Financial barriers for sports consumption : the dynamics of the income-expenditure relation

Purpose First, the income elasticities are calculated for different levels of income, for both the decision to spend money on sports and the amount of money that is spent. Second, the study researches whether different operationalisations of income (i.e. family versus personal) result in different elasticity values. Third, the effect of sports-specific and non-sports leisure variables on sports participation is investigated. Design/methodology/approach A representative dataset of 3,775 adults is used containing a wide variety of leisure characteristics, gathered by means of a face-to-face survey. By means of a Tobit regression model both the determining factors of sports expenditure and the income elasticities are analysed. Findings For lower income individuals, a rise in income has a relatively bigger influence on the probability to spend money on sports participation, than is the case for higher income individuals. A positive relationship is found with sex (male), education, number of minutes and disciplines of sports and membership of a socio-cultural organisation, while age, watching TV and attending cultural events have a negative effect. Social implications The study provides evidence that income-based segmentation of sports participants could turn out to be an efficient policy tool. By lowering the monetary-burden for lower incomes, it can be expected that participation rates can be raised efficiently. Originality/value For the first time the relationship between income and expenditure is explored for different levels of income and for two operationalisations of income. Moreover, the inclusion of non-sports leisure variables allows investigating relationships between sports consumption and other leisure activities

A Unified Model of Non-Profit Sport Organizations Performance: Perspectives from the Literature

Little consensus has emerged about how organizational performance should be defined and measured. Most studies have used traditional approaches to give their own perspective about organizational performance and effectiveness, but none have recently tried to encompass these different views into one unified model. In the present paper, Chelladurai's systems view of organizations is used to integrate the dimensions of organizational performance highlighted by previous studies on non-profit sport organizations. These organizational performance dimensions are highlighted and categorized into macro-dimensions (e.g., financial resources acquisition, size, internal atmosphere, organizational operating, financial independence, achieving elite sport success and mass sport participation). Relationships between these macro-dimensions are analyzed. A multidimensional framework is developed which gives an overview of which dimensions constitute organizational performance in non-profit sport organizations and of how to measure them. Further research directions and management implications are discussed

Experimental Infection of Rabbits with Newly Excysted Metacercariae of Japanese Fasciola Sp. and American Fasciola Hepatica by Portal Vein Route

日本産およびアメリカ産脱嚢幼肝蛭を家兎の門脈内に移入・感染させ,各種変化について検索した。幼肝蛭は感染後3時間で肝実質内に認められ,その後感染経過に伴い肝病変は漸次増大した。アメリカ産肝蛭では胆管への定着と虫卵排出も認められた。また,日本産肝蛭についても感染後虫体は漸次成長することが認められた。沈降抗体の出現時期は,感染後21-28日であった。幼肝蛭は血行によって肝臓に達してもよく発育し,感染が成立することが明らかとなった。 / Rabbits were experimentally infected with newly excysted metacercariae of the Japanese Fasciola sp. and the American Fasciola hepatica by portal vein route. At early stages of the infection, histopathological changes of the liver of rabbits infected with either F. sp. or F. hepatica were tract lesions characterized by haemorrhages, necrosis, cellular infiltration, and so on. The tract lesions grew larger and more numerous with the progress of the infection. At the 77th day of infection, increases of connective tissue around the intrahepatic bile ducts and in thickness of the wall of the bile ducts were noted. Precipitating antibodies were first detected at the 28th and 21st days of infection in sera of the rabbits infected with F. sp. and F. hepatica, respectively. Fluke eggs were first detected at the 63rd day in feces of the rabbits infected with F. hepatica, and were not detected even at the 77th day in the case of F. sp. Fluke eggs recovered from the infected rabbits were measured the maximum length of 15.9mm and 16.2mm, for F. sp. and F. hepatica, respectively. The infection of rabbits with F. sp. and F. hepatica by the vein route was successful

Exercising in times of lockdown : an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on levels and patterns of exercise among adults in Belgium

Countries all over the world implemented lockdowns to counteract COVID-19. These lockdowns heavily limited people’s exercise possibilities. At the same time, experts advocated to remain physically active to prevent future health problems. Based on an online survey, this study examines adults’ exercise levels and patterns during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium. Ordinal logistic regression analyses of 13,515 valid and population-weighted responses indicate a general increase in exercise frequencies, as well as in sedentary behavior. Except for people aged 55+, previously low active adults self-reported to exercise more during the lockdown. Among the people who were already high active before COVID-19, those above 55 years old, those with low education, those used to exercise with friends or in a sport club, and those who were not using online tools to exercise, self-reported to exercise less during the lockdown. Having less time, sitting more, and missing the familiar way and competitive element of exercising were the main reasons for a self-reported exercise reduction. Given the health risks associated with physical inactivity, results imply that governments should consider how those who were not reached can be encouraged to exercise during a lockdown. After all, additional COVID-19 lockdowns might be implemented in the future

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: A Measurement of the Thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Using the Skewness of the CMB Temperature Distribution

We present a detection of the unnormalized skewness induced by the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect in filtered Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) 148 GHz cosmic microwave background temperature maps. Contamination due to infrared and radio sources is minimized by template subtraction of resolved sources and by constructing a mask using outlying values in the 218 GHz (tSZ-null) ACT maps. We measure = -31 +- 6 \mu K^3 (measurement error only) or +- 14 \mu K^3 (including cosmic variance error) in the filtered ACT data, a 5-sigma detection. We show that the skewness is a sensitive probe of sigma_8, and use analytic calculations and tSZ simulations to obtain cosmological constraints from this measurement. From this signal alone we infer a value of sigma_8= 0.79 +0.03 -0.03 (68 % C.L.) +0.06 -0.06 (95 % C.L.). Our results demonstrate that measurements of non-Gaussianity can be a useful method for characterizing the tSZ effect and extracting the underlying cosmological information.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Replaced with version accepted by Phys. Rev. D, with improvements to the likelihood function and the IR source treatment; only minor changes in the result

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Temperature and Gravitational Lensing Power Spectrum Measurements from Three Seasons of Data

We present the temperature power spectra of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) derived from the three seasons of data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) at 148 GHz and 218 GHz, as well as the cross-frequency spectrum between the two channels. We detect and correct for contamination due to the Galactic cirrus in our equatorial maps. We present the results of a number of tests for possible systematic error and conclude that any effects are not significant compared to the statistical errors we quote. Where they overlap, we cross-correlate the ACT and the South Pole Telescope (SPT) maps and show they are consistent. The measurements of higher-order peaks in the CMB power spectrum provide an additional test of the Lambda CDM cosmological model, and help constrain extensions beyond the standard model. The small angular scale power spectrum also provides constraining power on the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects and extragalactic foregrounds. We also present a measurement of the CMB gravitational lensing convergence power spectrum at 4.6-sigma detection significance.Comment: 21 pages; 20 figures, Submitted to JCAP, some typos correcte