Performance-enhancing drugs as a collective action problem

Current general restrictions on performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) pose a collective action problem that cannot be solved and bring a variety of adverse consequences for sport. General prohibitions of PEDs are grounded in claims that they violate the integrity of sport. But there are decisive arguments against integrity of sport-based prohibitions of PEDs for elite sport. We defend a harm prevention approach to PED prohibition as an alternative. This position cannot support a general ban on PEDs, since it provides no basis for prohibiting non-harmful PED use. We argue that a harm prevention approach to restricting PEDs is ethically justified, has better prospects of compliance, is consistent with respecting the integrity of sport, and holds at least a modest prospect of resolving the collective action problem around PED restriction.     

Intentional Rules Violations—One More Time

A familiar move that philosophers of sport make in the debate on the doping-issue is to reject from the start the argument that doping comes down to cheating. The claim that doping is cheating is often rebutted with the argument that doping is only cheating when one accepts that the use of doping is unjustified in itself. In this paper I want to argue that putting aside the cheating-argument in this way comes, first, too easy, because essential complexities of what cheating is, are neglected. And, second, it comes too soon, because spelling the cheating argument out throws new light on the debate about matters of justifying the rules and criteria concerning doping. I will confine myself in this paper to the claim that it is in any case the institutional authorities that professional athletes cheat on. The relations with other parties that apparently can be claimed to be cheated upon also, such as other athletes in competition, are left out. The argument from cheating takes its starting point from a principle of fidelity, taken from Scanlon. By this principle the morally acceptable conduct of those taking part in a practice is grounded in the way reciprocal expectations are raised between parties to the practice. I apply this principle to the relation between athletes and institutional authorities in sport practices. This argument can take the cheating argument to a new level of seriousness, especially in the sense that the arguments treated here support a plea for democratization of the procedures and a larger role of the sportsmen and sportswomen themselves, or so I will defend.     

Sport as a (mere) hobby: in defense of ‘the gentle pursuit of a modest competence’

In this essay, I defend sport as a (mere) hobby in contrast to sport as a ‘mutual quest for excellence through challenge’. With the assistance of ideas found in the novel Don Quixote, I raise questions about the clarity, merit, and sufficiency of the quest-for-excellence apologetic. I employ arguments made by James and Dewey to support my alternate defense of sporting activity as a hobby, that is, as ‘the gentle pursuit of a modest competence’. Based on the work of Wu, my defense stands as both a philosophic argument and a cultural critique.     

Care and phronesis in teaching and coaching: dealing with personality disorder

My aim in this article is to contribute to the discussion about how teachers and coaches come to act in appropriate ways given the complex nature of both practices. I focus on two specific dispositions or qualities from the philosophical literature, namely the virtue of care and the Aristotelian concept of phronesis (or practical wisdom), which have been put forward as possible explanations. I argue that care and phronesis are fundamental qualities for both good teachers and coaches. Talk of care and phronesis in the literature is welcome, but these concepts are themselves complex. Care and phronesis, like other virtues are context-specific, difficult to acquire (or teach) and their particular expression depends on a host of complex factors, not least one's character and personal and professional experience. I illustrate my argument with reference to a former professional football player who exhibited symptoms of personality disorder from an early age and who presented challenges to his teachers and coaches through his disruptive behaviour.     

Evolution of the Retiarius Fighting Technique: Abandoning the Net?

In the representations of retiarii, the net appears very rarely, especially in the later times of gladiatura (third, fourth, and fifth centuries). Traditionally, this scarce presence has been explained by the argument that most artists avoided representing the net, an object supposedly difficult to depict, or because the net was not used in the scene depicted. Yet there is evidence that suggests that, actually, some retiarii fought without the net, above all in the late empire, if not always, at least in some combats. In this paper, we study that evidence.     

Don’t bring it on: the case against cheerleading as a collegiate sport

The 2010 Quinnipiac cheerleading case raises interesting questions about the nature of both cheerleading and sport, as well as about the moral character of each. In this paper we explore some of those questions, and argue that no form of college cheerleading currently in existence deserves, from a moral point of view, to be recognized as a sport for Title IX purposes. To reach that conclusion, we evaluate cheerleading using a quasi-legal argument based on the NCAA’s definition of sport and conclude that cheerleading fails to qualify as a legitimate sport. A philosophical argument leads to the same conclusion, primarily because of the essential entertainment-aspect of cheerleading. We then examine a consequentialist moral case for making cheerleading an intercollegiate sport and argue that the balance of moral reasons is against doing so. Finally, we look at cheerleading’s newest offspring – Acrobatics and Tumbling, and STUNT – and express our moral reservations about their current claims to be worthy of Title IX recognition. While we would not claim that any single one of our arguments is decisive, we are convinced that the cumulative weight of the arguments against granting intercollegiate sport status to any of the forms of cheerleading or its derivatives is, at present, irresistible.     

