Dear all,
Today we’re entering the final week of the fall semester, after which the Christmas and New Year’s recess will bring some much needed rest, relaxation and time for reflection. But hey, who knows, we might feel the need to remind our readership of our continued existence during the holidays. And we will most definitely be around all of 2025.
Meanwhile, 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, or, for those thus inclined, turn English language pages into one the Scandinavian languages.
Have a great week,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor
Research Article
Barns motorik 1974–2024: En enkätstudie om förändringar i skolelevers motoriska kompetens [Children’s motor skills 1974–2024: A survey study on changes in school pupils’ motor competence]
Several international studies show a decline in school pupil’s motor skills. In Sweden, there is a lack of studies documenting changes in children’s motor skills over time.This study by Ingegerd Ericsson, Anna Tidén and Eva Andersson aims to shed light on teachers’ assessments of how children’s motor skills have changed in the last 10–20 years. The results show a deterioration of motor skills which is alarming, because motor skills are of great importance for children’’s participation in movement play and sports as well as for a lifelong healthy lifestyle. (Published in Swedish 241211; English abstract available.
Book Reviews
Managing and Developing Sports Officials: Officiating Excellence, by Tom Webb, David J. Hancock, Pamm Phillips & Jacob K. Tingle (eds.)
Managing and Developing Sports Officials: Officiating Excellence, edited by Tom Webb, David J. Hancock, Pamm Phillips & Jacob K. Tingle (Routledge), offers an evidence-based guide to the development, management, and retention of sports officials. Our reviewer is Stuart Carrington, whose 2019 book Blowing the Whistle: The Psychology of Football Refereeing places him well for the job. And he is quite satisfied with this crucial contribution to the literature around sports officials that more than meets its aim. (Review in English, published 241209.)
Fysisk aktivitet för unga med Downs syndrom [Physical activity for young people with Down syndrome], by Gerth Hedov & Ann-Christin Sollerhed (eds.)
Children and young people with Down syndrome often have lower muscle strength, motor ability and physical fitness than other young people without disabilities. In Gerth Hedov’s and Ann-Christin Sollerhed’s Fysisk aktivitet för unga med Downs syndrom [Physical activity for young people with Down syndrome] (Studentlitteratur), the importance of physical activity for this group is emphasized. According to our reviewer Lars Kristén, the book offers an exemplary mapping of opportunities and obstacles for young people with Down syndrome to practice physical activity. (Book in Swedish, review in English, published 241210.)
Gender, Sport and Society: An Introduction, by Hanya Pielichaty
Introducing the core concepts, issues and debates in the study of gender and sport, Hanya Pielichaty’s Gender, Sport and Society: An Introduction (Routledge) is an accessible textbook for anyone studying or interested in sport. Anna Maria Hellborg concludes that Pielichaty has written a relevant and nuanced introduction to the complex issue of gender and sport, however, she also finds that the overall structure of the book is open to certain objections. For instance, she would have liked to see a more comprehensive treatment of the concept and phenomenon of intersectionality. (Review in English, published 241212.)
New Blog Post
Sausages and cauldrons: Making law and policy in 21st Century Australia, by David Rowe
Political pundits of a realist disposition are repetitively fond – to the point of cliché – of quoting a remark questionably attributed to Otto von Bismarck, the first Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire. His 19th century observation that, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made”, appeals to those who see political decision-making in liberal democracies as the product of behind-the-scenes deal-making publicly presented as the fruits of rational deliberation. This rather cynical perspective is challenged by another German, eminent philosopher and social theorist Jürgen Habermas… (Published in English 241209.)
New Issues of Scholarly Journals
(We’re currently reviewing this service, since it’s a rather time-consuming undertaking. In the meanwhile we’re presenting some of the journals in line with the Forum’s core mission.)
- European Journal for Sport and Society, Vol. 21, 2024, Issue 4 (241209)
- International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, Vol. 7, 2024, Issue 4 | Human Rights and Leisure: Welfare, Wellbeing and Social Justice (241210)
- The Sport Psychologist, Volume 38, 2024, Issue 4 (241210)
- International Journal of Sport Communication, Volume 17, 2024, No. 2 (241213)
- International Journal of Sport Communication, Volume 17, 2024, No. 3 (241214)
News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)
- Call for Papers | The Nordic Football Research Conference 2025 | Reykjavik, Iceland, May 21–22, 2025. Call ends January 18, 2025 (241209)
- Call for Book Proposals | Sport & Society Teaching Pocketbook Series | Call ends March 31, 2025 (241209)
