New Media, Professional Sport and Political Economy

New media technologies are seen to be changing the production, delivery and consumption of professional sports and creating a new dynamic between sports fans, athletes, clubs, governing bodies and the mainstream media. However, as Bellamy and McChesney (2011) have pointed out, advances in digital technologies are taking place within social, political, and economic contexts that are strongly conditioning the course and shape of this communication revolution. This essay assesses the first wave of research on professional sport and new media technologies and concludes that early trends indicate the continuation of existing neoliberal capitalist tendencies within professional sport. Using the concept of political economy, the essay explores issues of ownership, structure, production and delivery of sport. Discussion focuses on the opportunities sports fans now have available to them and how sports organization and media corporations shifted from an initial position of uncertainty, that bordered on hostility, to one which has seen them embrace new media technologies as powerful marketing tools. The essay concludes by stating as fundamental the issues of ownership and control and advocates that greater cognizance be accorded to underlying economic structures and the enduring, all-pervasive power of neoliberal capitalism and its impact in professional sport

Commentary: The first 20 years of Soccer and Society

Soccer and Society was the first, and remains the only, international academic journal that is focused on a single sport. In anticipation of the vicennial volume, I offer here a snapshot of this journal’s content over its first twenty years. This commentary is part-audit and part-personal observation of the main themes, countries, tournaments, leagues and clubs that have featured, and on the gender of those who have written for the journal. The aim here is to offer a timely reflection on those elements within football that have been well served and those which have been under-represented. After briefly outlining the purpose of academic journals, I present the findings of this audit and conclude with some questions on the next twenty years

Open Pathways to Literate Worlds –The TESSA (Teacher Education Sub Saharan Africa) Experience

Although the mediation of a teacher in the context of a formal school is not the only way that a learner might acquire basic literacy skills the fact remains that in most instances this is the manner in which such skills are achieved. This poses a challenge for many parts of sub-Saharan Africa where there are severe shortages in teacher numbers, in the capacity to train adequate numbers of teachers, and in access to locally appropriate materials to support teacher development in a manner that will impact on success rates of children in basic education including literacy acquisition. This chapter explores the way in which the open education resource (OER) Teacher Education in sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) is attempting to provide sustainable and appropriate responses to such a challenge. It describes the broad philosophical approach that underpins TESSA before exploring some of the TESSA materials and pedagogic approaches to supporting teacher education with regard to literacy. The impact of the scheme so far is analysed briefly through the findings of various internal and external evaluations. Particular cases of the use of the TESSA literacy resources in Zambia to support literacy initiatives from an international non-governmental organisation (Read to Succeed – USAID) and a local scheme (The Reading Tree) are briefly discussed to illustrate both the efficacy and flexibility of the resource. Finally, various challenges and opportunities regarding the TESSA approach are deliberated with particular regard as to how these might help shape the response to the challenge of providing literacy education in the future

Visualising Androgen Receptor Activity in Male and Female Mice

Androgens, required for normal development and fertility of males and females, have vital roles in the reproductive tract, brain, cardiovascular system, smooth muscle and bone. Androgens function via the androgen receptor (AR), a ligand-dependent transcription factor. To assay and localise AR activity in vivo we generated the transgenic "ARE-Luc" mouse, expressing a luciferase reporter gene under the control of activated endogenous AR. In vivo imaging of androgen-mediated luciferase activity revealed several strongly expressing tissues in the male mouse as expected and also in certain female tissues. In males the testes, prostate, seminal vesicles and bone marrow all showed high AR activity. In females, strong activity was seen in the ovaries, uterus, omentum tissue and mammary glands. In both sexes AR expression and activity was also found in salivary glands, the eye (and associated glands), adipose tissue, spleen and, notably, regions of the brain. Luciferase protein expression was found in the same cell layers as androgen receptor expression. Additionally, mouse AR expression and activity correlated well with AR expression in human tissues. The anti-androgen bicalutamide reduced luciferase signal in all tissues. Our model demonstrates that androgens can act in these tissues directly via AR, rather than exclusively via androgen aromatisation to estrogens and activation of the estrogen receptor. Additionally, it visually demonstrates the fundamental importance of AR signalling outside the normal role in the reproductive organs. This model represents an important tool for physiological and developmental analysis of androgen signalling, and for characterization of known and novel androgenic or antiandrogenic compounds

