Showing papers in "Sport in Society in 2011"
TL;DR: The Paralympic Games began officially in 1960 and have evolved to become the second largest multisport event in the world, and the pinnacle of sporting achievement for athletes with disability as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Paralympic Games began officially in 1960 and have evolved to become the second largest multisport event in the world, and the pinnacle of sporting achievement for athletes with disability. The...
75 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the value of these inclusive programmes in terms of the connection they provide among and between individuals with intellectual disabilities, their families and the surroun...
Abstract: Little is known of sport in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, but emerging evidence suggests that it provides the same benefits as for people without disabilities. Historically, people with intellectual disabilities have been on the periphery of society, including learning in separate classrooms, and sport has served as a portal into the mainstream. Since its inception in 1968, Special Olympics has been at the forefront in providing opportunities for sport participation and has grown to serve nearly three million people with intellectual disabilities in over 180 countries. Special Olympics has been an engine of change to provide opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities to be visible in society and has actively promoted their inclusion through Unified Sports and Camp Shriver programming. The value of these inclusive programmes is explored in terms of the connection they provide among and between individuals with intellectual disabilities, their families and the surroun...
70 citations
TL;DR: The growth of the Paralympic Movement during the last few decades has been reinforced significantly by the Olympic reform process, particularly as the efforts of the IOC 2000 Commission fortified t... as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The growth of the Paralympic Movement during the last few decades has been reinforced significantly by the Olympic reform process, particularly as the efforts of the IOC 2000 Commission fortified t...
57 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated the role of sport in the construction and representation of British/English national culture and national identity and used the issue of sport as a metaphor for identity and identity in sport.
Abstract: This paper sought to both probe what role sport plays in the construction and representation of ‘British’/English national culture and national identity and to use the issue of ‘British’/English cu...
55 citations
TL;DR: The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to examine the interpretation of environmental sustainability (ES) within the Olympic Movement Two research questions guided the inquiry and two research questions were asked as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to examine the interpretation of environmental sustainability (ES) within the Olympic Movement Two research questions guided the inquiry and sou
43 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of social capital in attitudinal change is emphasized, specifically bridging capital that signifies the creation of relationships between disparate individuals, and a hierarchy of effects may be relevant to the findings and prov...
Abstract: Increasingly, the staging of sport events promoting a social cause has become commonplace. This study collects data from spectators at two consecutive Homeless World Cups (Melbourne 2008 and Milan 2009) – an event that seeks to raise awareness of the global issue of homelessness. This paper aims to advance the understanding of specific attitude changes in spectators and to identify how these can be activated towards behaviours to produce enduring social impacts for events. The role of social capital in attitudinal change is emphasized, specifically bridging capital that signifies the creation of relationships between disparate individuals. Quantitative analysis provides insight into spectator demographics and attendance patterns, and contributes to the understanding of spectator attitudes towards homelessness. Patterns and trends suggest demographic and attendance variables align with differing forms of attitudinal change, and further suggest a hierarchy of effects may be relevant to the findings and prov...
41 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of metaphor in shaping the illness experience of elite athletes was explored using data provided by 12 published autobiographies to explore the role in metaphor in shape the experience of illness.
Abstract: This article utilizes data provided by 12 published autobiographies to explore the role of metaphor in shaping the illness experience of elite athletes. First, a case is made for the use of published autobiographies as a resource in sports-related studies for examining vocabularies of self, and the centrality of metaphor in the performance of significant personal and social narrative work is highlighted. Following this, the selected autobiographies are analysed to reveal the manner in which three narrative types frame the use of specific metaphors, and attention is given to their impact on the ways in which illness is described and understood by elite athletes and others. Finally, the limitations and possibilities of the autobiographical stories are considered along with the need for future research in this area.
