Level Playing Fields: The Democratization of Amateur Sport in Pennsylvania

This dissertation examines how amateur sports once dominated and controlled by Pennsylvania's Leisure Class became accessible to non-elites over the course of the twentieth century. Rising standards of living and increased leisure time were pre-requisites for broader public participation. But this study argues that the democratization of amateur sport depended on the active intervention of the state and, to a lesser extent, the market, both of which broadened access to privately controlled playing fields. In hunting, state game management restored wild game populations, thus ensuring a bountiful supply of game for all Pennsylvanians, irrespective of social class. Likewise, the first municipally owned golf courses, often situated in public parks, offered the only alternative to the private courses which up to that point dominated the game and regulated participation. Finally, the market-driven demand for new sources of "football material" on college campuses opened opportunities for working-class student athletes, most of whom were recruited and subsidized by wealthy alumni.Many of these changes were set in motion by elites acting in their own self interest. Over time, though, the democratization of amateur sports became a goal in itself. During the 1910s, the state game commission shifted its emphasis from game propagation and game law enforcement to the acquisition of public game lands, a policy focus which benefited hunters without access to private property. In golf, a second wave of municipal courses, many billed as "people's country clubs" and fortified by federal money, were designed to be accessible to the greatest number of people, and without the membership restrictions which obtained at many early public courses. While the social composition of amateur sports continued to expand after World War II, the market played an increasingly more visible role in that process, as evinced by growth of semi-public golf courses and the increased prevalence of leased or privately owned hunting grounds. Elites frequently responded to the "crowding of the playing fields" by retreating or refortifying boundaries within these same sports

Understanding the Shared Experiences of Runners and Spectators in Long-Distance Running Events

attract not just runners but an exponentially increasing number of spectators. Due to the long duration and broad geographic spread of such events, interactions between them are limited to brief moments when runners (R) pass by their supporting spectators (S). Current technology is limited in its potential for supporting interactions and mainly measures and displays basic running information to spectators who passively consume it. In this paper, we conducted qualitative studies for an in-depth understanding of the R&S’ shared experience during LDRE and how technology can enrich this experience. We propose a two-layer DyPECS framework, highlighting the rich dynamics of the R&S multi-faceted running journey and of their micro-encounters. DyPECS is enriched by the findings from our in depth qualitative studies. We finally present design implications for the multifacet co-experience of R&S during LDRE

The Origins, Governance and Social Structure of Club Cross Country Running in Scotland, 1885 – 1914

The study examines a particular aspect of the development of athletics in Scotland. The first organised clubs for the sole purpose of purely athletic competition in the contemporary sense, were cross country clubs known as harrier clubs. Through investigation of the origins, governance and the social structure of harriers clubs, the study connects these three fundamental themes in understanding sport within broader social historical study. In this study the origins of cross country running are set within a theoretical framework which recognises the nature of the urban and rural environments which defined the sport. The sport’s early growth and governance in Scotland is set alongside the broader ideological position of the ‘amateur’. Additionally, club organisation promoted the clubs as cultural institutions. Clubs served as a focus for male sociability and elevated the status of membership of the harriers. Membership meant more than just sporting engagement; it included social and civic standing. The purpose and function therefore of early clubs extended beyond participation. This study demonstrates how membership of cross country clubs conferred upon its members a status, establishing harriers clubs as important social institutions. This research shows how social networks within sport replicated society more broadly. The significance of the contribution of cross country clubs to the development of Scottish sporting culture is therefore implicit. Harriers clubs were the epitome of the complexity of sporting engagement representing both respectability and liminal behaviour

Rachel Carson and nature as resource, object and spirit : identification, consubstantiality, and multiple stakeholders in the environmental rhetoric of the conservation in action series.

This project examines the Conservation in Action series, twelve texts produced by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) from 1947-1957 and developed and written by Rachel Carson and other agency employees. She developed the series to publicize the refuge service and conservation work, and I specifically focus on the first two booklets in the series, Chincoteague: A National Wildlife Refuge and Parker River: A National Wildlife Refuge, which argue the need for waterfowl sanctuaries. I analyze the texts as early examples of government environmental rhetoric produced by Carson, author of Silent Spring. For the analysis I use four lenses: Killingsworth and Palmer\u27s environmental perspectives, Herndl and Brown\u27s environmental discourse categories, Aristotelian proofs, and Carson\u27s subject positions as government employee, scientist, and naturalist. My analysis suggests that Carson\u27s construction of arguments and evidence in these texts illustrates the potential for environmental discourse to 1) contain appeals for both specific and wide audiences, 2) incorporate multiple ways of talking about the environment, and 3) address the needs of many stakeholders. Adding to Carson scholarship and critiques of modem environmental discourse, I specifically argue that using a combination of ethos, logos, and pathos is rhetorically powerful and that current environmental discourse must incorporate emotional appeals not depending only on jeremiad, apocalyptic, or overly emotional language. Chapter 1 reviews current environmental rhetoric scholarship, analyses of governmental environmental texts, and critiques of environmental discourse; it also explores environmental communication models, Burke\u27s theory of identification and consubstantiality, and current Carson scholarship. Chapter 2 explains background information about the USFWS, Carson, her involvement with the agency, and the creation and content of the CIA series. Chapter 3 analyzes how Carson constructs nature through the discourse of resource and of science and incorporates ethical and logical proofs, specifically arguing Carson\u27s use of the language of commerce and the language of conservation science. Chapter 4 analyzes Carson\u27s construction of nature as spirit and her use of multiple pathetic appeals in her call for conservation support. Chapter 5 briefly examines two recent examples of environmental discourse in light of the project\u27s discussion

