Programme full

Friday 17 April 2015 15:15 - 16:45
PAPER SESSION 8
Theoretically our work relates to a Bourdieusian tradition in the study of parenthood. This research focuses on the
social meanings of parental investments in their children, as well as the social consequences of patterns of
investment.
The parents in our sample support and encourage their teen's participation in sports. At the same time we see
variation both in the type and scope of engagement from parents. Preliminary analyses indicates that the variation in
our material resonates with the typology of parental positions relating to the performance narrative in youth sports that
McMahon and Penny (2014) have applied. Parents portray themselves as living, playing and rejecting the part of the
athlete parent. For the purpose of this paper we will explore how these positions relate to both local sports cultures
and family cultures.
Negotiating the Work of Wacquant in the Production of an Ethnographic Account of White Collar Boxing
Wright, E.
(University of Nottingham)
This paper will discuss ongoing doctoral research concerned with producing an ethnographic account of 'white collar'
boxing: a form of the sport in which people (uncharacteristically for the sport in general, both men and women)
undertake 8-12 weeks of boxing training, having never done so before, in order to partake in a publicly-staged boxing
match. Particularly, this research will be discussed in relation to Wacquant's seminal ethnography of boxing. Through
no fault of his own, due to the magnitude of his research, Wacquant has to a degree set the agenda for this
ethnography. This paper aims to reflect upon the pros and cons of this situation in terms of methodology and
substantive content. In particular, two statements made by Wacquant will be discussed. First, Wacquant (1996: 28)
states that 'boxing is not misogynistic'. This statement is problematic in light of this current research, in that women
are in various ways objectified and treated differently to their male counterparts in white collar boxing. Second,
Wacquant (1995: 491) states that those involved in boxing are 'precluded from spectatorial posture' rather being
bound to the sport by a relation of 'ontological complicity'. This statement is useful and interesting, the author of this
paper being a boxer and the research being heavily participatory, and will be ruminated upon in terms of the
production of knowledge.
Anomic Hyper-Connectivity as a Product of Compulsive Social Networking
Wain, M.
(Keele University)
The intertwining of digital media and social life changes the way in which individuals negotiate their inter-personal
relationships (Baym 2010). Access to social media across a variety of platforms (i.e. smart phone, i-pads, computers)
has been made possible through the evolution of digital technologies, and from this dependency on social media for
peer-to-peer communication has become apparent. With digital technologies allowing for a variation in communicative
activities, peer networks on the surface appear to be more interconnected, long-standing and stable. Drawing on my
own research on undergraduate university students socialisation processes and their use of social media to facilitate
this, I argue that social media communications have dramatically altered the meaning and experience of friendship. As
a result of this, whilst peer networks which are dependent on social media for communication are increasingly interconnected,
I argue that such friendships are increasingly becoming un-meaningful, unstable which eventually results
in individuals experiencing anomie. With the promise of perpetual connectivity, I further examine whether young adults
sacrifice meaning in their peer relationship by depending on social media.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Environment and Society
W622, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
‘It’s about Preserving Our Way of Life’: Sustainability Concepts, Lay Knowledge and Expert-local
Participation
Moran, L., Rau, H.
(Teagasc The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority and National University of Ireland, Galway)
This paper examines the relationship between knowledge cultures, concepts of sustainability and citizen participation.
Drawing on ethnographic data collected in Connemara, a rural community in Ireland, it is shown how competing
perceptions of lay knowledge, expertise and science intersect with insider/outsider distinctions to inform local concepts
BSA Annual Conference 2015 290
Glasgow Caledonian University