Prominent Athletes Research Articles

Effective ways of forming environmental competence of school students: modern aspects of task implementation

The purpose of the work is to determine the main effective ways of forming the environmental competence of school children. Methodology: in the process of research, to identify modern forms of teaching environmental competence using game methods, computer technologies and the involvement of schoolchildren in health and recreational activities by organizing excursions, hikes, thematic events in the natural environment. The above proposed forms of education allow to attract more schoolchildren, the learning process becomes more objective and interesting for children and young people. The use of actual pedagogical practices based on modern trends allows to draw more attention to environmental problems. Scientific novelty: modern aspects of the implementation of ecological competence are summarized in the form of modern approaches to learning by means of interactive classes, project works with involvement in ecological activities of health and recreation orientation. Conclusions. Implementation of the task of forming environmental competence among schoolchildren requires a comprehensive approach and the application of various modern forms and methods aimed at increasing environmental awareness and developing a responsible attitude towards nature, which consists in creating conditions for direct contact of children with nature, which contributes to their psychophysical development, forms a habit careful attitude towards nature. The issue of environmental competence must be highlighted in international sports arenas, involving prominent athletes, cultural figures, and famous figures in environmental projects, involving all spheres of society, including government structures, business, educational institutions, and public organizations, to cooperate in the implementation of environmental protection measures, for the formation of environmental culture children and youth.

Sports and epilepsy: A comprehensive review in the Japanese context

Abstract: Introduction: Epilepsy, affecting 1% of the global population, is a neuropsychiatric disease often co-occurring with psychiatric disorders. It is characterized by recurrent “epileptic seizures” caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, which poses risks during exercise and damages athletic identity. In Japan, psychiatrists perform essential roles in the treatment of patients with epilepsy. Methods: This review examines and addresses the challenges and opportunities for individuals with epilepsy in athletic endeavors. Results: Historically, misconceptions regarding seizure triggers, societal stigma, and overprotective attitudes have limited physical activity among individuals with epilepsy, resulting in obesity and reduced wellbeing. However, exercise does not typically induce seizures. Recent research suggests that exercise benefits seizure control, quality of life, and comorbidities among individuals with epilepsy. Sports participation risks were categorized into three groups using tailored guidelines provided by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). Water-based sports require controlled environments, monitoring, and distinctive attire due to the risk of drowning. In contact sports, precautions are required to address seizures prior to physical contact. Guidelines for children with epilepsy in school events emphasize inclusion, as restrictions may lead to social and developmental challenges. Few prominent athletes who openly disclosed their epilepsy diagnoses. Conclusion: Physical activity offers benefits to individuals with epilepsy, necessitating a re-evaluation of exercise restrictions. Guidelines and seizure type considerations are essential. Athletes’ openness about epilepsy enhances awareness and support, contributing to the overall well-being of this population. Dipruption of epilepsy on competitive mindset might extend to Athletic Identity (AI).

Exploring online opinion leadership in the network paradigm: An analysis of influential users on Twitter shaping conversations around anthem protests by prominent athletes

The current study seeks to extend the network paradigm in public relations research by exploring the role of online opinion leaders in Twitter conversations around anthem protests by prominent athletes. The aim of the study is twofold: (1) identify opinion leaders involved in Twitter conversations related to anthem protests by Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe, and (2) further understand how and why social media users participate in conversations online about controversial subjects. The study combines social network analysis with in-depth interviews to adopt a more holistic framework for studying online opinion leadership in the context of public relations research. Ultimately, results from this study extend the network paradigm in public relations by examining the role of individual users in the construction of the discursive landscape around issue networks. Additionally, findings suggest that online opinion leaders should be differentiated from social media influencers in public relations scholarship as they reflect the movement away from Homo Economicus toward Homo Dialogicus (Kent & Taylor, 2016) and their capacity to facilitate the formation of publics and counterpublics around particular issues.

Examining the role of social media, employee voice, and the National Football League’s organizational response to NFL athlete racial justice protests

During Summer 2020, the murder of George Floyd sparked worldwide protests for racial justice, as collective voices insisted that organizations express a commitment to racial equity. Following a disappointing response from the National Football League (NFL), NFL social media employees and prominent athletes released a video on their own demanding organizational action and a statement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Utilizing stakeholder theory and literature on employee voicing, this manuscript analyzes this collective voicing from NFL internal stakeholders, arguing that social media has prompted an initial, small movement toward increased democratization in sport, as athletes have realized the power afforded to them by their vast, social networks to activate the external stakeholders who follow them (i.e., fans) and sway organizational decision-making. Implications for public relations practitioners and crisis communication scholarship are proffered.

