Sports Studies Commons^™

The Role Of Soccer In The Post-Colonial Relationship Between Brazil And Portugal, Hunter Johnson

Senior Theses

This thesis analyses the role of soccer in the post-colonial relationship between Brazil and Portugal. It begins by discussing the history of the two countries, in particular the discovery and colonization of Brazil by Portugal. It then examines notable Brazilian-born Portuguese players, and then analyzes Brazilian player transfers to Portugal in the 2011- 12 season. It concludes by discussing the wider impact of the results, and the effect of globalization on the modern-day soccer world.

Exploring Rehabilitation Adherence And The Motivational Climate Created By Athletic Trainers: A Mixed Methods Approach, Kaleb W. Cusack

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between the athletic trainer created motivational climate and rehabilitation adherence displayed by their athletes. Four certified athletic trainers from one National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institution participated. The study implemented a convergent mixed methods design, using the Rehabilitation Adherence Measure for Athletic Training as a quantitative measure of adherence and a semi-structured interview to establish the strategies athletic trainers use to organize the rehabilitation process, provide feedback to athletes, and evaluate rehabilitation progress. The semi-structured interview also allowed for other emerging themes during analysis. Results indicated that high-adhering athletes …

Media Constructed Retirement Articles Of Professional Baseball Players, Kevin T. Berge

Sport Management Undergraduate

The career of an athlete may shape the narrative that the media uses when writing articles on that player when they retire. Many people fail to understand how the media constructs articles the way they do on Major League Baseball (MLB) players upon retirement. This research study used a mixed method approach to show how the media covers certain professional MLB players when they retire. The researcher counted how many times chosen variables were mentioned in two different articles of sixteen retired MLB players, and then extracted quotes from those articles. This study found that superstar pitchers and superstar hitters …

Behavioral Determinants Of Physical Activity Across The Life Course: A "Determinants Of Diet And Physical Activity" (Dedipac) Umbrella Systematic Literature Review, Giancarlo Condello, Anna Puggina, Katina Aleksovska, Christoph Buck, Con Burns, Greet Cardon, Angela Carlin, Chantal Simon, Donatella Ciarapica, Tara Coppinger, Cristina Cortis, Sara D'Haese, Marieke De Craemer, Andrea Di Blasio, Sylvia Hansen, Licia Iacoviello, Johann Issartel, Pascal Izzicupo, Lina Jaeschke, Martina Kanning, Aileen Kennedy, Fiona Chun Man Ling, Agnes Luzak, Giorgio Napolitano, Julie Anne Nazare, Camille Perchoux, Caterina Pesce, Tobias Pischon, Angela Polito, Alessandra Sannella, Holger Schulz, Rhoda Sohun

Publications

Background: Low levels of physical activity (PA) are a global concern and increasing PA engagement is becoming a priority in current public health policies. Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the behavioral determinants of PA is still inconclusive. Thus, the aim of this umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) was to summarize the evidence on the behavioral determinants of PA across the life course. Methods: A systematic online search was conducted on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases. The search was limited to studies published in English from January, 2004 to April, …

Effects Of Ankle Weights On Metabolic Response And Muscle Activity On A Lower Body Positive Pressure Treadmill 2017, Saige Hupman

Master's Theses

Lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmills are growing in popularity for rehabilitative use, as the benefits of exercising at partially supported body weight may induce faster recovery. It is unknown if there are certain practices that increase exercise intensity while maintaining positive effects of LBPP. Adding ankle weights when walking or running could increase intensity of rehabilitation programs while maintaining the comfort of supported body weight. PURPOSE: To measure metabolic response (VO2, RER, HR, Caloric expenditure), RPE, and lower limb electromyography (EMG) amplitudes of LBPP treadmill walking and running with and without ankle weights. METHODS: Sixteen participants (Age: 21.94 ± …

The Effects Of Quadmill Training On Balance: An Intervention Study 2017, Alexander J. Generali

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to observe and compare the effects of two separate training interventions using the QuadmillTM to a control group on balance in college-aged individuals. It was hypothesized that both experimental groups (I1 and I2) would experience improvements in balance over the intervention whereas the control group would remain at baseline. It was secondarily hypothesized that I2 would experience greater improvements than I1 in balance due to the nature of the exercise protocol. Data was collected using three systems; Balance Tracking Systems, Star Excursion Balance Test, and the Biodex Balance system. A two-way mixed methods ANOVA …

