Contemporary Sports Issues – Page 12

Sartrean Ethics and Sport for Development and Peace Programs

Submitted by Zachary Smith

Zachary Smith is a graduate student in sport studies at the United States Sports Academy and currently resides in Grand Rapids, MI.

ABSTRACT

The United Nations recently declared the first ever International Day of Sport for Development and Peace in recognition of “the power of sport to erase cultural barriers and mobilize people around the world” (9). Unfortunately, while many organizations recognize the ethical neutrality of sport in name, this is often functionally forgotten as sport is co-opted for use by other programs. This paper aims to briefly outline this functional issue by observing the cognitive dissonance within the UN’s statement and its characterization of the Olympics and World Cup events as archetypes of sport for development and peace programs. It will briefly examine this dissonance through the lens of a Sartrean ethic of ambiguity and recast the Olympic and World Cup events as archetypes of cultural hegemony. Finally, it will be suggested that until this dissonance is reconciled, SDP’s will suffer from “inauthenticity,” severely hampering the program’s ability to achieve stated development and peace goals, jeopardizing the “survival of sport as a noble human enterprise” (Morgan, 1976 p. 93) and turning it into a “mere vehicle for the exploitation of man’s own self interests” (Morgan, 1976 p. 91).

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U.S. Sports Academy2017-04-18T08:56:48-05:00July 17th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Blessed John Paul II Speaks to Athletes

Homilies, Messages and Speeches on Sport

Edited by Kevin Lixey, Norbert Müller, and Cornelius Schäfer

Introduction by Bishop Carlo Mazza

Copyright

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U.S. Sports Academy2015-11-08T07:40:06-06:00July 15th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

Perceived Qualifications Necessary for Black Females Seeking Head Collegiate Basketball Coaching Positions

Submitted by Joan Sloan, Ph.D.

Dr. Jo Sloan is an Assistant Professor at Lane College teaching in the areas of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and is also a certified Personal Trainer through the American Council on Exercise.

ABSTRACT

Surveys were sent to 231 randomly selected athletic administrators from the 2008-09 NCAA Directory of Colleges and Universities across the United States in Divisions I, II, and III seeking their perception of qualifications necessary for Black females seeking opportunities to head coach Women’s basketball programs at the Division I, II, or III level. The rate of return for the surveys was 67%. The statistical significance of the information was tested using t-tests, one-way ANOVAs, and the Tukey’s Post Hoc procedures. There were items of significance from the Athletic Directors across the divisions as it related to education (p<.00), qualifications (p<.00), being unaware of openings (p<.02), experience at their level (p<.00) and being single (p<.02). There was a significant result from the Commissioners as it related to experience (p<.02) for the division at its level. With the passage of Title IX some 42 years ago, the adoption of affirmative action guidelines and the increase in the number of women in sports one would be lead to believe that things would change especially for the Black female. However the number of minority women head coaches have not increased (Abney & Richey, 1992). Given as the top five perceived qualifications necessary for the employment of Black females according to athletic administrators were: strong communication skills, ability to recruit/travel, personality, educational level, and Division 1 coaching experience. Each division believed that experience at their level was definitely necessary. Having four out of the five qualifications and the Black female is still denied the opportunity. Between the years of 2000 and 2002, 90.3% of those new positions were filled by men (Acosta & Carpenter, 2002).

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U.S. Sports Academy2014-07-07T09:29:48-05:00July 7th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Physical Activity and the Nintendo Wii: A Psycho-Physiological Approach

Submitted by:

John Batten

The University of Winchester

John.Batten@winchester.ac.uk

Department of Sports Studies, The University of Winchester, Winchester, UK. SO22 4NR.

Tel. 01962 827289

Jo Batey

The University of Winchester

Jo.Batey@winchester.ac.uk

Department of Sports Studies, The University of Winchester, Winchester, UK. SO22 4NR.

Tel. 01962 827069

Laura Shafe

University of Chichester

L.Shafe@chi.ac.uk

Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Chichester, Chichester, UK. PO19 6PE.

Tel. 01243 816371

James Wright

Southampton Solent University

Email. James.Wright@solent.ac.uk

Centre of Health, Exercise and Sport Science, Southampton Solent University, Southampton, UK. SO14 0YN.

Tel. 02380 319955

Helen Ryan

The University of Winchester

Helen.Ryan@winchester.ac.uk

Department of Sports Studies, The University of Winchester, Winchester, UK. SO22 4NR.

Tel. 01962 827112

Abstract

Purpose. This study examined whether the affective responses pre-, mid- and post- a single bout of Interactive Video Game Technology (IVGT), as well as the amount of energy expended, were comparable to those experienced during traditional physical activity.
Methods. The randomised cross-over design saw each participant (n = 16 undergraduate students) engage in 30-minutes of Nintendo Wii ™ Tennis and 30-minutes of Hardcourt Tennis. Measurements of affect were taken pre-, mid- and post-activity, and estimates of energy expenditure calculated. Two post-experiment focus group interviews were also used to explore participants’ affective responses.
Results. Repeated measures analyses of variance revealed both valence and activation to be higher during Hardcourt Tennis at all time intervals. A paired t-test also indicated that energy expenditure was greater during Hardcourt Tennis. However, the IVGT condition was still associated with low-activation pleasant affect. The interview data supported and partially explained the quantitative findings from a self-determination perspective.
Conclusions. These findings demonstrate that traditional physical activity elicits greater psycho-physiological benefits than IVGT physical activity.
Applications. The efficacy of IVGT-based physical activity may reside in its ability to operate as a motivational entry point for inactive populations, making the initial process of physical activity an enjoyable means to displace sedentary behaviour.

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U.S. Sports Academy2014-06-30T11:40:36-05:00June 30th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Temporal Description of the Stolen Base in High School Softball

Submitted by Robin Lund, Travis Ficklin and Cassie Reilly-Boccia

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to describe the temporal factors that determine the outcome of a stolen base attempt in high school softball. Two hundred and sixty-eight high school softball players were videotaped using a high-speed video camera to describe the typical steal time of a high school softball player. From the pool of subjects, 29 catchers, 81 pitchers and 2 middle infielders were studied to determine the average catcher pop time (time elapsed for the catcher to deliver the ball to the middle infielder at second base) under three different batter behavior conditions, pitch time and tag time (specific to location of the throw from the catcher). Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a fake bunt from the batter or a swing through by the batter significantly increased the catcher pop times when compared to the batter taking the pitch (p<0.05). A one-way ANOVA indicated that the catcher throws made to the low to inside region of second base resulted in significantly faster tag times (p<0.05). A chi-square analysis showed no effect of batter behavior on catcher accuracy. Coaches may use this evidence-based framework when deciding to attempt to steal second base to maximize run expectancy.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-10-21T08:24:27-05:00June 4th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, General|Comments Off