Women's 2011 Football World Cup: The impact of perceived images of women's soccer and the World Cup 2011 on interest in attending matches

The popularity of women's soccer has increased in Germany since the inauguration of the sport in 1970 by the German Football Association. The purpose of this study is to analyze the current image of women's soccer in general and the pre-event image of the World Cup 2011 in particular, as well as the key drivers and indicators that trigger interest in attending women's soccer matches. The study sample consists of sport-interested individuals who were questioned concerning their attitudes and actions related to the attendance at women's soccer matches at different leisure facilities and sport events in Germany in 2009 (n = 1284). Additive image indexes were created in order to evaluate the respective images of women's soccer and the Women's World Cup. Regression analyses were applied to test the key drivers for interest in attending matches. The results suggest that age is important in determining the perceived image of women's soccer and the Women's World Cup and gender influences the perception of the pre-event image of the Women's World Cup. Moreover, various image indicators influence future behavior which applies as well to age. No differences were found regarding an effect of gender on future behavior. Regarding women's soccer it can be said that the more interesting, exciting and cheerful it is perceived to be, the higher the interest in attending matches. These attributes can be used in marketing communications to foster game attendance.     

The calibration and application of an individual scrummaging ergometer

Although the characteristic morphology of rugby forwards playing different positions in the rugby scrum has been well documented, a complete picture of the force characteristics that different players produce has not been evaluated. This is especially true for the movement of the centre of pressure (CoP) elicited during scrummaging in a forward direction. An individual scrummaging ergometer was therefore developed to measure the CoP of an individual scrum action using conventional torque calculations. Calibration of the measurement system revealed measured force errors within 16.6 N of the actual force and errors of less than 3.96 mm for CoP location determination. Thirty-nine club level rugby union players (22 front rows, 11 locks and six back rows) scrummed against the ergometer on an outdoor rugby field. Differences between the three groups were tested using one-way ANOVAs. The maximum force for different players was 2253.6 ± 649.0 N over the entire subject group. There were no differences in the individual compressive force between the groups [front rows: 2404.0 ± 650.3 N; locks: 2185.6 ± 568.9 N; back rows: 1826.9 ± 670.2 N (p = 0.143)]. Individually, front rows started at a higher position than back rows (p = 0.009) and were at a higher vertical position than locks when producing maximum force (p = 0.028). Front rows had lower variation in the CoP (p = 0.044) and less movement to achieve their maximum force (p = 0.020) than locks. Front rows moved less overall than back rows (p = 0.028) during the scrum trial. The design and application of the individual scrum ergometer showed with good limits of agreement that differences in force magnitude and CoP exist within scrummaging players. Practically, the application of this ergometer may assist in the individual optimisation of scrummaging performance.     

Beyond Tippekampen: the origins and maintenance of Scandinavian support for the Liverpool FC

Professional sport is a highly marketable product, whereby favourite teams often become ‘overseas sweethearts’ for millions of satellite supporters and their imagined community of like-minded fans. Scandinavia has historically proven to be a fertile market for English football and is home to some of the largest supporter groups for English clubs, in particular the Liverpool FC. This article examines the origins of Scandinavian identification with the Merseyside club and how satellite supporters in the region maintain a connection with the famous brand. Scandinavian supporters highlighted the importance of the media, especially the popularity of state-run television programmes such as Tippekampen, the team’s playing style and the presence of star players in their initial support for Liverpool FC and explained how they had turned to a virtual ‘third place’ to regularly connect and engage with fellow fans and the brand in cyberspace. In a global marketplace, satellite supporters are critical for the future of many brands and this article offers a valuable case study for those who seek to exploit these markets, monetize these consumers and build equity for their team brands.     

Higher education: Paradise lost?

Universities in many cultures and times have had golden ages the most recent throughout the Western World lasted from the end of World War II to about 1970. Now the prevailing mood is one of pessimism: the golden age is over. In fact, however, universal access postsecondary education is healthy and continuing to grow in most nations; mass access higher education is generally static; and it is the elite sector of higher education that most suffers a decline in prestige, in faculty morale, in rate of growth of enrollments and financing, in independence, and in other ways. The paper analyzes some of the reasons for the comparative decline of the elite sector, including (1) the historical transition from elite to mass access to universal higher education, (2) the politicization of higher education, and (3) the increasing submergence of higher education under external social controls. The author argues that elite, or highly selective, higher education is useful for the creation of knowledge and for training the highly skilled persons needed by modern nations and economies, and suggests that a differentiated system of postsecondary education, such as exists in some countries now, is essential for its survival. Differentiated by function, the different segments are also distinguished by different levels of admission requirements, principles for selection of faculty, levels of financial support, amount of institutional autonomy, and the relative importance of academic freedom. A series of guidelines are suggested for the preservation of an effective highly selective segment.Adapted from an address given in connection with the ceremonies commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the founding of Uppsala University, September 1977.     

Proximity and Terrorism News in Social Media: A Construal-Level Theoretical Approach to Networked Framing of Terrorism in Twitter

This study investigates networked framing of terrorism news in Twitter by distinguishing three proximity effects (geographic, social, and temporal proximity) on audience and media institutional frames (i.e., episodic/thematic and space frames), based on construal-level theory. An analysis of tweets during the Boston Marathon bombing and the Brussels Airport attack finds that institutional and audience frames show similarity but do not always converge on Twitter. Similarities in the audience and institutional frames are attributed to a universal human tendency for social categorization, inherent in the minds of not only ordinary citizens but also journalists. Proximity effects, however, were more salient on audience frames than on institutional frames.     

Teacher development through coteaching outdoor science and environmental education across the elementary-middle school transition

Abstract

This study considers the benefits of coteaching in the context of the outdoors. It explores the use of coteaching in a professional development program and investigates all the cited outcome categories for teachers: cognitive, affective, coteaching, and professional development. Coteaching pairs coplanned, cotaught, and coevaluated “Shared Learning Days” in the outdoors. Eight teachers took part with 180 students in their last year of elementary school or their first year of (junior) high school. This article demonstrates how a model of professional development, with coteaching at its core, is beneficial for the development of teachers who are teaching “outside” their comfort zone (outdoors) and expected to focus on skills-based teaching and learning. In particular, the benefits of attitudinal change among the teachers involved is discussed.