The Effect Of Blood Flow Restriction Training With The Quadmill On Peak Isometric Knee Extensor Strength 2017, Brandon Schrom

Master's Theses

Traditional training methodologies that improve muscular strength use loads as low as 75% of a person’s one-repetition maximum and as high as 110% of a person’s one repetition maximum. With these high loads comes a greater risk for injury. Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is a potential solution to this problem. BFR training originated in Japan, where it was called Kaatsu. With this method of training, a trainee ties a tourniquet around the proximal end of a limb to reduce blood flow to and from the limb’s muscles. The purpose of this study was to determine whether three-weeks of BFR …

Imposed Versus Affect-Based Resistance Training Intensities On Adherence, Session Affect, Session Perceived Exertion, And Intrinsic Motivation Measures During A Six-Week Program In Novice Female Lifters 2017, Ryan Joseph Brennan

Master's Theses

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that individuals perform resistance training exercises at a specific intensity based on external load (percentage of one repetition maximum; %1RM). However, only 29.6% of adults in 2013 reported strength training two or more times per week. Furthermore, individuals lifting at recommended percentages vary in their pleasure and displeasure. Self-selected exercise seems to promote positive affective responses, in part, due to the perceived autonomy. The effects of regulating exercise intensity using affect as opposed to imposed intensities as a means for improved fitness, promoting exercise behavior, and enhancing other psychological outcomes have yet …

Women In The 2016 Olympic And Paralympic Games: An Analysis Of Participation, Leadership, And Media Coverage, Emily J. Houghton, Lindsay Pieper, Maureen Smith

Human Performance Department Publications

The report analyzes the representation and participation of women in the international and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic organizations. Specifically, it examines the types and extent of opportunities that are provided for women in administrative and leadership roles within these structures as well as the chances women have to compete in the Games themselves. This report also assesses the extent that the IOC, IPC and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) are fulfilling their stated missions with respect to fairness to fairness and gender equity and whether or not legal statutes are being upheld.

Beyond Moneyball: Changing Compensation In Mlb, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Jonathan A. Lanning

Economics Department Working Papers

This study examines the changes in player compensation in Major League Baseball during the last three decades. Specifically, we examine the extent to which recently documented changes in players’ compensation structure based on certain types of productivity fits in with the longer term trends in compensation, and identify the value of specific output activities in different time periods. We examine free agent contracts in three-year periods across three decades and find changes to which players’ performance measures are significantly rewarded in free agency. We find evidence that the compensation strategies of baseball teams increased the rewards to “power” statistics like …

The Communication Of Cheating: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Communication Major League Baseball Players Use When Accused Of Taking Performance Enhancing Drugs., Andrew Mallon

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

There has always been a strong bond between baseball and controversy. Most recently, this connection has manifested itself in the form of the steroid era in baseball. While that chapter in baseball history has closed, there are lingering effects. Each season, players are receiving suspensions for performance enhancing drug (PED) use by Major League Baseball.

Through different methods of rhetorical analysis, four players will be looked at and critiqued on their statements regarding PED accusations. Reading and analyzing the communication through the lens of these players shapes the strategies that each player chose to implement. In a post-steroid era league, …

The Relationship Between Ratings Of Perceived Exertion And Heart Rate In Ncaa Division Iii Male Soccer Players 2017, Samuel J. Guider

Master's Theses

Every sport has specific physical demands of the human body. The amount of physiological load that an athlete endures during a bout of exercise can be described as training load (TL). Accurate calculation of training loads within athletes is important when it comes to strength and power development, as well as injury prevention and monitoring fatigue. Common methods used to calculate training loads for athletes include rating of perceived exertion (RPE) based methods, heart rate (HR) based methods, rate of oxygen consumption (VO2) methods, and blood lactate methods. Specifically with NCAA male soccer athletes, HR based methods and RPE based …

Illegitimate Bodies In Legitimate Times: Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Movement, Brian Culp

Faculty Articles

Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concepts of state racism and biopower, the author of the 26th Delphine Hanna Lecture presents several claims: (a) that the idea of the illegitimate outsider in Western world governments like the United States has largely been influenced by ancient Greek ideals, (b) that a host of policies and intentional actions by power brokers create derision and hierarchies between “old” and “new” immigrant groups, and (c) neoliberal ideology couched in actions that aim “to protect the state” is nothing more than a recoding of traditional racist rhetoric that expands systemic racism. The author identifies the capabilities approach, …

Do You See What I See? Perception And Social Construction Of Academic Success Between Student-Athletes And Support Services, Lauren Kirby

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study explores how academic success is defined and socially constructed between athletic academic support professionals and at-risk student-athletes. There continues to be an increase in academic support services provided to student-athletes, including learning specialists, academic advisors, and academic buildings (Wolverton, 2008). Although a significant relationship between support services and academic output of student-athletes has been found (Hollis, 2002; Ridpath, 2010), the relational and communicative dynamics of these groups have not been fully explored.

