School of Human Movement Studies
Dr Rylee Dionigi
PhD BSocSc (Recreation & Human Movement, Honours Class I)
Associate Head of School
Senior Lecturer
Course Co-ordinator:
Bachelor of Exercise Science/Bachelor of Business Studies
Telephone: +61 02 6338 4890
Facsimile: +61 02 6338 4065
Email: rdionigi@csu.edu.au
Office: Room 1.26, Allen House (N1)
Profile
Professional Membership
- International Coalition for Aging and Physical Activity
- Active Ageing Community Center Steering Committee (International)
- Centre for Inland Health, CSU
- Women in Research, CSU
- Centre for Research and Education in Ageing (University of Newcastle)
- Australian and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies
- Canadian Association on Gerontology
Awards
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) 2010-2012 (partner investigator)
- CSU Centre for Inland Health Research Fellowship 2010
- SHMS Meritorious Publication 2010
- CSU Faculty of Education Research Development Funding 2009
- University of Windsor, Canada, Humanities and Social Sciences research grant 2008-9 (partner investigator)
- CSU Competitive Grant 2008 Honourable Mention, Sociology of Sport Journal Outstanding Article of the Year Award 2007
- CSU Problem Focused Research Group Funding 2007
- CSU Community of Scholars 2006
- CSU Small Grant 2005
- CSU Writing Up Award 2004
- Australian Postgraduate Award 2001 - 2004
Research
In broad terms, my qualitative research is concerned with socio-cultural and socio-psychological dimensions of ageing and physical activity in Western societies. Specifically, I am interested in:
- how older people make sense of themselves and their experiences in the context of sport and exercise;
- how older exercisers’ or athletes’ words and actions simultaneously reproduce and resist dominant discourses of ageing, mainstream sport and health promotion; and
- the positive and negative sociological and psychological dimensions of community exercise programs, such as strength training in rural and regional older adults.
My research draws on and contributes to theoretical frameworks in the areas of ageing, identity, health, leisure, sport and exercise. I locate and examine the stories and experiences of older sport and exercise participants in the context of cultural discourses of sport, gender and ageing. Therefore, my research shows how older people can experience a sense of empowerment and resistance to stereotypes through their involvement in sport, exercise and leisure. It also highlights the complexities and contradictions inherent in older people’s physical activity practices and raises critical questions about what this might mean in the context of current health promotion policies and the ageing of the population.
In particular, my doctoral research explored the socio-cultural and social-psychological phenomenon of older adults competing in sport from a qualitative perspective. I examined the multiple ways in which older Australian Masters athletes negotiated conflicting discourses of sport and ageing, as well as the contradiction between their identity as an athlete and their ageing bodies, when they spoke about and experienced competitive sport. This work was published as a book in 2008.
Teaching
- EHR109: Introduction to Sport and Exercise Behaviour
- EHR213: Applied Psychology for Sport and Exercise
- EHR404: Exercise Psychology in Rehabiliation Settings
Publications
Book
Dionigi, R. A. (2008). Competing for life: Older people, sport and ageing. Saarbrüecken, Germany: Verlag Dr. Müller.
Invited Book Chapters
Dionigi, R. A. (in press). Older women and competitive sports: Resistance and empowerment through leisure. In V. J. Freysinger, K. A. Henderson, S. M. Shaw, & M. D. Bialeschki, (Eds.). Leisure, women, and gender. State College, PA: Venture Publishing.
Dionigi, R. A. & Horton, S. (in press). Stereotypes of ‘old’ and ‘aging’: How are they resisted and reproduced through leisure?In H. Gibson & J. Singleton (Eds.). Lesiure, Aging and Well-being. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Dionigi, R. A. (2011). Older athletes: Resisting and reinforcing discourses of sport and aging. In S. Spickard Prettyman & B. Lampman (Eds.). Learning culture through sports: Perspectives on society and organized sports (pp. 260-278). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Dionigi, R. A. (2010). Masters sport as a strategy for managing the aging process. In J. Baker, S. Horton, & P. Weir, P. (Eds.), The Masters athlete: Understanding the role of sport and exercise in optimizing aging (pp. 137-155).London: Routledge.
Dionigi, R. A. (2010). Managing identity in later life through leisure: Interpreting the experiences of older athletes. In B. Humberstone (Ed.). ‘When I grow old...’ Third Age and leisure research: Principles and practice (pp., 59-80). Eastbourne, U.K.: Leisure Studies Association.
Refereed Journal Articles
Dionigi, R. A. (2010). Older Sportswomen: Personal and cultural meanings of resistance and conformity. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5(4), 395-407.
Dionigi, R. A., Horton, S., & Baker, J. (2010). Seniors in sport: The experiences and practices of older World Masters Games competitors. The International Journal of Sport and Society, 1(1), 55-68.
Dionigi, R. A. & Lyons, K. D. (2010). Examining layers of community in leisure contexts: A case analysis of older adults in an exercise intervention. Journal of Leisure Research. 42(2), 317-340.
Podlog, L. & Dionigi, R. A (2010). Coach strategies for addressing psychosocial challenges during the return to sport from injury. Journal of Sports Sciences. August 2010, 1-12.
Podlog, L. & Dionigi, R. A (2009). Psychological need fulfillment among workers in an exercise intervention: A qualitative investigation. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 80(4), 774-787.
Baker, J., Fraser-Thomas, J., Dionigi, R., &. Horton, S. (2009/10). Sport participation and positive development in older persons. European Review of Aging and Physical Activity,7, 3-12.Published online 9 December 2009.
Dionigi, R. A., & Cannon, J. (2009). Older adults' perceived changes in physical self-worth associated with resistance training. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 80(2), 269-80.
Refereed Conference Abstracts/Presentations
Dionigi, R. A. (2010). Biographical Ageing in the context of Masters sport. Paper presented at the Contemporary Ethnography Across the Disciplines (CEAD) Conference and Hui. University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, 17 - 19 November 2010.
Dionigi, R. A. (2010). Older Sportswomen: Personal and cultural meanings of resistance and conformity. Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K., 2-5 August 2010.
Dionigi, R. A., Horton, S., & Baker, J. (2010). Seniors in sport: The experiences and practices of older World Masters Games competitors. Paper presented at the International Conference on Sport and Society. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 8-10 March 2010.
Dionigi, R. A., Horton, S., Bellamy, J., & Baker, J. (2009). Promoting healthy aging: Role models and exercise behaviour of seniors. Paper presented at the 117th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada, 6-9 August 2009.
Baker, J., Horton, S., & Dionigi, R. (2009). Mechanisms of performance preservation in older Masters athletes. Paper presented at The Future of Fatigue in Exercise: An International Symposium, Blue Mountains, Australia, 20-22 July 2009.
Podlog, L. & Dionigi, R. A. (2009). Coach perceptions of Psychological Skills Training Interventions for assisting injured athletes. Paper presented at the 12th ISSP World Congress of Sport Psychology, Marrakesh, 17-21 June, 2009.
Dr. Dionigi's full publication list is available here.