scholarly journals Our Boys and The Last Shot: Examples of the Power of Community Involvement in Underprivileged America

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Claire C. Schaeperkoetter

The central focus of this essay was to examine different socio-cultural structures that affect high school aged athletes in seemingly different impoverished areas in the United States. Specifically, narratives in the popular press books The Last Shot and Our Boys were explored in order to highlight similarities and differences between the high school athletes in these two different urban and rural environments. In all, four factors that showcase the power of community involvement in underprivileged America emerged: the values promoted by the high school coach, the socioeconomic status of the community, the public education system, and the battle between the desire to escape the community and fear of the unknown. The implications of community involvement are discussed and avenues for future research are presented.

Author(s):  
Tsz Lun (Alan) Chu ◽  
Bailey Sommerfeld ◽  
Tao Zhang

Building on recent research examining athlete burnout trajectories, this study implemented the developmental model of sport participation to compare emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, and sport devaluation between age groups (specializing [aged 13–15 years] vs. investment [aged 16–18 years]) and gender (boys vs. girls) among U.S. high school athletes. Participants were 367 high school athletes (M = 15.53; 212 males; 186 specializing) across various individual and team sports who completed a survey assessing their demographic information, sport backgrounds, and burnout perceptions. A 2 × 2 multivariate analysis of covariance, controlling for training hours, showed greater emotional and physical exhaustion and sport devaluation in the investment than the specializing group, but no developmental differences in reduced sense of accomplishment. Contrary to our hypothesis, no gender or interaction effects were found. Findings inform interventions and future research that address the role of developmental stages and gender in athlete burnout.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus A. Badgeley ◽  
Natalie M. McIlvain ◽  
Ellen E. Yard ◽  
Sarah K. Fields ◽  
R. Dawn Comstock

Background:With more than 1.1 million high school athletes playing annually during the 2005−06 to 2009−10 academic years, football is the most popular boys’ sport in the United States.Methods:Using an internet-based data collection tool, RIO, certified athletic trainers (ATs) from 100 nationally representative US high schools reported athletic exposure and football injury data during the 2005−06 to 2009−10 academic years.Results:Participating ATs reported 10,100 football injuries corresponding to an estimated 2,739,187 football-related injuries nationally. The injury rate was 4.08 per 1000 athlete-exposures (AEs) overall. Offensive lineman collectively (center, offensive guard, offensive tackle) sustained 18.3% of all injuries. Running backs (16.3%) sustained more injuries than any other position followed by linebackers (14.9%) and wide receivers (11.9%). The leading mechanism of injury was player-player contact (64.0%) followed by player-surface contact (13.4%). More specifically, injury occurred most commonly when players were being tackled (24.4%) and tackling (21.8%).Conclusions:Patterns of football injuries vary by position. Identifying such differences is important to drive development of evidence-based, targeted injury prevention efforts.


2020 ◽  
pp. 216747952094668
Author(s):  
Sam Winemiller ◽  
Adam Love ◽  
Jason Stamm

In the Internet era, a substantial online media industry dedicated to covering the recruitment of high school athletes to college sports programs has developed in the United States. The current study explored the perceptions of football recruiting reporters with respect to their ethical responsibilities and the issues they face in their jobs. In doing so, the study builds on the work of Yanity and Edmondson, who explored the perceptions of journalists from other fields about ethical dilemmas they perceived as relevant in the budding high school football recruiting media industry. Through analysis of interviews with 15 people who have worked as reporters for major recruiting websites such as Rivals.com or 247Sports.com , we contend that several key ethical issues must be addressed by online college football and basketball recruiting outlets to protect athletes and to promote responsible journalism. These issues include (a) incessant contact of high school athletes by media members; (b) lack of institutional oversight by parent companies over school-specific sites; (c) ambiguous methodology behind player evaluation; (d) conflicts of interest inherent in recruiting media outlets hosting evaluation camps; and (e) lack of institutional protection from unethical pressures by members of college athletic departments.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 589-606
Author(s):  
Nelson C. Brunsting ◽  
Megan Mischinski ◽  
Wenjin Wu ◽  
Tenisha Tevis ◽  
Risa Takeuchi ◽  
...  

