Exercise and Movement Science

Defining Sport: Conceptions and Borderlines is not about the variations of usage of the term "sport." It is about the concept, the range of activities in the world that we unite into one idea--sport. It is through the project of defining sport that we can come to understand these activities better, how they are similar or different, and how they relate to other human endeavors. This definitional inquiry, and the deeper appreciation and apprehension of sport that follows, is the core of this volume. Part I examines several of the standard and influential approaches to defining sport. Part II uses these approaches to examine various challenging borderline cases. These chapters examine the interplay of the borderline cases with the definition and provide a more thorough and clearer understanding of both the definition and the given cases. This work is not meant to be the definitive or exhaustive account of sport. It is meant to inspire further thought and debate on just what sport is; how it relates to other activities and human endeavors; and what we can learn about ourselves through the study of sport. This book will be of interest to scholars in philosophy of sport, history, communications, sociology, psychology, sports management, cultural studies, and physical education.

The fourth edition of a classic, leading resource for the field of sport, exercise, and performance psychology Now expanded to two volumes, and featuring a wealth of new chapters from highly respected scholars in the field, this all-new edition of the Handbook of Sports Psychology draws on an international roster of experts and scholars in the field who have assembled state-of-the-art knowledge into this thorough, well-rounded, and accessible volume. Endorsed by the International Society of Sport Psychology, it represents an invaluable source of theoretical and practical information on our understanding of the role of psychology in sport, exercise, and performance--and how that understanding can be applied in order to improve real-world outcomes. Presented in eight parts, the Handbook of Sports Psychology, 4th Edition adds new material on emerging areas such as mindfulness, brain mapping, self-consciousness, and mental toughness, and covers special topics such as gender and cultural diversity, athletes with disabilities, and alcohol and drug use in sports. In addition, it covers classic topics such as what motivates an athlete to perform; why do some choke under pressure; how do top performers handle leadership roles; what does one do to mentally train; how an athlete deals with injury; and much more. Fourth edition of the most influential reference work for the field of sport psychology New coverage includes mindfulness in sport and exercise psychology, ethics, mental toughness, sport socialization, and making use of brain technologies in practice  Endorsed by the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) Handbook of Sports Psychology, 4th Edition is an indispensable resource for any student or professional interested in the field of sports psychology.

The development of an athlete from basic performance to elite level is a long and complicated process. This fully revised and updated new edition of the leading introduction to expertise in sport examines the fundamental science of skill acquisition and explores the methods by which science can be applied in the real-world context of sport performance. With insights from leading coaches in each chapter, and new material on topics such as instruction and observation and expert visual perception Developing Sport Expertise is invaluable reading for all researchers and students in the areas of expertise, skill acquisition, motor control and development, sport psychology or coaching.

Motor control is a relatively young field of research exploring how the nervous system produces purposeful, coordinated movements in its interaction with the body and the environment through conscious and unsconscious thought. Many books purporting to cover motor control have veered off course to examine biomechanics and physiology rather than actual control, leaving a gap in the literature. This book covers all the major perspectives in motor control, with a balanced approach. There are chapters explicitly dedicated to control theory, to dynamical systems, to biomechanics, to different behaviors, and to motor learning, including case studies. Reviews current research in motor control Contains balanced perspectives among neuroscience, psychology, physics and biomechanics Highlights controversies in the field Discusses neurophysiology, control theory, biomechanics, and dynamical systems under one cover Links principles of motor control to everyday behaviors Includes case studies delving into topics in more detail

After a quick survey of the famous pioneers of human movement analysis and the actual needs in different domains, this book presents the main types of systems available on the market (with the pros and cons), and then details the most widely used: the optoelectronic systems using passive markers. The theoretical background for joint kinematics calculation is explained, specifying the international standardization for parameters reports. One chapter is dedicated to measurement errors and their management, followed by several applications, mostly in the clinical field.

Public awareness of and sensitivity to questions of pain, risk and injury in sport is more acute than ever before. Whether it is questions of what sport (and fans) can realistically and responsibly expect of athletes, how revered practices almost inevitably culminate in suffering bodies, or the widespread attention being paid to injury outcomes (especially concussion), it is clear that sport in many settings currently operates in a climate that is both more scientifically and medically aware and more sensitive to risk 'outcomes'.  This volume closely explores the full panorama of pain, risk and injury in the cultural, organizational and legal orbits of sport spaces. Aimed at students, researchers as well as applied professionals, the volume sets the cultural, structural and organizational context that gives rise to pain, risk and injury in the first place, provides substantive empirical examples from diverse sports arenas, looks at the key issues and dimensions of pain, risk and injury in the social consciousness today, and explores three different 'spins' on making sense of the subject matter -- from the position of the issue of consent and the courts, from the position of exploitation and corporate victimization, and from the understudied position of why athletes exit sport as an outcome of pain and injury and with what consequences.  This timely and needed addition to the sport literature is an exciting 'on-the-bubble' treatment of a topic that is increasingly troubling authorities and affecting how and whether sport is undertaken.

At a timewhen the public discussion of mental illness in society is reaching a highpoint, athletes and other sports insiders remain curiously silent about theirprivate battles with a range of mental illnesses. While a series ofprofessional athletes have exposed the deep, dark secret related to thepervasiveness of mental illness in high performance sport, relatively little isknown, sociologically, about what mental illness culturally means inside sport.  This editedcollection showcases research on how sport, as a social institution, mayactually produce dangerous cultural practices and contexts that foster thedevelopment of mental illness within athlete groups. Further, chapters alsoillustrate how sport, when organized with sensitivity and care, may serve tohelp manage mental illnesses. Rather than analyzing mental illness as anindividual phenomenon, contributors to this volume equally attest to how mentalillness is socially developed, constructed, managed, and culturally understoodwithin sport settings. The book highlights the relevance of a range of theoriespertinent to the social study of mental illness including dramaturgy, culturalstudies, learning theory, symbolic interaction, existentialism, and total paintheory. Chapters range from the discussion of depression, anxiety, eatingdisorders, drug addiction, epilepsy, mental trauma, stigma, the mass mediationof mental illness, and the promise of sport as a vehicle for personal andcollective recovery.

This book considers the role of instrumentality in sport and its influence on the athlete. Instrumentality is defined as a means-ends relationship, and it is discussed from the perspective of the logic of sport. The author researches two levels of instrumentality in sport - extrinsic and intrinsic instrumentality - and introduces and describes two kinds of values with respect to the two kinds of instrumentality: the extrinsic values of sport and the intrinsic values of sport. The book discusses a wide range of problems arising from the instrumental nature of sport, and their effect upon intrinsic values and the human being.