scholarly journals Predicting and Reflecting Changes in Culture

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-99
Author(s):  
TERRI SUICO
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Super Bowl ◽  
Real People

With millions of adolescents participating in sports each year and with the popularity of sporting events ranging from the Super Bowl and the NBA playoffs to the Olympics, athletics is an important part of many teenagers’ lives. However, young adult sports literature is not just about the big game or the vicarious feeling of elation that comes with winning or the catharsis that comes with reading about defeat. Instead, as young adult author and scholar Chris Crowe (2004) notes, many young adult sports books are about more than sports. Instead, they “deal with realistic social issues that real people, not just athletes, often confront” (p. 36).

Developing UK and Norwegian undergraduate students’ conceptions of personal social issues in young adult fiction through transnational reflective exchange

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Ghazal Kazim Syed ◽  
Amanda Naylor ◽  
Hege Emma Rimmereide ◽  
Zoltan Varga ◽  
Lykke Harmony Alara Guanio-Uluru
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Young Adult Fiction

scholarly journals Cesare Zavattini’s Poetics of Objectivity

Anafora ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 505-520
Author(s):  
Etami Borjan
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Documentary Films ◽  
Italian Cinema ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
Subjective Judgment ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Real People ◽  
The World ◽  
The Masses

Cesare Zavattini was an acclaimed neorealist screenwriter and a theorist of neorealism. He has played a pivotal role in the critical rethinking of the new postwar Italian cinema although many of his concepts were considered avant-garde for that period. He stood for a direct, spontaneous, and immediate cinema with real people and real events. Despite his desire to eliminate all that was fictional from his films, Zavattini’s concept of new realist cinema cannot simply be described as a documentary approach. He was not so much interested in making documentary films but in making documentary-like fictions. He believed in the potential of cinema to reach a wide audience and in its capacity to be aesthetically subversive. The aspiration for an avant-garde cinema that would reach the masses was a naïve attempt that was too radical for the Italian cinema at the time. Most of his ideas were not accepted in Italy, but he was admired by young filmmakers all over the world. Some of his ideas were realized a few decades later in the works of the famous cinéma vérité and independent avant-garde filmmakers. Throughout his career, Zavattini argued that cinema should be socially committed art. He believed that neorealist films should direct the viewer’s gaze toward specific social issues and voice a subjective judgment on it. In neorealist films, fictional style and documentary rhetoric make the illusion that the experience of characters stands for the experience of the audience.

Samba, sun and social issues: How the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics changed perceptions of Germans about Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 603-622
Author(s):  
Christiana Schallhorn
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Fifa World Cup ◽  
The Media ◽  
Crime Risk ◽  
Over Time

The host countries for mega-sporting events aim to become more visible and to be perceived positively by the global audience because of the media coverage around the event. The media’s influence on people’s perceptions is expected to be particularly high if the audience has no direct experience and little prior knowledge of the hosting nation, and thus depends on the media for information. Using a panel survey ( N = 76) with three rounds of data collection, this longitudinal study explores how television viewers’ perceptions of Brazil changed from before the 2014 FIFA World Cup to after this event, and after the 2016 Olympic Games hosted by Brazil. The results indicate that perceptions about topics related to Brazil (e.g. crime risk, standard of living, economic situation) have generally become more negative over time. Further, although associations with Brazil were very positive before the FIFA World Cup, respondents tended to associate more negative ideas with Brazil over time. Surprisingly, the intention to travel to Brazil increased after Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. Broader international significance of the findings for both host countries of mega-sporting events and broadcasting countries are discussed.

