bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Defamiliarizing Heavy-Contact Sports: A Critical Examination of Rugby, Discipline, and Pleasure
Authors: Pringle Richard
Published: August 2016

Pleasure can be regarded as a productive force in the constitution of the social significance of sport and desiring sport subjects. The organization and use of sport pleasure has been a relatively marginalized topic of examination. To promote and examine sport pleasure, I conducted semistructured interviews with seven passionate rugby players. Transcripts were analyzed via Foucauldian theorizing and revealed the intertwined workings of technologies of dominance and self in the constitution of rugby pleasures. As a strategy to defamiliarize and disrupt habitual and uncritical acceptance of rugby aggression, I argued that rugby pleasures were akin to sadomasochism. Rugby can be understood as a taboo-breaking game associated with transparent relations of power connected with the pleasure induced from physical domination and the fear of pain.
Bourdieu, Feminism and Female Physical Culture: Gender Reflexivity and the Habitus-Field Complex
Authors: Thorpe Holly
Published: August 2016

Feminist theorizing in the sociology of sport and physical culture has progressed through ongoing and intense dialogue with an array of critical positions and voices in the social sciences (e.g., Judith Butler, R.W. Connell, Michel Foucault). Yet, somewhat surprisingly, the work of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu—arguably one of modern sociology’s “most important voices of social critique and theoretical innovation” (Krais, 2006, p. 120)—has gone largely unheard among critical sports scholars interested in gender (notable exceptions include Atencio, Beal & Wilson, 2009; Brown, 2006; Kay & Laberge, 2004; Laberge, 1995). In this paper I introduce recent feminist engagements with Bourdieu’s original work to a critical sports sociology readership via a case study of snowboarding culture and female snowboarders. I begin by briefly examining the efficacy of three of Bourdieu’s key concepts—capital, field and habitus—for explaining gender and embodiment in snowboarding culture. I then consider how the habitus-field complex can illustrate the “synchronous nature of constraint and freedom” (McNay, 2000, p. 61) for women in contemporary physical culture.
Mediating Sport, Myth, and Masculinity: The National Hockey League’s “Inside the Warrior” Advertising Campaign
Authors: Gee Sarah
Published: August 2016

This study examines the development and production of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) 2005–2006 “Inside the Warrior” advertising campaign. Three aspects of the creative process are explored: (1) the context of the 2004–2005 NHL lockout season that led to the League’s ensuing relaunch and rebranding exercise for a new professional ice hockey product within the entertainment industry; (2) the promotional devices used in the campaign that accentuate its explicit hypermasculine “warrior” theme; and (3) interviews with executives from Conductor that offer important insights on their construction of a warrior theme and the existent nature of the crisis of masculinity. Taken collectively, it is argued that the NHL’s “Inside the Warrior” campaign is exemplary for exploring the crisis of masculinity inasmuch as it highlights how one major sport-entertainment-media partnership created, produced, and (re)presented a mythical form of hegemonic masculinity, a contemporary hockey warrior hero, for public consumption.
Danny Almonte: Discursive Construction(s) of (Im)migrant Citizenship in Neoliberal America
Authors: King-White Ryan
Published: August 2016

In this project I will trace former Little League Baseball star, Danny Almonte’s, celebrity identity and flexible citizenship with particular regard to the way that he has been used as both an exemplary Dominican immigrant and later a cautionary tale. As such this critical biography of Almonte’s rise and fall in American popular culture—informed by Henry Giroux’s extensive theorizing on youth culture, Ong’s concept of flexible citizenship, and Steven Jackson’s understanding of “twisting”—will critically interrogate the mediated discourses used to describe, define, and make Almonte into a symbol of a (stereo)typical Dominican male. In accordance with contemporaneous hyper-conservative and neoliberal rhetoric pervasive throughout the United States, I posit the notion that Almonte’s contested celebrity was formulated within the popular media as the embodiment of the minority “assault” on white privilege.
Racial Differences in Faculty Perceptions of Collegiate Student-Athletes’ Academic and Post-Undergraduate Achievements
Authors: Comeaux Eddie
Published: August 2016

This study employed critical race theory (CRT) as an interpretive framework to explore faculty members’ perceptions about Black and White U.S. college student-athletes’ academic and post-undergraduate accomplishments. Using photo elicitation method, randomly assigned faculty participants responded to a photo and vignette of a student-athlete by race. Results indicated that some faculty held differential feelings toward Black and White student-athletes with respect to their academic and post-undergraduate accomplishments. Such feelings were less favorable for Black male and female student-athletes as compared with their White counterparts. The implications of these findings should be discussed among faculty, student affairs leaders, coaches, and others who frequently interact with student-athletes and are committed to creating more equitable educational environments for all students.
Sport Medicine, Injured Athletes and Norbert Elias’s Sociology of Knowledge
Authors: Malcolm Dominic
Published: August 2016

