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- Creators: Arizona State University
- Resource Type: Text
Description
Sports communication is a vibrant, blossoming research area within the communication discipline. One of the more fruitful directions in sports communication research pertains to social media. Social media has embedded itself in the sports world in a very short period of time. As a result, there is a need for instructional resources that prepare students to understand the nuances and power that social media possess. This research provides the foundation for a case study textbook centered on social media and sports communication. Specifically, four cases dealing with: (a) athletes using social media to encourage input from fans; (b) sports organizations using social media as an agenda-setting tool; (c) negative parasocial interaction expressed to athletes via social media; and (d) athletes using social media to enact image repair are presented. These cases demonstrate that social media is a valuable conduit between athletes and fans that enables athletes and sports organizations to cultivate fan identity and maintain control over public information. The cases also demonstrate that fan behavior via social media can quickly turn problematic, requiring that athletes and sports organizations respond appropriately, yet strategically. The research concludes by offering implications for future social media and sports communication research.
ContributorsSanderson, Jimmy (Author) / Kassing, Jeffrey W. (Thesis advisor) / Ramirez Jr, Artemio (Committee member) / Meân, Lindsey J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The field of authorship determination, previously largely falling under the umbrella of literary analysis but recently becoming a large subfield of forensic linguistics, has grown substantially over the last two decades. As its body of research and its record of successful forensic application continue to grow, this growth is paralleled by the demand for its application. However, methods which have undergone rigorous testing to show their reliability and replicability, allowing them to meet the strict Daubert criteria put forth by the US court system, have not truly been established.
In this study, I set out to investigate how a list of parameters, many commonly used in the methodologies of previous researchers, would perform when used to test documents of bloggers from a sports blog, Winging It in Motown. Three prolific bloggers were chosen from the site, and a corpus of posts was created for each blogger which was then examined for each of the chosen parameters. One test document for each of the three bloggers which was not included in that blogger’s corpus was then chosen from the blog page, and these documents were examined for each of the parameters via the same methodologies as were used to examine the corpora. Once data for the corpora and all three test documents was obtained, the results were compared for similarity, and an author determination was made for each test document along each parameter.
The findings indicated that overall the parameters were quite unsuccessful in determining authorship for these test documents based on the author corpora developed for the study. Only two parameters successfully identified the authors of the test documents at a rate higher than chance, and the possibility exists that other factors may be driving these successful identifications, demanding further research to confirm their validity as parameters for the purpose of authorship work.
In this study, I set out to investigate how a list of parameters, many commonly used in the methodologies of previous researchers, would perform when used to test documents of bloggers from a sports blog, Winging It in Motown. Three prolific bloggers were chosen from the site, and a corpus of posts was created for each blogger which was then examined for each of the chosen parameters. One test document for each of the three bloggers which was not included in that blogger’s corpus was then chosen from the blog page, and these documents were examined for each of the parameters via the same methodologies as were used to examine the corpora. Once data for the corpora and all three test documents was obtained, the results were compared for similarity, and an author determination was made for each test document along each parameter.
The findings indicated that overall the parameters were quite unsuccessful in determining authorship for these test documents based on the author corpora developed for the study. Only two parameters successfully identified the authors of the test documents at a rate higher than chance, and the possibility exists that other factors may be driving these successful identifications, demanding further research to confirm their validity as parameters for the purpose of authorship work.
ContributorsCox, Taylor (Author) / Gelderen, Elly van (Thesis advisor) / Gillon, Carrie (Committee member) / Gee, Elisabeth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Previous research has shown that perceptual illusions can enhance golf putting performance, and the effect has been explained as being due to enhanced expectancies. The present study was designed to further understand this effect by measuring putting in 3 additional variations to the Ebbinghaus illusion and by measuring putting kinematics. Nineteen ASU students with minimal golf experience putted to the following illusion conditions: a target, a target surrounded by small circles, a target surrounded by large circles, a target surrounded by both large and small circles, no target surrounded by small circles and no target surrounded by large circles. Neither perceived target size nor putting error was significantly affected by the illusion conditions. Time to peak speed was found to be significantly greater for the two conditions with no target, and lowest for the condition with the target by itself. Suggestions for future research include having split groups with and without perceived performance feedback as well as general performance feedback. The size conditions utilized within this study should continue to be explored as more consistent data could be collected within groups.
