- Table View
- List View
Cycling Science: How Rider and Machine Work Together
by Max GlaskinEvery July hundreds of thousands flock to the Champs-Élysées in Paris—and millions more to their televisions and computers—to witness the dramatic conclusion of the grueling three weeks of the Tour de France. There is no better measure of the worldwide love of the bicycle. But of the 1.2 billion cyclists traversing the world’s roadways and trails, few of us take the time to consider the science behind the sport. The simple process of getting about on two wheels brings us in touch with a wealth of fascinating science, and here journalist Max Glaskin investigates the scientific wonders that keep cyclists in their saddles. Cycling Science tours readers through a wide variety of topics, from tire rolling resistance and the difference between yield strength and ultimate strength, to the importance of aerodynamics and the impact that shaved legs have on speed. Each chapter explores a different subject—fundamentals, strength and stability, materials, power, aerodynamics, and the human factor—and is organized around a series of questions: What is the ideal frame shape? What is the biggest source of drag? What keeps a bicycle from falling over? How much power can a cyclist produce? Which muscles does cycling use? Each question is examined with the aid of explanatory diagrams and illustrations, and the book can be used to search for particular topics, or read through for a comprehensive overview of how machine and rider work together. Athletes have much to gain from understanding the science of their sports, and Cycling Science will be a must-read for cyclists of all stripes—professionals, recreational riders, and anyone seeking to enhance their enjoyment of cycling.
Youth Leadership in Sport and Physical Education
by D. Hellison T. MartinekThis book responds to the needs of urban youth by describing youth development principles in physical activity programs. These programs are built on urban kids' assets and promise rather than their deficits. Included are ways of transferring skills from specific programs to everyday settings.
Consumer Credit in the United States: A Sociological Perspective from the 19th Century to the Present
by D. MarronIt is commonly imagined that in recent years the rampant growth of consumer credit has lured American consumers into a crippling state of indebtedness, a state that has upended old cultural values of Puritan thrift and stimulated a frenzy of consumption. Drawing on the sociological concept of government and informed by a historical perspective, Marron presents a much more complex and nuanced reality. From its early antecedents in nineteenth century salary lending and instalment selling, she shows how the emergence and growth of consumer credit in the United States have always been subject to shifting regimes of control and regulation.
A History of Leisure: The British Experience since 1500
by Peter BorsayLeisure is a key aspect of modern living. How did our ancestors experience recreation in the past, and how does this relate to the present? To answer these questions, Peter Borsay examines the history of leisure in Britain over the past 500 years, analysing elements of both continuity and change. A History of Leisure- explores a range of pastimes, from festive culture and music to tourism and sport- emphasises a conceptual and critical approach, rather than a simple narrative history- covers a range of themes including economy, state, class, identities, place, space and time- treats the constituent parts of the British Isles as a fluid and dynamic amalgam of local and national cultures and polities.Authoritative and engaging, this text challenges conventional views on the history of leisure and suggests new approaches to the subject. Borsay draws upon the insights provided by a variety of disciplines alongside that of history - anthropology, the arts, geography and sociology - to offer an essential guide to this fascinating area of study.
Sports Law (PDF)
by Mark JamesThe Palgrave Macmillan Law Masters series is a long-running and successful list of titles offering clear, concise and authoritative guides to the main subject areas, written by experienced and respected authors. Sports Law provides a comprehensive overview of the ways in which the law has impacted on how sport is played, administered and consumed. The author writes in a clear and engaging manner, tracing the origins and sources of this new subject and drawing examples from a wide range of professional and amateur sports to illustrate the important current debates and topics of interest. Of particular relevance, in the run up to 2012, is a chapter dedicated to the Olympic Games.
Ageing, The Body and Social Change: Running in Later Life
by E. TulleThe book explores the relationship between embodiment and the production of the key structures which frame agency to map out potential for social change. It uses modalities of ageing embodiment in the context of sport participation in later life, specifically Master athletics, including barriers, opportunities and physiological dimensions.
Sport Psychology: Contemporary Themes (PDF)
by David Lavallee John Kremer Aidan Moran Mark WilliamsSport Psychology is an essential introduction to the field's key issues, suitable for psychology, sport science and sport studies students at all levels. Encompassing the history of sport psychology to more recent distinctions between sport and exercise psychology, it is ideal reading for students looking to learn about issues such as motivation, concentration and anxiety and the connection between physical activity and psychological well-being. This new edition provides updated case studies, guidance on further reading, study questions and brand new content on self-harm in sport and metaimagery. Real-life examples put the theory into practice, and the authors' focus on the freshest theories shows how the discipline has evolved in recent years.
Olympic Women and the Media: International Perspectives (Global Culture and Sport Series)
by P. MarkulaThis book examines how women athletes were represented in international media coverage during the 2004 Olympic Games. Through feminist theorizing and qualitative textual analysis, the contributors discuss sexualization, nationalism, success, failure and the [in]visibility of women athletes in newspaper reporting in Asia, Europe and the USA.
The Meaning and Purpose of Leisure: Habermas and Leisure at the End of Modernity
by K. SpracklenThis book uses the work of Jurgen Habermas to interrogate leisure as a meaningful, theoretical concept. Drawing on examples from sport, culture and tourism, and going beyond concerns about the grand project of leisure, Spracklen argues that leisure is central to understanding wider debates about identity, postmodernity and globalization.
Embodied Sporting Practices: Regulating and Regulatory Bodies
by K. WoodwardThis is a book about bodies; material bodies and their practices and the regulatory bodies that shape embodied selves and their experiences. Sport is the focus for an examination of the links and intersections between lived bodies and the body politic and its disciplinary apparatuses.