This paper seeks to develop understanding of both clinician-patient encounters within sport and Elias’s sociology of knowledge. Premised on a belief that there is a relatively high degree of consensus between figurational and “non-figurational” research on the social organization of sport medicine, and that such a consensus contrasts with the rather acrimonious relations which have characterized similar perspectival relations in the past, a review of literature is undertaken to highlight aspects of implicit agreement. Using a range of Elias’s concepts, this paper argues that there is broad agreement between researchers that clinician-patient relations are fundamentally structured according to mutually coexisting bodies of knowledge, and that there is cross-theoretical acceptance that such bodies of knowledge are shaped by, and make sense within, the distinct social context in which the respective parties are located. In examining aspects of Elias’s theoretical perspective which have hitherto received relatively little attention in the sociology of sport, this paper invites a revision of readings of this theoretical approach within the subdiscipline.
Athletics as a Source for Social Status among Youth: Examining Variation by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status
Authors: Shakib Sohaila , Veliz Philip , Dunbar Michele D. , Sabo Don
Published: August 2016

This study examines sport as a source for youth popularity, and its variation by gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and grade level, using a nationally representative U.S. sample of 2,185 3rd—12th graders. Results indicate athletes are more likely than nonathletes to report self-perceived popularity equally across gender, socioeconomic status, and grade. Black athletes are less likely to report self-perceived popularity than Whites. When given a choice of popularity criteria, youth chose sport as the most important criterion for male, not female, popularity. Regarding male popularity, sport is chosen over other criteria by middle school youth more than elementary and high school youth. While sport is a status enhancer, there is variation by gender, ethnicity, and grade level.
Cruising for Olivia: Lesbian Celebrity and the Cultural Politics of Coming Out in Sport
Authors: Chawansky Megan , Francombe Jessica Margaret
Published: August 2016

This paper explores issues of sport, sponsorship, and consumption by critically interrogating the mass-mediated “coming out” narratives of professional golfer, Rosie Jones, and professional basketball player, Sheryl Swoopes. Both athletes came out publicly as gay in light of endorsements received by Olivia Cruises and Resorts—a company that serves lesbian travelers—thus marking a significant shift in the relationship between lesbian subjectivity, sport, and sponsorship. A concern with a neoliberal-infused GLBT politics underscores our analysis, and a close reading of these narratives raises complex questions about the corporatization of coming out and the existence of lesbian celebrity in sport.
White Domestic Goddess on a Postmodern Plantation: Charity and Commodity Racism in The Blind Side
Authors: de Oca Jeffrey Montez
Published: August 2016

This article looks at the Hollywood “blockbuster” movie The Blind Side (2009) to explore intersections of race, class, and gender in a significant neoliberal, cultural commodity. Animating the production and, apparently, the consumption of the film is the “inspiring” story of Michael Oher, an impoverished young African American man who was adopted by a wealthy white family and rose to success in the National Football League in the United States. The film mobilizes postracial and postfeminist discourses to tell a story of redemption and how private charity can overcome social problems that the state cannot. Ultimately, charity operates as a signifying act of whiteness that obscures the social relations of domination that not only make charity possible but also creates an urban underclass in need of charity.
The Birth of the Obesity Clinic: Confessions of the Flesh, Biopedagogies and Physical Culture
Authors: Rail Geneviève
Published: August 2016

The recent construction of a so-called “obesity epidemic” has been fueled by epidemiologically-based studies recuperated by the media and suggestions of the rapid acceleration of obesity rates in the Western world. Studies linking obesity to ill-health have also exploded and greatly impacted our “physical” culture. In this article, I present a series of postcards to summarize the dominant obesity discourse and document the rhetorical terrain of the impending epidemic. I also offer counter-postcards to dispute the postcards’ objective postulations and contextualize the birth of what I call the “Obesity Clinic.” I then characterize this polymorphous clinic as an apparatus of capture sustained by biomedicalization, bioeconomics, and biocultural discourses and speak to its regulation and abjection of unruly (fat) bodies. I conclude with a few reflections about the territorializing nature of the Obesity Clinic as well as what it means for individuals and, more generally, for physical culture and its study.
“I Will. Protect this House:” Under Armour, Corporate Nationalism and Post-9/11 Cultural Politics
Authors: Weedon Gavin
Published: August 2016

