Risk and Reward: An Exploratory Study of Backcountry Snowboarders
| atmire.migration.oldid | 1759 | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Gibbs-Van Brunschot, Erin | |
| dc.contributor.author | Plottel, Marcus | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-01-18T01:09:00Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-03-15T07:00:18Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-01-17 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2014 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | This study explores and outlines the perceptions of risk of backcountry snowboarders. It addresses backcountry riders’ motivations to voluntarily negotiate hazards in this ostensibly risky recreational activity. Through participant observation and interviews, this work explores how concepts including commercialization and commodification, edgework, and self-control contribute to the identity management of backcountry snowboarders. Importantly, this thesis analyses backcountry snowboarding through the serious leisure paradigm, wherein participation contributes to riders’ perceptions of risk and motivations to continue participation. This work contrasts the risk perceptions of professional backcountry snowboarders with amateur participants, outlining the fundamental differences in their experiences of voluntary risk in this activity. Findings indicate that snowboarding should be studied as a figuration rather than as a subculture. Furthermore, authentic participants construct their primary social identities through this serious leisure pursuit, negotiating barriers to participation and achieving self-actualization through a type of self-control that would otherwise be unavailable in contemporary society. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Plottel, M. (2014). Risk and Reward: An Exploratory Study of Backcountry Snowboarders (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27667 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/27667 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11023/1262 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Graduate Studies | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | en |
| dc.publisher.place | Calgary | en |
| dc.rights | University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | |
| dc.subject | Sociology | |
| dc.subject.classification | Snowboarding | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | risk | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Edgework | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Serious Leisure | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Backcountry | en_US |
| dc.title | Risk and Reward: An Exploratory Study of Backcountry Snowboarders | |
| dc.type | master thesis | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Sociology | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Calgary | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Arts (MA) | |
| ucalgary.item.requestcopy | true |