“Pain in the Assets”: The Effects of Commercialization and Professionalization on the Management of Injury in English Rugby Union

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Malcolm ◽  
Kenneth Sheard
Keyword(s):  
Rugby Union ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Semistructured Interviews

This paper examines the management of injuries in men’s elite rugby union in England and, in particular, how this has altered as a consequence of the (formal) professionalization of the game in 1995. Data are drawn from 42 in-depth, semistructured interviews, conducted with seven coaches/directors of rugby, nine rugby club doctors, ten physiotherapists, and sixteen players. Partly as a consequence of examining pain and injury developmentally, our findings contrast with much of the existing sociological research in the area. The professionalization of rugby union, we argue, has not led to a greater acceptance of pain and injury in the sport or to a higher level of pressure upon, or “coercion” of, players to play under such conditions. Rather professional players receive markedly better medical backup and seem increasingly disposed to utilizing it.

scholarly journals ‘It's Just Such a Class Thing’: Rivalry and Class Distinction between Female Fans of Men's Football and Rugby Union

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey Pope
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Sports Fans ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Original Contribution ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Class Distinction

This article draws on 85 interviews with female fans of men's football and rugby union to explore sporting preferences and social class in one locale in Britain. Although it has been widely contended that social class is no longer a major source of people's identity and people will usually deny class identities, these findings demonstrate that sport can operate as a unique space in which people openly discuss class distinctions. The findings examine the perceived class differences between football and rugby union fans and rivalry between respective groups of supporters. There is very little work on the cross sport perceptions of sports fans so this article makes an original contribution to sociological research.

Evaluating and Reflecting upon a Coach Education Initiative: The CoDe of Rugby

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Cassidy ◽  
Paul Potrac ◽  
Alex McKenzie
Keyword(s):  
Education Program ◽  
Curriculum Change ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Education Initiative

The aim of this paper is twofold. The first purpose is to report on participant coaches’ perceptions of a theory-based coach education program (known as the CoDe program). The second purpose is to discuss how we, as coach educators, reflected on the initiation of the CoDe program. In evaluating the coach education program, semistructured interviews were conducted with eight rugby union coaches. Three themes emerged from the interviews: (a) thinking about athletes as learners, (b) focusing on the process of coaching, and (c) the value of talking with other coaches. Fullan’s (1991a) notion of curriculum change frames our discussion of the participant coaches’ evaluations and our reflections on the initiation of the CoDe program.

scholarly journals Overtraining During Preseason: Stress and Negative Affective States Among Professional Rugby Union Players

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Nicholls ◽  
Jim McKenna ◽  
Remco C.J. Polman ◽  
Susan H. Backhouse
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Analysis Procedure ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Experience Of Stress ◽  
Negative Affective States ◽  
Training Structure

The aim of this study was to explore the perceived factors that contribute to stress and negative affective states during preseason among a sample of professional rugby union players. The participants were 12 male professional rugby union players between 18 and 21 years of age (M age = 19 years, SD = 0.85). Data were collected via semistructured interviews and analyzed using an inductive content analysis procedure. Players identified training (structure and volume), the number of matches played and the recovery period, diet, sleep, and travel as factors that they believed contributed to their experience of stress and negative affective states. The present findings suggest that players may require more time to recover between matches, alongside interventions to help players manage the symptoms of stress and negative affect during times in which players are overtraining.

No Pain Is Sane after All: A Foucauldian Analysis of Masculinities and Men’s Rugby Experiences of Fear, Pain, and Pleasure

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 472-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Pringle ◽  
Pirkko Markula
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
The Social ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Foucauldian Analysis

In this article we present research that used Foucauldian theorizing to examine the articulations between masculinities and men’s rugby union experiences of pain, fear, and pleasure. Data was collected via semistructured interviews with 14 New Zealand men of diverse rugby backgrounds. Results suggested that although rugby provided an influential discursive space for the negotiation of masculinities, these negotiations did not result in the simple (re)production of dominating discourses of masculinity. This finding supports the judgment that sport does not consistently or unambiguously produce culturally dominant conceptions of masculinities. The interview accounts revealed, nevertheless, that the games of truth surrounding rugby and masculinities were not played in an equitable manner. This finding helps justify concern about the social significance of popular heavy-contact sports and gendering processes. A strategy of resistance based on the resurrection of marginalized knowledges is discussed.