This article explores the construction of U.S. nationalism through the branding strategies of Under Armour, a sportswear company which has achieved prominence in the U.S. marketplace and has a growing international profile. By examining their organizational synergies with the NFL, Zephyr technology, and the Wounded Warrior Project, and through a critical reading of the militaristic, philanthropic, nationalistic and masculine dimensions of their Freedom initiative, I illustrate how Under Armour has strategically sought to appeal to the heightened nationalistic tendencies of the post-9/11 United States. A central contention throughout the paper is that Under Armour’s brand development techniques, as mobilized predominantly through their website, offer important theoretical and empirical insights regarding the production, circulation, performance, and embodiment of post-9/11 cultural politics.
Exchange of Complementary and Alternative Medical Knowledge in Sport-Related Internet Fora
Authors: Kimmerle Joachim , Gerbing Kim-Kristin , Thiel Ansgar , Cress Ulrike
Published: August 2016

This research note provides an explorative analysis of sport-related knowledge exchange about Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) on the Internet. Data are taken from a qualitative content analysis of the largest German-speaking Internet sport portal. Knowledge exchange about CAM in these Internet fora is characterized by the following phenomena: Users expected CAM to improve their performance and discussed a great variety of treatments based on primarily anecdotal knowledge. In addition, two main types of users (helpers and help-seekers) dominated the exchanges. The main reasons for seeking alternative medical help on the Internet were cases of prolonged illness and dissatisfaction with biomedical care.
Globalization, Urbanization & Sporting Spectacle in Pacific Asia: Places, Peoples & Pastness
Authors: Silk Michael , Manley Andrew
Published: August 2016

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, we point to the place of sport within intense transformations within urban conglomerations in Pacific Asia. In so doing, we point to three central, and interrelated, problematics that appear endemic to Pacific Asian mega-events; raising questions over whose histories, whose representations and which peoples matter to, and for, the Pacific Asian sporting spectacle. Conclusions are centered on attuning our scholarly directions toward the structural inequalities embedded within these processes and transformations.
A Comparison of Suicide-Dip Effects of Major Sport Events and Civil Holidays
Authors: Curtis James , Loy John , Karnilowicz Wally
Published: August 2016

Recent research has shown that there are “death dips” for suicide around major ceremonial occasions, and for certain public holidays in particular. This research suggests that the suicide-dip phenomenon is caused by increased social integration associated with such occasions. Elsewhere in the literature, sociological interpretations of major sport events indicate that they, too, serve as ceremonial occasions and play an integrative role in society. Building from these two sets of observations, we test the hypothesis that suicide rates for the national population (1972-78) are lower than expected during and just before two sport ceremonial days: the last day of the World Series and Super Bowl Sunday. Comparisons are made with suicide patterns around two civil holidays—the 4th of July and Thanksgiving Day—for which suicide dips have previously been reported. The results for both the sport events and the civil holidays show that suicides are comparatively low just before and during the ceremonial days and comparatively high just after them. The effects for the sport ceremonies are weak, but the common elements in the patterns of findings for the sport events and civil holidays suggest that the suicide-dip phenomenon extends to these sport ceremonies.
The Effect of Participation in Sport on the Value Orientations of Young Athletes
Authors: Dubois Paul E.
Published: August 2016

A limitation of most prior research concerning socialization via sport has been a reliance on cross-sectional/correlational designs. Thus, one purpose of the study was to overcome this limitation by implementing a longitudinal design. A second purpose was to test the efficiency of two theories—self-selection and interaction—that attempt to explain value, attitudinal, and/or behavioral differences often noted between elite and casual athletes, and between athletes and nonathletes. Instructional and competitive league soccer players were interviewed before and after their seasons to ascertain changes in their sport-related value orientations; this procedure was repeated the following season with the competitive league players. The data for the subsamples revealed (a) some initial differences in value orientations, and (b) a slight modification of values during participation over the course of a season. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the study’s purposes, future research, and their meaning for youth sport practitioners.
The Survival Game: Who Plays and Why
Authors: Reeves Joy B.
Published: August 2016

A survey of male players of the National Survival Game reveals that most participants are young, white, single, well educated, and consider themselves to be active sportsmen. A factor analysis suggests that there are three distinct reasons for participation: (a) general physical, intellectual, and social benefits, (b) aggression, and (c) achievement and control. Surprisingly, those players in the sample who had traditional sex-role attitudes participated less frequently than those with less traditional views.
Positional Segregation and the Economic Hypothesis
Authors: Medoff Marshall H.
Published: August 2016

The various biological, psychological, and sociological hypotheses and the economic hypothesis provided possible explanations of why blacks will be underrepresented at central positions in professional sports. The economic hypothesis attributes this phenomena to the inferior socioeconomic status of blacks and differential skill and development costs. Over the time period 1970–1984, when the psychological and sociological factors remained relatively constant but blacks’ socioeconomic status and access to facilities increased, the data showed that in major league baseball the recruitment of blacks in central positions increased and declined at the noncentral outfield position. This finding was consistent with the economic hypothesis but inconsistent with the alternative hypotheses.
Explaining the Failure of an Obesity Intervention: Combining Bourdieu’s Symbolic Violence and the Foucault’s Microphysics of Power to Reconsider State Interventions
Authors: Wachs Faye Linda , Chase Laura Frances
Published: August 2016