38 citations
TL;DR: In 2004, amidst an increasingly militarized culture shaped by Bush-era wartime policies, the US Paralympics, a division of the US Olympic Committee, created the Paralympic Military Program (PMP) to introduce sport to these recently disabled soldiers as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Since the commencement of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, over 35,000 American military personnel have returned home with serious physical and psychological wounds, including amputations, traumatic brain injuries and paralysis. In 2004, amidst an increasingly militarized culture shaped by Bush-era wartime policies, the US Paralympics, a division of the US Olympic Committee, created the Paralympic Military Program (PMP) to introduce sport to these recently disabled soldiers. The PMP emphasizes the rehabilitative benefits of sport, but also pursues the implicit goal of discovering potential elite athletes capable of representing the USA in international competitions. The emergence of this new subjectivity of the elite soldier/athlete is a significant development in the continuing relationship between sport and the American military. This discussion illustrates how – as a symbol of both military and sporting constituencies – the body of the soldier/athlete is far from benign and apolitical. Rather, it is a...
37 citations
TL;DR: This paper identified and critically assessed the modes by which women come to support sport and proposed four categories to explain the different ways women accomplish fandom, focusing on the importance of strong social ties and doxic actions in this process.
Abstract: The question of how, irrespective of gender, a person becomes a sports fan has been absent in sociological studies of sports supporters. Distinct from other studies of sport spectatorship that focus on the practices of already existing (and overwhelmingly male) fans, our research is the first to consider how women become supporters, and in doing so, it begins to redress the significant under-representation of women in sports fan research. From interviews with female supporters of the Australian Football League (AFL), this article identifies and critically assesses the modes by which women come to support sport. We propose four categories to explain the different ways women accomplish fandom, focusing on the importance of strong social ties and doxic actions in this process. The events, experiences and social relations that inform women's first encounters with AFL offers a template for the wider consideration of women as social agents in the sporting landscape.
36 citations
TL;DR: It is the ability to combine sport with other social forces such as education that has facilitated an increased profile for sport with international aid and humanitarian organizations as discussed by the authors. But sport is not suitable for all children.
Abstract: It is the ability to combine sport with other social forces such as education that has facilitated an increased profile for sport with international aid and humanitarian organizations. This article...
34 citations
TL;DR: The aim of as discussed by the authors is to understand how English cricket cultures have been made, negotiated and resisted in the context of post-colonisation colonialism by drawing upon research undertaken with the authors.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to understand how English cricket cultures have been made, negotiated and, ultimately, resisted in the context of (post) colonialism. I draw upon research undertaken with...
TL;DR: In this article, disability studies and cyborg theory are used as lenses to explore the disabled body in contemporary sporting contexts and situates the reader by critically reviewing social theory, using disability studies as lenses.
Abstract: This article uses disability studies and cyborg theory as lenses to explore the disabled body in contemporary sporting contexts and situates the reader by critically reviewing social theory. Using ...
TL;DR: In this article, an ethnographically based analysis of the work of the IOC 2000 Commission, the official body commissioned to propose reforms in the wake of the Olympic bribery scandals, is presented.
Abstract: This article offers an ethnographically based analysis of the work of the IOC 2000 Commission, the official body commissioned to propose reforms in the wake of the IOC bribery scandals. The composition and modus operandi of the reform commission, its main debates and recommendations, the actions taken upon them by the IOC Session and the record of these reforms over the ensuing decade are characterized and evaluated. Special attention is paid to the impact of the reform process on IOC governance, the Olympic Games bidding process, and the growing tensions between the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Sports Industry.
TL;DR: This article provided a brief summary of the media coverage of non-disabled female athletes, with the aim of providing some research indicators that could be used in analogous studies of Paralympic sport.
Abstract: The Paralympic Games are considered to be the second biggest sporting event in the world, after the Summer Olympic Games, however, research on the media coverage of athletes with disabilities is in its infancy. More specifically, there is a lack of studies focusing on whether quantitative and qualitative differences exist in the manner in which the female and male Paralympic athletes are represented in the print media. In contrast, there is an extensive body of scholarly research on the differential media treatment of female and male Olympic athletes. This article includes three aspects: (1) a brief summary of the media coverage of non-disabled female athletes, with the aim of providing some research indicators that could be used in analogous studies of Paralympic sport; (2) the examination of the limited media literature on the portrayals of female and male Paralympic athletes; and (3) a discussion of possible future research in this relatively unexplored, area of media, gender and Paralympic sport.
TL;DR: The compact disc was launched in 1982 and heralded a golden age of music industry profitability before extensions of the same digital revolution, in the form of file-sharing, began, in 1999, to und...
