Brand Associations of Minor Hockey Tournaments: Understanding the Rep Hockey Parents' Perspective

Tournaments and other hockey-related activities have been calculated to be a significant driver of tourist dollars for many regions across Canada. The competition to attract teams to participate in tournaments, which benefit the tournament organizers and the communities in which they reside, is significant. Consequently, the purpose of the study was to assess the brand associations that representative (rep) minor hockey parents from Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe Region perceive as relevant when considering ideal tournaments for their child to participate in. Brand associations have been classified as the attributes, benefits, or attitudes one uses to develop a perception of a product or service. To investigate the current study, 30 interviews were conducted using a laddering interview technique. Findings indicate that there are seven attributes and nine benefits that impact a tournament’s brand association including: competition, tournament operations, accommodations, bonding, fun, parity, and time management. The interrelationship between the identified attributes and benefits is discussed while recommendations and directions for future research are presented

Establishing Legitimacy in the Face of a Dominant Amateur Sport Organization: A Case Study of True Hockey

The context of sport is ripe with instances of change, despite the depiction of long-term stability (Washington & Patterson, 2011). Within amateur sport—in particular, youth sport—criticism of the increased standardization and underlying logics that govern it has never been greater. In most contexts, entrepreneurs can enter the marketplace with their own unique operations to serve dissatisfied consumers; however, doing so within an institutionalized sport system has been difficult (Legg et al., 2016). Indeed, powerful national and regional governing bodies rely on coercive pressures to ensure their member community sport organizations (CSOs) remain aligned with their organizational vision and values (Slack & Parent, 2006). To date, little remains known about institutional entrepreneurship as a process of disruption in the amateur sport system, including how and why it develops and persists against significant resistance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop understandings of how new sport organizations can successfully challenge dominant sport organizations, and how they can achieve their own legitimacy within a highly institutionalized system in order to diversify the range of opportunities available to youth participants. Theoretically, this study draws on an institutional work perspective, which explores the mechanisms that actors employ to create, maintain, and/or disrupt institutions (Lawrence et al., 2009). Guided by an instrumental case study methodology (Stake, 1995), this study explored the case of a minor hockey organization (i.e., True Hockey) in Ontario, Canada that has been successful at overcoming barriers to operate independently from the athlete development system established by the sport’s national governing association (i.e., Hockey Canada). True Hockey is one of a few organizations to have provided youth an alternative to Hockey Canada’s highly restrictive development programming (Garbutt, 2018; Radley, 2015). Following its development, True Hockey was identified as a problem by Hockey Canada that it needed to address. Historically, Hockey Canada has invoked a policy that labels organizations like True Hockey as “outlaw leagues” and prohibits participation by anyone associated with these rival organizations (Campbell, 2019). Additionally, Hockey Canada has also shown a tendency to adjust its organizational boundaries to absorb members of “outlaw leagues” to eliminate any threats to its dominance (Kalchman, 2010). Data were collected via interviews with 20 stakeholders of True Hockey (i.e., executives, parents, coaches, managers). Additionally, data were also extracted from organizational documents, promotional materials, and media reports. Documents and interviews were analyzed using abductive reasoning (Dubois & Gadde, 2002). Through an abductive approach, the researcher attempts to explain as much of the phenomenon (i.e., True Hockey’s ability to develop as an organization and achieve legitimacy despite challenges from a dominant organization within the institutionalized sport system) as possible with existing theory while looking for anomalies in the data that may require new explanations (Timmermans & Tavory, 2012). It is through the consistent confronting of theory with the empirical world that a novel advancement of institutional work can be established (Dubois & Gadde, 2002). A relativist approach to trustworthiness was established in accordance with guidance provided by Smith and Caddick (2012). Findings revealed that True Hockey’s key actors have had to navigate four distinct phases of evolution in order to garner support and gain legitimacy within a field that lacks alternatives to program delivery. Specifically, the four phases of evolution that have contributed to the establishment of True Hockey include the Building, Growth, Competition, and Stabilization phases. Each phase is characterized by distinct actions and concepts reflective of the institutional work necessary to launch and maintain a new sport organization. Consistent with existing institutionalization literature, the most effective work performed by True Hockey’s key actors involved the manipulation and control of the organization’s boundaries, practices, and cognitions in order to put pressure on the dominant organizations in the field. Impressively, the embedded nature of Hockey Canada’s logics throughout the hockey community provided the organization an institutional presence that could not be overcome. Thus, to secure the long-term viability of the organization, True Hockey executives and staff made the decision to abandon its success as an independent minor hockey organization to become a sanctioned member of Hockey Canada after 15 years. True Hockey executives and staff deemed the institutionalization process when the organization accepted Hockey Canada membership. Interestingly, the perceptions of both parents and coaches from within True Hockey suggest that the organization’s work with regards to its pursuit of legitimacy remains incomplete. Parents and coaches have and will continue to gauge True Hockey’s legitimacy through the evaluation of its business processes, athlete development programming, and participant experiences. The evolution of True Hockey offers key insights into how a new CSO transitions from start-up organization to legitimate venture within the highly restrictive and regulated sport system. Considering the pressure that many governing bodies in a variety of sports are under to introduce updates to their development systems for youth, the lessons from this case are timely as they show that entrepreneurs are valuable to a sport system because they challenge and debate past ways of doing things in order to create better sport experiences

