Research Library

I Just Can’t Bear These Procedures, I Just Want to be Out There Working With Children: An Autoethnography on Neoliberalism and Youth Sports Charities in the UK. Sport, Education and Society

This paper uses an autoethnography to recount my experiences with SportHelp, a UK youth sports charity. Using a layered account format, which jumps through time and space, I demonstrate the extent to which neoliberal values have influenced the continuity and…

Read OnI Just Can’t Bear These Procedures, I Just Want to be Out There Working With Children: An Autoethnography on Neoliberalism and Youth Sports Charities in the UK. Sport, Education and Society

I Guess It’s Kind of Elitist: The Formation and Mobilisation of Cultural Social and Physical Capital in Youth Sport Volunteering

Policy and research portray sport volunteering as a means by which young people can develop skills and perform active citizenship. This paper draws on qualitative research with participants in a UK sport volunteering programme to critically examine young people’s volunteering…

Read OnI Guess It’s Kind of Elitist: The Formation and Mobilisation of Cultural Social and Physical Capital in Youth Sport Volunteering

Hoops, History, and Crossing Over: Boundary Making and Community Building in Japanese American Youth Basketball Leagues.

My dissertation research examines how cultural organizations, particularly ethnic sports leagues, shape racial/ethnic and gender identity and community building among later-generation Japanese Americans. I focus my study on community-organized youth basketball leagues – a cultural outlet that spans several generations…

Read OnHoops, History, and Crossing Over: Boundary Making and Community Building in Japanese American Youth Basketball Leagues.

Health and Wellness Programming on Faith-Based Organizations: A description of a nationwide sample

Introduction. Most of the U.S. population is affiliated with faith-based organizations (FBOs) and regularly attends services. Health and wellness activities (HWA) delivered through FBOs have great potential for reach, but the number of FBOs offering health programs and the characteristics…

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Harry Walks, Fabio Runs: A Case Study on the Current Relationship Between English National Identity, Soccer and the English Press

On 8 February 2012 Fabio Capello resigned from his position as manager of the England men’s national association football (soccer) team. The date this decision became public coincided with the acquittal in court of Harry Redknapp following the Tottenham Hotspur…

Read OnHarry Walks, Fabio Runs: A Case Study on the Current Relationship Between English National Identity, Soccer and the English Press

Habitus and social class: a case study on socialisation into sports and exercise

According to Bourdieu, habitus is an important, and class-specific, foundation for behaviour. However, he hardly explained how the habitus is acquired. Based on Bernstein’s elaboration on the various contexts in which group-specific behavioural principles are acquired, this article demonstrates how…

Read OnHabitus and social class: a case study on socialisation into sports and exercise

Glory Hunters Sugar Daddies and Long-Term Competitive Balance Under UEFA Financial Fair Play

This article analyzes the long-term effects of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Financial Fair Play on competitive balance using a multi period adaption of a professional team sports model. This study accounts for the empirical fact that a club’s…

Read OnGlory Hunters Sugar Daddies and Long-Term Competitive Balance Under UEFA Financial Fair Play

Globo, the Brazilian Military Dictatorship and the 1970 FIFA Football World Cup: Ambiguous Relations.

TV Globo is the leading television channel in Brazil and is among the biggest television networks in the world. Globo is internationally renowned for its soap operas, but football has also been an important part of its popularity. Domestically, Globo…

Read OnGlobo, the Brazilian Military Dictatorship and the 1970 FIFA Football World Cup: Ambiguous Relations.

Globalization, Urbanization and Sporting Spectacle in Pacific Asia: Places, People and Pastness

Within this paper we “hold together” an amalgam of intensive and extensive glocalization and the simultaneous reinscription of the importance of the global growth rationalities to aid understandings of contemporary Pacific Asian sporting spectacles. Through a series of four vignettes,…

Read OnGlobalization, Urbanization and Sporting Spectacle in Pacific Asia: Places, People and Pastness

Globalization and Social Justice in Sports Broadcasting: The Case of Al-Jazeera Sport

This article highlights sport broadcasting as an emergent battlefield of “globalization from above and below” based on analysis of the strained relationship between Al-Jazeera Sport (AJS) and sports fans in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) over subscription fees to…

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Global, National, and Local Factors in the Management of University Sport: The Hungarian Case.

Because of the international nature of university sport, the appearance of transnational areas, events, results, and actors occurred very early. Therefore, the harmonization of the national and international factors influencing the functioning and development of student sport has been necessary…

Read OnGlobal, National, and Local Factors in the Management of University Sport: The Hungarian Case.