Despite the increase in methodological sophistication and complexity of models being tested for international student adjustment to universities in the United States (U.S.), researchers often do not test or control for salient demographic differences between students, including their educational status (i.e., graduate or undergraduate) and country in which they graduated high school. The current study was designed to examine whether demographic variables are associated with a range of social outcomes. Participants ( N = 245) from 23 U.S. colleges and universities completed a survey in Fall 2017. Undergraduate students reported having a higher number of close friends at their institution than did graduate students; however, they also reported a lower sense of belonging than did graduate students. Students who graduated from high school in the United States reported less social support from international students at university. Implications for students and for future research are provided.


2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 967-981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Gollust ◽  
Rebekah H. Nagler ◽  
Erika Franklin Fowler

Abstract The coronavirus public health crisis is also a political-communication and health-communication crisis. In this article, the authors describe the key communication-related phenomena and evidence of concerning effects manifested in the United States during the initial response to the pandemic. The authors outline the conditions of communication about coronavirus that contribute to deleterious outcomes, including partisan cueing, conflicting science, downplayed threats, emotional arousal, fragmented media, and Trump's messaging. The authors suggest these have contributed to divergent responses by media sources, partisan leaders, and the public alike, leading to different attitudes and beliefs as well as varying protective actions taken by members of the public to reduce their risk. In turn, these divergent communication phenomena will likely amplify geographic variation in and inequities with COVID-19 disease outcomes. The authors conclude with some suggestions for future research, particularly surrounding communication about health inequity and strategies for reducing partisan divergence in views of public health issues in the future.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tricia Corrin ◽  
Lisa Waddell ◽  
Judy Greig ◽  
Ian Young ◽  
Catherine Hierlihy ◽  
...  

Background Recently, attention to chikungunya has increased due to its spread into previously non-endemic areas. Since there is no available treatment or vaccine, most intervention strategies focus on mosquito bite prevention and mosquito control, which require community involvement to be successful. Thus, our objective was to systematically review the global primary literature on the risk perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of chikungunya among the public and health professionals to inform future research and improve our understanding on which intervention strategies are likely to be successful. Methods Potentially relevant articles were identified through a standardized systematic review (SR) process consisting of the following steps: comprehensive search strategy in seven databases (Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, CAB, LILACS, Agricola, and Cochrane) and a grey literature search of public health organizations, relevance screening, risk of bias assessment, and data extraction. Two independent reviewers performed each step. Reporting of this SR follows PRISMA reporting guidelines. Results Thirty-seven relevant articles were identified. The majority of the articles were published since 2011 (83.8%) and reported on studies conducted in Asia (48.7%) and the Indian Ocean Islands (24.3%). The results were separated into four categories: general knowledge and perceptions on chikungunya; perceptions on the risk and severity of chikungunya; knowledge of chikungunya-harboring vectors and transmission; and knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes on mitigation practices. Overall, the systematic review found that risk perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of chikungunya among the public and health professionals vary across populations and countries and knowledge is higher in areas that have experienced an outbreak. Conclusion The results suggest that most of the affected populations in this study do not understand mosquito borne diseases or chikungunya and are therefore less likely to protect themselves from mosquito bites. While more research is required to improve the generalizability of this dataset, it appears that a lack of knowledge is an important barrier for motivating community level interventions and personal protection against mosquitoes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 1816-1822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia A Wackowski ◽  
Jennah M Sontag ◽  
Binu Singh ◽  
Jessica King ◽  
M Jane Lewis ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction News media may influence public perceptions and attitudes about electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), which may influence product use and attitudes about their regulation. The purpose of this study is to describe trends in US news coverage of e-cigarettes during a period of evolving regulation, science, and trends in the use of e-cigarettes. Methods We conducted a content analysis of e-cigarette topics and themes covered in US news articles from 2015 to 2018. Online news databases (Access World News, Factiva) were used to obtain US news articles from the top 34 circulating newspapers, four national wire services, and five leading online news sources. Results The number of articles increased by 75.4% between 2015 and 2018 (n = 1609). Most articles focused on policy/regulation (43.5%) as a main topic, followed by health effects (22.3%) and prevalence/trends (17.9%). Discussion about flavor bans quadrupled (6.1% to 24.6%) and discussion of youth e-cigarette use was most prevalent (58.4%) in 2018, coinciding with an increase in coverage about JUUL. JUUL was mentioned in 50.8% of 2018 articles. Across years, articles more frequently mentioned e-cigarette risks (70%) than potential benefits (37.3%). Conclusions E-cigarettes continue to be a newsworthy topic, with coverage both reflecting numerous changes and events over time, and providing repeated opportunities for informing the public and policymakers about these novel products. Future research should continue to track how discourse changes over time and assess its potential influence on e-cigarette perceptions and policy changes. Implications E-cigarette news coverage in the United States increased between 2015 and 2018 and predominantly focused on policy and regulation. Notable spikes in volume were associated with some but not all major e-cigarette events, including the FDA’s deeming rule, Surgeon General’s report, and release of the National Youth Tobacco Survey data in 2018. Coverage of the 2018 National Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Sciences report on the Public Health Consequences of E-cigarettes received minimal news coverage. The high volume in 2018 was driven in large part by coverage of the e-cigarette brand JUUL; over half of news articles in 2018 referenced JUUL specifically.