This paper explains the failure of an obesity intervention funded by a Carol M. White U.S. Department of Education grant which created a three way partnership between middle schools in a poor largely Latino school district, the local University, and local after-school care providers. This paper assesses the project and situates it theoretically using Foucault’s microphysics of power and Bourdieu’s concepts of capital to analyze the refusal of most students and teachers to engage in the program and the standardized testing required by the state. We further articulate a new form of Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence based on position in the consumer hierarchy. We conclude with a critique of grant mechanisms as a means of addressing health issues, and situate the obesity epidemic as a social construction that perpetuates inequality and discourses of power.
I Am Not a Scientist: Being Honest With Oneself and the Researched in Critical Interventionist Ethnography
Authors: King-White Ryan
Published: August 2016

Critical interventionist ethnography has recently come into vogue within the Sociology of Sport. More specifically, many in our field believe that merely studying and writing up studies on physical culture is not enough, and that work within the field needs to be more impactful, meaningful, and exact various forms of social justice. As such, in this paper I will discuss how the turn to social justice has had a profound effect on my research agenda. In so doing, I will outline the difficulties and challenges inherent in such a political project by critically reflecting on my first ethnographic research project on the Little League World Series—an admittedly failed attempt at critical intervention. I hope to help foster better and more successful research projects within the field by looking back at some of the key mistakes I made at this site while simultaneously encouraging others to be public pedagogues.
Putting on the Game Face: The Staging of Emotions in Professional Hockey
Authors: Gallmeier Charles P.
Published: August 2016

Dramaturgical analysis is used in a participant observation study of the emotional performances of professional hockey players before, during, and after professional games. The structure for the staging of these emotional displays is briefly described, but much more attention is placed on understanding the social processes involved in the mental or emotional preparation the players undergo in getting psyched up and “putting on the game face.” The staging of emotions is seen to evolve from expectation for emotional experience, to diffuse emotional readiness, and finally to quite specific emotional displays. The staging of emotions is shown to be directed by socialization agents (i.e., coach, trainer, teammates) who evoke rapidly shifting emotional expressions for each game day situation.
Social Control in Sport: An Analysis of Basketball Officiating
Authors: Snyder Eldon E. , Purdy Dean A.
Published: August 2016

Much of the research on athletic officials has focused on their psychological traits. Researchers have considered the officials’ social world, as well as the emergent and processual nature of their activities in game situations. The present research provides an analysis of data on referees as they enforce rules and norms within the fluid context of basketball games. Quantitative data were collected from a survey of 689 high school basketball officials; additionally, qualitative data were gathered from the open-ended portions of the survey instrument as well as from participant observation and discussions with other officials. The primary conceptual areas generated from the research included control of the game, supplementation of rules, and the communication of decisions by officials. The findings are related to other areas of social control in which the rule violator must be closely supervised by the rule enforcer.
Negative Consequences of Leaving Competitive Sport? Comparative Findings for Former Elite-Level Hockey Players
Authors: Curtis James , Ennis Richard
Published: August 2016

This paper compares findings from a survey of former Canadian Junior hockey players and results from a representative sample of males of the same age in the general population. The analyses test hypotheses derived from the argument that disengagement from elite-level sport leads to various stress-induced negative consequences. The three primary dependent variables, suggested by the previous literature, are measures of life satisfaction, employment status, and marital status. For these measures, there was no evidence of negative consequences of disengagement, even when the comparisons were controlled for time since disengagement. This conclusion was also supported by reports from the former players on their attitudes toward elite-level hockey and about their disengagement from the role of active player at this level. A possible exception was in the former players’ reports of feelings of loss at the time of disengagement. Relevant analyses are also reported for the extent of continued involvement in hockey in other than playing capacities. There were some effects of continued involvement upon attitudes toward hockey that suggest that involvement functions to limit attitudes of negativity. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
Stacking, Performance Differentials, and Salary Discrimination in Professional Ice Hockey: A Survey of the Evidence
Authors: Lavoie Marc
Published: August 2016