Rethinking business models for innovation

One of the major challenges confronted by those in charge of technological innovation involves anticipating the value creation model sufficiently early on,in a highly uncertain context both as far as the technology itself is concerned and the potential market. Today, in many industrial sectors, the innovation boundaries have moved towards projects that are more and more exploratory and fuzzy. The simple optimisation of linear processes of the "stage-gate" type is no longer sufficient to build sustainable competitive advantages. The notion of Business Models, when applied to innovation, enables us to describe how a company creates value through innovation, generally within a business ecosystem, and how the value will be distributed between the actors involved. The authors of this book believe that the notions of Business Modelling and value creation are key to all the dimensions of successful innovation, whether technology, marketing, organisational or economically based. Rethinking Business Models for Innovation: this title describes the relationship between thinking, modelling, and also field-testing. The book is based on a series of nine recent cases of innovation involving company managers, often assisted by researchers (the co-authors of each chapter), and how they built and formalised their Business Models and then tested their strategies. After having discovered the variety of the cases, the reader will understand that every innovation situation generates specific questions about Business Models. However, we feel that we can identify three key issues that arise, more or less, in each of these projects. The chapters in this book build on these issues: the identification of sources of value and revenue models (the notion of value creation), the position of the company in the value-network or ecosystem (the sharing of value) and finally the evolution of Business MoDdels over time (the sustainability and the competitiveness of the company). The last chapter goes over all the contributions, exploring the notion of value in the Business Model approach.business model ; innovation ; value ; entrepreneurial project

Acta kinesiologiae Universitatis Tartuensis. 18

http://www.ester.ee/record=b1227224*es

Digital media to inspire and sustain sport participation in urban areas

This research looks to understand the role digital media plays to inspire and sustain sports participation and how digital media could be used as a socially inclusive tool. The study explores if strategically packaged digital media could be used in a socially inclusive way to increase or sustain sports participation. This would address one of the problems facing sports organisations, as sports participation is decreasing or at least stagnating both in South Africa and on a global scale. This study followed an exploratory, inductive approach, using Self-determination Theory (SDT) developed by Deci and Ryan (1985) as a theoretical framework. The paper looks to understand what research has been done to understand how people are motivated to participate in sport and the proven theories that have been tested (Pelletier et al., 1995) to understand the role of intrinsic motivation has as a powerful indicator of intention. This study made use of a qualitative, cross-sectional design and data was collected through semi-structured interviews with active participants based in Langa, Cape Town. The findings of this study showed the participants regularly accessed digital media in a manner which strongly aligned with the literature and has been shown to increase intrinsic motivation, which leads to action. The findings further show that sports media can be used as a tool for social inclusion, despite the participants socio-economic status they regularly accessed online sports content for motivational and learning purposes. Based on the findings of this research, sports organisations need to consider digital media as a viable and socially inclusive way to sustain or even increase sports participation

Eye quietness and quiet eye in expert and novice golf performance: an electrooculographic analysis

Quiet eye (QE) is the final ocular fixation on the target of an action (e.g., the ball in golf putting). Camerabased eye-tracking studies have consistently found longer QE durations in experts than novices; however, mechanisms underlying QE are not known. To offer a new perspective we examined the feasibility of measuring the QE using electrooculography (EOG) and developed an index to assess ocular activity across time: eye quietness (EQ). Ten expert and ten novice golfers putted 60 balls to a 2.4 m distant hole. Horizontal EOG (2ms resolution) was recorded from two electrodes placed on the outer sides of the eyes. QE duration was measured using a EOG voltage threshold and comprised the sum of the pre-movement and post-movement initiation components. EQ was computed as the standard deviation of the EOG in 0.5 s bins from –4 to +2 s, relative to backswing initiation: lower values indicate less movement of the eyes, hence greater quietness. Finally, we measured club-ball address and swing durations. T-tests showed that total QE did not differ between groups (p = .31); however, experts had marginally shorter pre-movement QE (p = .08) and longer post-movement QE (p < .001) than novices. A group × time ANOVA revealed that experts had less EQ before backswing initiation and greater EQ after backswing initiation (p = .002). QE durations were inversely correlated with EQ from –1.5 to 1 s (rs = –.48 - –.90, ps = .03 - .001). Experts had longer swing durations than novices (p = .01) and, importantly, swing durations correlated positively with post-movement QE (r = .52, p = .02) and negatively with EQ from 0.5 to 1s (r = –.63, p = .003). This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring ocular activity using EOG and validates EQ as an index of ocular activity. Its findings challenge the dominant perspective on QE and provide new evidence that expert-novice differences in ocular activity may reflect differences in the kinematics of how experts and novices execute skills