Abstract: The compact disc was launched in 1982 and heralded a golden age of music industry profitability before extensions of the same digital revolution, in the form of file-sharing, began, in 1999, to und...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report upon the inner workings of the sport of Ultimate Frisbee, specifically within the UK, and provide an insight into how, in this sport, the constitutive rules work in practice.
Abstract: A recurring theme throughout the literature pertaining to the development of sports and games is the construction of rules or laws. However, it is well known that, in reality, there is much more to ‘playing by the rules’ and in practice sport participants are generally considered to be both playing according to and in the spirit of the rules. This distinction is termed ‘formal and informal fair play’. Using an ethnographic approach data were gathered in the Ultimate Frisbee community in the UK from 2004–7, through participant observation, the conducting of interviews and the examination of documentary evidence. This paper reports upon the ‘inner workings’ of the sport of Ultimate Frisbee, specifically within the UK, and provides an insight into how, in this sport, the constitutive rules work in practice, which is of particular interest given that it is self-refereed. Of further interest, too, is the application of constitutive rules within a pervasive ‘ethos’, which is referred to in Ultimate Frisbee as t...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on arguments concerning sport and Americanization, especially in relation to English Premier League football clubs, and the central case study here is of Liverpool football club in t...
Abstract: This paper focuses on arguments concerning sport and Americanization, especially in relation to English Premier League football clubs. The central case study here is of Liverpool football club in t...
TL;DR: This article provided an alternative view of sports science and future sport worlds for reasons to do with fundamental science, involved advocacy and committed service, and in a period of commitment and commitment in sports science.
Abstract: This paper attempted to provide an alternative view of sports science and future sport worlds. For reasons to do with fundamental science, involved advocacy and committed service, and in a period o...
TL;DR: In this paper, the issues related to disability in sport and physical activity in different cultural settings intersected by gender, race and ethnicity, class and age, and situates the articles that follow.
Abstract: There are 650 million people with disabilities worldwide and 450 million of them are in the global south. They are the largest minority, the poorest and the most marginalized. Sport has underlined the contradictions of prejudice and discrimination and the gap between low expectations and ability. The passage of the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities included Article 30, which defined rights in sport, physical activity and recreation, and shifted the meaning of disability globally. The historical framing of disability as a social welfare issue, charity-based and medically defined, was replaced by a rights-based approach to support inclusion. This Introduction outlines the issues related to disability in sport and physical activity in different cultural settings intersected by gender, race and ethnicity, class and age, and situates the articles that follow.
TL;DR: In this paper, a skateboarding-infused art exhibit, Beautiful Losers, is described to investigate how power dynamics operate relative to post-industrial creative classes, and the idealization of the cultural outsider is linked with contemporary discourses associated with alternative sport and artistic disinterest.
Abstract: In this paper we examine how practices and logics associated with the cultural ‘outsider’ underpin one particular fusion of contemporary art, alternative sports, and marketing interests which are endemic to post-Fordist economies. We describe a skateboarding-infused art exhibit, Beautiful Losers, to investigate how power dynamics operate relative to post-industrial creative classes. In particular, we illustrate how Beautiful Losers is one example of an emerging social field that privileges ‘outsider’ dispositions and discourses. Bourdieu's concept of symbolic capital is used to describe the interested parties and the struggles for legitimacy existing within the social field. We contextualize the social significance of ‘outsider’ discourses in consumer culture and how that has gained currency within post-industrial society. We then link the idealization of the cultural ‘outsider’ with contemporary discourses associated with alternative sport and artistic disinterest. Beautiful Losers distinctly merges thes...
TL;DR: This article argued that media sport flows are part of an interdependent global sport system that involve transnational practices, and the relatively autonomy of media sport flow is important for sport's development.
Abstract: This paper, a version of which was written in 1993, argued that media sport flows are part of an interdependent global sport system that involve transnational practices, the relatively autonomy of ...