French Canadians in professional ice hockey perform generally better than English Canadian or American players. This is particularly clear at the position of defenseman. Stacking in the National Hockey League (NHL) is also observed, with very few French Canadians playing defense. Four theses are presented to explain these two phenomena. The first three theses—based on differences in the style of play, the cultural costs of moving to an NHL city, and the proficiency of the language of work (English)—all incorporate convincing arguments but fail to predict further established facts. Hiring discrimination best explains all of the facts that have been gathered by students of ice hockey. Except in the case of defensemen, little or no salary discrimination against Francophones could be identified, although their pay is determined differently. The collection of a wide variety of data suggests that favoritism by scouts substantially affects the outcome of hiring decisions, especially at the positions for which assessment is highly uncertain and subjective, that is, the position of defense.
The “Economic” Hypothesis of Positional Segregation: Some Further Comments
Authors: Lavoie Marc
Published: August 2016

It is shown that the Medoff economic hypothesis of stacking, based on free choice induced by income differentials and training cost differentials, cannot generate unambiguous predictions. Latin American players in baseball are given as a counterexample. Means to ascertain the training costs relative to each position are suggested, as well as means to predict the evolution of positional segregation in baseball through time, using the uncertainty thesis of discrimination put forth by Blalock and previously applied to ice hockey.
Gender and the Salaries of Coaches
Authors: Knoppers Annelies , Meyer Barbara Bedker , Ewing Martha , Forrest Linda
Published: August 2016

This study examined salary differences between female and male Division I college coaches using three approaches. The human capital approach contends that salary differences are rooted in differences in qualifications. In contrast, a structural approach argues that gender differences in salary are associated with the gender ratio, the proportion of women to men in an occupation. The third approach, capitalist patriarchy, sees the gender wage gap as a function of the intersection of capitalism and patriarchy. We explored each of these approaches and found the greatest support for the latter. Coaches’ wages seemed to be determined for both women and men by both gender and type of sport. Additionally, gender ratio was positively related to the salaries for men only. We discuss the findings as well as their implications for the setting of first-year salaries and the ways in which salary differentiation can be an example of the manner in which gender relations are constructed in sport.
Men Studying Masculinity: Some Epistemological Issues in Sport Sociology
Authors: Messner Michael A.
Published: August 2016

This paper evaluates a growing genre of studies of masculinity and sport. It is argued that sport sociology, like sociology in general, has become more gender conscious but not necessarily more feminist. Feminist critiques of objectivism and value-free sociology and feminist calls for a values-based feminist standpoint are discussed. Two responses to feminism by male scholars—antifeminist masculinism and profeminism—are discussed and critically analyzed. Finally, it is argued that studies of masculinity and sport are more likely to tell a true story if they are grounded in an inclusive feminism, which utilizes multiple standpoints that take into account the intersections of class, race, gender, and other systems of domination and subordination.
Faculty Perceptions of the Sources and Types of Pressure to Assist Student Athletes
Authors: Weber Larry J. , Sherman Thomas M. , Tegano Carmen
Published: August 2016

In this research, faculty reported attempts to influence their academic decisions regarding student athletes. In most instances the pressure was not formal or frequently applied, and it appeared to have little influence on faculty judgments or their willingness to assist athletes. Except for isolated situations of a flagrant nature that are sensationalized by the media, the problem seems not to be a major one.
An Analysis of Sports Illustrated Feature Articles, 1954–1987
Authors: Lumpkin Angela , Williams Linda D.
Published: August 2016

All Sports Illustrated feature articles between 1954-1987 were examined with reference to sport, gender, race, role of the person featured, length of article, author, number of pictures, individuals pictured, and descriptive characteristics. The sporting achievements and lives of males were acclaimed in 90.8% of these 3,723 articles. Males authored 91.8% of the articles. Baseball (21.6%), football (16.2%), and basketball (13.1%) appeared most frequently, followed by boxing (7.5%), track and field (6.5%), and golf (4.7%). Blacks were featured in only 22.4% of the feature articles. Athletes (83.9%) and their achievements, rather than coaches, owners, or administrators, were the focus of these articles. As expected, pictures of the featured individuals predominated (mean of 3.01) over those of others (mean of .677). Articles about males and whites were longer on average than those about females and blacks (66 to 55 and 67 to 58 column inches, respectively), as were those for boxing (77), football (69), baseball (60), and men’s basketball (58). Written descriptors characterized females in blatantly sexist terms.
From Old Boys to Men and Women of the Corporation: The Americanization and Commodification of Australian Sport
Authors: McKay Jim , Miller Toby
Published: August 2016

Although there are obvious American influences on Australian popular culture, the term “Americanization” is of limited help in explaining the elaborate form and content of Australian sport. The recent transformation from amateur to corporate sport in Australia has been determined by a complex array of internal and international social forces, including Australia’s polyethnic population, its semiperipheral status in the capitalist world system, its federal polity, and its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Americanization is only one manifestation of the integration of amateur and professional sport into the media industries, advertising agencies, and multinational corporations of the world market. Investment in sport by American, British, New Zealand, Japanese, and Australian multinational companies is part of their strategy of promoting “good corporate citizenship,” which also is evident in art, cinema, dance, music, education, and the recent bicentennial festivities. It is suggested that the political economy of Australian sport can best be analyzed by concepts such as “post-Fordism,” the globalization of consumerism, and the cultural logic of late capitalism, all of which transcend the confines of the United States.
The Integration of Central Positions in Baseball: The Black Shortstop
Authors: Phillips John C.
Published: August 2016

