Development and validation of the moral disengagement in sport scale

A sport-specific measure of moral disengagement was developed in 2 studies. In Study 1, a 59-item questionnaire was developed and tested with 308 athletes from 5 team sports. A series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) testing different models suggested the model that best fitted the data had 6 first-order factors that could be represented by 1 second-order factor. Study 2 involved 305 athletes from the same 5 sports. CFA confirmed the 6-factor, second-order structure for the final 32-item measure. Results from Study 2 supported the construct validity of the scale, providing evidence for the factorial, concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity. The Moral Disengagement in Sport Scale (MDSS) is proposed as a valid and reliable measure of moral disengagement for use in the sport context.     

The mediating role of intention and stages of change in physical activity among adults with physical disabilities: an integrative framework

The study's purpose was to identify the mediating role of intention and the stages of change (SOC) in physical activity (PA) over a 6-month period using two models (theory of planned behavior [TPB] and TPB/SOC). Participants were 143 adults with physical disabilities (70.68% response rate; M age = 46.03). The TPB constructs, SOC (time 1), and PA (time 2) were assessed using standardized self-report questionnaires. Based on path analyses, attitude had the highest effect on intention and SOC followed by perceived behavioral control within both well-fit models. The variance in PA explained by the first (TPB) and second (TPB/SOC) models was 16% and 28% respectively. In the just identified model of TPB/SOC, the direct effect of SOC on physical activity remained strong (gamma(soc.pa) = .45) and SOC approached full mediation through attitude. Health promotion interventions need to include both intention and behavior elements (SOC) reinforcing increased PA value and barrier elimination.     

Psychometric evaluation of the exercise identity scale among Greek adults and cross-cultural validity

The present study reported on translating the Exercise Identity Scale (EIS: Anderson & Cychosz, 1994) into Greek and examining its psychometric properties and cross-cultural validity based on U.S. individuals' EIS responses. Using four samples comprising 33, 103, and 647 Greek individuals, including exercisers and nonexercisers, and a similar sample comprising 800 U.S. individuals, the concurrent validity, factor structure, internal reliability, test-retest reliability, external validity, gender invariance, and cross-cultural validity of the EIS responses were examined using confirmatory factor analytical procedures. The results supported the concurrent validity, an adequate unidimensional factor structure for the translated EIS and the internal reliability and test-retest reliability over a 6-week interval. Further, cross-gender configural, partial metric, partial strong factorial, and partial strict factorial invariance and cross-cultural configural and partial metric invariance supported the cross-cultural equivalence of the EIS versions. Moreover, the external validity of the translated EIS responses was also supported. Overall, the findings supported the validity of the exercise identity construct outside North American boundaries and the EIS items' equivalence, providing initial evidence for its cross-cultural applicability.     

Measuring allocative efficiency in Cultural Economics: the case of “Fundación Princesa de Asturias” (The Princess of Asturias Foundation)

The literature on Cultural Economics provides us with some examples for the measurement of technical efficiency. However, there are few case studies dedicated to the analysis of allocative efficiency. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by incorporating a methodology that analyses both technical and allocative efficiency. We use the Shephard’s distance function, particularly suitable when affronted with non-profit-making firms or institutions that are not interested in cost minimization. As an empirical application, we analyse the efficiency of Fundación Princesa de Asturias (PAF), a Spanish non-governmental organization devoted to promoting the cultural, scientific and humanistic values of universal heritage, the period of study being 1988–2012. Our findings suggest that PAF could have used 7% less inputs to achieve the same level of output. On the other hand, we have found allocative inefficiency. Concretely, the input for other expenditures appears to have been over-utilized in relation to both the inputs for labour and current assets, with labour in turn being over-utilized in relation to current assets. Moreover, our results indicate that both technical and allocative efficiency have clearly improved during the period analysed. In summary, our empirical application shows how distance function methodology can be successfully implemented to measure allocative efficiency in cultural firms and institutions.     

Political satire and its disruptive potential: irony and cynicism in Russia and the US

When cynical distance and ironic posturing have become the prevalent means of relating to public life, political humour is no longer considered subversive. It has been argued that both in Russia and the United States, ideology has co-opted satire, meaning that citizens can consume outrage passively through various satirical media products, thereby displacing outrage and abstaining from more active forms of resistance. This articles explores the twenty-first century potential of irony and cynicism to disrupt and subvert through parody, be it in the form of political satire or ironic protest, examining how similar paradigms are expressed across different geographical contexts.     

Emotions’ management within the Real Madrid football club business model

Recent changes in the sports industry – derived from increasing financial pressures – have led to the update of existing business models. Particularly in football, the dominant clubs develop new business models based on the spectators’ commitment to the sport. Packed stadiums attract more people who consume both the matches and the many other associated goods and services. In an experience economy, the lever is the tapping of their emotions by an increasingly sophisticated value proposal. Groups of passionate supporters lead the way to the establishment of communities with a common interest in the club. Following a qualitative methodology (interviews and other texts’ analysis) our study of the Real Madrid Football Club (RM) business model suggests that one of the biggest football clubs in the world is creating a business model based on the emotions of its supporters. This finding could be useful for other clubs in many different countries.     

Spectroscopic methods for the analysis of celadonite and glauconite in Roman green wall paintings

One set of samples from wall paintings of the X^th Regio of Italy containing green colours was analysed exploiting different spectroscopic techniques, aiming to identify the pigments used. The possibility to distinguish between glauconite and celadonite, the most common green pigments used in such paintings, was of particular interest. Samples of celadonite from Monte Baldo and glauconite from Belgium were considered as standard materials for comparison. The results obtained using FTIR, EDS, AAS, Colorimetry, Raman and EPR spectroscopies were compared for the identification of the green pigments.