Experiences of amateur athletes’ non-participating entourage at participatory sport events

ABSTRACT

The proliferation of participatory sport events is attracting scholarly attention, with extant research primarily focusing on profiling participants, and understanding participants’ experiences. The experiences and perspectives of those who travel to participatory sport events to support competing athletes, the ‘non-participating entourage’ (NPE), have largely been overlooked. This stakeholder group is arguably under-recognised by those staging participatory sport events. The purpose of this study was to explore NPE experiences at participatory sport events, adopting a phenomenological approach and employing stakeholder theory as an interpretive lens. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 NPE of amateur athletes in Australia. Findings highlighted that NPE provide emotional and logistical support to their athlete at events. However, while providing support, NPE also experienced positive and negative emotions arising from contextual factors including their relationship to the athlete, group composition, athlete performance, and event design and conditions. This research highlights a vexed, though crucial stakeholder relationship between NPE and event management organisations, requiring unique stakeholder management strategies.     

Rethinking Child Welfare and Emigration Institutions, 1870–1914

This article challenges the entrenched image of child emigration as a failure in child welfare. By moving the analytical focus away from large, and at times corrupt, institutions, our analysis focuses on the emigration and rescue work undertaken by charities in Liverpool and Manchester. We argue that the image of the uncaring and emotionally distant institution does not reflect the ideology and practice of these societies. It shows we need to focus on the different institutional, religious and regional approaches to child emigration in order to understand fully ideas about institutional childhood and contemporary conceptions of child welfare.     

Bringing back sweet (and not so sweet) memories: the cultural politics of memory,hip‐hop,and generational identities

This article examines the salience of collective ‘memory’ and ‘remembering’ among a group of students in Hip‐Hop Lit, a hip‐hop centered English literature course that I co‐taught at ‘Howard High School,’ an urban high school in the Northeastern United States. Specifically, this article examines the memory work that occurred within Hip‐Hop Lit in response to the students’ interactions with one of the course texts, Things Done Changed by rapper Notorious B.I.G. From this and other classroom texts, students were able to construct, contest, and reinscribe memories about the past. Through these memories, students were able to reaffirm and challenge particular social identities that informed and reflected their lived experiences.     

ORIGINATING VISIONS AND VISIONARIES OF THE REA

Abstract One hundred years ago an assembly of four hundred met at Chicago's Auditorium Hotel to create the Religious Education Association. This article traces the influences of William Rainey Harper, John Dewey, and George Albert Coe in the REA's formation, and explores social and intellectual conditions shaping this movement in its beginnings. The author highlights contributions of George Albert Coe as the leading theorist in the religious education movement from the beginnings of the REA into the middle of the 20th century.     

Improving standards in the scientific biomedical community in Romania by using journal ranking to improve journal quality*

The paper articulates the problems of journal publication in a relatively small country such as Romania where locally (i.e. nationally) published journals include most of the national medical scientific output. The starting point was a study ordered by the Cluj University of Medicine and Pharmacy Scientific Council, for the purpose of obtaining an objectively ranked list of all current Romanian biomedical journals that could be used in the evaluation of the scientific activity of the university academic staff. Sixty‐five current biomedical journals were identified—of which more than half were new titles that had appeared over the past 5 years. None of these are included in the Science Citation Index or Journal Citation Reports (JCR). A set of criteria was used for ranking the journals: peer review, inclusion in international databases, publication time lag, language of articles and abstracts, journal specific index and domestic impact factor. The period covered, along with tools and formulas used are presented. The problems of Romanian biomedical journals as well as ways of improving publishing standards are discussed. Also emphasized is the necessity for increased awareness in the medical scholarly community and the role of the library in this respect.     

Using interactive problem-solving techniques to enhance control systems education for non English-speakers

Interactive learning is beneficial to students in that it allows the continual development and testing of many skills. An interactive approach enables students to improve their technical capabilities, as well as developing both verbal and written communicative ability. Problem solving and communication skills are vital for engineering students; in the workplace they will be required to communicate with people of varying technical abilities and from different linguistic and engineering backgrounds. In this paper, a case study is presented that discusses how the traditional method of teaching control systems can be improved. ‘Control systems’ is a complex engineering topic requiring students to process an extended amount of mathematical formulae. MATLAB software, which enables students to interactively compare a range of possible combinations and analyse the optimal solution, is used to this end. It was found that students became more enthusiastic and interested when given ownership of their learning objectives. As well as improving the students’ technical knowledge, other important engineering skills are also improved by introducing an interactive method of teaching.     

The impact of gross anatomy on the future head and neck surgeon

Gross anatomy is not only a rite of passage for medical students as they enter the world of practicing medicine but may also be an unrecognized fork in the road in their pursuit of choosing a medical specialty. Otolaryngology: head and neck surgery tends to be poorly represented in medical school curriculum, often only offered as an elective rotation. However, head and neck anatomy remains a constant in most medical schools, granting some exposure to otolaryngology whether students realize it or not. A common thread among most head and neck surgeons in their decision to pursue this surgical specialty is a love for head and neck anatomy, spawned in that first year gross anatomy course. This first and potentially only exposure to otolaryngology should be optimized, as it can have a profound effect in the selection of otolaryngology as a specialty. This introduction can be facilitated by (1) inviting otolaryngology residents to assist during the dissection of the head and neck, (2) soliciting otolaryngology attending physicians to provide clinical correlation lectures, and (3) anatomy professors should identify students who excel in the head and neck portion of the curriculum and direct them towards otolaryngology mentors. There may be a great missed opportunity if a career in otolaryngology is not discussed with students during the dissection of the head and neck. Anat Sci Ed 2:89–90, 2009. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

Safe Spaces or Brave Spaces? Re-Envisioning Practical Theology and Transformative Learning Theory

Abstract

The Loyola Institute for Ministry (LIM) developed a method of practical theology for ministry professionals and religious educators rooted in transformative learning theory to enable students to reflect more intentionally and theologically on their experiences in ministry. This study asks, by teaching students to engage in dialogue through transformative learning practices in safe spaces, are religious educators inhibiting the self-actualization needed to confront white normativity and expose white fragility, thus, advancing rather than dismantling racism with our students in graduate programs in ministry and religious education?