A case study of the sport career transition organizational intervention practices in Singapore

학위논문(석사)--서울대학교 대학원 :사범대학 체육교육과,글로벌스포츠매니지먼트전공,2019. 8. 김유겸.이 연구의 목적은 싱가폴 스포츠 시스템을 위한 모범 사례 연구로서 아시아의 포 타이거즈에서 선수들의 스포츠 경력에 영향을 미치는 문화적, 거시적 요인을 정성적으로 검토하는 것이다. 연구의 목적을 달성하기 위해 현재 부족한 아시아 선진국인 홍콩, 대만, 한국, 싱가폴을 선정하여 운동선수의 인수 연구와 조직 개입의 맥락 요인을 보았다. 선수 경력과 교육을 지원하는 중재 전략을 제공하는 스포츠 관련 단체의 엘리트 선수에게 조언하는 7명의 실무자를 인터뷰했다. 결과는 조직 발명 프로그램과 같은 무형의 지원은 선수들이 직면하는 다양한 변화에 더 잘 대처할 수 있도록 장기적인 복지에 필수적이라는 것을 보여준다. 한정된 인재 풀을 가진 싱가포르와 같은 소규모 국가의 경우 엘리트 스포츠의 추구를 위한 기회비용은 높은 가격으로 책정되기 때문에, 이중경력 경로는 정부와 국가적인 스포츠 단체들에 의해 지지한다.이는 아시아 타이거즈의 스포츠 경력 조직 개입 프로그램 영역에 대한 연구는 또한 국가적인 스포츠 시스템의 영향, 이중 직업 기회, 그리고 선수 전환에 대한 문화적 측면에 대한 더 깊은 통찰력을 제공할 수 있다.The study on athlete development and the various transitions they face in their sport career is an evolving field. Research has shown that successful coping with transitions both within and outside of sport has helped to extend the life span of an athletes sport career. Consequentially, failure to cope with a transition is often followed by negative consequences (eg. Premature dropout from sport, depression, alcohol/ drug abuse, etc). Therefore, helping athletes to prepare for and cope with various transitions in their lives should be the focus of sports policy makers, coaches, athletes parents, high performance managers and sports psychologists. In this paper, we examine the contextual factors in athlete transition research and organizational intervention practices in developed Asian nations (Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore), which is currently lacking. The purpose of this study is to qualitatively examine the cultural and macro-sociological factors affecting athletes sport career transitions in Asias Four Tigers, as a best-practices study for the evolving sport system in Singapore to continue attracting talents and promote an athletic-centric support system. Research in the realm of sport career organizational intervention programs in Asias Tigers may also yield deeper insights into the influence of national sports systems, dual career opportunities and cultural aspects on athlete transitions. Seven practitioners in Singapore mentoring elite athletes in sport-related organizations that provide intervention practices which support athletes career and education are interviewed. Results reveal that intangible support like organizational invention programs is essential to the long-term wellbeing of the athletes, so that they can cope better with the various transitions that they face. For small nations like Singapore with a limited talent pool, the opportunity costs for the pursuit of elite sports come at a high price, hence the dual-career pathway is advocated by the government and national sports bodies.Table of Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………….iii List of Tables ix List of Figures x Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Research Context 2 1.2 Research Significance 4 1.3 Research Aims 6 Chapter 2. Literature Review 10 2.1 Successful Elite Sport Policies 10 2.1.1 Key Findings from SPLISS: Athletic Career and post-career support 16 2.2 Development of Athlete Career Transition Research 21 2.3 Sport Career Transition Organizational Intervention 48 2.3.1 IOC and IPC Athlete Career Program 54 2.3.2 Sport Career Organizational Intervention Programs in Asia 57 2.4 Comparison of the macro and meso-indicators in Asias Four Tigers 63 2.4.1 Policies of mandatory military conscription in Asias Four Tigers 69 2.5 Implications of cultural and macro-sociological factors 72 Chapter 3. Methodology 92 3.1 Participants 93 3.2 Instrument 94 3.3 Procedure 95 3.4 Data Analysis 96 3.5 Athlete Career & Education programs in Singapore 98 3.5.1 Public Administration and institutions of sports 98 3.5.2 Elite Sport Development in Singapore 103 3.5.3 Current support programs for Athletes Career & Education in Singapore 108 3.5.4 Issues faced by Singapore dual-career athletes 111 Chapter 4. Results 115 4.1 Social-cultural context/ cultural legacy 116 4.2 Organizational sport career transition intervention programs 119 4.3 Holistic athlete development 124 4.4 Sporting Ecosystem 130 4.5 Other issues 136 Chapter 5. Conclusion 139 5.1 Discussion & Limitations 139 5.2 Recommendations for future research 142 5.3 Conclusion 145 Biblography 150 Appendix A 169 Appendix B 174 국 문 초 록 177Maste