Risk is the inevitable consequence of being human. Risk management is a term used by experts to encompass all the strategies that may be employed to deal with risk. From a bottom line financial point of view, the objective of risk management is to efficiently conserve the assets and financial resources of an organization and to maintain financial stability by reducing the potential for financial loss. This study investigated risk and safety practices and methods utilized by youth baseball and softball organizations and their coaches. Research included a literature review examining the differences and similarities of the leading risk management models, risk related legal liability cases and results, injury statistics from youth baseball and softball (ages 5-17) participants, and the different actions and motivating factors for risk and safety management for both sport organizations and individual volunteers. A survey was used to collect the data on safety and risk management practices. The survey was designed to answer eight research questions. ANOVA techniques such as MANOVA, one- and two-way ANOVA and post hoc testing were used to analyze the data. In summary, coaches were willing to improve their level of risk and safety knowledge if it was required as a prerequisite to coaching. Second, organizations were not providing adequate risk and safety material or programs for their coaches and the implementation of risk and safety procedures varied between regions. Third, as player age increased, less risk and safety practices were conducted. Fourth, coaches who were under thirty years of age conducted the most risk and safety practices. Fifth, coaches' motivation to volunteer significantly influenced their risk and safety practices. Finally, being certified in general safety techniques (First Aid and CPR) should be accompanied with specific baseball and softball risk and safety education to improve overall safety / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2004. / April 22, 2004. / Youth Baseball, Risk Management / Includes bibliographical references. / Aubrey Kent, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sande Milton, Outside Committee Member; Annie Clement, Committee Member; Charles Imwold, Committee Member.

The purpose of the research was to elaborate on the relationship between sport national team identity and national identity. The relationship has been documented anecdotally and in other areas of study, most notably in sport sociology (Bairner, 2001). There has been no research in sport management, however, addressing how national sport team identity may influence or contribute to the formation of national identity. One of the researcher's goals was to advance our understanding of group identities by examining the influence of national sport team identity on national identity. An additional goal was to assess the relative importance of national sport team identity in relation to regional and religious identities as a component of one's national identity. A supplemental outcome of the current research was to extend the GROUP* ID scale developed by Heere and James (2007) by measuring different group identities in international settings. The four group identities examined were: 1) 'national' team, 2) regional, 3) religious, and 4) national. The current study also included an examination of whether there were differences in the respective identities (team, national, regional, and religious) due to demographic characteristics (age, gender, education, and income). Finally, the current study included an examination of whether there were differences in indirect sport consumption (media and merchandise) based on demographic characteristics (age, gender, education, and income) among individuals that identified with a national sport team. Participants were selected from the countries of Serbia (n = 800) and Ireland (n =218). The Serbian sample was a random sample of participants from the country of Serbia. The Irish sample was a convenience online sample from residents in Ireland. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the two datasets to provide evidence of reliability and validity of the GROUP*ID scale. The samples were then reduced to reflect 'only' those individuals that chose to identify with the nations of Serbia (n = 691) and Ireland (n = 194). Multiple regression and One-Way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The Serbian sample (n = 691) was composed of males (52%) and females (48%) and their average age was 43.71. The Irish sample (n = 194) was composed of males (57%) and females (43%) and their average age was 36.59. Descriptive results revealed that Serbians identified with the national soccer team the most (44%). The Irish identified with the national soccer team (37%) and rugby team (37%). The results from a series of multiple regressions revealed that the influence of national sport team identity on national identity was significant in both Serbia and Ireland. The proposed models explained 49% of variance in national identity in Serbia (n = 691), and 55% of variance of national identity in Ireland (n = 194). Further analysis revealed national sport team identity was not as important as regional and religious identity in assessing a Serbian's national identity. With the Irish sample, national sport team identity accounted for more variance than religious identity in Irish national identity, but not more than was accounted for by regional identity. Findings from the current research also included significant differences in team identity relative to gender, age, and education within the Serbian sample (n = 691). A significant difference was also found in national identity relative to gender in Serbia. There were no significant differences in national sport team or national identity within the Irish sample (n = 194). Other findings of the current research included significant differences on indirect sport consumption (media and merchandise) based on demographic characteristics amongst individuals that identified with a Serbian and Irish national sport team respectively. Based on the findings, key research and practical implications are presented. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2011. / June 30, 2011. / sport, team identity, national identity / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey D. James, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gary A. Knight, University Representative; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member; Michael J. Mondello, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to examine cardiac function during three consecutive bouts of prolonged endurance exercise (PEE) in healthy collegeaged males for the determination of cardiac myocyte damage indicative of cardiac fatigue. Additionally, multiple bouts were performed in order to examine the cardioprotective effect of exercise and ascertain whether preconditioning was induced. In order to avoid the limitations of previous studies, the exercise sessions were completed in a controlled laboratory setting at a predetermined intensity. Likewise the 3rd generation cTnT ELISA was used in order to validate previous positive results. The present study involved ten male, untrained runners (VO2 max 50.7 ± 3.8 ml/kg/min). During the experimental phase, subjects completed three consecutive treadmill runs to exhaustion separated by twenty-four hours. The average total exercise time for the three bouts combined was 204.5 ± 71.49 minutes and the individual exercise bout times were 70.6 ± 31.44, 70.0 ± 25.39, and 63.90 ± 23.95 minutes respectively. The mean peak VO2 achieved during the exercise bouts was 41.9 ± 4.8 ml/kg-1/min-1 (3.4 ± 0.4 L/min-1) which is 81.92 ± 4.4% of estimated VO2 max. Evaluation of cardiac markers and electrocardiographic data revealed no signs of cardiac fatigue. Electrocardiographic examination focused primarily on signs of myocardial damage and ischemia (ST segment, Q wave, and T wave). Data from the present study suggests that prolonged endurance exercise does not induce myocardial damage in healthy, untrained male subjects. The chosen intensity of 81.92 ± 4.4% of estimated VO2 max may have inhibited the completion of a duration sufficient to induce cardiac fatigue. Additionally, it can be hypothesized that repetitive bouts of exercise did not result in a compounding effect as cardiac fatigue was not noted during any of the exercise bouts. While no significance was found in the current study, heat shock protein 70 (Hsp 70) values increased following exercise possibly providing enhanced myocardial protection and future resistance to the damage of ischemia or infarction. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Nutrition, Food, and Exercise Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester, 2004. / April 7, 2003. / HSP 70, Heat Shock Protein, Consecutive Bouts, Prolonged Endurance Exercise, Myocyte Damage / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert J. Moffatt, Professor Directing Thesis; Laurie Grubbs, Outside Committee Member; Emily Haymes, Committee Member.