Olympic Sport and Its Lessons for Peace

The purpose of this paper is to study the expressive part of game performance in soccer by introducing the concept of theatricality to describe a special form of expression. The aim is to contribute to the understanding of game performance by looking into the appearance, role and value of theatricality. The main argument of the paper is that theatricality can describe an important, but rarely noticed performance aspect, as it provides a unifying concept for expressive distancing in four dimensions of the players’ life-worlds: the subjective, intersubjective, collective and institutional. By explicating the value of this kind of expression in soccer the paper can provide a philosophical basis for including theatricality in performance and development strategies.     

‘All-things-considered,’ ‘Better-than,’ And Sports Rankings

Comparative judgments abound in sports. Fans and pundits bandy about which of two players or teams is bigger, faster, stronger, more talented, less injury prone, more reliable, safer to bet on, riskier to trade for, and so on. Arguably, of most interest are judgments of a coarser type: which of two players or teams is, all-things-considered, just plain better? Conventionally, it is accepted that such comparisons can be appropriately captured and expressed by sports rankings. Rankings play an important role in sports arguably because of the conventional acceptance that rankings capture and express all-things-considered relations between the ranked teams or players. Standard ranking practices rely on a number of widely held assumptions. I discuss three of the most important and argue that at least one of them must be false. If this is right, the strong and growing commitment to using rankings to determine participation in tournaments and the awarding of championships is mistaken. At the least, given the conventional wisdom about rankings, my argument provides good reasons to be skeptical that any particular ranking ‘gets it right’. At the limit, it suggests that our most basic assumptions about all-things-considered athletic quality are wrong.     

Situating cultural diversity in movement. A case study on physical education teacher education in Norway

There is a growing body of research on cultural diversity, discrimination and racism in physical education teaching and practice. However, although ‘cultural diversity’ is a central concern in research, curriculum and policies of higher education, it is not clear how and in what ways students and teachers should consider cultural diversity. Drawing on qualitative interviews with teachers and students in a Norwegian physical education teacher education (PETE) programme, we investigate how and in what ways students and teachers regard cultural diversity in that context. We suggest that cultural diversity is not sufficiently understood when it is assumed that knowledge about particular positions or identity categories (white, black, minority, majority) is fixed. Our findings indicate that cultural diversity is visible in movement and in bodily resonance between people. These findings present a strong argument for recognition of the relational, embodied and social aspect of cultural diversity in PE.     

Opening Ceremonies of International Sports Events: The Other Face of Chinese Soft Power

Abstract

This paper analyzes the relationship between the opening ceremonies of international sports events and the building of a positive image of China. To do so, we draw on the concept of soft power, which establishes that one way in which states seek to achieve their goals in the international arena is through attraction rather than coercion. From this perspective, the construction of promedia images is one of the privileged means to deploy soft power. Thus, this paper examines the favourable projection of China’s image at inaugural ceremonies of international sports events. These images show China as a country heir to a millenary past and brilliant civilization, which aims to assist in the construction of a better future. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of these events in the construction of a collective imaginary about what government elites establish regarding what China is and should be on the international stage.     

Individual and contextual factors in ethical decision making: A case study of the most significant doping scandal in Canadian university sports history

This case study is written for instructors of sport management courses focused on ethics and integrity-related issues in team environments. The case highlights the real world example of the University of Waterloo Warriors varsity football that, in 2010, experienced the most significant doping scandal in Canadian university sports history, with a total of nine anti-doping rule violations asserted through the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. This case study also incorporates the findings of an independent review of the Waterloo football program in relation to the use of banned substances, and includes first-hand accounts from Bob Copeland who was the acting director of athletics. These findings are then interpreted in the context of relevant theory related to performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) use. Along with the findings of this review, which included interviews with athletes, coaches, and administrators, the case study provides important insights into ethical decision making processes and leadership structures in a team sport environment. Particular emphasis is placed on the role that individual cognitive antecedents and contextual organizational factors (i.e., policies, leadership, ethical climate, and infrastructure) play in ethical decision-making processes.     

Learning to mentor in sports coaching: a design thinking approach

Mentoring has been frequently cited as a valuable method of professional development for sports coaches. Nonetheless, there is an absence of scholarly work within the sports coaching field which explores the process of learning to become a coach mentor in detail. ‘Learning to Mentor in Sports Coaching: A Design Thinking Approach’ addresses this very issue with an innovative approach towards mentor training and preparation. The focus of the book is to highlight how design thinking, a systematic method to transform problems into creative solutions, can be adopted to analyse and rewrite mentoring conversations to optimise learning for both mentors and mentees. The central argument of the book maintains that sports coach mentors share similar characteristics and traits to design thinkers in the ways in which they attempt to facilitate and support coach learning and development. This review seeks to examine the focus of the book and consider its contribution to the broader body of literature in this field.     