TL;DR: This article explored divisions between female cricketers in the UK utilizing Elias and Scotson's theory of established and outsider relations, and found that power relations exist between women in sport, specifically in relation to their perceptions of sexuality and class in cricket.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore divisions between female cricketers in the UK utilizing Elias and Scotson's theory of established and outsider relations1 This paper begins by discussing the adoption of the theory of established and outsider relations within sport to a variety of established and outsider figurations, particularly those focusing on gender relations in sport The focus of the paper is on an outsider group, female cricketers, and seeks to explore divisions between these cricketers as a characteristic of being an outsider group within the context of an established outsider figuration The paper draws on ethnographic data from an U15 girl's county cricket team and semi-structured interviews with 31 female cricketers The data presented identifies that power relations exist between female cricketers, specifically in relation to their perceptions of sexuality and class in cricket The article concludes by suggesting ways in which the theory of established and outsider relations could be
TL;DR: The authors explored the sense of national identity and belonging felt by sportspeople competing for a country other than the one in which they were born and grew up through a focus on the case of the Republic of Ireland soccer team since the 1980s.
Abstract: In international sport in recent years there has been a growing tendency for sportspeople to represent a country other than the one in which they were born. Most international sporting bodies allow people to represent either the country of their birth or one to which they have an attachment through ethnicity, residency or marriage. This article explores the senses of national identity and belonging felt by sportspeople competing for a country other than the one in which they were born and grew up. It does so through a focus on the case of the Republic of Ireland soccer team since the 1980s. It examines perceptions of national identity amongst the so-called ‘Anglo’ contingent, players who were born in Britain but were eligible to play for Ireland under FIFA rules relating to parentage. The article is based on self-evaluations recorded in newspaper and magazine interviews and in players' ‘auto’ biographies. It further examines the reactions by various individuals outside Ireland to this phenomenon and the v...
TL;DR: There are strong grounds upon which it can be argued that the English Premier League holds global appeal as discussed by the authors, and they carried out a semiotic analysis on the role that Liverpool FC's Bootle-born de
Abstract: There are strong grounds upon which it can be argued that the English Premier League holds global appeal This article carries out a semiotic analysis on the role that Liverpool FC's Bootle-born de
TL;DR: Since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games, women have struggled to participate as equals and one important aspect of women's struggle for inclusion involves the rules of eligibility to compete in the Olympic Games.
Abstract: Since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games, women have struggled to participate as equals. One important aspect of women's struggle for inclusion involves the rules of eligibility to compete i...
TL;DR: This article argued that South African identity has always been shaped by racial quotas; that is, divisions, assignments, allowances and allocations based on socially created ideas of race and difference, and that both law and cust...
Abstract: South African identity has always been shaped by racial quotas; that is, divisions, assignments, allowances and allocations based on socially created ideas of race and difference. Both law and cust...
TL;DR: In this paper, a discussion of embodied emotions, leisure and society with a consideration of the issue of pleasure is presented, where the embodied emotions are linked with a discussion on pleasure.
Abstract: In this paper, a version of which was written in the early 1990s, I linked a discussion of the embodied emotions, leisure and society with a consideration of the issue of pleasure. In doing so I pr...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the narratives of the careers of Canadian swimmers with a disability who, through training and rehabilitation, were able to achieve success in the sport of swimming.
Abstract: Transformations can take place at the organizational and personal level. This article is about both. It presents the narratives of the careers of Canadian swimmers with a disability who, through th...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the current situation regarding accountability for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) based in Switzerland and present a mechanism for making improvements in this non-governmental organization.
Abstract: Ten years after the corruption scandal that shook the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1999, this article presents the current situation regarding accountability for this non-governmental organization based in Switzerland. The IOC is responsible for ensuring that the Olympic Games are held regularly, and since its foundation has endeavoured to promote sport without discrimination in service of sustainable human development and a better world. Olympic accountability is examined by means of four facets within a theoretical framework. The analysis of each of them shows that although considerable progress has been made by the IOC since 1999, improvements regarding accountability remain both possible and desirable. A mechanism for making improvements is proposed in the Conclusion.
TL;DR: The International Olympic Committee's adoption of a third pillar of the environment marked the prospect of a new standard in sustainable mega-events as mentioned in this paper, and case study research of a case study of a sustainable mega event is presented in this paper.
Abstract: The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) adoption of a third pillar of the environment marked the prospect of a new standard in sustainable mega-events. In this article, case study research of a...