Numerous variables have been found to influence sport consumption; however, research examining nationalism as a construct has yet to be fully examined. The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure nationalism as a motive for sport fan consumption. The proposed scale included 16 items and measured the nationalism as multidimensional construct (connection to countryman, national belonging and national pride). The number of items per dimension ranged from three to nine (connection to countryman three items, national belonging four items and national pride nine items). Data was collected at the 2004 European Championships in Portugal to assess the validity and reliability of the proposed scale. The sample included Dutch, English and Portuguese fans (N=481). The sample was split so the scale could be purified. The results of an exploratory factor analysis with Split 1 (n=240) revealed that the 16 items held together to represent one construct, nationalism. Assessment of the item-to-item correlations and the squared multiple correlations led the researcher to delete items that were highly correlated and did not contribute more than chance to the variance accounted for. The number of items in the scale was reduced to seven. The Cronbach's alpha score computed using Split two was 0.92. The seven items were reasonably concluded to capture the essence of nationalism as a sport fan motive. Implications and future research will assist sport marketing practitioners in gaining an enhanced understanding of today's sport fan at an international sporting event (e.g., Olympics, World Cup). / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Sport Management Recreation Management and Physical Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester, 2005. / October 24, 2005. / Sport Fan Motives, Nationalism / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey Dalton James, Professor Directing Thesis; Robert Aubrey Kent, Committee Member; Cecile Reynaud, Committee Member.