Naked Function, Athletic Form: Acceptable Sexuality and the Myth of Empowerment in ESPN's Body Issue

ESPN's Body Issue was launched in 2009 with the purported aim of celebrating the athletic form by photographing prominent athletes nude. This paper analyzes the way the Body Issue sexualizes and objectifies athletes while articulating a discourse of empowerment. This study utilizes a multimodal analysis to conduct a comprehensive examination of all of ESPN's the Body Issues from 2009–2019, looking at every image of individual athletes (N = 778) as well as any accompanying text, captions, or interview excerpts. This study furthers a robust body of literature about the objectification of athletes but extends the theoretical importance of previous works by combining analysis of both images and texts to highlight the way hegemonic beauty standards and body types are prioritized in the Body Issue.

The Professional Body in Boxing and Strength Sports: The Connection between Manual Labour and Sports in the Early and Mid Twentieth-Century Sweden

The main focus in this article is to analyse representations of body and class in strength sport and boxing in a Swedish context during the period 1910–1960, as well as their deeper societal meanings. The concepts of profession, body and class are understood in close connection to the theoretical concepts of value and capital. This study’s understanding of class and group affiliation differs from more traditional class analyses. It is argued for an in-depth understanding of how such processes take place and work through a broader concept of class. Representations are examined through magazines closely connected to the sports, as well as identification through autobiographies, written by prominent athletes during the early and mid twentieth century. The study shows a close link between these sports and manual labour. Physically strenuous work functioned both as a training regime in itself but was also presented as a way to be ‘discovered’. However, the close connection to the working class and manual labour groups meant that physical strength came to be seen as something natural. Sporting success was also locked into body capital, which also had a relatively low exchange value in relation to other forms of capital.

A prominent footballer as a role model for young athletes

The aim of this study is to illustrate the need for personal role models for young athletes on the example of the Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo. Currently, the requirements of young football adepts are constantly growing. Football is booming and evolving very quickly. The players exceed the limits of their own field and intellectual abilities. Along with this, the awareness of players increases. And hence the need for individual development increases as well. Coping with the difficulties that arise on the path of a young athlete becomes the norm. Sports authorities play an important role in the training process. Nowadays, young people look for authorities among the most prominent athletes. One example of such prominent athletes is the Portuguese footbal player Cristiano Ronaldo, who is characterized by an exceptional attitude to training and an exemplary pursuit of his own sports career. The example of a great footballer shows the way full of sacrifices, which is necessary to achieve high sports results in the international arena. The work will present an attempt to refer to role models in sport on the example of the excellent player and illustrating young players who pursue a specific goal that achieving specific results often involves overcoming many obstacles.

SPORTS AS A FACTOR IN THE MORALITY FORMATION

The article examines the role of sport as one of the means capable of purposefullyinfluencing the formation of ideas about moral norms, spiritual values and moral behavior of aperson. In the process of searching for the means that can change the situation of the formationof morality in childhood and youth, an attempt was made to identify the main value orientationsof the young generation, to determine the main factors influencing the formation of spiritual andmoral qualities of a person, to consider the educational and the ideological roles of sports in theformation of spiritual and moral qualities. We used such research methods as the scrutiny of scientific,methodological and special literature, questionnaires, monitoring, analysis, synthesis, generalization.The research part of the article is presented by the results of a survey conducted in 2020 on the basisof the sports and recreation complex of Altai State University, in which 225 students of the 4th yearof the full-time department took part. In the course of the study, conclusions were drawn aboutthe priority values in the worldview of modern youth, their attitude to art or sports in the processof personality development and in the formation of its value benchmarks was studied. Also, thestudents» attitude to the biographies of outstanding athletes and films about sports achievements asa means of moral education was considered. The pedagogical analysis of the research was carried out.It is concluded that sport proceeds as a special type of cultural activity of a person, serves the goalsof personal and professional development, self-realization, self-knowledge and self-improvement,and also contributes to the solution of a whole range of educational tasks aimed not only at physicalimprovement, but also at moral, aesthetic, intellectual education of the younger generation. Amongthe results of the study, it is especially noted that most of the students agree with the prevailingeducational role of the biographies of prominent athletes and films about sports achievements, whichcorresponds to the thesis about the ability of sports to purposefully influence the formation of ideasabout moral norms, spiritual values and moral behavior.