Using qualitative methods, one-on-one interviews were conducted with participants, and grounded theory and thematic analysis were employed to identify overarching themes for the research questions. …

The Impacts Of Formal Training On The Motivation Of Middle-Aged Runners, Margaret Turley

Master's Level Papers/Projects

The problem of this study was to understand the motivational factors behind middle-aged adults who take up running, and whether or not formal training is used by this population to aid in meeting their training goals. To determine this, two surveys were distributed to running groups hosted on social media. The first survey was geared toward middle-aged runners, and the second survey was geared toward trainers and running coaches who train middle-aged runners. The results of the survey were 183 runner participants and one trainer participant. Due to the lack of sufficient data, the trainer survey was not used in …

The Lose-Lose Situation : Identity Prioritization And Gendered Communication In Co-Recreational Intramural Basketball., Megan Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Co-recreational sports deserve to be studied due to their relationship between the environment, identity prioritization, and gendered communication for individuals. In spite of the environment’s importance in collegiate student development, few have asked the questions of: how do co-recreational intramural basketball players manage their multiple identities and statuses when playing with or against members of the same or opposite sex; and how do players of both sexes use gendered communication strategies to negotiate predominantly masculine leisure environments, like intramural basketball leagues? Using in-depth interviews from co-recreational intramural basketball players at the University of Louisville triangulated with observations of co-recreational intramural …

Civic Pride Or Civic Duty? : An Examination Of Willingness To Support A Professional Sport Stadium Referendum., Alicia M. Cintron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Professional sport stadium subsidization is abundant across the United States, where the voting public is sometimes provided the opportunity to approve the measures through referendum. Many of these referendums are approved by the voters (Kellison & Mondello, 2014; Mondello & Anderson, 2004), despite research stating professional sport stadiums bring little to no economic benefit to a municipality (Baade, 1994, 1996; Baade & Dye, 1988a, 1990; Baade et al., 2008; Coates & Humphreys, 1999, 2002; Euchner, 1993; Zipp, 1996). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand what factors may influence a constituent’s willingness to support a professional sport stadium …

Climbar - An Arkansas Rock Climbing Documentary, Daniel Alan Henkel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis project, ‘ClimbAR’ - a rock climbing documentary - is to tell the story of a fringe sport/outdoor activity in the state of Arkansas. The history of the sport has been passed down primarily by word of mouth and contained within a small, tight knit group of Arkansas rock climbers since its humble beginnings in the 1980s. Though many of the original climbers in the state have since moved on, a new generation of adventurers have taken the reins. This film focuses on the newest generation of Arkansas rock climbers.

Like many climbers in the state, …

Social Support In Collegiate Athletics: An Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of Perceived Social Support Among Injured College Athletes And Its Effect Upon Well-Being Throughout The Rehabilitation Process, Gabriella Bores

Selected Honors Theses

Athletic injuries are increasingly common at the collegiate level. These injuries not only produce physical detriments, but often elicit emotional responses as well. As a result, injured athletes are often facing increased stress and are in dire need of social support throughout the rehabilitation process. This study seeks to add to the amassing literature on the stress-buffer hypothesis and evaluates social support provided by athletic trainers, coaches, teammates, and professors and instructors for injured collegiate athletes. Qualitative findings revealed the most commonly expressed type of social support was emotional support from coaches, teammates, and professors, while tangible support was the …

A Psychosocial Analysis Of The Coach-Athlete Relationship Through The Lens Of Coaching Efficacy, Kael G. Gouriluk

Selected Honors Theses

This paper seeks to understand the relationship between athletes and their coaches. More specifically, through review of precedential work and a survey study, to understand the effects of coaches’ instruction methods and actions upon athletes in relation to their perceptions of their previous coaches’ efficacy.