Water-related events are the most popular all year around activities in Taiwan. Aquatic facilities deliver value to users and the community when they are well planned and designed, and meet the public's expectations for health and safety. Approximately two people die from drowning or swimming-related accidents every day; the average age range of victims is between 15 to 24 years. An average of 961 people has died in accidental drownings each year over the past ten years in Taiwan. The Taiwanese accident rate of drowning increased by 11% between the years 1999 and 2000. Because of the high rate of accidents in water-related activities, the focus of this research was to investigate the management status of aquatic centers (schools, YMCAs, public/private communities, fitness centers, hotels, theme parks); the risk management practices employed by these institutions; and associated legal concerns. The purpose of this study was to establish the management status of aquatic centers, the risk management practices employed by organizations, and the associated legal concerns in Taiwan. The significance of this study was to provide first-hand information about risk management in general aquatic center settings in Taiwan. This study provided an in-depth understanding of risk management implementation, the relationship of demographic elements, risk management practices and considerations of aquatic directors at swimming/aquatic facilities in Taiwan. The results drew a prospective picture, revealed a lack of risk management practices in aquatic centers in Taiwan and provided a clear direction for future study. This study used a self-developed survey questionnaire and tried to get a better understanding of the risk management practices among aquatic directors in Taiwan. The findings of this study represent 937 aquatic directors at swimming facilities across Taiwan. There were no attempts to reach inferences or generalize the findings. It would be a worthwhile study to track all settled cases related to accidents/incidents and to compare the case facts with demographic elements related to risk management practices in Taiwan. Results of the study suggest that Taiwan's aquatic directors should have a fundamental concept and knowledge of risk management and sports law in order to provide safer and better aquatic environments for all participants. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2005. / February 28, 2005. / Swimming Pools, Litigation, Aquatics, Risk Management / Includes bibliographical references. / Annie Clement, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lynn Panton, Outside Committee Member; Aubrey Kent, Committee Member; B. Cecile Reynaud, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to identify current collective bargaining issues facing the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and, further, to examine these same issues in Major League Baseball (MLB). In order to help the KBO plan for the future, this study was designed to forecast future collective bargaining issues for the KBO, particularly those that may prove important during the next decade. In addition, this study was intended to explore what differences and similarities exist between the forecasts of experts toward bargaining issues of the KBO and the current content of the bargaining agreement of MLB. An understanding of what issues have been addressed by MLB would help the KBO resolve disputes and establish strategies for collective bargaining in the near future. In order to accomplish the purpose of this study, five research questions were formulated: (a) What do the experts think about the current collective bargaining issues of the Korea Baseball Organization? (b) What do the experts think about the collective bargaining issues of Major League Baseball? (c) What do the experts anticipate about the collective bargaining issues of the Korea Baseball Organization during the next decade? (d) What is the content of the most recent collective bargaining agreements of Major League Baseball? and (e) What differences and similarities exist between the forecast of experts toward bargaining issues of the Korea Baseball Organization and the current content of the bargaining agreement of Major League Baseball? These five research questions were tested by both the Delphi technique and document analysis. The Delphi technique was used to forecast future collective bargaining issues of the Korea Baseball Organization through the opinions of experts. In conducting the Delphi technique, a survey questionnaire was used as the instrument. Thirty-seven experts, selected by a nominating procedure, responded to the questions. Over the two rounds, the collected data were analyzed by both median and interquartile range to determine the consensus of expert opinion. Document analysis was used to identify the kinds of issues important in the MLB collective bargaining agreement by analyzing the contents of two recent MLB collective bargaining agreements. The survey results obtained from the Delphi technique were compared with the results of document analysis. This study found that Korean experts perceived the period of free agency, players' equipment, and both medical and rehabilitation service as the most important labor-management issues. Most of the experts expected that the various collective bargaining issues of MLB will eventually appear in the bargaining agenda between players and owners of the KBO. It was found that the issues believed most important for the near future were annual salary, pensions, minimum salary, and arbitration. Given that these issues were dealt with by the MLB in the 1970's, this finding was considered evidence that the labor-management relations of the KBO are about thirty years behind those of the MLB. More recent issues appearing in the MLB agreement of 1997, such as luxury tax, payroll tax, industry growth fund, antitrust, and revenue-sharing plans, were not perceived by Korean experts as important issues, either currently or for the near future. This finding suggests, therefore, that even though both the KBO and MLB had different collective bargaining foci at the time of the study, the forecasts of the experts related primarily to issues that were important at an earlier period for MLB. This finding provided supporting evidence for the importance of this study, in which the collective bargaining process of MLB can be exemplified as a guideline for the collective bargaining process of KBO. If the path of the collective bargaining process of the KBO more-or-less follows the path of that of MLB, one can reasonably predict the next set of bargaining issues of the KBO by examining the history and strategies of bargaining issues that appeared in MLB. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2003. / August 25, 2003. / Collective Bargaining, Korea Baseball Organization / Includes bibliographical references. / Annie Clement, Professor Directing Dissertation; David Pargman, Outside Committee Member; Alvin Stauber, Outside Committee Member; Tom Ratliffe, Committee Member.

The role of customers in service production has been increased in our society. Sport participants also play a significant role in service delivery (Chelladurai & Chang, 2000; Ko & Pastore, 2005). Groth (2005) introduced customer citizenship behavior (CCB) indicating the extra-role behaviors of customers which are not required for service production. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer citizenship behavior (CCB) moderated by customer involvement among campus recreational sport participants. In addition, the relationship between encounter service quality and global service quality was examined. Based on the literature, a theoretical model was developed and tested, using a structural equation modeling (SEM). Data were collected from 228 college students at a large south-eastern university. The results indicated that program quality, client-employee interaction, valence, sociability, ambience condition, and equipment predicted the perception of global service quality. In addition, both perceived service quality and customer satisfaction in the global levels predicted CCB. While perceived service quality influenced customer satisfaction positively, customer satisfaction had a negative effect on perceived service quality simultaneously. The moderating effect of involvement was found in the relationship from the perception of the global service quality to global customer satisfaction. The findings are discussed with managerial implications and directions for future research. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2006. / November 17, 2006. / Customer Satisfaction, Service Quality, Customer Citizenship Behavior, Sport / Includes bibliographical references. / Jerome Quarterman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lynn Panton, Outside Committee Member; Hyungil Harry Kwon, Committee Member; Aubrey Kent, Committee Member.

