Jennifer Y. Mak

Examining Sport Management Programs in the United States

Analysis of sport management programs is important for potential students as well as for the future development of sport management as an academic discipline. The historical evolution of sport management programs in the United States moved from the physical education model to a more business-oriented curriculum. Given this historical development, debate exists among sport management professionals regarding administrative housing of current and future sport management programs. The purposes of this study were to: (1) Provide an overview of the development of U.S. sport management programs, (2) Provide a snapshot of sport management programs including admissions requirements and faculty profiles, and (3) Analyse critical issues facing the field of sport management. A random sample of 137 institutions offering undergraduate sport management programs in the United States were invited to participate in the study; 50 usable surveys were returned. Results indicate a lack of diversity (racial and gender) among sport management faculty, and a large proportion of part-time faculty without a terminal degree in the field.

Preventing and Treating Type 2 Diabetes Through a Physically Active Lifestyle

JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 4 • April 2007 T he decrease in time spent in quality physical education has serious implications that can infl uence the health and well-being of children. The trend today is to decrease time in physical education, or even eliminate it entirely from school curricula (Langford & Carter, 2003). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2006) found that participation in physical education has declined signifi cantly among high school students. The CDC has also found that the activity level of children and adolescents declines as they get older and that the percentage of overweight young Americans has more than doubled in the last 30 years. Styne (1999) suggested that one reason for the increase in childhood obesity in the United States is the environmental changes that include reduction in physical education requirements. One of the major problems associated with childhood obesity is type 2 diabetes mellitus, which has become the most common form of diabetes diagnosed in children (Gungor, Hannon, Libman, Bacha, & Arslanian, 2005). By the late 1960s, the increasing number of type 2 diabetic cases in children and adolescents rapidly presented a signifi cant public health issue recognized by the American Diabetes Association (2000). Since then, the prevalence of pediatric type 2 diabetes appears to be on the rise not only in the United States but all around the world (Gungor et al., 2005). In the United States, an increase from fewer than four percent to more than 50 percent of new cases of type 2 diabetes in the pediatric population was reported between the years of 1982 and 1998 (American Diabetes Association, 2000). An increasing percentage of pediatric cases of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes were also reported in population-based data (Gungor et al., 2005). Therefore, the purpose of this article is to discuss how regular physical activity can help to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.

The Challenge of Physical Activity Courses in Higher Education

This article explores the reasons behind the decline in mandatory physical activity course requirements in higher education, and the effect this has on todays student population.

A Unified Gymnastics for All Fun Day as an Inclusive Event

In this article, the authors will share the development and implementation of the Unified Gymnastics for All Fun Day as an inclusive event for students with and without mild intellectual disabilities.

Embracing Young Professionals: The Key to Future Success

This article highlights the importance of engaging and mentoring young professionals as a key to the future success of SHAPE America and the state professional associations.

Validation of the Olympic Games Attitude Scale (OGAS): Evidence from Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses

Abstract There have been extensive studies of local residents’ perception and reaction to the impacts of mega events. However, there is limited empirical research on the social impacts that shape foreign attitudes toward the host country. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Olympic Games Attitude Scale (OGAS) to examine viewers’ perception of the Olympics hosting country. Participants (N = 483) were based on a convenience sample in a local community of the mid-Atlantic region in the United States. Results of the exploratory factor analysis identified four factors (economic advancement, image enhancement, community enrichment, and turmoil development) with a total variance of 67.59%. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that after removing one item, the 13-item OGAS provided a good fit to the data (comparative fit index [CFI] = .97; incremental fit index [IFI] = .97, standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = .049; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .080). It is concluded that the OGAS is a valid measuring instrument for assessing viewers’ perception of hosting the Olympic Games.

Factor Structure of the Chinese Service Quality Assessment Scale

ed/indexed in: Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport is an SCI (Science Citation Information) and SSCI (Social Science Citation Information) journal. It is also abstracted/indexed in Biological Abstracts, CurrentREFERENCES The VERBTM Summer Scorecard (VSS) program was designed with the purpose of promoting physical activity among ‘tweens’ (8-13 year olds). A unique aspect of the VSS program is the scorecard which serves multiple purposes. The scorecard primarily serves as a behavioral reinforcer for physical activity. The scorecard also tracks physical activity for each participant. A community-based prevention marketing (CBPM) approach was taken to adapt the VSS to meet the needs of a rural, diverse population in the southeastern United States. Formative research was conducted with the target audience. Focus group interviews were conducted with parents and their children. Content analysis showed significant changes were needed for program. Previous versions of the Scorecard did not test well with the target audience, who suggested the use of smaller Scorecards and fobs as a secondary reinforcer. These changes offer many potential benefits to participation reinforcement and physical activity participation tracking. Figure 2. Scorecard from Southeast Georgia

Using the theory of planned behaviour to predict leisure educators' intentions to use instructional technology.

Abstract The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991b) was applied to the prediction and explanation of the intention to use instructional technology by using a mail questionnaire (n = 406) of leisure educators in the United States and Canada. Based on structural equation modeling, it was found that the key determinants of the TPB, attitude toward instructional technology, subjective norm toward instructional technology, and perceived behavioural control toward instructional technology accounted for 50% of the leisure educators’ intention to use instructional technology. The strongest predictor of intention was attitude toward instructional technology, followed by subjective norm toward instructional technology and perceived behavioural control toward instructional technology. The findings provide insight into faculty members’ intention to develop and use instructional technology.