“The Magnitude of Me”: Reggie Jackson, Baseball, and the Seventies

Abstract During the 1970s, Reggie Jackson, arguably the most polarizing black baseball player of his time, became an emblem of the decade. A five-time World Series champion with the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees, he publicly challenged white owners, managers, teammates, and reporters. For Jackson, challenging white authority meant reclaiming his manhood. While white critics claimed that he was too flamboyant and too outspoken, black fans and writers complained that he was self-absorbed, unwilling to speak out for any cause other than his own. Embracing the politics of self, Jackson emerged as a symbol of excessive individualism during a growing cultural shift toward personal fulfillment. Although Jackson was one of the most prominent athletes of the seventies, historians have neglected to explain his larger cultural significance. His story, however, not only reveals how black athletes shaped the idea of the “Me Decade” but also how they transformed American sports through participation, protest, and personalized peformance. Jackson was at the forefront of a new generation of black athletes: the first class of baseball’s fee agents, players who were wealthier, more mobile, and more independent. Among the first black athletes who crossed over as mainstream corporate spokesmen, he became baseball’s greatest media star, recognized as much for his personality as for his athletic accomplishments. The age of Jackson marked a turning point in American sports history, one where black athletes embraced new freedoms, defied authority, and expressed their own individual style.

The Historical Background to Pakistan’s Participation at the Olympic Games and Its Performances in Field Hockey, 1948–1956

It is easy to gain the impression from the copious literature that each Olympic Games has been carefully assessed by academics. Certainly, a wealth of detail and statistics have been generated about particular Olympic sports, the careers of prominent athletes and the performance of their respective nations on the unofficial medal table. However, some sports and some nations remain under-represented in the literature of the Games. This is especially the case with several post-colonial, non-Western countries and some sports that have had a relatively low-profile on the Olympic stage. In the case of Pakistan, formed after the partition of India in 1947, only a modest amount of medals have been won, and the majority of its Olympic success has been achieved in field hockey. The aim of this paper is to examine the historical background associated with Pakistan’s early involvement in the Olympic Games (with a special focus on the example of field hockey), thereby expanding knowledge about a range of issues facing this Islamic country in the context of the development of elite sport.

Listen to the Brain to Suss Out Concussions

Listen to the Brain to Suss Out Concussions

Factors of influence for choosing sports and getting involved into training activity of track-and-field athletes and football players aged 12 to 17

The aim of the research was to establish the factors of influence for choosing sports and getting involved into training activity of track-and-field athletes and football players aged 12 to 17, also providing comparative analysis of dispersion and inter-correlation of these factors. The object – factors of influence for choosing sports and getting involved into training activity of track-and-field athletes and football players aged 12 to 17. It is presumable that students aged 12 to 17 are encouraged to choose training activities of track - and- field and football by similar social, sport-related and health enhancing factors; however, due to both individual and team concerns, as well as to variety in sport movements, there are existing significant differences in certain factors. The methods of the research: questionnaire interrogation, mathematical statistical analysis, comparative pedagogical analysis. The participants of the research were school age (12 to 17) students, practicing the sport of track-and-field athletics (n=376) and football (n=479). The respondents were randomly selected by applying serial principle. The questionnaires used to be filled following the agreements with coaches and with participation of the research conductors. Coaches significantly more (p<0.05) tended to encourage the students in choosing track-and-field athletics (48.2 percent) than football (24 percent), engagement into track-and-field athletics was also more encouraged by Physical Education teachers at school (respectively 42.5% and 2.3%). Parents (respectively 26.2% and 20.5%) and physicians (5.2% and 1.7%), giving recommendations for doing sport, were also of little influence. Relatively little number of the students responded having followed the example of prominent athletes (12.5% and 28.6%) and friends (12.5% and 22.8%), and even less influence on their choice was made by media (press, television, advertisements) (2.5% and 4.6%). Comparing football players and track-and-field athletes’ responses, it appeared that the initial expectation of the players was to enrich their knowledge, to acquire new skills (respectively 84.6% and 49.5%), as well as to reinforce personal selfconfidence (32.2% and 77.4%). Young track-and-field athletes were significantly more motivated to participate in training activity by the wish to achieve good sport results, comparing to football players (respectively 83.7% and 72.4%), while the reinforcing factors of the football players were a wish to participate in matches (86.2% and 73.3%), desire to be healthy and strong (82.0% and 74.1%), to enter the national team (68.5% and 62.7%), a wish to purposefully and actively use their free-time (62.8% and 53.7%), interesting training sessions (71.2% and 47.4%), friendly relations with coach (54.5% and 43.9%), aspiration to be well-known and respectable (44.3% and 30.0%), as well as material well-being (34.4% and 18.3%). Keywords: young athletes, sport-enhancing factors, track-and-field athletics, football. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15823/sm.2015.25