Leisure and Consumption: Common Ground/Separate Worlds
by R. StebbinsThe study of consumption has never seriously examined the role of leisure. This ambitious, agenda-setting study, provides the most in-depth examination of the relationship between the two to date, drawing on the serious leisure perspective and outlining a new conceptual framework for analyzing consumption for leisure.
Sport Psychology (PDF)
by David TodWhether it's understanding how a player copes with the pressures of taking a penalty, or how a coach motivates their team, sport psychology helps us to get into the athlete's mind. In this enlightening overview, the authors integrate biological, social and cognitive approaches to investigate the impact of behaviour, thoughts and feelings on performance and help us comprehend the psychological effects of playing sports.
Football Economics and Policy
by S. SzymanskiThis volume deals with the competitive structure of football. It examines the relationship between sporting success and economic variables, the structure of European competitions, financial problems in football, their origins and options for reform, racial discrimination in English football, and the economic impact of the World Cup.
Star-Spangled Soccer: The Selling, Marketing and Management of Soccer in the USA
by G. HopkinsStar-Spangled Soccer traces the development of soccer in the USA. It is the first book that tells the story of how the sport rose to extreme highs and suffered almost catastrophic lows as it fought to position itself on the American sports landscape, beginning with the announcement from FIFA in 1988 that America would host the 1994 World Cup.
Football Brands
by S. BridgewaterThe media increasingly refer to football clubs as brands. Certainly concepts such as loyalty, affiliation, emotional ties with football clubs seem to parallel the relationship between consumer and brand in the broader marketing sphere. This book delves deep into the world of the lucrative business of sports branding.
Football Management
by S. BridgewaterFootball Managers have to deal with a number of unique pressures, yet the challenges of the football manager are similar to those of managers in other sectors. This book examines the management of football and looks at ways that managers and leaders in other industries can use tools and techniques from the sporting world within their own sector.
C.L.R. James and the Study of Culture
by A. SmithThis book provides the first dedicated introduction to the cultural writings and analyses of the radical West Indian thinker C.L.R. James. It lays out James' account of the way in which games, books, music and film become a part of the politics and history of popular struggles.
Britain's Winning Formula: Achieving World Leadership in Motorsports
by M. Beck-Burridge J. WaltonThe international financial value of Grand Prix racing has grown substantially in recent years. This book will focus upon the massive size, value, importance and impact of the industry. It will also investigate the dominance of UK based Research and Development and design and the development of team strategy and tactics. The authors have based their analysis upon very up-to-date research involving interviews with key individuals at the highest level and visibility within the industry and focus upon the key management themes of teamworking, leadership, strategy and innovation.
Leisure and Culture
by C. RojekThis is the latest book on leisure from one of the leading figures in the field of leisure studies. It makes a major contribution in considering leisure as a primary aspect of cultural life. Rojek treats modern culture as performative. That is, there are strong pressures on us to keep busy, even if we are busy doing nothing. Leisure is analysed as a status-placing activity. The implications of the post-work thesis for leisure, the role of inequality in leisure practice, are explored in interesting and novel ways. Perhaps the most notable feature of the book is the discussion of the abnormal forms of leisure and the attack on the medicalized model of society. This book will be required reading for anyone interested in leisure studies and cultural studies.
The Invention of the Countryside: Hunting, Walking and Ecology in English Literature, 1671–1831
by Donna LandryToday's hunting debate began in the eighteenth century, when the idea of the countryside was being invented through the imaginative displacement of agricultural production in favour of country sports and landscape tourism. Between the Game Act of 1671 and its repeal in 1831, writers on walking and hunting often held opposed views, but contributed equally to the origins of modern ecology, while sharing a commitment to trespass that preserved common rights in an era of growing privatization.
Well-Being: Individual, Community and Social Perspectives
by J. Haworth G. HartThis interdisciplinary book indicates the need to address well-being from individual, community and social perspectives in an integrated manner. The book complements the harm-based focus of much social scientific research into health. Chapters by a wide range of academics present a new dynamic view of well-being for the Twenty-First Century.
The People's Game?: Football, Finance and Society
by S. MorrowThe beautiful game is big business. Football leagues worldwide are being dominated by clubs who are becoming richer and more powerful. Enormous corporate investment, deals with media giants, huge volumes of merchandising and dedicated TV channels mean that football teams are as concerned with the affairs of the boardroom as what is going on on the pitch. In this dynamic new book, Stephen Morrow examines the changing face of football, looking at issues such as the role of the stock exchange, the viability of the stakeholder approach, the 'new economics' of football including the role of media firms and the social impact of the sport.
Rugby Union and Globalization: An Odd-Shaped World (Global Culture and Sport Series)
by J. HarrisIn 1995 rugby union finally became a professional sport following more than a century as an amateur game. This book offers a critical analysis of the sport in the professional era and assesses the relationship between the local and the global in contemporary rugby union.
Pole Dancing, Empowerment and Embodiment
by S. HollandThis book provides an international, multi-disciplinary empirical account of pole classes and how they fit into wider discourses about bodies and gender, and age and fitness. In particular, the book explores how women initiate agency and espouse liberation and empowerment through something as seemingly problematic as pole classes.
Fitness Culture: Gyms and the Commercialisation of Discipline and Fun (Consumption and Public Life)
by Roberta SassatelliThis book provides a sociological perspective on fitness culture as developed in commercial gyms, investigating the cultural relevance of gyms in terms of the history of the commercialization of body discipline, the negotiation of gender identities and distinction dynamics within contemporary cultures of consumption.