Paul M. Pedersen

Success and gender: Determining the rate of advancement for intercollegiate athletic directors

Since the demise of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), female sport administrators have continued their struggle to reestablish their place as athletic directors. The purpose of this study was to assess the rate of advancement (success ratio) of intercollegiate athletic directors, with a primary focus on gender. Athletic directors from 157 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) member institutions participated in the study. The preliminary results confirmed the expected findings that hegemonic masculinity was entrenched within intercollegiate athletics. The success ratio of male athletic directors differed from that of female athletic directors, and the difference was significant (p ≤ .05). The success ratio for men was higher than the ratio for women. Further analyses, however, showed that female athletic directors had higher success ratios than their male peers at lower level institutions. Although parity in numbers has not yet been achieved across the NCAA, the glass ceiling at Division I institutions may begin to crack as more women achieve success at the lower level institutions.

Examining Equity in Newspaper Photographs A Content Analysis of the Print Media Photographic Coverage of Interscholastic Athletics

Sport has long been considered the generic preserve of males. Because of hegemonic masculinity, females have encountered myriad obstacles in their quest to participate in and receive the benefits from sports. The mass media have aided in the establishment of these barriers with their biased coverage of the institution of sport. While the existence of under-representative and stereotyped coverage of females has been documented across the various media and sport participation levels, there has not been any determination of equitable coverage at the interscholastic level. This content analysis, through its investigation of the newspaper photographic coverage given to high school athletics, seeks to fill this void. A total of 827 photographs were examined from 602 randomly selected newspaper issues. The sample was taken over a one-year timeframe from all the daily newspapers (n= 43) based in the State of Florida. The study found that female athletics, even when compared to the independent standards of enrollment, participation, and sports offered, were significantly under-represented in number of photographs and total photographic column inches. Male athletics not only received more photographic coverage, their photographs were also better positioned and more likely to be color photographs. Collectively, the newspapers upheld hegemonic masculinity through their under-representation and marginalization of high school female athletics.

Daily experience of serious leisure, flow and subjective well‐being of older adults

The purpose of this study was to investigate how serious leisure and flow contribute to subjective well‐being (SWB) in the daily lives of older adults. Twenty‐two older adults were recruited from a local aging agency in a midwestern city in the USA. Experience Sampling Method was used to collect data on the daily experiences of the older adults. Hierarchical Linear Modelling was used to predict levels of SWB from experience variables (i.e. serious leisure, flow) and individual difference variables (i.e. gender, retirement). One‐way analyses of variance, random coefficient, and intercepts and slopes‐as‐outcomes models were tested. Serious leisure was positively associated with positive affect (PA), and flow had a significant negative relationship with PA. The results of this study confirm previous findings that SWB is an important consequence of serious leisure in everyday life.

An Investigation of Job Satisfaction and Female Sports Journalists

The purpose of this study was to provide a theoretical foundation to enhance and enrich the understanding of female sport journalists and their level of job satisfaction. In this research we sought to determine satisfaction with six distinct areas of employment by using two of the most often used survey instruments (Job Descriptive Index and Job In General) that measure job satisfaction. A total of 78 surveys were completed by members of the Association for Women in Sports Media who were identified as full-time employees of daily newspapers. Although the journalists indicated overall satisfaction with their employment, pay, supervision, coworkers, and type of work, they were dissatisfied with their promotional opportunities. Significant differences were also found by making demographic comparisons.

England expects: English newspapers’ narratives about the English football team in the 2006 World Cup

The essence of global sports has been competition among nations at the international level. For football, arguably the world’s most popular sport, global rivalries are paramount, and every four years since 1930, it has been the World Cup that has provided this excitement. English newspaper narratives about the English men’s national football team competing in the 2006 World Cup were examined to gain insight into how English national identity was portrayed. Using a qualitative textual analysis methodology, this study drew on Anderson’s (1983) theory of the imagined community, Hobsbawm’s (1983) notion of invented traditions, and the Eliasian (1991) concept of habitus codes. Set against the contemporary trends of devolution, globalization, and a post-7/7 discourse the newspapers relied on a reductionist, essentialist construction to elicit an emotional connection with a homogenous form of English national identity. The narratives seemed designed to galvanize support for the English team through references to historic English military victories and speeches. These served to rekindle images of bygone, mythical, and imperialistic eras. The newspapers also reverted to an ‘us vs them’ invective in blaming Swedish manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson, for England’s failure to win the tournament with the ‘greatest generation’.

