Dear all,
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a lonesome editor, slaving away late at night, must be in want of a glass of red, red wine.
Last week the following items were published on idrottsforum.org (see below; language and publication dates, YYMMDD, in brackets). Click on the red headings to go to content. Utilize the Google Translate service to turn Scandinavian language pages into (some sort of) English.
Have a great week,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor
Feature Articles
Seduced by Open Access capitalism? When the cure is worse than the disease
This essay by Dr. Ulrik Wagner critically examines some forms of Open Access journal publishing that are currently gaining momentum. Dr. Wagner argues that the cure, in the form of various open access publishing outlets, are often worse than the disease – i.e., the power of the scholarly publishing oligopoly. The aim of the essay is to encourage critical reflection and foster debate about our publishing patterns, options and choices. (Published in English 230412.
From nature conservation to climate threats: Outdoor recreation organizations’ work with ecological sustainability
Earlier this year, Mistra Sport & Outdoors presented a report by Marie Larneby, Peter Fredman, Jens Radmann & Susanna Hedenborg outlining how different Swedish outdoors organizations work with ecological sustainability and how nature and environment are related. One conclusion from the study is that outdoor organizations have a great potential to further develop their sustainability work since it already is established. Click below to read the report Summary, in English or Swedish. (Published in English & Swedish 230413.
Book Reviews
Football Murals: A celebration of soccer’s greatest street art, by Andy Brassell
Written and curated by respected football writer Andy Brassell, Football Murals: A celebration of soccer’s greatest street art (Bloomsbury) features more than 100 murals from around the world, capturing the scale, grandeur and wit of this powerful and popular art form. Street art expert Jacob Kimvall knew little about football before being saddled with this book, but his knowledge of the artform made him come up with a couple of alternative titles that better describes the book he read and quite enjoyed. (Review in English, published 230410.)
Power Players: Football in Propaganda, War and Revolution, by Ronny Blaschke
Ronny Blaschke’s Power Players: Football in Propaganda, War and Revolution (Pitch Publishing) exposes the political abuse of football. Dictators present themselves in stadiums as representatives of the people. But ‘ultras’ defy them and fight in revolutions on the front line. Historian Mats Greiff is in two minds about the book – with its geographical breadth and wealth of data it’s immensely instructive, but Blaschke fails to tie up the loose ends with an overarching analysis of it all. (Review in English, published 230411.)
Pathways: Exploring the Routes of a Movement Heritage, by Daniel Svensson, Katarina Saltzman & Sverker Sörlin (eds.)
In Pathways: Exploring the Routes of a Movement Heritage, editors Daniel Svensson, Katarina Saltzman & Sverker Sörlin will explore possibilities to acknowledge human motion, and traces thereof, as heritage, based on a Swedish research project with the aim to explore the multiple dimensions of walking. We were fortunate that Sarah Spooner readily accepted to assess their efforts, and her knowledgeable review presents a highly readable, thought-provoking and wide-ranging collection of essays. (Review in English, published 230413.)
New Blog Post
What’s it all about, Gary? Politics and the sports presenter, by David Rowe
The UK’s Tory Government is trying to enact an Illegal Migration Bill accused by the UN of “extinguishing the right to seek refugee protection in the UK”. It has even copied the Australian Liberal-National Coalition’s slogan ‘Stop the Boats’ in its campaign to send ‘irregular’ boat arrivals offshore. This move will almost certainly contravene the European Convention on Human Rights, from which many Tory MP’s wish to disengage. It says much about our hypermediated world that this major issue has been swamped by disputes over the right of the country’s most prominent sports presenter to comment about it. (Published in English 230412.)
New Issues of Scholarly Journals
(We rely heavily on journal publishers delivering on their promises of new issue alerts. Sometimes they don’t.)
The International Journal of the History of Sport, Volume 39, 2022, Issue 12 (230410)- International Journal of Sport Communication, Volume 16, 2023, No. 1 (230411)
- Sociology of Sport Journal, Volume 40, 2023, Issue 1 (230411)
News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)
- Call for Chapters | Bodies, Gender, Identities, an edited Open Access volume. Abstract submission deadline is May 14, 2023 (230416)