The medical profession has increased its acceptance of the benefits of exercise training for patients with uncomplicated coronary artery disease. Access to more modem technology and better management of this condition has led to an increase in the number of patients surviving acute coronary episodes . Some of these patients may have developed chronic asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction and/or residual myocardial ischaemia, and could become potential candidates for cardiac rehabilitation if exercise training could induce physiological benefits without further deteriorating their condition. Over the last 10 years, several patients at moderate to high risk of future cardiovascular events because of the presence of left ventricular dysfunction and/or myocardial ischaemia have been accepted for cardiac rehabilitation at the Johannesburg Cardiac Rehabilitation Center. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of exercise training on left ventricular function and exercise capacity in patients with coronary artery disease and varying degrees of left ventricular dysfunction and/or myocardial ischaemia attending the Johannesburg Cardiac Rehabilitation Center.

The purposes of the study are to propose a conceptual model for the internalization of a sport team through sport video gaming, to examine the relationship between motives to play sport video games and a sport identity, to examine the relationship between a sense of presence and a sport identity, and to examine the moderating effect of a sense of presence on the relationship between motives and a sport identity. The results showed that motives and a sense of presence influence a sport identity but the interaction effect between motives and a sense of presence on a sport identity was not significant. In order to determine whether a sport identity pertains to a sport object or it is related to winning, two grouping variables including the level of winning needs and the frequency of selecting one's favorite team when playing a sport video game, multiple-sample structural equation modeling (MSEM) was conducted. The results of the study showed that a sport identity pertains to a sport team rather than winning needs. The findings contribute to the understanding of what drives sport video gamers to facilitate personal connections with their favorite teams and guide implications for marketing communication practice. Limitations and future research directions are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2010. / October 15, 2010. / Sport, Video Game, Sense of Presence, Internalization / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey D. James, Professor Directing Dissertation; Susan Losh, Outside Committee Member; Michael J. Mondello, Committee Member; Arthur A. Raney, Committee Member.

Attribution theory helps explain how people infer an actor's characteristics or dispositions from his or her behavior. In the context of advertising, the theory has been used to explain how consumers infer the motives, intent, or disposition of a persuasive communicator such as an advertiser or a celebrity endorser. Only recently has there been some effort to explain corporate sponsorship in light of attribution theory (Rifon, Choi, Trimble, & Li, 2004). However, none of these recent studies have investigated attribution in the commercial sport sponsorship context. The main thrust of the current study was to examine whether attribution theory is applicable to the context of sport sponsorship. Based on Kelley's (1967) co-variation principle, predictions were made concerning consumer response to single versus multiple team sponsorship. Further, the relationships between attribution, attitudes toward the sponsor, and purchase intent were investigated. The results from four pilot studies (n = 45; 31; 150; 170) demonstrated that experimental stimulus materials for the main study were properly manipulated and that the measurement tools for the current study, including two newly developed attribution scales, were psychometrically sound. The main study (n = 204) employed a posttest-only control group design in which consumer responses to multiple versus single team sponsorship were compared. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) demonstrated that a single team sponsor was perceived to be more team-serving whereas a multiple team sponsor was perceived to be more firm-serving. This supported the proposition that attribution theory is predictive of consumer response to a sport sponsor's actions and behavior. MANOVA also showed that sponsor favorability was significantly different across the treatment groups. No statistical difference was found in terms of purchase intent. Based on hedonic relevance theory, treatment (single-team versus multiple-team sponsorship) and covariate (team identification) interactions were hypothesized. The results were mixed. Attribute-Treatment Interaction (ATI) analysis revealed that the higher the level of team identification, the greater the magnitude of team-serving intent attribution. The level of firm-serving intent, however, did not differ across the levels of team identification. This non-significant finding might have resulted from a positivity bias toward the sponsor among the highly identified sport fans participating in the study. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that the hypothesized relationships between perception of team-serving intent, sponsor favorability, and purchase likelihood were significant. The effect of perception of team-serving intent on purchase intent was found to be indirect. Perception of firm-serving intent was found to be significantly associated neither with sponsor favorability nor with purchase intent. These results suggested that consumers are likely to respond positively to a sponsor perceived to be team-serving. They are, however, neutral about a sponsor perceived to be firm-serving. This study is believed to be the first to examine attribution in the context of commercial sport sponsorship. It expands the applicability of attribution theory to a new setting. This study also contributes to sponsorship research by providing a theoretical framework that explains the process of goodwill generation and identifies the determinants and consequences of goodwill. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport and Recreation Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2010. / August 16, 2010. / Attribution, Sponsorship / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey D. James, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jeannine Turner, University Representative; Michael Mondello, Committee Member; Yu Kyoum Kim, Committee Member.