Preliminary Study of the Psychometric Properties of a Questionnaire to Assess Spanish Canoeists’ Perceptions of the Sport System’s Capacity for Talent Development in Women’s Canoeing

Given the importance of sport at a global level, the competitiveness of sport systems is a determining factor in attracting resources from different sectors. Competitiveness is largely measured by the athletes’ level. Therefore, the production of competitive talent is an aspect that occupies the managers of different sports systems. This study analyzed the factor structure and reliability of a questionnaire for the evaluation of the perceptions of actors of a sport (canoeing) on the ability of the national system to produce talent in one of its modalities recently incorporated in the Olympic Games (OG) of Tokyo 2021. The sample consisted of 167 individuals linked to Spanish canoeing, who responded to the questionnaire “Evaluation of the current position in canoeing-sport with regard to talent” of the International Canoe Federation (ICF). Exploratory, confirmatory and reliability factor analyses were performed. The results showed a one-dimensional factor structure composed of seven items, with good and excellent goodness-of-fit values and high reliability (McDonald’s Omega = 0.82). Thus, the ICF questionnaire can be considered a quick and easy to apply tool to analyze the perceptions about the development of talent in canoeing in order to take actions for the recruitment, promotion and development of talent. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Análisis del impacto económico y percepción de los usuarios de barranquismo en Extremadura. Un enfoque de género

Adventure tourism has experienced significant growth in recent years and offers benefits to both rural communities and environmental conservation. Therefore, this study aims to characterize the profile, estimated expenditure, perception of economic impact, and satisfaction of adventure tourists visiting Valle del Jerte in Extremadura, Spain, for canyoning activities. Possible differences generated by the gender of tourists on these issues were analyzed. The sample included 673 tourists who practiced canyoning in Valle del Jerte. Statistical tests were used to analyze gender differences in variables such as means of transport used, intention to spend, type of expenditure, and need for public investment. Significant differences were found in the gender of the participants, with men having the highest expenditures. These findings are relevant for public and private organizations as well as for the local community, as they allow them to offer more adequate services to tourists who carry out these activities and attract more visitors.El turismo de aventura ha experimentado un gran crecimiento en los últimos años y ofrece beneficios tanto para las comunidades rurales como para la conservación del entorno, por lo que este trabajo tiene como objetivo caracterizar el perfil, el gasto estimado, la percepción del impacto económico y la satisfacción de los turistas de aventura que visitan el Valle del Jerte en Extremadura, España, para realizar actividades de barranquismo. Se analizan las posibles diferencias generadas por el género del turista en estas cuestiones. La muestra incluyó a 673 turistas que practicaron barranquismo en el Valle del Jerte. Se utilizaron pruebas estadísticas para analizar las diferencias de género en variables como el medio de transporte utilizado, la intención de gasto, el tipo de gasto y la necesidad de inversión pública. Se encontraron diferencias significativas referidas al género de los participantes, siendo los hombres los que más gastos tienen. Estos hallazgos son relevantes para organizaciones públicas y privadas, así como para la comunidad local, ya que les permite ofrecer servicios más adecuados a los turistas que realizan estas actividades y atraer a más visitantes

Raiders of the Olympic Values: Perception of the Development of Women’s Canoeing in Spain for Tokyo 2021

Although canoeing is one of the oldest sports in the Olympic program, it was not until the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 that women’s canoeing was first included in the competition. This fact has posed a challenge to the initiation and technification systems of countries in order to obtain competitive results, particularly in Spain, as it is one of the sports that contributed the most medals to the Olympic medal tally. The aim of this study was to evaluate the promotion and development of talent in women’s canoeing in Spain for its first-ever Olympic participation. For this purpose, an analytical survey (n = 167) was carried out, the answers to which were contrasted by gender and modality practiced. The results showed a positive evaluation of the current position in flatwater female canoeing regarding talent that is consistent with the competitive results achieved. Additionally, we found that the gender of the respondents influences their perception of the age of sport initiation and the suitability of the progression in the competition systems for the promotion of women’s canoeing in Spain. Therefore, the results of the questionnaire will facilitate a quick diagnosis of critical aspects by sport managers, allowing them to take corrective actions in time for the development of female canoeists and, at the same time, to promote future studies that delve deeper into these topics

Psychometric Properties of a Questionnaire to Assess Perceptions of Corporal Expression in Future Spanish Teachers