Effect and Value of Custom-made Mouthguard in Athletic Performance

The aim of this document is to evaluate the effect of bite balance on physical fitness and motor capacity to determine the importance of the occlusal stability as a possible action mechanism of occlusal appliance including mouthguards on physical performances. We all remember that day when the prominent athlete was in the news wearing a mouthguard to improve human athletic performance. I once had investigated the determinants of athletic performance in all sorts of sports. Most of the studies had overinterpretation of results and lack of evidence to support the information. However, I discovered great expectations for new possibility in this field and settled for a more academic approach to this intriguing subject. The followings are some examples of the subject 1. Archers who wore occlusal appliances to increase the vertical dimension of occlusion by 2~3mm increased their ability to focus and to maintain good sense of balance. Their accuracy rate has been improved. The appliance was made of acrylic resin (a type of plastic). 2. Canoe players who wore occlusal appliances to increase the vertical dimension of occlusion by 5mm surpassed longtime competitor and won the race with 10 seconds gap. 3. A cycle rider who wore an occlusal appliance to treat his malocclusion surpassed his old record from 10.8 seconds to 10.3 seconds. His muscle reflexes (anaerobic exercise) and endurance (aerobic exercise) has been enhanced. 4. Occlusal appliances had a good effect on athletic performance in most sports such as swimming, diving, and weightlifting. As for the clenching on dentition, people clench their teeth when they push their physical and mental limits during sports activities. Clenching can be induced by physical exertion when maximum muscle strength is retained and this is similarly found in different types of exercises. In addition, restraint of respiratory function is observed. Therefore, creating a occlusal balance with occlusal appliance or mouthguard promoted a favorable influence when an athlete clenches.

Negotiating motherhood and athletic identity: A qualitative analysis of Olympic athlete mother representations in media narratives

ObjectivesAlthough a growing presence within sport, elite athlete mothers have minimal presence within sport psychology research, particularly within the context of sociocultural expectations concerning motherhood and sport. The purpose of this study was to extend this understanding by examining how news media constructed elite athlete identities of prominent athlete mothers during the 2012 Olympic year. DesignA qualitative approach grounded in critical cultural sport psychology (Schinke & McGannon, 2014) was used to explore motherhood and athletic identity as socio-cultural creations shaped by media and the potential psychological implications. MethodAn ethnographic content analysis (Altheide, 1996) of 80 stories from North American news media collected from January 27, 2011 to December 31, 2012surrounding 10 prominent US athlete mothers was conducted. Visual data analysis of 99 images and 4 videos accompanying were also analyzed to contextualized the textual meaning(s) (Altheide & Schneider, 2013). ResultsA central narrative within which identities were constructed was identified: motherhood and athletics as a transformative journey. The meaning(s) and implication(s) of this narrative emerged differently depending on how two athlete mother identities were constructed: 1. athlete and mother in conflict and 2. athlete mother as superwoman. ConclusionsThis study extends critical cultural sport psychology and qualitative literature exploring elite mother athletes and the implications for athletic career (dis)engagement.

Understanding the meanings created around the aging body and sports through media representations of elite masters athletes

Masters athletes compete in athletic events at the elite level after the point when most elite athletes retire. These athletes typically begin this stage of their competition careers between 30 and 40 years and continue in this journey in some cases to the age of 90 or older. The purpose of the present study was to explore media representations of such athletes to extend understandings on the portrayal of ageing, the older body and sport and the potential impact on understandings of ageing and sport participation. The athletes focused on were 81 year old Ed Whitlock, a Canadian marathon runner, and 77 year-old Jeanne Daprano, an American track and field athlete. Both athletes were the best athletes in their age group category based on their international accomplishments as runners. Media representation(s) (i.e. newspapers, articles in Runner’s World magazine) of both athletes (n = 41 Whitlock, n = 17 Daprano) were collected and analysed through an interpretive thematic analysis. Two higher-order themes were identified: (a) discovery and rediscovery of sports and competition – which culminated into ‘ageing into sport’ and (b) performing in a declining body – which culminated into ‘ageing out of sport’. These findings extend the literature on masters athletes, demonstrating how media stories of two prominent athletes’ identities circulating at the broader cultural level (re)creates particular meanings around ageing and athletics that can simultaneously encourage and discourage sport participation.