Global Subjects or Objects of Globalisation? The promotion of global citizenship in organisations offering sport for development and/or peace programmes

Sport for Development and Peace (sdp) has been adopted as a ‘development tool’ by Western development practitioners and a growing number of development organisations. Sport is frequently referred to as a ‘global language’ and used to promote international awareness and…

Read OnGlobal Subjects or Objects of Globalisation? The promotion of global citizenship in organisations offering sport for development and/or peace programmes

Gibberish in Communicating Written Physical Activity Information: Making Strides at Derailing a Perpetual Problem

The majority of physical activity resources are too difficult to be easily read and understood by most U.S. adults. Attempts to ensure that such resources are written in the most accessible manner possible have been advanced (e.g., 2010 U.S. National…

Read OnGibberish in Communicating Written Physical Activity Information: Making Strides at Derailing a Perpetual Problem

From the “Taiwan Yankees” to the New York Yankees: The Glocal Narratives of Baseball.

This study examines both the general narratives of baseball in Taiwan and particularly New York Yankees-related narratives since Taiwanese player Chien-ming Wang joined the team in 2005. By reviewing newspaper coverage and TV ratings data, I argue that a nationalistic…

Read OnFrom the “Taiwan Yankees” to the New York Yankees: The Glocal Narratives of Baseball.

From Pride to Smugness and the Nationalism Between: Olympic Media Consumption Effects on Nationalism Across the Globe

To measure relationships between Olympic media viewing and nation-based attitudes, 6 nations (Australia, Bulgaria, China, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the United States) were surveyed in the 5 days immediately after the 2012 London Olympics. A total of 1,025 respondents answered…

Read OnFrom Pride to Smugness and the Nationalism Between: Olympic Media Consumption Effects on Nationalism Across the Globe

From Loving the Hero to Despising the Villain: Exploring Sports Fans Social Identity Management on Facebook

This research explored how University of Cincinnati football fans used Facebook to manage a social identity threat arising from head football coach Brian Kelly leaving the school to become the head coach at the University of Notre Dame. A thematic…

Read OnFrom Loving the Hero to Despising the Villain: Exploring Sports Fans Social Identity Management on Facebook

From ‘sport for good’ to ‘sport for sport’s sake’ – not a good move for sports development in England?

This paper reviews the remarkably rapid switch in 2008, still under new Labour, from ‘sport for good’ policies (stressing external benefits to society) to ‘sport for sport’s sake’ (stressing intrinsic benefits to sport). It then catalogues a series of issues…

Read OnFrom ‘sport for good’ to ‘sport for sport’s sake’ – not a good move for sports development in England?

Friends as Enemies: A Sociological Analysis of the Relationship Among Touring Professional Golfers

This paper examines the relationship among male touring professional golfers from a figurational sociological standpoint. The paper is based on 20 interviews from players with experience playing at various levels on the European Professional Golfers Association professional tours and a…

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Framing the 2007 National Basketball Association finals: An analysis of commentator discourse

Television broadcasters often exhibit bias in the reporting of sport events. Through framed discourse, networks embed multiple storylines to build and maintain audiences over the duration of an event. Research has typically focused on mega-events occurring every four years. This…

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Foreign players in the English Premier Academy League: ‘Feet-drain’ or ‘feet-exchange’?

The aim of this article is to make sense of the effects of foreign player involvement in English football’s elite youth academy system. Based upon a series of interviews conducted with academy directors, managers, and coaches at Premier League clubs,…

Read OnForeign players in the English Premier Academy League: ‘Feet-drain’ or ‘feet-exchange’?

Football’s Irish exodus: Examining the factors influencing Irish player migration to English professional leagues.

The intention of this paper is to examine the range of interdependent processes that influence the decisions of Irish footballers to migrate from teams based in the League of Ireland to English Premier League and Football League clubs. Using data…

Read OnFootball’s Irish exodus: Examining the factors influencing Irish player migration to English professional leagues.

Football on television: how has coverage of the Cup Finals in Norway changed from 1961 to 1995?

The aim of this study is two-fold: first, to investigate how the production practices of the TV coverage of the Norwegian Men’s Football Cup Final rely on journalism, drama and entertainment and, second, to analyse how the production practice has…

Read OnFootball on television: how has coverage of the Cup Finals in Norway changed from 1961 to 1995?

Football Fans’ Views of Violence in British Football: Evidence of a Sanitized and Gentrified Culture.

This article draws on the responses of 1,500 fans from across the United Kingdom to an online survey posted from August 2013 to November 2013 regarding their experience of football violence. Reflecting the 2013 Home Office report that indicated a…

Read OnFootball Fans’ Views of Violence in British Football: Evidence of a Sanitized and Gentrified Culture.