Author(s):  
Natalie B. Milman ◽  
Marilyn Hillarious ◽  
Vince O'Neill ◽  
Bryce L. Walker

This chapter describes some of the findings from a QUAL + QUAN concurrent mixed method study that examined the first-year implementation of a one-to-one (1:1) laptop initiative in a suburban, independent, co-educational middle and high school in the United States. Overall, the 1:1 laptop implementation was viewed as a positive learning experience for students, teachers, staff, and the school administration. Nevertheless, several problems developed over the course of implementation. These were: technical problems, issues with student distraction and off-task behavior, inappropriate uses of technology, as well as challenges to pedagogical and classroom management, and inclusion of teachers' voices in implementation decisions. They are introduced in addition to several possible solutions. The chapter closes with suggestions for future research, such as the need to research 2:1 and 3:1 mobile technology initiatives, which are sure to become a part of the 21st century teaching and learning landscape.


1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 270-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
LG Futterman ◽  
L Lemberg

Commotio cordis due to blunt trauma to the precordium is a rare cause of death in young athletes, occurring less frequently than all of the other athletics-related deaths. Several measures, such as the use of safety baseballs and the use of chest protectors, can help protect young athletes from commotio cordis. In general, sudden cardiac death in athletes is receiving increasing attention from the public as a result of recent deaths of high-profile athletes. Sudden cardiac death, however, is rare, with an estimated 1 out of 200,000 high school athletes at risk each year. However, the personal, physiological, and cardiovascular benefits of athletics far outweigh the risks. Therefore, the message to parents is to allow their children to participate in athletics because the benefits far outweigh the risks.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-42
Author(s):  
Eniko Rak

Persons with visual disabilities receive vocational rehabilitation (VR) services through general, combined or separate agencies within the public system. Currently there are 32 combined, 24 separate and 24 general agencies in the United States (US). This study examined the role of agency type in predicting employment outcome of persons with visual impairments using the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA-911) data, which is a comprehensive database of clients exiting the public vocational rehabilitation system. The study compared separate and combined agencies. Persons with blindness and other visual impairments exiting public vocational rehabilitation during four fiscal years (2008 – 2011) participated in this study. Outcomes of binary logistic regressions indicate that agency affiliation is not a significant predictor of successful closures when controlling for employment status at application and major demographic variables. Implications of these findings, limitations of the current study and future research recommendations are discussed.


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