Brennan K. Berg

Sport Participation Across National Contexts: A Multilevel Investigation of Individual and Systemic Influences on Adult Sport Participation

Abstract Since multiple factors may impact adult levels and patterns of sport participation, this study utilized stages from Greens (2005) sport development theoretical model to examine the structural and individual factors that impact the sport experiences, patterns, and motives of both female and male adults in three different countries: the Netherlands (n=48), the United States of America (n=44), and the Republic of Korea (n=30). Asynchronous online focus groups using semi-structured questions assessed past and current sport participation, barriers and benefits to sport participation, and perceptions of sport delivery systems. The main themes that emerged related to adult sport participation were life-course and transitional dynamics, motivational differences, and sport delivery system impacts. While previous research has typically implicated individual-level factors for differences in sport participation the current study indicates that delivery system level factors are also critical. Systems that are more readily accessible or predictable and those that create social opportunities may be keys to increasing adult sport participation.

Spectator sport and population health: a scoping study.

This article examines the current state of research regarding the effect of spectator sport on population health. We conducted a scoping study that involved a comprehensive search of published and gray literature between 1990 and 2014, and identified 135 studies empirically examining the effect of spectator sport on population health. A frequency analysis shows that there is a paucity of studies on this topic published in sport management journals. A thematic analysis further reveals that the reviewed studies can be classified into nine research themes depicting the relationships among certain categories of spectator sport and population health. Based on this scoping study, we develop a framework and identify several gaps in the literature that should be addressed to advance our understanding of the relationship between spectator sport and population health.

Regulating the emerging: a policy discourse analysis of mixed martial arts legislation

Policy discourse analysis has emerged as a tool for gaining a systematic understanding of the policy process and enhancing consequent outcomes, including for sport policies. In a federal system of government, there are a multitude of settings within a country to examine the formulation of public policy. As a result, there are opportunities for government bodies to adapt policies created by other government bodies in the same country. Narrative and interpretive methods for policy analysis are used to illustrate the policy process that regulated mixed martial arts in the United States. By analysing three policy contexts, it is demonstrated how the policy discourse evolved over time with the interaction of institutions, legitimations, stakeholders and the sociopolitical climate. By examining the lobbying efforts of the dominant organization seeking to govern the sport, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it is shown how a sport organization can proactively work with governments rather than resist government involvement in its business.

A realist perspective of Sport Management Program and the H.J. Lutcher Stark governmental perceptions of Olympic boycott movements, 1936–2008

Using historical and discourse analytical methods, this study demonstrates the reciprocal relationship between sport and international relations among states and the need to incorporate sport into foreign policy deliberations. Specifically, this article traces the evolution of the USs governmental perceptions of Olympic boycotts under a realist international relations framework. In order to examine several different geopolitical contexts, the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics were selected for analysis. Both international and domestic politics were considered so that the derived policies regarding a US boycott during each Olympics could be better explained. While a US boycott is unlikely in the near future, it cannot be completely ruled out as an instrument of diplomacy. At a practical level, this article suggests sport is not free from government interests, and sport organizations would be well served to plan for various government-influenced contingencies.

Sustaining local physical activity programmes: lessons from the United States

Physical activity programmes are challenged with sustainability after the initial resources and impetus that created them have subsided. Financial stability is important, but social and political support also factor into whether a programme will be sustainable. Three community programmes in the United States were examined to illustrate what elements of sustainability were realised while attempting to develop the local populations’ health. Site visits were made to each community and 42 people were interviewed. The results reveal that stakeholder support was perceived to decline and was viewed as a substantial hurdle in programme sustainability. This drop-off largely explains why these programmes were constrained in what could be implemented and had limited prospects for sustainability. Although the challenges of sustaining a physical activity programme cannot be completely eliminated, an appreciation for those difficulties increases the possibility that they can be mitigated, and the physical activity programme can be carried out as intended and sustained.