Football Fandom Mobilization and Herbert Blumer: A Social Movement Analysis of F.C. United of Manchester

This article explores the establishment and development of fan-owned association football club, F.C. United of Manchester. It does this by drawing upon extensive ethnographic fieldwork, including interviews, observations and an analysis of multiple texts, such as fanzines, web-based and media…

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Financial Risk Management: The Role of a New Stadium in Minimizing the Variation in Franchise Revenues

One of the absolutes in professional sports, and a reason for its success, is the uncertainty of the outcome of individual games, seasons, and championships. This uncertainty impacts a team’s attendance and financial operation. While leagues cultivate uncertainty through various…

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Female fan experiences and interpretations of the 1958 Munich air disaster the 1966 World Cup finals and the rise of footballers as sexualised national celebrities

The experiences of female sports fans have largely been neglected in academic research to date with socio-historical accounts focusing almost exclusively on male fans. Through an excavation of the sporting histories of female football fans this article aims to make…

Read OnFemale fan experiences and interpretations of the 1958 Munich air disaster the 1966 World Cup finals and the rise of footballers as sexualised national celebrities

Female anglers in a predominantly male sport: Portrayals in five popular fishing-related magazines.

Kim Bain-Moore galvanized public interest as the first female competitor in the 2009 Bassmaster Classic fishing tournament. To examine the extent to which women were depicted by the fishing media during and after this watershed event, as well as how…

Read OnFemale anglers in a predominantly male sport: Portrayals in five popular fishing-related magazines.

Fatness, Fitness, and Feminism in the Built Environment: Bringing Together Physical Cultural Studies and Social Materialisms, to Study the “Obesogenic Environment”

In a climate where the “obesity epidemic” is a consistent focus within discussions of public health, the theory that the environment is one of the main drivers of the “obesity epidemic” is coming to the fore. In this paper, we…

Read OnFatness, Fitness, and Feminism in the Built Environment: Bringing Together Physical Cultural Studies and Social Materialisms, to Study the “Obesogenic Environment”

Fastest, highest, youngest? Analysing the athlete’s experience of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games.

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are the newest addition to the Olympic Movement and, in light of recent discussions of the education of high-performance athletes, represent a change within the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from a philosophy of ‘winning by…

Read OnFastest, highest, youngest? Analysing the athlete’s experience of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games.

Factors associated with using research evidence in national sport organisations

The purpose of this study was to explore factors associated with the use of research evidence in Canadian National Sport Organisations (NSOs). Data were collected via individual semi-structured interviews with 21 representatives from Canadian NSOs. A qualitative description approach was…

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Factors Associated with Health Promotion on Megachurches: Implications for Prevention

Objective: Megachurches (churches with 2,000 + attendance) represent a community institution with extensive reach within the United States population, although little is known about their health and wellness programming (HWP). The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated…

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Extending the benefits of leveraging cycling events: Evidence from the Tour of Flanders.

Research question: This paper examines event leveraging for public health benefits with the outcome of increasing physical activity participation. While event leveraging provides the foundation for this research, social ecological theory is additionally applied to further examine how leveraging efforts…

Read OnExtending the benefits of leveraging cycling events: Evidence from the Tour of Flanders.

Exploring the relationship between hope and burnout in competitive sport

Researchers have postulated that hope may be an important factor associated with burnout. Consistent with hope theory contentions, low-hope individuals may be susceptible to burnout because they are prone to experience goal blockage, frustration, and negative affect, all of which…

Read OnExploring the relationship between hope and burnout in competitive sport

Exploring the cultural intersection of music, sport and physical activity among at-risk youth.

Although sport can serve as a valuable mechanism for social change, this does not imply it can single-handedly solve large-scale problems; rather, sport should be utilized with passionate leadership, efficient and innovative program design, and ancillary cultural enrichment activities to…

Read OnExploring the cultural intersection of music, sport and physical activity among at-risk youth.

Experiencing Spiritual Aspects Outdoors in the Winter: A Case Study from the Czech Republic Using the Method of Systemic Constellations

The article focuses on spirituality on two semantic levels: the first one analysis participants’ experiences during a winter expeditionary course on snowshoes and considers the question of whether residing in the winter landscape with a community of other people may…

Read OnExperiencing Spiritual Aspects Outdoors in the Winter: A Case Study from the Czech Republic Using the Method of Systemic Constellations

Experiences in Sport, Physical Activity, and Physical Education Among Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu Asian Adolescent Girls

Multicultural scholarship in sport and exercise psychology should help us understand and apply cultural competencies for all to be physically active. In the present study, two Asian countries, Japan and Singapore, were chosen. The participation rate for physical activities among…

Read OnExperiences in Sport, Physical Activity, and Physical Education Among Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu Asian Adolescent Girls

Examining Representation of the Non-local: China in the UK Media in the Run-up to the Beijing Olympics