Teaching sport and social justice: an investigation into the experiences of university lecturers

In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in both awareness of and engagement with the issue of sport and social justice. While research has been conducted on social justice in relation to university students enrolled on physical education (PE) courses, there has been little exploration of how the concept is understood and taught on sport-orientated courses (such as sport development, sport management/business, and sport coaching). Using a narrative, qualitative case study approach, this study draws on in-depth qualitative data generated from 14 semi-structured interviews with university lecturers, working in different English universities, responsible for teaching students on courses that were centred around sport. The intention is to explore how lecturers viewed the connection between theoretical knowledge and practical actions (praxis) in promoting social justice values. The work of Freire (1970) and intersectional theory are used to explore how those interviewed reflected on their teaching practices and informed their teaching and learning for inclusion, equity, and social justice outcomes. The interview transcripts were thematically analysed to identify the lecturers’ understandings, experiences, and teachings of sport and social justice. The findings show how the lecturers’ positionality was informed by a Freirean pedagogy (including the ideas of praxis and conscientização) which shaped their teaching and demonstrated a relationship between teaching, sport, social justice and activism. Based on the findings discussed here, it is proposed that social justice needs to be featured in all sports-orientated courses and not be treated as an optional extra

From Ferguson to Gaza. Sport, political sensibility, and the Israel/Palestine conflict in the age of Black Lives Matter

In June 2020, Black Lives Matter UK (BLM-UK) posted a series of tweets in which they endorsed the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Calling for ‘targeted sanctions in line with international law against Israel’s colonial, apartheid regime,’ one tweet claimed that ‘mainstream British politics is gagged of the right to critique Zionism’. The tweets were seen by some to be antisemitic and resulted in the English Premier League, the BBC and Sky Sports, which had hitherto been supportive of the Black Lives Matter protests, distance themselves from the Black Lives Matter movement. One month later, during the BLM protests in the USA, Black NFL player DeSean Jackson posted material to his Instagram story that was also viewed as antisemitic. This article unpacks, via these two sports-based incidents, the relationship between anti-racism, antisemitism, and anti-Zionism. I discuss how these tensions are not new, but a clear echo of the tensions that existed in the 1960s and 1970s during the height of the Civil Rights Movement; these tensions continue because the foundational issues remain unchanged. These two incidents raise important questions about how sports organisations operate in a world where sport is seen as ‘apolitical’ and strive for ‘neutrality’ but fail to recognise sport is political and that a position of neutrality cannot be successfully achieved. The article assesses the challenges that arise when sports organisations, and their athletes, choose to engage in a certain kind of sport politics

“Giving PUMA the boot” – A case study of a contemporary consumer sports boycott

Purpose The purpose of this article is to offer a conceptual assessment of a contemporary consumer boycott of a global sports brand. A critical commentary is offered of the “Boycott PUMA” campaign with an examination of the positions and motivations of the different parties involved, specifically PUMA, the “Boycott PUMA” campaign, the Israeli Football Association and UEFA/FIFA. Design/methodology/approach This article is a position and conceptual paper, designed to generate a discussion on what is an emotive consumer boycott campaign. A distinction is made between political boycotts and consumer boycotts, whether it is possible to separate sport from politics, and if PUMA's claimed position of neutrality in this conflict can be achieved. Findings The focus here is on PUMA's corporate social responsibility statement in which they claim that sport and politics do not mix, with their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 undermining this claim. PUMA's commitment to social justice is being used by the “Boycott PUMA” activists to expose the disconnect between PUMA's stated vision and its actions. Practical implications PUMA's brand has been built on creating a particular type of brand image, with a positive image and brand awareness essential for this sports apparel company. If the company finds itself in a media spotlight their brand equity can become damaged. Originality/value With very little research available on the Israel/Palestine from a sport sponsorship and marketing perspective, this article offers an original and much needed assessment of a potentially significant campaign