Book reviews

Paul Goldman, Sporting Life: An Anthology of British Sporting Prints. (London, British Museum Publications, 1983). Pp. 136. £7.95.

Donald J. Mrozek, Sport and American Mentality, 1880–1910. (Knoxville, University of Tennessee Press, 1983). Pp.xx + 284. NP.

Christopher Dodd, The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. (London, Stanley Paul, 1983). Pp.405. £14.95.

Ian T. Henderson and David I. Stirk, The Compleat Golfer: An Illustrated History of the Royal and Ancient Game. (London: Victor Gollancz, 1982). Pp.96. £5.95.

Jean‐Marie Brohm, Sport—A Prison of Measured Time. Essays. (Translated by Ian Fraser). (London: Ink Links, 1978). Pp. ix+ 185. NP.

Robert J. Higgs, Sports: A Reference Guide. (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982). Pp.317. NP.

Gary Firth, James Hagerty, Keith Laybourn (eds.), Yorkshire at Play: A Guide to Historical Sources and their Uses. (Leeds: University of Leeds School of Education, 1982). Pp.x + 54. NP.

Sir Walter Gilbey, Sport in the Olden Time. (Liss, Hants: Spur Publications Company, 1975). Pp.[xi] + 117. £7.50.

Capt. L. Fitz‐Barnard, Fighting Sports. (Hindhead, Surrey: Triplegate Ltd. (Learnex), 1983). Pp.viii + 292. £15.00.

David B. Smith, Curling: An Illustrated History. (Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers, 1981). Pp.vii + 232. £12.00.     

Coming to America: challenges and difficulties faced by African student athletes

There is a considerable lack of literature on international student athletes despite the extent to which colleges and universities are increasingly relying on them to heighten the winning reputation of their sports programs. This research focuses on international student athletes from Africa. Based on interviews of 16 student athletes from seven different African countries, the range of their experiences upon entering universities in the United States, particularly their challenges, were identified. Many of the serious issues affecting the student athletes were matters related to the host environment's underestimations about the African student athletes’ desires to learn, misunderstandings about their culture and religions and other negative assumptions that undermined their academic success. We also found that the vast majority of these student athletes experienced negative stereotypes and discrimination based on their race and their region of origin.     

Promoting girls' participation in sports: discursive constructions of girls in a sports initiative

What does it mean to promote girls' participation in sports and which girls are seen as needing support? In this article we focus a government-financed sports venture and scrutinize the frames governing what is possible to say about girls and their participation in sports. By analyzing project applications from local sport clubs we investigate how the category of girls is discursively constructed in projects designed to promote girls' sports participation. The study employs the Foucauldian concepts of governmentality, power, biopower and normalization. The analyses show that teenage girls in particular are in focus and a number of ideas are presented about what becoming a teenage girl means. We consider the projects as part of governmentality. Framing girls as both ‘capable’ and ‘at risk’ is reasonable in liberal governing, where they become subjects of scrutiny, regulation and productivity.     

Sport,Ethnicity and Racism: The Experience of Asian Heritage Boys

Abstract

It is now almost two decades since concerns were originally expressed regarding the participation of Asian heritage schoolchildren in physical education and sport. Since then, an increasing flow of research literature and, in many instances, successful school initiatives to implement positive multicultural/antiracist policies, have been undertaken to provide equality of opportunity for these pupils. However, problems of access and achievement in physical activity still affect this group and serious health concerns continue to occur, perhaps as a result of such low levels of participation. There remains little take‐up of sport as a career among Asian heritage children. Against the backdrop of these various concerns, this paper contributes to knowledge of issues surrounding the participation of Asian heritage boys in physical education and sport. Through use of interviews and observation, the research focuses on the experiences of primary and secondary age boys within four inner‐urban schools in the North West of England. Findings suggest, primarily, that the role of Asian heritage parents within the sport socialisation experiences of their children was highly influential. Multicultural/antiracist policies were working well within these schools and racism was not stated as the main reason for non‐participation; the low status afforded to physical education and sport, within the home and community, was found to be a more influential factor. Where schools had become proactive in addressing this issue, improved participation had resulted. Findings suggest that education should focus more on Asian heritage attitudes in addition to maintaining and enhancing the antiracism process.     

Coping with pre- and in-event fluctuations in competitive state anxiety: A longitudinal approach

The direction of anxiety - the positive or negative nature of competition-related cognitions - is an important distinguishing variable that accounts for significant individual differences. However, very little is known about the pre- and in-event patterning of the construct, specifically how it changes over time. The aims of this study were to establish the extent to which the direction of anxiety is a dynamic or stable longitudinal response to stress and whether this patterning appears to be related to coping. Pre-event, state anxiety intensity and direction data were obtained from 22 youth sport participants in two training and two competition environments within the same season, with the in-event anxiety and coping data being obtained from the 'high-stress' competition condition. The predispositional coping strategies of the participants were assessed by use of the trait version of the 'COPE' scale. The findings revealed significant differences in the patterning of anxiety direction between and within the facilitative and debilitative groups. This was accompanied by distinct qualitatively and quantitatively reported differences in the strategies of coping adopted by each group. Facilitators appeared to use problem- and emotion-focused coping characteristics in response to stress, whereas debilitators appeared limited in their use of coping constructs. Conceptually, the direction of anxiety would appear to be a mechanism that may, in itself, exist as a strong indicator that effective coping is taking place.     