Corporal expression is a content that is forgotten by most educators but has been proved to bring numerous benefits to students of all ages. Teacher perceptions and beliefs play a fundamental role in the teaching-learning process, influencing students to a great extent. This study aims to present the factor structure and reliability of a questionnaire for the assessment of teachers’ perceptions about corporal expression. The sample consisted of 212 Spanish prospective teachers who completed the questionnaire to assess their readiness and appreciation about corporal expression. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as reliability testing, were carried out. The results showed a factor structure with 3 dimensions (pleasure, preference, and evaluation of corporal expression) composed of 23 items with good and excellent goodness-of-fit values and high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.71–0.93). Thus, the questionnaire can be considered a quick and easy-to-apply tool to analyze prospective teacher’s perceptions about their preparation to address their students’ corporal expression, allowing stakeholders to take actions to promote it

Attitudes towards disability in physical education. A n exploratory systematic review

Las personas con discapacidad han estado apartadas de la sociedad durante mucho tiempo por la visión patológica y médica que la sociedad tenía de este colectivo, limitándolas a su discapacidad. Afortunadamente, este tipo de comportamiento ha cambiado: la sociedad ha progresado hacia una práctica más inclusiva, haciendo que este colectivo participe en la sociedad; sin embargo, las actitudes no han progresado al mismo nivel. Estas conductas están influenciadas por diferentes factores que pueden ser predictores de ellas. En el ámbito escolar, la educación física supone un espacio en el que se pretende mejorar el desarrollo motor y conductual de los alumnos y las actitudes hacia la discapacidad, tanto de alumnos como de profesores, son imprescindibles para el desarrollo de los alumnos con discapacidad. Por esta razón, esta revisión tiene como objetivo identificar las variables más estudiadas y extraer los resultados más relevantes. Para conseguirlo, se ha procedido a la búsqueda de artículos en la base de datos Web Of Science, SCOPUS y Dialnet, codificando las variables tras pasar por los criterios de inclusión y exclusión. Se identificaron las principales variables estudiadas hasta la fecha, se analizaron los documentos de cada base de datos y las palabras clave de los artículos seleccionados y se sintetizaron los resultados, encontrando que el género femenino, las personas jóvenes que han tenido contacto previo con personas con discapacidad, los docentes con menos años de experiencia y el ámbito rural tienen mejores actitudes que el grupo comparado. Tanto alumnos como profesores tienen buenas actitudes hacia la discapacidad.People with disabilities have long been excluded from society because of the pathological and medical view that society had of this group, limiting them to their disability. Fortunately, these models have changed and progressed, where they are included in the changing process of society, although attitudes have not necessarily changed in the same way and at the same pace. These attitudes are influenced by different factors that can be predictors of them. In the school environment, physical education is a space in which the aim is to improve the motor and behavioral development of students, and attitudes towards disability, both of students and teachers, are essential for the development of students with disabilities. For this reason, this review aims to identify the most studied variables and extract the most relevant results. To achieve this, we searched for articles in different databases, coding the variables after passing through the inclusion criteria. The main variables studied to date were identified and the results were synthesized, finding that in general, the female gender, young people who have had previous contact with people with disabilities, teachers with fewer years of experience and the rural setting have better attitudes than the comparative group. Both students and teachers have good attitudes towards disability

