On passion and sports fans: a look at football

The purpose of the present research was to test the applicability of the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) to being a sport (football) fan. Three studies provided support for this dualistic conceptualization of passion. Study 1 showed that harmonious passion was positively associated with adaptive behaviours (e.g. celebrate the team's victory), whereas obsessive passion was positively associated with maladaptive behaviours (e.g. risking losing one's job to go to a game). Study 2 used a short Passion Scale and showed that harmonious passion was positively related to the positive affective life of fans during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, psychological health (self-esteem and life satisfaction), and public displays of adaptive behaviours (e.g. celebrate the team's victory into the streets), whereas obsessive passion was predictive of maladaptive affective life (e.g. hating opposing teams' fans) and behaviours (e.g. mocking opposing teams' fans). Finally, Study 3 examined the role of obsessive passion as a predictor of partner's conflict that in turn undermined partner's relationship satisfaction. Overall, the present results provided support for the Dualistic Model of Passion. The conceptual and applied implications of the findings are discussed.     

First catch your indexer*

Indexes are essential for many learned publications, yet often overlooked because those responsible for the publications do not realize the value of an index or know how to commission one. This article provides basic guidelines for coping with indexes.     

On Sense and Nonsense: Looking Beyond the Literacy Wars

This essay argues that sense depends on the circulation of nonsense. A realisation of the reciprocal relation can result in a micro-level praxis that helps us, as educators, to free ourselves from the polarisations that have occurred in the field of literacy, such as the phonics/whole language debate, replacing the antagonism with a more generative pragmatics.     

What’s in a Name: Defining Reference/Introducing Ourselves

ABSTRACT

Reference is the word we use for the actions that librarians engage in to answer questions from the public. The art and practice of reference involves many actions that likely can only be understand through engagement. Students in a graduate basic reference class engage in active learning to introduce themselves to their classmates and to understand how to define what reference is. Both activities involve placing words in context.