Earlier work (Phillips, 1983) showed limited or no progress in the accessibility of central positions (catcher, shortstop, second base) to black professional baseball aspirants. A closer examination of the data reveals an interesting change during the past two decades. Blacks came to appear in numbers at second base in the mid-1970s and at shortstop during the 1976-1986 decade, but this progress was obscured when the three central positions were combined. Separation of the three positions reveals a clear pattern of progress in accessibility, first at second base, the least central of the central positions, then at shortstop, but not yet at catcher, the most central position. Another pattern of discrimination, exclusion of weak-hitting black players in favor of weak-hitting white players, seems to have disappeared. Some theoretical and practical implications of this apparent decline in discrimination are discussed.
How Do We Find Our Own Voices in the “New World Order”? A Commentary on Americanization
Authors: Kidd Bruce
Published: August 2016

“Americanization” is a much more useful term than “globalization” in the Canadian context. The specific practices of commercial sport that have eroded local autonomy began as explicitly American practices, and state-subsidized American-based cartels flood the Canadian market with American-focused spectacles, images, and souvenirs. But the term does oversimplify the complexity of social determinations and masks the increasing role the Canadian bourgeoisie plays in continentalist sports. “American capitalist hegemony” is therefore preferable. The long debate over Americanization in Canada has also focused on the appropriate public policy response. Traditionally, Canadians have turned to the state to protect cultural expression from the inroads of American production, but that becomes increasingly difficult under neoconservative renovation and the regional trading bloc created by the 1989 U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement. The popular movements will need new means to protect and strengthen the presentation and distribution of their own sporting culture.
An Exploration of the Relationships between Memory and Sport
Authors: Healey Joseph F.
Published: August 2016

An exploratory and inductive study was conducted of the relationships between sport and personal memory. A diverse sample of 132 people were asked to recount their single clearest memory of sport. Analysis of the responses indicates that such memories are common and often very detailed and salient for the respondents. The characteristics of the memories are presented, six themes are identified and summarized, and the memories are related to four hypotheses derived from studies of the sociology of memory. Our memories of sport link us not only to the institution but also to significant group relationships and important episodes in our lives. These memories are also connected with our sense of self and reflect current orientations toward sports.
Making Decisions: Gender and Sport Participation among British Adolescents
Authors: Coakley Jay , White Anita
Published: August 2016

This study explored the dynamics of how young people make decisions about their sport participation. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 34 young men and 26 young women, ages 13–23 (only 3 were older than 18), from predominantly working-class families residing in an industrial area southeast of London. Interviews focused on descriptions of sport experiences, how young people defined and interpreted those experiences, how this influenced decisions about participation, and how participation was integrated into the rest of their lives. We found that young women and men shared concerns about their transition into adulthood and had common desires to develop and display personal competence and autonomy. However, these common concerns were significantly mediated by gender. Furthermore, gender differences were found in the ways sport experiences were defined and interpreted, in the ways that constraints related to money, parents, and opposite-sex friends operated, and in the ways that past experiences in physical education and school sports were incorporated into current decisionmaking about sport participation.
Making the Familiar Strange: Writing Critical Sports Narratives
Authors: Foley Douglas E.
Published: August 2016

Ethnographies of sports are generally thought to be critical if they employ a theoretical perspective that challenges conventional, mainstream views of sports. This paper contends that what makes sports ethnographies critical also depends on the narrative devices used to make such a familiar cultural practice seem strange. Various writings of postmodern ethnographers are reviewed to suggest some promising narrative experimentation that breaks with the earlier scientific realist narrative style. Some elements of a postpositivist definition of science and interpretation are also presented as the philosophical basis of these recent experimentations with narratives. Finally, the author’s own attempt to write a more experimental critical sports narrative on Texas football is contrasted to journalist H.G. Bissinger’s best-seller, Friday Night Lights. The strengths and limits of Bissinger’s “dramatic recall” narrative for creating a more reflexive text are considered. The paper concludes with some provisional suggestions for altering scientific realist narratives with what Van Maanen calls a more impressionist narrative style.
Issues in the Use of Psychological Tests in Applied Settings
Authors: Nideffer Robert M.
Published: August 2016