Gender perspective in nature sport tourism

Dada la relevancia que está tomando el turismo de naturaleza como principal alternativa de ocio, siguiendo los principios de sostenibilidad, minimizando el impacto ambiental, la cultura local, y contribuyendo a la generación de ingresos y empleo; estudios anteriores han tratado de analizar la demanda considerando a los turistas como un grupo homogéneo. El desarrollo del turismo requiere incorporar el enfoque de género para conocer su impacto diferenciado en materia de sostenibilidad lo que le permitirá implementar las acciones y actividades turísticas indicadas, eficaces y efectivas. Por consiguiente, este estudio pretende analizar el perfil sociodemográfico del turista de naturaleza en España segmentándolo desde una perspectiva de género, para ofrecer una oferta ordenada que permita satisfacer la necesidad de acercarse al medio natural y contribuir a la igualdad de género. Para ello, se han analizado los datos obtenidos de la Encuesta de Turismo de Residentes del Instituto Nacional de Estadística de 2019, a partir de una muestra de 3.768 personas, seleccionando aquellos viajeros cuyo motivo de viaje principal fuera turismo de naturaleza. Los hallazgos muestran que hay un mayor porcentaje de mujeres que de hombres, en su mayoría con un perfil más joven, que viven en pareja o con cónyuges, con un mayor porcentaje sin carga familiar, con un mejor nivel académico y mayores ingresos que los hombres, que trabajan por cuenta ajena con empleos fijos. En conclusión, es importante realizar un estudio detallado desde la perspectiva de género para que el turismo de naturaleza aborde realmente los retos de la sociedad y promueva las herramientas necesarias para lograr la igualdad de género a nivel global.Given the relevance that nature tourism is taking as the main leisure alternative, following the principles of sustainability, minimizing environmental impact, local culture, and contributing to the generation of income and employment; previous studies have tried to analyze the demand considering tourists as a homogeneous group. Tourism development requires incorporating the gender approach to understand its differentiated impact on sustainability, which will enable it to implement appropriate, efficient and effective tourism actions and activities. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the sociodemographic profile of the nature tourist in Spain, segmenting it from a gender perspective, in order to provide an ordered offer to satisfy the need to approach the natural environment and contribute to gender equality. To this end, data obtained from the 2019 National Statistics Institute’s Resident Tourism Survey of the National Institute of Statistics have been analyzed, based on a sample of 3,768 people, selecting those travelers whose main reason for travel was nature tourism. The findings show that there is a higher percentage of women than men, mostly with a younger profile, living as a couple or with spouses, with a higher percentage with no family burden, with a better academic level and higher income than men, who are employed with permanent jobs. In conclusion, it is important to carry out a detailed study from a gender perspective so that nature tourism really addresses the challenges of society and promotes the necessary tools to achieve gender equality at a global level

Differences in Self-Concept and Its Dimensions in Students of the Third Cycle of Primary School, Obligatory Secondary Education, and Baccalaureate

Self-concept can be defined as a structured, multidimensional, and evolving construct that constitutes all the beliefs that an individual has about him/herself. Among its dimensions is the physical dimension that encompasses perceptions of physical attractiveness, self-esteem, and physical condition. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to look for differences between the educational stages from the third cycle of primary school and high school, as well as to study the possible correlations between the age groups and the dimensions of the scale. The AF-5 scale was used to measure self-concept, the Kolmogoronov–Smirnov test was applied to determine the normality of the data, Kruskall-Wallis to identify the differences between the dimensions of the scale and the educational stages, and Spearman’s Rho for correlations between dimensions and age groups. Significant differences were found in the academic, emotional, family, and physical dimensions between educational stages and between the scale as a single construct. Significant inverse correlations were also found between age groups and dimensions. Overall self-concept decreases with age and varies according to the educational stage

The profile of the active tourism and adventure sports entrepreneur in Extremadura

El turismo activo y su relación con el turismo y actividades de aventura, se ha convertido en uno de los sectores que mayor auge está experimentado en la actualidad, desarrollándose en Extremadura una importante red empresarial en relación a ello. Por este motivo, surge la necesidad de conocer el perfil del empresario/a de turismo activo en Extremadura, tratando su formación, profesionalización y dedicación a través de este estudio. La investigación se ha desarrollado seleccionando las empresas de Turismo Activo con sede en la Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura que se encuentran inscritas en el registro de empresas de actividades turísticas alternativas de la Consejería de Cultura, Turismo y Deportes de la Junta de Extremadura. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el perfil del empresario de turismo activo en Extremadura es mayoritariamente masculino, soltero, siendo un Técnico Deportivo de Grado Medio, en la provincia de Cáceres, con vocación y practicante de deportes de aventura, autónomo con una experiencia de 10 años o más y que compatibiliza su actividad con otra profesión. De esta forma, se extrae que es necesario seguir aumentando la profesionalización del sector y un mayor respaldo por parte de la administración para lograr un correcto desarrollo y mejora del sector del Turismo Activo y Deportivo en la regiónActive tourism and its relationship with tourism and adventure activities, has become one of the sectors that is currently experiencing the greatest boom, developing in Extremadura an important business network in relation to it. For this reason, the need arises to know the profile of active tourism entrepreneurs in Extremadura, dealing with their training, professionalization and dedication through this study. The research was carried out by selecting the active tourism companies based in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura that are registered in the register of alternative tourism activity companies of the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Regional Government of Extremadura. The results obtained show that the profile of the active tourism entrepreneur in Extremadura is mainly male, single, being an intermediate level sports technician in the province of Cáceres, with specific training through courses, practising adventure sports, self-employed, with 10 years or more experience and who combines his activity with another profession. In this way, it can be concluded that it is necessary to continue increasing the professionalization of the sector and greater support from the administration in order to achieve a correct development and improvement of the Active and Sports Tourism sector in the regio