A test of processing efficiency theory in a team sport context

In this study, we tested some key postulates of Eysenck and Calvo's processing efficiency theory in a team sport. The participants were 12 elite male volleyball players who were followed throughout the course of a competitive season. Self-report measures of pre-match and in-game cognitive anxiety and mental effort were collected in groups of players high and low in dispositional anxiety. Player performance was determined from the statistical analysis of match-play. Sets were classified according to the point spread separating the two teams into one of three levels of criticality. Game momentum was also analysed to determine its influence on in-game state anxiety. Significant differences in in-game cognitive anxiety were apparent between high and low trait anxiety groups. An interaction between anxiety grouping and momentum condition was also evident in cognitive anxiety. Differences in set criticality were reflected in significant elevations in mental effort, an effect more pronounced in dispositionally high anxious performers. Consistent with the predictions of processing efficiency theory, mental effort ratings were higher in high trait-anxious players in settings where their performance was equivalent to that of low trait-anxious performers. The usefulness of processing efficiency theory as an explanatory framework in sport anxiety research is discussed in the light of these findings.     

Pre-shot EEG alpha-power reactivity during expert air-pistol shooting: a comparison of best and worst shots

The aim of this study was to examine the proposal that pre-shot occipital electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha-power reactivity would not only associate with, but also have a causal role in, the relative success of performance outcome in expert air-pistol shooting. Six expert air-pistol shooters performed a sixty-shot match, individually, while electroencephalograms were captured from occipital and anterior-temporal electrode sites during the aiming period (3 x 2 s epochs) before shot release. The five best shots and five worst shots were selected for each shooter on the basis of four shot quality indicators, and pre-shot EEG alpha power for best shots was compared with that of worst shots. Occipital EEG alpha power was found to increase during epochs 1-3 before best shots, but to decrease before worst shots; it was significantly greater during the final pre-shot epoch of best shots. This finding suggests that visual attention to the pistol and target was gradually suppressed during the pre-shot period of best shots, whereas it gradually increased before worst shots. In addition, significantly greater EEG alpha power was found at the left than at the right anterior-temporal site, lending support to the robust findings of previous target-sport studies. We conclude that the participants were able to shoot at the target with greatest success when not having maximal visual attention on where the pistol was aimed and that suppression of visual attention during the final seconds of the pre-shot period is a necessary prerequisite for automatic shot execution, as controlled by mechanisms of intention.     

Mapping Stakeholder Perceptions of the Importance of Environmental Issues and the Success in Delivery: A university case study

Environmental responsibility has become a major theme for universities. Most have an Environment Committee that advises their top administrators on practical approaches to enhancing environmental practices and education in the university with a broad mandate to develop a University Environment Policy and Implementation Strategy. An essential input into this process is the response from stakeholders to the performance of the policy and the strategy in terms of actions that are seen as both important to stakeholders and successful in achieving the desired outcomes. While not denying that stakeholders' perceptions may not reflect the actual environmental benefits of a policy, these perceptions are often influential in establishing the effectiveness and acceptability of a suite of environmental strategies. This paper focuses on establishing a framework within which a university can identify how important an issue is to stakeholders and track how successful it has been in addressing the issues of importance. A specific focus is placed on the mapping of these perceptions with each stakeholder segment to reveal the relative degrees of support. As part of the development of the University of Sydney's Environment Policy, the Institute of Transport Studies was commissioned to undertake a survey to identify the views of the university's key stakeholders on a number of environmental issues.     

Developing a school-age network

One of the major concerns among administrators of School-Age Child Care Programs, is how to assist staff in the development of the specific competencies and skills which are needed when working with school-age children.     

Sex difference in muscle cross-sectional area of athletes and non-athletes

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether there is a sex difference in limb muscle cross-sectional area by comparing upper- and lower-body limb fat-free cross-sectional areas (FFCSAs) adjusted for differences in fat-free weight (FFW), in male and female athletes with similar histories of upper-body physical conditioning and in non-athletes. Limb FFCSAs were calculated from circumferences corrected for subcutaneous fat thickness and FFW was estimated from body density measured by underwater weighing in 24 male and 25 female swimmers and 23 male and 25 female non-athletes, 15 to 28 years of age. The male swimmers had 32% larger FFWs and 49% larger upper-arm, similar forearm and 23% larger thigh FFCSAs compared to the female swimmers. The male non-athletes had 34% larger FFWs, 61% larger upper-arms, 54% larger forearms and 35% larger thighs than female non-athletes. To adjust for differences in body size, analysis of covariance was performed on the FFCSAs using FFW as the covariate. For the swimmers there were no significant differences (P greater than 0.05) in the adjusted FFCSAs. For the non-athletes, males had significantly larger adjusted upper-arm and forearm FFCSAs than the females but thigh FFCSAs were not significantly different (P greater than 0.05). These results suggest that sex differences in muscle area of the arms, may be partially attributed to long-term activity differences between sexes. Possible long-term differences in activity between sexes should be considered in comparisons of functional or performance measures between sexes.