Evaluating sport projects which promote social inclusion for young people: a case study

[EN] This work presents the findings of a participatory research program evaluating the outcomes of an Italian sports program for minors at risk. Using a participatory evaluation approach enabled an evaluation-research close to the real objectives and useful for monitoring and e-planning actions, starting from an initial exploration of the different stakeholders’ views of the project itself. The research design is presented in the form of a case study, emphasizing the continuous involvement of the project’s stakeholders in the evaluation process. The outcomes here presented make evident how the participatory evaluation project allowed a targeted and ongoing monitoring at group level as well as at individual level with the minors involved in the project.

Need certificaction in the field of sport

[EN] The need for stronger credentialing in the field of sports is recommended because of the complex issues modern sports face. A brief overview of the development of professional credentials/licensure is provided to set the rationale for the need for accreditation in the field of sports. The research reviewed supports the need for accreditation of both the individual professionals that serve sports and athletes and the schools and institutions as well. This research points to the similar developmental path that other licensed/credentialed professions have followed leading up to their regulation. Accreditation by the International association is offered as an answer to this need for certification.

Fiabilidad en la observación en fútbol sala a través de una herramienta de evaluación de los deportes de equipo (Team Sport Assessment Procedure)

[ES] El objeto de esta investigación es la obtención de parámetros de fiabilidad a partir de la aplicación de la herramienta validada Team Sport Assessment Procedure (TSAP).

Visual scanning in sports actions: comparison between soccer goalkeepers and judo fighters

Visual search and oculomotor behaviour are believed to be very relevant for athlete performance, especially for sports requiring refined visuo-motor coordination skills. Modern coaches believe that a correct visuo-motor strategy may be part of advanced training programs. In this thesis two experiments are reported in which gaze behaviour of expert and novice athletes were investigated while they were doing a real sport specific task. The experiments concern two different sports: judo and soccer. In each experiment, number of fixations, fixation locations and mean fixation duration (ms) were considered. An observational analysis was done at the end of the paper to see perceptual differences between near and far space. Purpose: The aim of the judo study was to delineate differences in gaze behaviour characteristics between a population of athletes and one of non athletes. Aspects specifically investigated were: search rate, search order and viewing time across different conditions in a real-world task. The second study was aimed at identifying gaze behaviour in varsity soccer goalkeepers while facing a penalty kick executed with instep and inside foot. Then an attempt has been done to compare the gaze strategies of expert judoka and soccer goalkeepers in order to delineate possible differences related to the different conditions of reacting to events occurring in near (peripersonal) or far (extrapersonal) space. Judo Methods: A sample of 9 judoka (black belt) and 11 near judoka (white belt) were studied. Eye movements were recorded at 500Hz using a video based eye tracker (EyeLink II). Each subject participated in 40 sessions for about 40 minutes. Gaze behaviour was considered as average number of locations fixated per trial, the average number of fixations per trial, and mean fixation duration. Soccer Methods: Seven (n = 7) intermediate level male volunteered for the experiment. The kickers and goalkeepers, had at least varsity level soccer experience. The vision-in-action (VIA) system (Vickers 1996; Vickers 2007) was used to collect the coupled gaze and motor behaviours of the goalkeepers. This system integrated input from a mobile eye tracking system (Applied Sciences Laboratories) with an external video of the goalkeeper’s saving actions. The goalkeepers took 30 penalty kicks on a synthetic pitch in accordance with FIFA (2008) laws. Judo Results: Results indicate that experts group differed significantly from near expert for fixations duration, and number of fixations per trial. The expert judokas used a less exhaustive search strategy involving fewer fixations of longer duration than their novice counterparts and focused on central regions of the body. The results showed that in defence and attack situation expert group did a greater number of transitions with respect to their novice counterpart. Soccer Results: We found significant main effect for the number of locations fixated across outcome (goal/save) but not for foot contact (instep/inside). Participants spent more time fixating the areas in instep than inside kick and in goal than in save situation. Mean and standard error in search strategy as a result of foot contact and outcome indicate that the most gaze behaviour start and finish on ball interest areas. Conclusions: Expert goalkeepers tend to spend more time in inside-save than instep-save penalty, differences that was opposite in scored penalty kick. Judo results show that differences in visual behaviour related to the level of expertise appear mainly when the test presentation is continuous, last for a relatively long period of time and present a high level of uncertainty with regard to the chronology and the nature of events. Expert judoist performers “anchor” the fovea on central regions of the scene (lapel and face) while using peripheral vision to monitor opponents’ limb movements. The differences between judo and soccer gaze strategies are discussed on the light of physiological and neuropsychological differences between near and far space perception.

