exponent optimization for the evaluation of performance capability in cross-country skiing. Methods In total, 83 elite cross-country skiers (56 men and 27 women) volunteered to participate in the four studies. The physiological variables of maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max) and oxygen uptake corresponding to a blood-lactate concentration of 4 mmol∙l-1 (V̇O2obla) were determined while treadmill roller skiing using the diagonal-stride technique; mean oxygen uptake (V̇O2dp) and upper-body power output (Ẇ) were determined during double-poling tests using a ski-ergometer. Competitive performance data for elite male skiers were collected from two 15-km classical-technique skiing competitions and a 1.25-km sprint prologue; additionally, a 2-km double-poling roller-skiing time trial using the double-poling technique was used as an indicator of upper-body performance capability among elite male and female junior skiers. Power-function modelling was used to explain the race and time-trial speeds based on the physiological variables and body mass. Results The optimal V̇O2max-to-mass ratios to explain 15-km race speed were V̇O2max divided by body mass raised to the 0.48 and 0.53 power, and these models explained 68% and 69% of the variance in mean skiing speed, respectively; moreover, the 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the body-mass exponents did not include either 0 or 1. For the modelling of race speed in the sprint prologue, body mass failed to contribute to the models based on V̇O2max, V̇O2obla, and V̇O2dp. The upper-body power output-to-body mass ratio that optimally explained time-trial speed was Ẇ ∙ m-0.57 and the model explained 63% of the variance in speed. Conclusions The results in this thesis suggest that V̇O2max divided by the square root of body mass should be used as an indicator of performance in 15-km classical-technique races among elite male skiers rather than the absolute or simple ratio-standard scaled expression. To optimally explain an elite male skier’s performance capability in sprint prologues, power-function models based on oxygen-uptake variables expressed absolutely are recommended. Moreover, to evaluate elite junior skiers’ performance capabilities in 2-km double-poling roller-skiing time trials, it is recommended that Ẇ divided by the square root of body mass should be used rather than absolute or simple ratio-standard scaled expression of power output.

Physiological demands of competitive elite cross-country skiing

Introduction Researchers have, for decades, contributed to an increased collective understanding of the physiological demands in cross-country skiing; however, almost all of these studies have used either non-elite subjects and/or performances that emulate cross-country skiing. To establish the physiological demands of cross-country skiing, it is important to relate the investigated physiological variables to the competitive performance of elite skiers. The overall aim of this doctoral thesis was, therefore, to investigate the external validity of physiological test variables to determine the physiological demands in competitive elite cross-country skiing. Methods The subjects in Study I – IV were elite male (I – III) and female (III – IV) cross-country skiers. In all studies, the relationship between test variables (general and ski-specific) and competitive performances (i.e. the results from competitions or the overall ski-ranking points of the International Ski Federation (FIS) for sprint (FISsprint) and distance (FISdist) races) were analysed. Test variables reflecting the subject’s general strength, upper-body and whole-body oxygen uptake, oxygen uptake and work intensity at the lactate threshold, mean upper-body power, lean mass, and maximal double-poling speed were investigated. Results The ability to maintain a high work rate without accumulating lactate is an indicator of distance performance, independent of sex (I, IV). Independent of sex, high oxygen uptake in whole-body and upper-body exercise was important for both sprint (II, IV) and distance (I, IV) performance. The maximal double-poling speed and 60-s double-poling mean power output were indicators of sprint (IV) and distance performance (I), respectively. Lean mass was correlated with distance performance for women (III), whereas correlations were found between lean mass and sprint performance among both male and female skiers (III). Moreover, no correlations between distance performance and test variables were derived from tests of knee-extension peak torque, vertical jumps, or double poling on a ski-ergometer with 20-s and 360-s durations (I), whereas gross efficiency while treadmill roller skiing showed no correlation with either distance or sprint performance in cross-country skiing (IV). Conclusion The results in this thesis show that, depending on discipline and sex, maximal and peak oxygen uptake, work intensity at the lactate threshold, lean mass, double-poling mean power output, and double-poling maximal speed are all externally valid physiological test variables for evaluation of performance capability among elite cross-country skiers; however, to optimally indicate performance capability different test-variable expressions should be used; in general, the absolute expression appears to be a better indicator of competitive sprint performance whereas the influence of body mass should be considered when evaluating competitive distance performance capability of elite cross-country skiers.

Professional and Non-Professional Written Travel Texts – Do They Have Common Features? : A Comparative Investigation on Travel Texts on Trysil, Norway

This study aims to investigate possible distinctions between professional and non-professional written travel texts all treating the same destination: the Norwegian ski resort Trysil. The study will investigate to what extent the different texts correlate with the genre of travel texts, as the travel texts are treated as personal narratives, and how they conform to a given structure for narratives and with guidelines for professional writers. Furthermore, the investigation aims to explore to what extent there are similarities and differences between the texts regarding the given structure. The texts will first be analysed and organized separately by macrorules and a news schema that are constructed specifically for these sorts of texts, in order to reveal their discourse structure, and then compared to each other. As the discourse structure of the different texts is revealed, it is seen that there are certain differences between the two different text types. Finally, seen that the text types differ in their structure, this study will show that despite the fact that journalists write stories, and that non-professional written stories are narratives, they do not share the same structure, and are constructed in different ways.