To Snitch or Not to Snitch? Applying the Concept of Neutralization Techniques to the Enforcement of Occupational Misconduct

2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana L. Pershing
Keyword(s):  
Self Regulation ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Naval Academy ◽  
Organizational Settings ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Neutralization Techniques ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The U.S

The controversy over self-regulation has been a central topic of inquiry in sociological research on occupational misconduct and crime. However, few studies have examined the process by which organizational members decide whether to respond to the misconduct of peers, and none have examined the use of neutralization techniques by rule enforcers in organizational settings. The research presented here is based on a case study of the U.S. Naval Academy. Three data sources are analyzed: Survey data collected from Academy midshipmen, semistructured interviews with graduates, and official statistics on occupational misconduct. Findings reveal that Academy members employ a number of neutralization techniques depending on whether they counsel peers, report peers, or choose not to respond to misconduct. Midshipmen who counsel are appealing to peer loyalty, while those who report wrongdoing find themselves neutralizing the effects of violating informal norms about peer loyalty. In contrast, those who ignore misconduct must neutralize the potential effects of betraying loyalty to the institution. In addition to calling for the expansion of neutralization techniques research to include rule enforcers, the implications of this study suggest that the concept be refined to examine the impact of conflicting loyalties on the types of neutralization techniques employed in systems of self-regulation.

scholarly journals Continued Participation of Adolescent Males in Rugby Union: Stakeholders’ Perspectives

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-101
Author(s):  
Paul A. Sellars ◽  
Stephen D. Mellalieu ◽  
Camilla J. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Theoretical Integration ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Axial Coding ◽  
Adolescent Participation ◽  
Grounded Theory Approach

This study explored stakeholders’ perceptions of Welsh adolescent participation in rugby union. A Straussian grounded-theory approach was adopted and data collection was conducted via semistructured interviews with 15 individuals involved in Welsh adolescent rugby union. Data were analyzed through open and axial coding procedures and theoretical integration. Stakeholders perceived that continued rugby participation resulted from a positive evaluation of one’s participation in the sport and one’s ability to cope with the demands experienced throughout transitions during adolescence. Overall, the findings provide a substantive grounded theory of stakeholders’ perceptions of continued adolescent participation in Welsh rugby union, and applied implications, in an aim to promote continued sport participation.

scholarly journals Sociological Research of Rural Areas in the Czech Republic and Cooperating Among Experts

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Sálus ◽  
Pavlína Maříková ◽  
Petr Kment
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Rural Sociology ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Rural Space ◽  
Semistructured Interviews

Abstract This paper is aimed at relations among experts concerned with rural sociology in the Czech Republic. The research was focused on their troubles with cooperation and access to essential information for empirical and theoretical survey of the society in Czech rural space. The research is based on qualitative approach. Semistructured interviews with experts from scientific and academic sphere and documents study were used as the data collection. The goal of this research is to encourage the rural scientific community and to answer questions related to troubles in cooperation.

Elite Canadian Women Rugby Athletes’ Attitude to and Experience of Physical Aggression

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Women Athletes ◽  
Physical Aggression ◽  
Rugby Union ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Thematic Data

Elite Canadian women rugby union athletes’ (N = 10) attitude to and experience of physical aggression was investigated in this study. The methodology adopted in this postpositivist study was a deductive qualitative approach and involved theoretical thematic data analysis. The analysis and interpretation of data was informed by Kerr’s distinction between sanctioned and unsanctioned forms of aggression. Open-ended, semistructured interviews provided ample evidence that rugby provided pleasurable experiences through active physicality and sanctioned play aggression. With regard to unsanctioned aggression, backs and forwards recounted incidents of unsanctioned aggression perpetrated against them by opponents. Backs’ interview statements indicated no real involvement in unsanctioned aggression, but the majority of forwards had perpetrated acts of anger and power-unsanctioned aggression against opponents. No incidents of thrill-based unsanctioned aggression were described by the elite women athletes. Suggestions for future aggression research are discussed.

Caregivers' Perceptions of Speech-Language Pathologist Talk About Child Language and Literacy Disorders

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2049-2067
Author(s):  
Karmen L. Porter ◽  
Janna B. Oetting ◽  
Loretta Pecchioni
Keyword(s):  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Therapy Goals ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Types Of Information

Purpose This study examined caregiver perceptions of their child's language and literacy disorder as influenced by communications with their speech-language pathologist. Method The participants were 12 caregivers of 10 school-aged children with language and literacy disorders. Employing qualitative methods, a collective case study approach was utilized in which the caregiver(s) of each child represented one case. The data came from semistructured interviews, codes emerged directly from the caregivers' responses during the interviews, and multiple coding passes using ATLAS.ti software were made until themes were evident. These themes were then further validated by conducting clinical file reviews and follow-up interviews with the caregivers. Results Caregivers' comments focused on the types of information received or not received, as well as the clarity of the information. This included information regarding their child's diagnosis, the long-term consequences of their child's disorder, and the connection between language and reading. Although caregivers were adept at describing their child's difficulties and therapy goals/objectives, their comments indicated that they struggled to understand their child's disorder in a way that was meaningful to them and their child. Conclusions The findings showed the value caregivers place on receiving clear and timely diagnostic information, as well as the complexity associated with caregivers' understanding of language and literacy disorders. The findings are discussed in terms of changes that could be made in clinical practice to better support children with language and literacy disorders and their families.

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