Persönliche Ziele als Motivatoren und Regulatoren im Sport

Vor dem Hintergrund ziel- und handlungstheoretischer Annahmen wurde ein Untersuchungskonzept zur Erklärung und Vorhersage interindividueller Unterschiede im Sportverhalten entwickelt. Es wurde überprüft, ob Ziele in Abhängigkeit von ihrem Inhalt und individuumsspezifischen Merkmalen der Zielrepräsentation die Handlungsausführung beeinflussen. Zusätzlich wurden Persönlichkeitsmerkmale als mögliche das Verhalten indirekt beeinflussende Variablen einbezogen. In einer ersten Untersuchung konnten die notwendigen Messverfahren zur Erfassung der modellrelevanten Variablen an einer Stichprobe von 470 Sportlern und Nichtsportlern konstruiert und teststatistisch überprüft werden. Darüber hinaus ließen sich durch einen Vergleich der Personengruppen unterschiedlichen Aktivitätsniveaus Hinweise auf die Relevanz der Einflussfaktoren in den unterschiedlichen Handlungsphasen erhalten. Die Stichprobe der zweiten Studie setzte sich aus 141 Teilnehmern angeleiteter Sportprogramme zusammen. Alle Teilnehmer wurden sowohl während der Dauer der mehrwöchigen Sportprogramme wie auch nach einem drei- und sechsmonatigen Zeitraum nach Beendigung der Sportkurse hinsichtlich der interessierenden Variablen befragt. Durch die Erfassung der Teilnahmehäufigkeit an den Kursen konnte die Regelmäßigkeit sportlicher Aktivität objektiv erfasst werden. Gleichzeitig wurde durch die Ausweitung auf einen sechsmonatigen Bebachtungszeitraum nach Ablauf der Sportprogramme die Analyse von Determinanten der langfristigen Verhaltensaufrechterhaltung möglich. Insgesamt bestätigen die Ergebnisse beider Studien eine ziel- und handlungstheoretische Sichtweise. Die Relevanz potentieller Verhaltensdeterminanten im Sport kann nur in Abhängigkeit der prädezisionalen, präaktionalen, aktionalen und postaktionalen Handlungsphase beurteilt werden, und Feedbackprozesse sowie Veränderungen in der Ausprägung einzelner Determinanten müssen berücksichtigt werden. Abschließend wurde ein modifiziertes Modell zur Vorhersage des Sportverhaltens entwickelt und im Hinblick auf die Gestaltung von Interventionsmaßnahmen zur Gesundheitsförderung diskutiert.

Jesolo: area "x-site". Edifici per lo sport, la residenza e il tempo libero

Il territorio del comune di Jesolo si estende a nord della costa veneziana,affacciato sul Mare Adriatico e delimitato dalla Laguna e dai fiumi Sile e Piave. Come molte città costiere del Nord Italia, Jesolo si è sviluppata principalmente tra gli anni ’70 e ’80 del ‘900. La rapida espansione del Lido ha provocato la saturazione disordinata della costa, dettata dalla necessità di rispondere in maniera rapida ad un aumento improvviso del turismo balneare. L’organizzazione in fasce parallele dell’edificato rispetto alla linea di costa e la sua compattezza non consente la relazione diretta tra il Mare Adriatico e il sistema formato dalla laguna e dal fiume Sile. Obiettivo della proposta progettuale è ristabilire il legame tra mare e fiume mediante un sistema di percorsi in grado di attraversare una parte consistente del territorio del Lido offrendo luoghi di aggregazione e opportunità di svago alternative alla stagionalità della spiaggia.