This study examined the effects that varying subjects’ response sets on the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS) had on predictive validity. Fifteen elite divers took the TAIS under two response conditions. Initially they answered the items without a specific set or comparison group in mind. The second time they were instructed to compare themselves with other elite divers. It was hypothesized that by telling divers who to compare themselves to and by providing them with a situation-specific response set, this would increase the correlations between performance and TAIS scores. The implications and consequences of response set manipulations are discussed.
The Influence of Procedural Variables on the Efficacy of Mental Practice
Authors: Etnier Jennifer L. , Landers Daniel M.
Published: August 2016

Despite evidence that mental practice (MP) improves performance (Feltz & Landers, 1983), the parameters that define the MP period have not been systematically examined. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the order of presentation of MP and physical practice (PP) and of the duration of MP on subsequent performance. Subjects (N = 153) were randomly assigned to 1 of 9 groups that consisted of a control group (3-min PP) and 8 groups composed of either 1-, 3-, 5-, or 7-min MP, with 3-min PP. 4 of these groups performed MP first and the other 4 performed PP first. Subjects performed a 3-min basketball shooting task for Trial 1, practiced, performed Trial 2, practiced, and performed Trial 3. Results indicated that the order of presentation of MP and PP significantly impacted performance, such that groups who received MP first improved more than did PP-first groups. The duration of the MP period also impacted performance, such that groups who received 1 min or 3 min of MP improved more than the control group or groups who received 5 min or 7 min of MP.
The Use of a Performance Profiling Technique in a Team Setting: Getting the Athletes and Coach on the “Same Page”
Authors: Dale Gregory A. , Wrisberg Craig A.
Published: August 2016

Both experimental and anecdotal data suggest that athletes of various ages, abilities, ethnic backgrounds, and gender desire open two-way communication with their coaches (Chelladurai, 1980; Danielson, Zelhart, & Drake 1975; Hendry, 1969; Masimo, 1980). In this paper we describe how performance profiling procedures (Butler, 1989) may be used with teams to create a more open atmosphere for coach/athlete communication and to facilitate team goal setting. Specifically, a case study with a Division I women’s volleyball team is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of this procedure in profiling individual athletes, the team, and the coach. Profiles were conducted 1 week into the practice season, at the midpoint of the competitive season, and at the end of the competitive season. Significant improvements were made on one or more characteristics by each athlete, the team, and the coach. As a result of participating in this process, both the athletes and the coach agreed that there was a more open atmosphere for communication. And, the athletes expressed sincere appreciation for the increased input they had in determining the nature of their training program and their goals for competition.
Burnout in Competitive Junior Tennis Players: I. A Quantitative Psychological Assessment
Authors: Gould Daniel , Tuffey Suzanne , Udry Eileen , Loehr James
Published: August 2016

This study reports results from the first phase of a large-scale research project designed to examine burnout in competitive junior tennis players. Thirty junior tennis burnout and 32 comparison players, identified by U.S. Tennis Association personnel, voluntarily completed a battery of psychological assessments. A series of discriminant function analyses and univariate t-tests revealed that burned out, as contrasted to comparison players, had significantly: (a) higher burnout scores; (b) less input into training; (c) were more likely to have played high school tennis; (d) more likely played up in age division; (e) practiced fewer days; (f) were lower in external motivation; (g) were higher in amotivation; (h) reported being more withdrawn; (i) differed on a variety of perfectionism subscales; (j) were less likely to use planning coping strategies; and (k) were lower on positive interpretation and growth coping. It was concluded that in addition to a variety of personal and situational predictors of burnout, perfectionism plays a particularly important role.
Using Traditional and Paradoxical Imagery Interventions with Reactant Intramural Athletes
Authors: Carter Jennifer E. , Kelly Anita E.
Published: August 2016

This study explored the moderating effect of psychological reactance on the success of traditional and paradoxical mental imagery treatments that were aimed at reducing anxiety in athletes. Intramural college basketball players (N = 73) were recruited through advertisements for a free-throw contest, and their anxiety and free-throw performance were measured following treatment in one of three groups: confidence imagery, paradoxical imagery, or control. As predicted, in the paradoxical condition, high-reactant athletes reported having significantly lower somatic state anxiety and significantly higher state self-confidence than did low-reactant athletes. In contrast, high- and low-reactant athletes did not differ in their anxiety scores in both the confidence imagery and control conditions. Results suggested that reactance does moderate the effect of the success of traditional and paradoxical imagery treatments for reducing athletes’ anxiety.
NCAA Division I Athletes’ Attitudes Toward Seeking Sport Psychology Consultation: The Development of an Objective Instrument
Authors: Martin Scott B. , Wrisberg Craig A. , Beitel Patricia A. , Lounsbury John
Published: August 2016