Choosing Between the One-Way or Two-Way Street An Exploration of Relationship Promotion by Professional Athletes on Twitter

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships promoted by professional athletes on Twitter utilizing the theoretical framework of parasocial interaction (PSI). Specifically, this study was a content analysis that examined professional athlete tweets in order to determine whether they predominately promoted social or parasocial relationships. The study also explored with whom athletes were engaging in social interaction as well as the topic of each tweet. The data revealed that professional athletes promoted both parasocial and social relationships equally. When they chose to be social, athletes were communicating with lay people and other professional and college athletes. Most athlete tweets were either general statements or insights into their personal lives. The implications of these and other findings will be discussed further.

Flow Experience in the Daily Lives of Older Adults: An Analysis of the Interaction between Flow, Individual Differences, Serious Leisure, Location, and Social Context

Cette étude a examiné comment les loisirs sérieux, les différences individuelles, le contexte social et l’emplacement contribuent aux expériences de flux – un état psychologique intense – dans la vie quotidienne des adultes plus âgés. La Méthode d’échantillonnage a été utilisée avec 19 adultes plus âgés dans une ville du Midwest des États-Unis. L’expérience de flux a été la mesure des résultats, et les données ont été analysées à l’aide de la modélisation linéaire hiérarchique. Les résultats ont indiqué que la localité et le statut de l’emploi ont influencé l’expérience de flux des sujets. En outre, les conclusions ont révélé que la retraite était négativement liée à la rencontre de flux, et qu’il y avait une association significative entre le domicile et l’expérience de flux. Les résultats de cette étude améliorent la compréhension des expériences de flux dans la vie quotidienne des adultes plus âgés.

A Content Analysis of the Journal of Sports Economics

The purpose of this study was to examine the contents of the literature published in the Journal of Sports Economics (JSE), the first academic journal exclusively focused on the economics of sport. Content analysis methodology was used to examine every journal issue (N = 10) published from the inaugural issue in 2000 through the second issue in 2002. Collectively, the 10 issues yielded 55 articles representing the work of 77 authors (95.3% male, 4.7% female). The majority of the articles reviewed were quantitative (94.1%), and the preferred statistical methodology utilized was regression analysis (64%). The highest percentages of articles focused on team performance and payrolls (20%) as well as labor market research (12.9%). Additional content areas analyzed in this study included measures related to editor, reviewers, authors, sport industry segmentation, gender, scholarly productivity, geographical and institutional makeup, and professional level. Findings and implications are discussed.

Communicating with consumers through video games: an analysis of brand development within the video gaming segment of the sports industry

The PGA Tour/Tiger Woods golf series was examined for brand and product placement and found to have 2,100 identifiable brand images, with all but one occurring in the final three years. Brands appearing most frequently included Oakley, Nike, adidas, TW Nike and Tag Heuer. By product category, Nike was leader in equipment (36%) and Oakley in apparel (31%). The results indicate that video games are increasingly seen as viable marketing avenues.

Reflections on Communication and Sport: On Strategic Communication and Management

In this essay, Paul M. Pedersen provides a personal reflection on communication and sport and examines the area of strategic communication and management. His assessment begins with an overview of the growth and significance of the sport industry and communication’s ubiquitous and influential roles within it. In tracing his scholarly journey, Pedersen comes to see communication as an essential element in the sport industry, whether viewed from individualistic, organizational, or sport-specific perspectives. The focus section in this essay examines research on the Strategic Sport Communication Model (SSCM) and its usefulness in categorizing and operationalizing the field from a strategic management perspective. Using the SSCM as the guide, this reflection provides examples of sport communication research focused on each of the model’s three components. The reflection concludes with an analysis of future research opportunities, particularly opportunities to explore strategic decisions and effectiveness in the sport industry’s use of new/social media. Pedersen concludes that a key to developing best communication practices will be a research agenda that more fully contextualizes strategic communication and management in the sport marketplace.