Attracting Spectators to Youth Sport Events: The Case of the International Children’s Games

The purpose of this study was to determine whether perceptions of value of a youth sport event were predicted by a spectator’s sport identity, their connection to an athlete, and how their assessment of the event’s uniqueness affects these relationships. Data were collected from spectators (N=714) at the 2013 International Children’s Games using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results provided support for an indirect only mediated model, such that spectators who highly identified with being a sports fan perceived the event as being valuable when they also viewed the event as unique. Having a personal connection to an athlete did not predict perceptions of uniqueness or value. Thus, purposefully selecting and designing unique events and promoting the unique attributes of the event could increase an event’s appeal to spectators who highly identify with the sport

Integrated Pharmacodynamic Analysis Identifies Two Metabolic Adaption Pathways to Metformin in Breast Cancer.

Late-phase clinical trials investigating metformin as a cancer therapy are underway. However, there remains controversy as to the mode of action of metformin in tumors at clinical doses. We conducted a clinical study integrating measurement of markers of systemic metabolism, dynamic FDG-PET-CT, transcriptomics, and metabolomics at paired time points to profile the bioactivity of metformin in primary breast cancer. We show metformin reduces the levels of mitochondrial metabolites, activates multiple mitochondrial metabolic pathways, and increases 18-FDG flux in tumors. Two tumor groups are identified with distinct metabolic responses, an OXPHOS transcriptional response (OTR) group for which there is an increase in OXPHOS gene transcription and an FDG response group with increased 18-FDG uptake. Increase in proliferation, as measured by a validated proliferation signature, suggested that patients in the OTR group were resistant to metformin treatment. We conclude that mitochondrial response to metformin in primary breast cancer may define anti-tumor effect

Children reading to dogs: a systematic review of the literature

Background Despite growing interest in the value of human-animal interactions (HAI) to human mental and physical health the quality of the evidence on which postulated benefits from animals to human psychological health are based is often unclear. To date there exist no systematic reviews on the effects of HAI in educational settings specifically focussing on the perceived benefits to children of reading to dogs. With rising popularity and implementation of these programmes in schools, it is essential that the evidence base exploring the pedagogic value of these initiatives is well documented. Methods Using PRISMA guidelines we systematically investigated the literature reporting the pedagogic effects of reading to dogs. Because research in this area is in the early stages of scientific enquiry we adopted broad inclusion criteria, accepting all reports which discussed measurable effects related to the topic that were written in English. Multiple online databases were searched during January-March 2015; grey literature searches were also conducted. The search results which met the inclusion criteria were evaluated, and discussed, in relation to the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine levels of evidence; 27 papers were classified as Level 5, 13 as Level 4, 7 as Level 2c and 1 as Level 2b. Conclusion The evidence suggests that reading to a dog may have a beneficial effect on a number of behavioural processes which contribute to a positive effect on the environment in which reading is practiced, leading to improved reading performance. However, the evidence base on which these inferences are made is of low quality. There is a clear need for the use of higher quality research methodologies and the inclusion of appropriate controls in order to draw causal inferences on whether or how reading to dogs may benefit children’s reading practices. The mechanisms for any effect remain a matter of conjectur

A Cross-Sectional, Survey-Based Study of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Canadian Indoor Climbing Community

Purpose: This study sought to offer insights into the demographics of the Canadian climbing community, as well as the perceived motivators and constraints to participating in climbing through an equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) lens. Approach: This cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted in partnership with Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC), the national governing body of climbing in Canada. Findings: The average respondent in this study was white, heterosexual, young, highly educated and living in a household that earns over $100,000 annually. Social motivations were noted as a significant motivator for climbers—especially for women. Women, gender minorities, and racialized people all faced heightened constraints to participate in climbing.  Implications: The findings of this study provide valuable insights for program and policy improvement across the Canadian climbing community, which can lead to sustaining the rapid rise in popularity taking place in the sport Research Contributions: With the exception of one recent study, much of the research investigating EDI in climbing has focused almost exclusively on gender and has been conducted outside of Canada. Future work within the sport of climbing can focus on improving the accessibility to climbing, as well as the overall sense of inclusion and diversity within the sport

Legitimate pathway to professional ranks or career termination? An empirical investigation of USPORTS men’s hockey from 2000-2018

The purpose of the current investigation was to empirically evaluate the career progression of USPORTS men’s varsity hockey players to understand if USPORTS men’s hockey is a legitimate pathway to a professional playing career. To address this, USPORTS men’s varsity hockey rosters, from 2000-2018, were captured and analyzed for athletes who progressed to play professional hockey. Findings indicate that 1,391 USPORTS athletes progressed to professional ranks between 2000-2018, a number representing approximately 70 players, on average, per season. Drawing on expectancy value and legitimacy theories, the findings revealed that USPORTS men’s varsity hockey is a legitimate athlete pathway for players to reach professional levels of competition

Review of research in education

Tiré de: No 23, 1998 de la revue Review of research in educationBibliogr.: p. 107-11