Using international sport events as part of a brand construction strategy

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogelio Puente-Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Brand Strategy ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
Destination Brand ◽  
International Sport

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the author examines how the destination brand Mexico is using international sporting events as part of its branding strategy to deal with the challenges faced by destinations and to overcome some of its weaknesses. Second, the author assesses the positive and negative consequences of such strategy. The investigation tries to fill a gap in terms of understanding and assessing opportunities and challenges experienced by the sport industry in emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach The author used a case study research strategy, relying on documentation, archival records, and personal interviews with experts as sources of evidence. Given that most research efforts have focused on developed countries, this research approach was exploratory and descriptive. Findings The thematic analysis revealed the presence of five major themes related to the process of hosting and using Formula One (F1), National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and National Basketball Association (NBA) games as part of a brand strategy. These five major themes were labeled: brand strategy challenges and opportunities, balancing short- and long-term goals and benefits, tension between stakeholders from different destinations, social issues, and areas of improvement. Originality/value The findings shed light on the challenges and opportunities that hosting international sport events bring to a destination brand with an emerging economy such as Mexico. The opportunity to host these types of events comes from the expansion strategies of well-known sport brands such as F1, NFL, MLB, and NBA.

scholarly journals Henryk Sienkiewicz’s output and literary censorship in the DDR

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-434
Author(s):  
Marek Rajch
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Nobel Prize ◽  
National Socialism ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Young Adult Novel ◽  
East German ◽  
Publishing Houses

Works by Henryk Sienkiewicz, a Polish writer and the winner of the 1905 Nobel Prize for Literature, were subjected to verification by the DDR’s censorship apparatus several times. Censors considered his novellas which discussed 19th-century social issues as desirable and worth promoting among East German readers. His novel Krzyżacy, which was set in the Middle Ages, was accepted eagerly both by publishing houses and the censorship office as it enabled national socialism in Germany to be viewed in critical terms, as the DDR distanced itself from the system. Reviewers did, however, find a major ideological threat for young readers in East Germany in a young adult novel entitled W pustyni i w puszczy, and for that reason it was withdrawn from the publishing procedure.

scholarly journals Debunking the Myth of ‘Super Bowl Sex Trafficking’: Media hype or evidenced-based coverage

2019 ◽  
pp. 13-29
Author(s):  
Lauren Martin ◽  
Annie Hill
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Sex Trafficking ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Super Bowl ◽  
Action Research Approach

A large body of scholarship has described the narrow set of media narratives used to report trafficking for sexual exploitation to the public. This article examines US media coverage of human trafficking in relation to the Super Bowl, American football’s championship game. Available empirical evidence does not suggest that major sporting events cause trafficking for sexual exploitation. Yet, we find that 76 per cent of US print media from 2010 to 2016 propagated the ‘Super Bowl sex trafficking’ narrative. Local coverage of the 2018 Super Bowl in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was different, presenting a sceptical stance toward this narrative. The article describes how this substantial shift resulted from our research group and anti-trafficking stakeholders employing an action research approach to craft a Super Bowl communication strategy that aligned with empirical evidence. Although sensationalist narratives are difficult to dislodge, the Minnesota case shows that evidence on trafficking can be effectively used to inform media and impact public perceptions, when researchers work with stakeholders on the ground. Lessons learnt are shared to enable others to replicate these results.

“I Didn’t Feel Confident Talking About This Issue . . . But I Knew I Could Talk About a Book”: Using Young Adult Literature to Make Sense of #MeToo

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-230
Author(s):  
Brittany Adams
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Young Adult Literature ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Rich Description ◽  
Young Adult Novel ◽  
Literacy Educators

This article reports on one undergraduate student’s journey toward critical literacy about rape culture as a result of reading and discussing a young adult novel in a book study with peers. Using ethnographic and case study methods, the author examines the personal and cultural resources the student brought to the experience, the critical stance she developed, the critical social practices in which she engaged, and the contextual resources that supported her critical literacy growth. The study described herein brought together research about critical literacy and young adult literature to better understand the nature of critical literacy in practice and its effects upon young adult students, with the goal of providing literacy educators with a rich description of what it looks like as a student develops critical literacy. This study also demonstrates the potential of young adult literature as a lens for contending with complex social issues in a college classroom.