‘The Good, Pure Old Days’: Cyclist's Switching Appraisals of Doping before and after Retirement as Claims Making in the Construction of Doping as a Social Problem

According to our interpretation of the model of technological continuity and change proposed by the media scholar Brian Winston, prominent former athletes influential with the public opinion could be seen as embodying ‘the law of suppression of the radical potential’ of innovation with performance-enhancement techniques and substances (PETS), as opposed to the entrepreneurial role in this field they adopted when they were still active, embodying the ‘supervening social necessity’ which push forward these innovation processes. This paper documents this dialectic by comparing the lenient and understanding attitudes and stances on PETS of prominent cyclists when still active with their radical rejection of doping and dopers once retired. Their claims, and those of the dominant paradigm in scholarly accounts of the history of PETS, about an alleged qualitative and quantitative ‘worsening’ of ‘the doping problem’ in the last 40–50 years, are thoroughly examined and criticised. It is concluded that a number of prominent retired athletes have become claims-makers successfully involved in the construction of ‘the social problem of doping’ through their nostalgic appraisals of the evolution of PETS usage, despite these appraisals being mostly baseless on rational grounds.

Going ‘to the Fountainhead’: Black American Athletes as Cultural Ambassadors in Africa, 1970–1971

During the Cold War, the State Department frequently employed prominent black athletes as cultural ambassadors in an attempt to defuse global criticism of racism in the USA. In the late 1960s, as many black American athletes identified increasingly with the “Black Power” movement, their personal motivations often clashed with State Department goals. In 1970, the black American tennis star Arthur Ashe, along with Stan Smith, conducted an extremely successful tour of six African nations. The following year, the State Department attempted to replicate that success by sending NBA stars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson to Africa. Those players, for a variety of reasons, were less cooperative and effective than Ashe. The shortcomings of the Jabbar/Robertson tour contributed to a decline in the State Department's practice of utilising star black athletes as cultural diplomats.

Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes: Preparticipation Screening for Underlying Cardiovascular Abnormalities and Approaches to Prevention

The study of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes has received more interest in the medical and lay press over the past few years. Professional athletes represent ideals of fitness and health, and the sudden death of prominent athletes can come as a shock. Underlying occult cardiovascular disorders are the most common cause of SCD in athletes. Unfortunately, because these disorders rarely present clinically, their initial manifestation is often a fatal event. Due to this, much attention has turned to both primary and secondary prevention. Primary prevention includes preparticipation screening and secondary prevention includes having automatic external defibrillators available at sporting events. This article summarizes the most common causes of athletic-related cardiac arrest and evaluates the screening methods used to screen for these conditions. The general sentiment is that we need to more effectively identify athletes who are at risk for SCD, but how to do so using an efficient screening system and in a cost-effective manner have not been determined.

The “Anatomy” of a Performance-Enhancing Drug Test in Sports

The components of a performance-enhancing drug (PED) test in sports include sample selection, collection, establishing sample integrity, sample pretreatment, analyte detection, data evaluation, reporting results, and action taken based on the result. Undergraduate curricula generally focus on the detection and evaluation steps of an analytical procedure, but the other steps often determine the quality of the final result. Following the whole analytical process in a PED test can provide a wealth of useful pedagogical examples for the undergraduate analytical curriculum, including practical illustrations of chemical equilibria and a deeper appreciation of analytical protocol. Moreover, actions taken based on the analytical results in PED testing are usually public knowledge because they involve prominent athletes. As a consequence, students get to see that the analytical result is often one of several possible inputs that produce an ultimate decision, which places the analytical result in a “real-world” context.

Was the Conconi test validated by sporting success, expert opinion or good science?

The application of the scientific method in sport demands that regular andstandardised testing must be implemented by the coach or scientist to determine whether the intervention, for instance training, has had the desired effect on sporting performance. However, the test administered by the coach or scientist must have been rigorously evaluated for acceptable validity and reliability. Moreover, the judgment as to the validity of a test must not be influenced by the popularisation of a test. Despite scientific evidence to the contrary, a popular incremental field test for endurance athletes (Conconi Test) has been uncritically accepted as valid by some coaches and sport scientists. The Conconi Test is assumed a non-invasive measure of the anaerobic threshold through the identification of a coincident deflection in heart rate. This paper briefly considers the methodology and biological explanation for the Cononic Test. The paper also elaborates on the historical context within which the popular Conconi Test was developed and how factors other than scientific evidence have led to the popularisation of this test amongst sport scientists and coaches. Users of this test should consider the possibility that at least some part of the accepted validity of the Conconi Test was due to appeals to authority (eminent scientists, prominent athletes, magnitude of the feat, medal counts, records), popularity and coincidental correlation (performance and test result).Key words: Testing; Validity; Conconi; Anaerobic threshold; Heart rate