Forgotten bodies – an examination of physical education from the perspective of ableism

Abstract

Contemporary social interpretations of the body are multifaceted, and in some cases paradoxical. Looking at the field of sport, there exists a global trend for (normalized) physical self-optimization on the one hand, and the struggle to achieve acceptance of (bodily) diversity triggered by the societal claims for inclusion on the other hand. Thus, this theoretical paper seeks to subject social practices in the area of sport (with a main focus on Physical Education in schools in Germany) to critical reflection especially in the light of inclusive ideals, using the perspective of ableism. The meaning of the body in Physical Education in Germany is examined in an explorative and hermeneutic manner. The observations make clear that there are numerous barriers facing the project of inclusion at all levels. In addition to obvious problematic implications in sport, the examinations reveal that conceptual and curricular approaches also imply exclusionary potentials that increasingly shift the focus onto the individual and his or her self-determined and self-reflected movements in the world.     

The importance of research on the ultras: introduction

Abstract

The ultras have become the most spectacular form of football fandom in the early twenty-first century. Thanks to global media, social media and increased travel, fans view, engage and interact with a range of fans from across the globe and bring various local dimensions to their fandom. This volume brings together a range of articles into the ultras style of football fandom. Whilst the ultras phenomenon began in Italy, then spread across Southern Europe into Northern Europe, it has now become truly global. This volume is designed to be an introduction; a first account of ultras for the uninitiated. What follows are analyses and accounts of ultras in Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Israel, North America, Australia, Indonesia and Croatia. Not only does this demonstrate the prevalence of the ultras style of fandom across the globe, it shows how football becomes an important cultural arena to see the intersections of globalisation and localism.     

Development of a test rig and a testing procedure for bicycle frame stiffness measurements

The stiffness measuring method for bicycle frames is not standardized, leading to a wide variety of test setups; they differ in many aspects such as applied load, support constraints and frame deflection measurement. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to this problem and to quantify the perturbing, unwanted side effects that influence the stiffness measurement of the bicycle frame. This is illustrated by developing a multi-purpose rating test method for bicycle frame stiffness. The proposed test rig design considers different aspects which should be taken into account when measuring the bicycle frame stiffness. In the experimental setup, it is observed that the contribution of the test bench compliance led to 21% difference in the frame stiffness results; the influence due to the head, the tube-bearing type the corresponding preload resulted in up to 19% difference in the stiffness results between the lowest and highest stiffness values measured; hysteresis effects caused by pulleys are estimated to introduce errors up to 11%; and the influence due to the operator variability and sensor accuracy is estimated to be less than 3%.     

Positive environments in youth football

Derived from Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT) is the notion that the social environment may promote athletes’ basic psychological needs, which are considered important for positive development and optimal motivational functioning. The present study investigated the predictive value of perceived justice and coach feedback on basic needs satisfaction in the context of youth football. Participants were Norwegian youth football players (N?=?532) participating in a national tournament. During the initial stage of the tournament, players completed the Coaching Feedback Questionnaire, Perceived Justice in Sport Questionnaire and Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale under supervision. Regression analysis showed that perceived justice and positive/instructive coaching feedback positively predicted players’ needs satisfaction, while negative feedback and non-reinforcement/ignoring mistakes were not significant predictors of needs satisfaction. Together, perceptions of justice and coach feedback explained 24% of the variance in athletes’ needs satisfaction. The findings thereby indicate that athletes’ perceptions of fairness and coach feedback are important in understanding youth athletes’ needs satisfaction.     

Sozialer Status und Spendenverhalten Ehrenamtlicher in Sportvereinen

While much research has been done to analyze whether socioeconomic status influences prosocial behavior in the form of donations, no consensus has yet emerged in the relevant literature. We contribute to this research by studying, based on a dataset from a questionnaire of volunteers of sports clubs in Palatinate (part of Rhineland–Palatinate, Germany) whether social status affects donations. We measured social status of volunteers of sports clubs along the dimensions income, vocation, education and we considered status crystallization. Results showed that social status has a positive effect on the likelihood of donations. We report similarities and differences across different categories of donations (donations to one’s own sports club, to other clubs, to aid projects, and political parties).     

Relationships among values, achievement orientations, and attitudes in youth sport

This research examines the value-expressive function of attitudes and achievement goal theory in predicting moral attitudes. In Study 1, the Youth Sport Values Questionnaire (YSVQ; Lee, Whitehead, & Balchin, 2000) was modified to measure moral, competence, and status values. In Study 2, structural equation modeling on data from 549 competitors (317 males, 232 females) aged 12-15 years showed that moral and competence values predicted prosocial attitudes, whereas moral (negatively) and status values (positively) predicted antisocial attitudes. Competence and status values predicted task and ego orientation, respectively, and task and ego orientation partially mediated the effect of competence values on prosocial attitudes and of status values on antisocial attitudes, respectively. The role of sport values is discussed, and new research directions are proposed.     

The Interplay of Psychology and Mathematics Education: From the Attraction of Psychology to the Discovery of the Social

It is a rather safe statement to claim that the social dimensions of the scientific process are accepted in a fair share of studies in the philosophy of science. It is a somewhat safe statement to claim that the social dimensions are now seen as an essential element in the understanding of what human cognition is and how it functions. But it would be a rather unsafe statement to claim that the social is fully accepted in the philosophy of mathematics. And we are not quite sure what kind of statement it is to claim that the social dimensions in theories of mathematics education are becoming more prominent, compared to the psychological dimensions. In our contribution we will focus, after a brief presentation of the above claims, on this particular domain to understand the successes and failures of the development of theories of mathematics education that focus on the social and not primarily on the psychological.