scholarly journals Volunteer motivations at the 2012 Super Bowl

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. VanSickle ◽  
David A. Pierce ◽  
Michael Diacin
Keyword(s):  
Career Development ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Super Bowl ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Volunteer Satisfaction ◽  
Support Factor ◽  
Mega Event

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine mega-event volunteers’ motivations and their impact on volunteer satisfaction. Additionally, this study investigated motivational differences between volunteers based upon four demographic variables: age, gender, educational level, and income. Design/methodology/approach – A modified version of the Volunteer Motivations Scale for International Sporting Events (Bang and Chelladurai, 2009) was administered to 8,000 Super Bowl volunteers via Survey Monkey with the permission of the Indiana Sports Corporation. In all, 24 percent (n=1,928) of the volunteers completed the survey. Exploratory factor analysis was used to reduce the survey questions into a smaller number factors. Multivariate analysis of variance was utilized to compare differences in the four demographic variables on the factors. Multiple regression was used to predict satisfaction on the basis of the four factors. Findings – Volunteers were motivated by four factors: Community Support, Love of Sports, Personal Growth, and Career Development. These four factors all significantly predicted satisfaction with the volunteer experience. The overall MANOVA was significant and revealed that ten of 16 group comparisons possessed significant differences. Females rated Community higher than males, while males rated Love of Sports higher than females. Older volunteers and those with higher household incomes were motivated more by Community Support, while younger volunteers and those with lower incomes were motivated by Career Development. Likewise, less educated volunteers placed a higher value on Career motivations than more educated volunteers who placed a high value on Personal Growth. Research limitations/implications – Dissatisfied volunteers may have chosen to not participate in the study. Follow-up interviews with dissatisfied volunteers might provide insight for event organizers that would shed light on factors that influence retention and recidivism. Practical implications – The findings of this study suggest that mega sport volunteer managers should recognize that motivational differences among volunteers do exist and utilize this information for creating recruitment materials targeted to specific groups. Then volunteers can be assigned to tasks that tap into their desire, thus enhancing potential volunteer satisfaction and their return as a volunteer at future events. Originality/value – This study was conducted in the context of America’s largest mega event in a city that hosted the event for the first time. In addition to collecting one of the largest number of responses for volunteers at mega-sporting events, the development of the Community Support factor was unique within the context of this study. The Community Support factor was rated as the most important by volunteers and tied to other questions such as wanting to help make the event a success, helping others, and creating a better society. This indicates that volunteers had pride in their community and wanted to help the event be successful by helping the city’s visitors.

One Day in September and a Week in February: Mobilizing American (Sporting) Nationalisms

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Silk ◽  
Mark Falcous
Keyword(s):  
Salt Lake ◽  
Salt Lake City ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Super Bowl ◽  
Winter Olympics ◽  
Ongoing Effort ◽  
The Media ◽  
Lake City ◽  
American Nation

In an ongoing effort to “police the crisis” (see Denzin, 2004a and b; Denzin & Lincoln, 2003) and critically interrogate the tyrannical (govern)mentality of conservative rhetoric centered on a peculiar or juridical concept of “right” (Baudrillard, 2001; Johnson, 2002; McClaren, 2002) under the agenda of “9/11 America,” this article explores the official moral pedagogies of the sporting media. Through analysis of the media representations of two major sporting events that took place in the first week of February, 2002—the delayed Super Bowl and the Opening of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics—the article focuses on the place of sport as an economy of affect through which power, privilege, politics, and position are (re)produced. The “epistemic panic” (Gordon, 1997; Ladson-Billings, 2000) played out through these two events can be read as part of the wider self-examining, self-referential, existential narrative of the American nation in the wake of the ontological, social, and historical disruption (Giroux, 2002) wrought by 9/11—a politicized and militaristic rhetoric appropriated within, and mobilized through, the affective realm of the sporting popular.

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