This article examines how the United Kingdom’s media represents contemporary China. Using the context of the Beijing Olympics, the article examines the UK media’s representation of China through the prisms of ideology, history and geopolitics. Using Content Analysis, the inquiry…

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Ex Ante and Ex Post Expectations of Outcome Uncertainty and Baseball Television Viewership

Sporting event attendance is determined by ex ante expectations about the quality of the game, but because changing television channels costs nothing, sporting event viewership is influenced by actual game progression. This implies that demand determinants for televised baseball may…

Read OnEx Ante and Ex Post Expectations of Outcome Uncertainty and Baseball Television Viewership

Evolution and Revolution: Gauging the Impact of Technological and Technical Innovation on Olympic Performance

A number of studies have pointed to a plateauing of athletic performance, with the suggestion that further improvements will need to be driven by revolutions in technology or technique. In the present study, we examine post-war men’s Olympic performance in…

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Everybody’s Team? The National Narrative in the Hebrew Press Covering Israeli National Soccer Team Matches

Sports media offer a unique discourse site because the nationalistic nature of reporting is often radicalized and in most cases ‘the national flag is waved with eternal enthusiasm’. Therefore, this study examined changes in the coverage of the Israeli national…

Read OnEverybody’s Team? The National Narrative in the Hebrew Press Covering Israeli National Soccer Team Matches

Estranged Labor, Habitus, and Verstehen in the Rise of Extreme Endurance Sports

Extreme endurance sporting events and participation in these events have grown exponentially since the 1970s. Events such as Iron-distance triathlons, marathons, ultramarathons, ultra distance cycling, and military-style obstacle courses now attract millions of participants in the United States annually. Although…

Read OnEstranged Labor, Habitus, and Verstehen in the Rise of Extreme Endurance Sports

Embodiment and Social and Environmental Action in Nature-Based Sport: Spiritual Spaces

This paper explores the interrelationship of space, the elements and the embodied experiences of water-based physical activity. It draws upon alternative forms of research and representation to draw out the embodied nature of the experiences in exploring the practices of…

Read OnEmbodiment and Social and Environmental Action in Nature-Based Sport: Spiritual Spaces

Education for Social Change? A Freirean Critique of Sport for Development and Peace

Background: The previous two decades have witnessed an increasing number of policymakers and practitioners using sport programmes to achieve broader social development aims, particularly in countries in the Global South. A core element of these programmes has been the use…

Read OnEducation for Social Change? A Freirean Critique of Sport for Development and Peace

Editorial: Special Issue: Theology, Disability and Sport: Reflections on Physical and Intellectual Impairment and Well-Being

One of the most touching scenes in Jim Sheridan’s Oscar-winning film My Left Foot features a penalty kick in a street game of soccer. The film tells the story of the Dublin artist Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral…

Read OnEditorial: Special Issue: Theology, Disability and Sport: Reflections on Physical and Intellectual Impairment and Well-Being

Editorial on the Special Focus: Drug Policy in Sport: Critical Perspectives

Ecological modernization refers to the idea that capitalist-driven scientific and technological advancements can not only attend to the world’s pending environmental crises, but even lead to ecological improvement, thus allowing sustainability and consumption to continue in concert. In this paper,…

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Domestic Moves: An Exploration of Intra-National Labour Mobility in the Working Lives of Professional Footballers

This article investigates the domestic, intra-state labour mobility of professional footballers. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with a snowball sample of 49 male professional footballers who represent a range of career trajectories; the specific object of 19 interviews was to…

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Does the Threat of Suspension Curb Dangerous Behavior In Soccer? A Case Study From the Premier League

Using data from the 2011-2012 season of the Premier League, we study empirically and theoretically the impact of soccer suspension rules on the behavior of players and referees. For players facing a potential one-game suspension, being one versus two yellow…

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Do Sports Mega-Events Boost Public Funding in Sports Programs? The Case of Brazil (2004–2015)

This article explores public expenditure in Brazilian sport from 2004 to 2015 and aims to understand if hosting sport mega-events has influenced investments in different types of sport (elite sport and educational/participation sport). Data were collected through governmental records and…

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Do as I Say: Contradicting Beliefs and Attitudes Towards Sports Concussion in Australia

The objective of this study was to explore beliefs and attitudes of students studying exercise science in Australia towards sports concussion. A secondary objective explored differences between gender and previous experience of concussion. A total of 312 participants (m =…

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Discussing Homosexuality on Association Football Fan Message Boards: A Changing Cultural Context

This article presents the findings of a discourse analysis carried out on 48 association football (soccer) message boards from across the United Kingdom concerning fans’ views towards the presence of gay footballers. It draws on over 3000 anonymous posts to…

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