A 50-item questionnaire measuring athletes’ attitudes toward seeking a sport psychology consultant (ATSSPCQ) was initially developed and then administered to 48 African American and 177 Caucasian student-athletes at a NCAA Division I university. Principal components factor analyses were conducted to extract initial factors and then varimax orthogonal rotation was performed. The analyses produced three dimensions of athlete attitude that accounted for 35% of the variance: stigma tolerance, confidence in a SPC/recognition of need, and interpersonal openness/willingness to try a SPC. A MANOVA and follow-up discriminant function analyses were then performed to identify the factors that maximized differences between gender and race. Significant differences in stigma tolerance were found for both gender and race. SPCs were stigmatized more by male athletes than by female athletes and more by African American athletes than by Caucasian athletes. No other significant effects were obtained.
Inequity and Vulnerability to Dropout Symptoms: An Exploratory Causal Analysis among Highly Skilled Youth Soccer Players
Authors: VanYperen Nico W.
Published: August 2016

This study investigated whether the perception of disadvantageous inequity makes athletes more vulnerable to dropping out. Sixty-five talented youth male soccer players (mean age = 16.6 years), attending a prestigious soccer school, completed a questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the season. The results show that, especially at the end of the season, players who felt underbenefited scored higher on energy depletion and expressed a greater intention to quit. Cross-lagged regression analyses revealed no evidence that the perception of inequity is either a cause or a consequence of dropout symptoms.
Life after Winning Gold: II. Coping with Change as an Olympic Gold Medallist
Authors: Jackson Susan A. , Mayocchi Lisa , Dover Jeremy
Published: August 2016

The experiences of 18 Olympic gold medallists from Australia are analyzed relative to the changes effected by their Olympic wins. Specifically, the effect an Olympic win has on subsequent athletic performance is addressed as are athletes’ strategies for coping with changes faced after winning a gold medal and recommendations for future Olympic champions. Athletes perceived that both preparation and focus for subsequent competitions were affected by an Olympic win and saw most of these changes as negative influences. Athletes’ coping strategies were similar to those reported by other elite athletes. Recommendations for helping prepare elite athletes for the changes associated with high-level athletic success are discussed.
Associative and Dissociative Cognitive Strategies in Exercise and Running: 20 Years Later, What Do We Know?
Authors: Masters Kevin S. , Ogles Benjamin M.
Published: August 2016

Association and dissociation (A/D) have been identified as important cognitive strategies in the literature on running and exercise. This paper is a comprehensive review of the 20 years of research in the area. Specific topics addressed include historical context, definition and terminology considerations, measurement and design issues, and findings as they pertain to performance, injury, and pain. Several research recommendations are made including change from using the term dissociation, use of multiple measurement methods, diversity of research designs, and study of topics, such as injury, exercise adherence, and emotionality, as they relate to A/D. Finally, practical findings indicate that association relates to faster performance, dissociation relates to lower perceived exertion and possibly greater endurance, and dissociation is not related to injury but association may be.
Possibilities for Qualitative Research in Sport Psychology
Authors: Strean William B.
Published: August 2016

Various forms of qualitative research can aid our applied practice by increasing our understanding of the contexts and psychological dynamics of sport. To reap greater benefits from qualitative research, a key step will be to recognize and accept different views of knowledge that underlie many qualitative approaches. From this perspective, this paper focuses on possibilities to use qualitative research in sport psychology to describe, interpret, verify, and evaluate phenomena of interest. The potential of qualitative research to allow for surprises and produce understandable and credible findings and theories is also addressed. The spirit of the paper and the conclusion focus on the many ways in which the “goodness” (Peshkin, 1993) or “strength” (Maxwell, 1996) of qualitative research can be part of what is done in sport psychology.
The Effects of a Multimodal Intervention Program on Performers: II. Training the Butterflies to Fly in Formation
Authors: Hanton Sheldon , Jones Graham
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a multimodal intervention on swimmers debilitated by anxiety. A staggered single-subject multiple-baseline across-subjects design was used over 10 competitive races for 4 swimmers. Baseline observations on cognitive and somatic anxiety “direction” (facilitative/debilitating) scores were collected for three, four, and five races for Participants 2, 3, and 4, respectively, prior to treatment. The intervention was designed based on qualitative data from Hanton and Jones’s (1999) study and included the skills of goal setting, imagery, and self-talk. These psychological skills emerged as particularly important from Hanton and Jones’s investigation as a means of maintaining facilitative interpretations of precompetition anxiety symptoms. Preintervention, all participants reported debilitating interpretations of cognitive and somatic anxiety symptoms. However, post intervention, the 3 participants who received treatment reported facilitative interpretations. Performance improvements were also evident for these swimmers. A postintervention follow-up showed that swimmers’ interpretations were still facilitative.