Mindfulness Program For Student Athletes, Daniel J. Savory

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

Student athletes face challenging situations during their time at college which can cause their experience to be a negative one if they are not fully supported. This can be due to several factors; most athletes face an immense amount of pressure to succeed in the classroom as well as in their sport. Also, many athletes are moving away from home for the first time and this can be a daunting feeling. They are expected to manage all of these challenges, and if mishandled, it can lead to an overwhelming amount of negative stress resulting in an unsuccessful time as a …

Evaluating Tagteach As A Training Procedure For Novice-To-Advanced Fastpitch Softball Pitchers, Breanna Sniffen

Thesis Projects

Among the many behavioral coaching techniques available, acoustical guidance has been found to be highly effective in enhancing the athletic skills involved in a variety of sports (e.g. football, golf, dance, yoga, judo). TAGteach is a procedure in which a clicker is used to deliver immediate acoustical guidance to train a new skill or enhance a skill already in the subject’s repertoire (TAGteach International, 2012). The current study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of TAGteach in developing and/or enhancing the pitching skills of novice-to-advanced fastpitch softball pitchers. Results demonstrated an improvement in accuracy across skill sets for each subject’s …

A Mixed-Methods Study: Self-Efficacy And Barriers To Participation In Workplace Wellness Programs, Massiel Perez-Calhoon

Dissertations

America needs a healthy workforce to sustain the country. The scourge of obesity continues to plague Americans despite government initiatives such as the Affordable Care Act and wellness programs in the workplace to combat this epidemic. However, despite initiatives to make America healthy, barriers continued to impede the nation’s health. Lack of awareness and sensitivity to what motivates individual participants versus group participants built formidable barriers to accessing all workplace employees equitably. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the intent of this study was to explore the relationship between self-efficacy and the impact on participation and engagement when …

Teaching, Learning, And Assessment: Insights Into Students’ Motivation To Learn, Simon R. Walters, Pedro Silva, Jennifer Nikolai

The Qualitative Report

This study draws upon the perspectives of sport and recreation undergraduate students in New Zealand who were involved in the design of their own assessments, and discusses the implication of the teaching and learning environment on this process. In a previous study, student criticism had emerged of current teaching strategies and assessment methods at their institution. The purpose of this current study was to directly address some of these concerns and for lecturers and students to work collaboratively to develop a more learner-centred teaching and learning environment. Students from a second-year sociology of sport paper were invited to design their …

High School Student Concussion Recovery Program: Teacher Involvement In Student Academic Transitions To Classroom And To Sports, Brittany Diego

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Many symptoms of concussions can greatly interfere with the cognitive abilities and skills students use in school. Although students may have similar symptoms, they experience concussions differently. Students returning to the classroom from a concussion often have different needs and abilities.

Research shows that a formal, individualized protocol to treat suspected concussions, both academically and physically, is vital to the successful recovery of each student. Much research is available on concussions for professional athletes, specifically related to recovery and returning to their sport. However, there is little research about high school students regarding concussions. Concussion recovery programs for high school …

Ua80/1 Meeting Agenda, W Club

University Organizations

Meeting agenda for April 20, 2017 meeting.

Ua80/1 Meeting Minutes, W Club

University Organizations

Meeting minutes for the April 20, 2017 meeting of the W Club Board of Directors.

The Oakland Nomads, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The announcement last week that the Oakland Raiders would, for the second time in its history, leave the city of Oakland came as a shock to no one. The synergistic relationship between the greed of the National Football League and the greed of the principal owner of the Raiders, made such a move an inevitability on the wheel of time. Such “loyalty” to the city of Oakland and its rabid football fans will not go unrewarded. Indeed, both the Raiders owner and the NFL will make out like bandits once again.

Examining Burnout In Division I Collegiate Athletes: Identifying The Major Factors And Level Of Importance In An Athlete’S Life, Angel A. Almodóvar Mr.

Siegel Institute Ethics Research Scholars

Burnout is a concept that has been studied within the past 35+ years becoming widely known and recognized around 1980 in various disciplines ranging from the professional workforce, to athletic coaches, to youth sports. The first burnout study conducted within a sport setting focused on coaching burnout, and since then, new developments have occurred concentrating on athletes. Burnout is a term defined as a withdrawal from a particular sport noted by a reduced sense of accomplishment, devaluation or resentment of the sport, with proponents of physical and psychological exhaustion. Thus, the focus of this study is to examine athletic burnout …

Ua12/2/1 2017 Best Of The Hill, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald regarding poll of best restaurants, stores, recreation, leisure activities, housing and sports in Bowling Green.