Form as Content,or, It's All Style

How we say what we say is a part of what we say. In this sense, the form and the content of a statement are inseparable. Style matters semiotically as well as aesthetically. These three assertions are supported by a series of examples from a wide range of verbal and non-verbal sports-historical texts. In accordance with the post-modernist emphasis on reflexivity, several of my examples are taken from my own efforts to ‘do’ history.     

The Dynamics of Leisure Motivation: The Effects of Outcome on Leisure Needs

Abstract

Predicated upon the premise that leisure needs are socially determined and therefore dynamic qualities of leisure motivation, this field study investigated the effects of outcome (winning, losing, no outcome) of leisure participation on male and female subjects' leisure needs. Subjects were 438 players of 60 teams in the intramural basketball program comprised of competitive and recreational leagues. Factor analysis produced seven need factors, of which three dealt with interpersonal relationships, two with competence and two with escape or diversion. ANOVAs performed on the resultant factor scores showed that successful and unsuccessful leisure experiences strongly shaped subjects' needs for leisure participation, but these effects were often mediated by the sex of subjects and the competitive levels of leagues in which they played. Generally, winning and losing had just the opposite effects on males' and females' needs; winning increased females' and decreased males' needs. The effects of competitiveness of league types suggested that competitive and recreational leagues serve different psychological functions for males and females because the two leagues are expected to fulfill different leisure needs.     

Defining,assessing, and developing creativity in sport: a systematic narrative review

ABSTRACT

Research on creativity in sport is gaining momentum, due to a growing interest from coaches and academics in developing strategies to increase unpredictability in individual and collective behaviour which may allow teams to gain an important advantage over their opponents. The purpose of this paper was to conduct the first systematic narrative review of the literature on sporting creativity, critically synthesising 51 years of published research (1967–2018) and proposing avenues for future research. Six databases were used, and 48 documents met search criteria. The findings are organised in four categories: (a) defining creativity, (b) correlates of creativity, (c) assessing creativity and (d) developing creativity. Creativity definitions and assessments have privileged thought processes over the ability to act. A distinction is warranted between creativity about sport and creativity in sport (in action) and aligned assessment methods. The literature does not support a single strategy for the development of sporting creativity but does support its trainability. Evidence of the effectiveness of programmes for the enhancement of sporting creativity is growing but is still limited. Furthermore, while it is recognised that coaches have a pivotal role in the development of sporting creativity, research involving them is still scarce.     

Children's cognition of stressful events

Current research on children and stress supports the belief that children today experience stressful events in a complex developmental-ecological context. Many interdependent elements, including child variables (sex, age, temperament, and developmental stage), family variables (marital status, interactions, child-rearing practices, and socioeconomic status), and variables related to the child's extended social and physical environments (neighborhood, child care, and peers), affect the ways in which children perceive, respond, and cope with stressors (Benswanger, 1982; Honig, 1986). The accuracy of children's perceptions and the development of coping skills, however, vary according to children's cognitive abilities and limitations.Jan Allen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The author is appreciative of helpful comments about this article from Dr. Deborah W. Tegano and Becki A. Bowditch.     

An Investigation of Title Ambiguity in the Health Sciences Literature

This research investigates what most catalogers already know—titles alone do not identify works sufficiently. Repetitive titles like “Annual Report” are just the tip of the iceberg. To explore the extent of ambiguity occurring in large sets of health science bibliographic data, the entire National Library of Medicine and Lane Medical Library catalogs and a sample from the PubMed database were analyzed. After measuring the uniqueness of titles, results were recalculated to determine the effect of appending date and/or edition. This initial evidence supports further exploration of whether such structured titles might serve as singular bibliographic identities.     

E-learning commodity or community: Disciplinary differences between online courses

Differences in curriculum and teaching styles across disciplines in higher education courses are also evident in online courses. This study used two widely available sources of data, CMS tool usage logs and course evaluations, to analyze differences between online courses in disciplinary quadrants (hard-pure, hard-applied, soft-pure, soft-applied) at a large metropolitan university, over five years (2002 and 2007). For 2007, results revealed significant differences in tool usage between disciplines, particularly for assessment tools. Hard-pure courses used Tests and Pool tools more often than did soft-pure courses. The Document tool was used most extensively in applied courses. Data from course evaluations, for spring 2007 online courses, suggested that applied disciplines had a shorter learner–instructor transactional distance than did pure disciplines. Results suggest that over five years, e-learning in pure disciplines has become more commoditized, while e-learning in applied disciplines has become more diversified and more oriented to community practice.     

“My Three Wishes”: Hopes,Aspirations, and Concerns of Middle School Students

Inclusion in the general education classroom is becoming the placement of choice for many students with autism. Autism is a disorder that can impact many aspects of a child's learning experience. A child's profile along the continuum of Autism Spectrum Disorders dictates the severity of impairment in language engagement, social connectedness, sensory integration, and cognitive skills. This can often be overwhelming for teachers who are uninformed and untrained in the unique issues of autism. Teacher awareness and understanding of behaviors and perceptions unique to these disorders can facilitate the development and implementation of strategies created specifically to ease this potentially overwhelming situation for students and teachers.