Innovative techniques for sport turf managing: Agronomic and phyisiological implications

The growing substrate of the putting greens is considered a key factor for a healthy turf ecosystem. Actually detailed study on the effects of growth promoting bacteria and biostimulants on a professional sport turf are very limited. This thesis aimed to study the effectiveness of different microorganisms and biostimulants in order to improve the knowledge relative to the relationship between the beneficial microflora and root apparatus of sport turfs. The research project was divided in three principal steps: Initially, commercial products based on biostimulants and microorganisms were tested on a Lolium perenne L. essence grown in a controlled-environment. The principal evaluations were the study of the habitus of plants, biomass production and length of leaves and roots. Were studied the capacity of colonization of microorganisms within root tissues and rhizosphere. In the second step were developed two different biostimulant solutions based on effective microorganisms, mycorrhizae and humic acids. This test was conducted both on an Agrostis stolonifera putting green (Modena Golf & Country Club) in a semi-field condition and within a growth chamber on a Lolium perenne L. essence. Fungicide and chemicals applications were suspended in order to assess the effectiveness of the inoculants for nutrition and control of pests. In the last step, different microorganism mixes and biostimulants were tested on an experimental putting green in the Turf Research Center (TRC) (Virginia Tech, United States) in a real managing situation. The effects of different treatments were studied maintaining all chemicals and mechanicals managements scheduled during a sport season. Both growth-chamber and field results confirmed the capacity of microorganisms based biostimulants to promote the physiologic conditions of the plants, improve the growth of the roots and enhance the aesthetic performance of the turf. Molecular analysis confirmed the capacity of microorganisms to colonize the root tissues.

Giochi diplomatici. Sport e politica estera nell'Italia del secondo dopoguerra (1943-1953)

Questa tesi di dottorato, partendo dall’assunto teorico secondo cui lo sport, pur essendo un fenomeno periferico e non decisivo del sistema politico internazionale, debba considerarsi, in virtù della sua elevata visibilità, sia come un componente delle relazioni internazionali sia come uno strumento di politica estera, si pone l’obiettivo di investigare, con un approccio di tipo storico-politico, l’attività internazionale dello sport italiano nel decennio che va dal 1943 al 1953. Nello specifico viene dedicata una particolare attenzione agli attori e alle istituzioni della “politica estera sportiva”, al rientro dello sport italiano nel consesso internazionale e alla sua forza legittimante di attrazione culturale. Vengono approfonditi altresì alcuni casi relativi a «crisi politiche» che influirono sullo sport e a «crisi sportive» che influenzarono la politica. La ricerca viene portata avanti con lo scopo primario di far emergere, da un lato se e quanto coscientemente lo sport sia stato usato come strumento di politica estera da parte dei governi e della diplomazia dell’Italia repubblicana, dall’altro quanto e con quale intensità lo sviluppo dell’attività internazionale dello sport italiano abbia avuto significative ripercussioni sull’andamento e dai rapporti di forza della politica internazionale.

Jesolo - area "central park" centro per lo sport e il benessere

La prima parte del volume raccoglie una serie di capitoli dedicati alla lettura ed all’analisi del territorio di Jesolo. I materiali sono stati elaborati all’interno del Laboratorio di Sintesi “I luoghi del tempo libero”, coordinato dalla prof.ssa Elena Mucelli nell’Anno Accademico 2013/14. La seconda parte del volume raccoglie i materiali dedicati all’approfondimento tematico ed alle proposte progettuali sviluppati dai singoli candidati.

Traduzione e sport: uno studio di traduzione del sito RBS 6 Nations

Questa tesi tratta di traduzione sul web, e in particolare di siti disponibili in più di una lingua. Il sito preso in esame, www.rbs6nations.com è il principale sito di rugby a livello europeo, ed è disponibile nelle tre lingue ufficiali della competizione: l'inglese il francese e l'italiano. L'attenzione maggiore nella tesi è posta proprio sulla versione italiana, che è colma di errori di traduzione o di traduzione approssimativa. Vengono proposti confronti con la versione originale in inglese ed proposte di traduzione in sostituzione agli errori presenti, correlate con immagini per rendere più scorrevole ed agevole la lettura. L'elaborato parte da un'introduzione riguardo il mondo della comunicazione e di internet, concentrandosi sull'influenza della Rete nel mondo dello sport. Segue poi una breve introduzione al mondo dello sport del rugby, con le informazioni minime necessarie per comprendere le tematiche del sito web preso in analisi. La tesi si conclude con un'analisi finale riguardo il sito, la sua traduzione ed i contatti con l'azienda produttrice.