体育的功能、价值和体育学科的目标

关于体育的功能、价值和体育学科目标的讨论由来已久,但讨论结果是提出了笼统的“多功能论”．因此又引发了新的讨论。关于这个讨论,有从新的视角进行阐述和整理的必要。作就这个问题,进行了思考和论述。     

Questioning the no-touch discourse in physical education from a children's rights perspective

In this paper we question the rationality of ‘no-touch policies’ and offer an alternative approach to the matter of physical contact between teachers and students in the context of physical education (PE) in schools. Earlier research has drawn attention to how a discourse of child protection is starting to affect how physical contact is viewed in PE practice. The avoidance of intergenerational touch is increasingly justified by referring to the children's rights agenda. Here, arguments for ‘no-touching’ are linked to children's right to be protected from harm. In the paper we explore a children's rights-based viewpoint that supports the use of and need for physical contact in PE teaching by developing theoretical and practice-based arguments. An alternative children's rights perspective, based on rights theorising, is used to formulate the theoretical argument. Interviews with 16 PE teachers about their experiences of physical contact in their pedagogical work form the practice-based arguments. The two arguments provide a way of looking at intergenerational touch in education from the vantage point of children's human right to develop to their full potential, which can support a need for physical touch in pedagogical situations.     

Sport,fiction, and the stories they tell

The article is intended to reveal important similarities between fiction and sport. I build on Jonathan Gottschall’s discussion in The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by celebrating the significance of stories and their ‘witchy power’ and by examining factors that demonstrate similarities between fiction and sport. I suggest that an unmistakable semantic, structural, and cultural kinship exists between the two. This argument requires a discussion of play theory, play resources and constitutive rules, the semantic power of problems and the uncertainty they produce, and the role of ‘frames’ in bringing problems to life. I conclude by noting the unique frame capabilities of ‘the big game’ and zero-sum dichotomous sporting motifs.     

Introduction to the special issue on motivational climate in sport and physical education

This issue of the European Journal of Sport Science is dedicated to six investigations of motivational climate in sport and physical education. The combined results of these articles underscore the facilitative value of significant others in developing achievement motivation among sport and physical education participants. Moreover, the research supports the argument that task-involved climates - where effort, learning, and self-referential goal achievement are promoted - produce more adaptive motivational climates than do ego-involved climates, where winning and social comparisons of ability are advocated.     

A Causal Modeling Analysis of Sociodemographics and Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity Behavior of American Adults

Abstract

Confusion still exists about the relationships between sociodemographics and adult physical activity behavior. In this paper, data from a national sample of 19,110 adults is examined to determine which of the sociodemographic variables are associated with physical activity behavior, their relative importance, and why these associations may exist. Once one controls for multicollinearity among the sociodemographic variables only age, education, and income maintain any substantive correlation. However, the amount of variance explained is small (R ² _adj = 8%). Two causal models are presented to account for the education: physical activity variance. The relationship is believed to be a spurious one in that there is some other third variable(s) which is speculated to affect both schooling and physical activity behavior. Exposure to sports and physical activity in the schools, though, may enhance the skills necessary for many activities providing an argument for a direct effect of education. Understanding this spurious/direct association is important for policy decision making and further research is warranted.     

Three Standards of Athletic Superiority

The aim of this paper is to deepen our understanding of the inherent purpose of sports competitions. In ‘On Winning and Athletic Superiority’, Nicholas Dixon states that the central comparative purpose of an athletic contest is to determine which team or player is superior, or, synonymously, to provide an accurate measure of athletic superiority. Dixon identifies athletic skill as the standard of athletic superiority in competitive sport. However, I argue there are three separate standards of athletic superiority: the demonstration of athletic skill, the achievement of prelusory goal using lusory means, and achievement of superior formal result. This stance responds to Dixon’s argument that failed athletic contests are contests that have not fulfilled the central purpose of competitive sport, because they have been undermined by refereeing errors, cheating, gamesmanship or bad luck. I argue that a failed athletic contest occurs when any of the three standards of athletic superiority conflict.     

The Fictions of (English) Cricket: From Nation to Diaspora

This paper examines the fictional representations of cricket and argues that they contribute to a definition of the game. It examines the fictions of cricket, showing that they construct the game into a most distinct English fiction. Literary treatment of cricket must further be read in the context of the transformations of the game in the nineteenth century, with the rise of athleticism as an ideology, and its role in the training of the colonial administration. The argument then concentrates on the decolonzsation, and perhaps the ‘defictionalization’, of cricket through the writings of C. L. R. James and Ashis Nandy. Finally, it turns to recent fictional perceptions of cricket, in particular to Romesh Gunesekera's The Match as well as Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, and argues that they emphasize the diasporic nature of the game.     

新疆高师大学生运动量与心理健康状况比较

按照整群、分层抽样方法,随机抽取新疆高师1147名大学生,对他们体育锻炼运动量及心理健康状况进行调查与分析。结果表明,新疆高师大学生心理健康整体状况好于全国大学生同年龄段水平;心理健康状况存在性别差异;体育锻炼运动量总体上分布比较均衡;中等运动量对大学生有较好的心理健康效应,其作用主要集中在躯体化、强迫、人际关系、抑郁、焦虑、恐怖、偏执因子上,而对精神病性因子的作用不明显。