), and the availability of public transport ( Barnett et al., 2017 ; Van Cauwenberg et al., 2018 ) were associated with higher levels of PA. Physical activity was also higher in the presence of favorable features of the pedestrian infrastructure, including the availability of resting places ( Cerin et
Search Results
Environmental Features Associated With Older Adults’ Physical Activity in Different Types of Urban Neighborhoods
Kirsi E. Keskinen, Merja Rantakokko, Kimmo Suomi, Taina Rantanen, and Erja Portegijs
The Effect of the Model of Organizational Infrastructure on Collegiate Athletic Trainer Job Satisfaction: A Critically Appraised Topic
Emily A. Hall, Dario Gonzalez, and Rebecca M. Lopez
collegiate athletic training is limited. There are currently three models of organizational infrastructure in the collegiate athletic training setting: the traditional athletics model, the academic model, and the medical model. 5 The traditional model is defined as having the athletic training staff as part
Sociology of Sport: Growth, Diversification, and Marginalization, 1981–2021
Jay Coakley
infrastructure, the production of significant knowledge, and the diversity of scholars—are identified in this section and discussed in connection with the external factors that have influenced them and the sociology of sport. Global Growth Over the last 40 years, the sociology of sport has attracted more
Costs and Benefits of Bicycling Investments in Portland, Oregon
Thomas Gotschi
Background:
Promoting bicycling has great potential to increase overall physical activity; however, significant uncertainty exists with regard to the amount and effectiveness of investment needed for infrastructure. The objective of this study is to assess how costs of Portland’s past and planned investments in bicycling relate to health and other benefits.
Methods:
Costs of investment plans are compared with 2 types of monetized health benefits, health care cost savings and value of statistical life savings. Levels of bicycling are estimated using past trends, future mode share goals, and a traffic demand model.
Results:
By 2040, investments in the range of $138 to $605 million will result in health care cost savings of $388 to $594 million, fuel savings of $143 to $218 million, and savings in value of statistical lives of $7 to $12 billion. The benefit-cost ratios for health care and fuel savings are between 3.8 and 1.2 to 1, and an order of magnitude larger when value of statistical lives is used.
Conclusions:
This first of its kind cost-benefit analysis of investments in bicycling in a US city shows that such efforts are cost-effective, even when only a limited selection of benefits is considered.
Playground Characteristics to Encourage Children to Visit and Play
Jack L. Nasar and Christopher H. Holloman
Background:
The research sought to find the salient perceived characteristics of playgrounds for African-American children and their parents, and to test effects of changes in those characteristics on playground choice.
Methods:
Thirty-one African-American children and their parents sorted 15 photographs of playgrounds for similarity. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling on the similarity scores and correlations between the resulting dimensions and judged characteristics of each playground revealed salient perceived characteristics. Study 2 had 40 African-American children and their parents view pairs of photographs, manipulated on the salient characteristics, and pick the one to play on (child question) or for the child to play on (parent question). A third study inventoried and observed children’s activities in 14 playgrounds.
Results:
Study 1 found seats, fence, playground type, and softness of surface as salient perceived characteristics of the playground. Study 2 found that participants were more likely to pick playgrounds with equipment and playgrounds with a softer surface. Study 3 found higher levels of physical activity for playground settings with equipment.
Conclusions:
The findings confirm correlational findings on the desirability of equipment and safety. Communities need to test the effects of changes in playgrounds.
Physically Constructed and Socially Shaped: Sociomaterial Environment and Walking for Transportation in Later Life
Yang Li
not only built material structures but also their intersections with the social environment (e.g., social infrastructure and social bonds). The present study addresses this gap in the literature by investigating the role of the social environment in walking and the extent to which sociomaterial
Load–Velocity Profile and Active Drag in Young Female Swimmers: An Age-Group Comparison
Christina Wettengl, Rebecca Karlsson, Bjørn H. Olstad, and Tomohiro Gonjo
Purpose: The present study aimed to establish differences in load–velocity profiling, active drag (AD), and drag coefficient (Cd) between 3 age groups of female swimmers. Methods: Thirty-three swimmers (11, 13, or 16 y old) were recruited. The individual load–velocity profile was determined for the 4 competitive swimming strokes. The maximal velocity (V0), maximal load (L0), L0 normalized to the body mass, AD, and Cd were compared between the groups. A 2-way analysis of variance and correlation analysis were conducted. Results: Compared with their younger counterparts, 16-year-old swimmers generally had larger V0, L0, and AD, which was particularly evident when comparing them with 11-year-old swimmers (P ≤ .052). The exception was breaststroke, where no differences were observed in L0 and AD and Cd was smaller in the 16-year-old group than the 11-year-old group (P = .03). There was a negative correlation between Cd and V0 for all groups in backstroke (P ≤ .038) and for the 11-year-old group and 13-year-old group in breaststroke (P ≤ .022) and front crawl (P ≤ .010). For the 16-year-old group, large correlations with V0 were observed for L0, L0 normalized to the body mass, and AD (P ≤ .010) in breaststroke and for L0 and AD with V0 in front crawl (P ≤ .042). In butterfly, large negative correlations with V0 were observed in the 13-year-old group for all parameters (P ≤ .027). Conclusions: Greater propulsive force is likely the factor that differentiates the oldest age group from the younger groups, except for breaststroke, where a lower Cd (implying a better technique) is evident in the oldest group.
Extension as a Backbone Support Organization for Physical Activity Promotion: A Collective Impact Case Study From Rural Kentucky
Margaret McGladrey, Angela Carman, Christy Nuetzman, and Nicole Peritore
be a complicated endeavor. The challenges of coalition building are heightened in rural areas of the United States due to geographic isolation as well as deficits in infrastructure, public transportation, health care providers, and funding. 11 Although a variety of models 12 – 16 exist to provide
Organizational Capacity and Performance of Community Sport Clubs
Alison Doherty and Graham Cuskelly
human resources, infrastructure, finance, planning and development, and relationships and network capacity ( Balduck, Lucidarme, Marlier, & Willem, 2015 ; Cordery, Sim, & Baskerville, 2013 ; Swierzy et al., 2018 ; Wicker & Breuer, 2011 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 ; Wicker, Breuer, Lampert, & Fischer
A Quantitative Assessment of Organizational Capacity and Organizational Life Stages in Sport for Development and Peace
Per G. Svensson, Fredrik O. Andersson, and Lewis Faulk
capacity to consist of dimensions related to human, financial, process and infrastructure, relationships and network, and planning and development capacities. To date, some researchers have begun to examine capacity in SDP using this framework (e.g., Svensson & Hambrick, 2016 ; Svensson et al., 2017