ContributorsCoon, Victoria (Author) / Gray, Rob (Thesis advisor) / Roscoe, Rod (Committee member) / Branaghan, Russ (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
In this research paper I explore former male athletes, specifically professional football players entering local journalism. Research paired with interviews in regards to the topic explain why there are nearly 10 former NFL players in local markets where an NFL team is present, and why local journalists along with future journalists should not be worried about the number of former male athletes in local journalism. The paper also dives into the side-by-side statistics of why there is significantly more former college athletes in local journalism than former NFL players. The research focused on more than 100 television stations, revealing that 100 former or current collegiate or pro athletes are journalists for local stations where an NFL team is present. The data is solely reliant on the information that the journalists provided in their bios on the station websites. This could be seen as a possible limitation, however, the likelihood of these journalists either lying or not identifying as a former athlete is minimal due to the size of the accomplishment of actually participating in college as an athlete. The basis of my research is to figure out if former NFL players and former athletes in general are taking journalism jobs from aspiring journalists. I conclude that future journalists are not at risk of losing jobs when it comes to retired football players entering the field of local journalism. With that said, aspiring journalists need to continue to develop their social media skills to compete with athletes’ audiences on social networks.
ContributorsTotri, Anthony Matthew (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Reed, Sada (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
As the premier colligate summer league in the country, the Cape Cod Baseball League has operated since 1885 and has seen over one thousand all-time alumni step foot in professional baseball. Every season, each of the CCBL's ten teams call upon some of the nation's top aspiring sports broadcasters, writers, and social media managers to spearhead the coverage of the league and tell the stories of the summer. However, while the season offers hours of repetition and exposure to players and journalists alike, the league's coverage capabilities fall short of its high potential due to inconsistencies and inadequacies that restrain its media content from matching the level of baseball that takes place on the field. Through the identification of specific problems within the league's broadcast equipment, its varying platforms, and its growing gap between individual coverage teams, this thesis offers both short-term and long-term solutions that aim to raise the standards and capabilities of league content while also raising awareness of the issue itself. While considering the Cape Cod League's unique non-profit business model and its most recent financial situation, this thesis also illustrates opportunities within fundraising events, the league's online audience, and its vast alumni network that can create a sustainable business plan for the near and distant future of the Cape Cod Broadcast Network.
ContributorsKercheval, Kyle Nicholas (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Cesmat, Brad (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
On May 12, 2009, hundreds of Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raided Agriprocessors, a meat packing plant in the sleepy town of Postville, Iowa, and arrested 389 workers. These workers, primarily Spanish speaking immigrants from Guatemala and Mexico, were charged with felony aggravated identity theft. This criminalization of immigration is a critical point in immigration policy in the United States, representing a ritual performance of the exclusion of immigrants from American society. In stark juxtaposition to the raid itself, the community of Postville was working to welcome the very immigrants that were targeted by ICE. In attempts at inclusion, Postville had created an adult soccer league that provided a sense of community and identity for immigrants. Using the classic anthropological method of ethnography, this research draws on extensive time immersed in the community of Postville to conduct a qualitative case study of the day-to-day meanings of immigration in the United States. This dissertation examines the adult soccer league and the ICE raid as examples of cultural performances of inclusion and exclusion by using anthropological concepts of nation, sport, and performance. Performance is used to mark national identity in both instances--a shifting, hybrid `transnational' identity in the case of the immigrants playing in the soccer league--and a clearly delineated `American' identity in the case of the ICE raid. Moreover, national identity is tied to other aspects of identity, such as gender. As the performances create national `imagined communities,' they also gender their participants and nations themselves. Ultimately this reveals the way that immigration itself is gendered, and the way in which American immigration policy is designed to promote an American national identity. These efforts are not only to the detriment of immigrants in the United States as laborers but also to the communities with jobs that draw these workers. The case study of Postville provides a lens to examine the meanings of immigration policy from the ground up and in the lives of those it impacts most--immigrants and the communities in which they reside.
ContributorsWhite, Douglas Gerald (Author) / Hjorleifur Jonsson (Thesis advisor) / Eder Jr, James (Committee member) / Chance, John K. (Committee member) / Alvarez, Robert R. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
This study utilized a literature review and an analysis of Google Trends and Google News data in order to investigate the coverage that American men’s soccer gets from the media compared to that given to other major American sports. The literature review called upon a variety of peer-reviewed, scholarly entries, as well as journalistic articles and stories, to holistically argue that soccer receives short-sighted coverage from the American media. This section discusses topics such as import substitution, stardom, and American exceptionalism. The Google analysis consisted of 30 specific comparisons in which one American soccer player was compared to another athlete playing in one of America’s major sports leagues. These comparisons allowed for concrete measurements in the difference in popularity and coverage between soccer players and their counterparts. Overall, both the literature review and Google analysis yielded firm and significant evidence that the American media’s coverage of soccer is lopsided, and that they do play a role in the sport’s difficulty to become popular in the American mainstream.
ContributorsHedges, Nicholas Kent (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Reed, Sada (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Comm (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Soccer is considered one of the world’s most popular sports. In a 2017 Nielsen survey, 43 percent of people in 18 global markets said they were “interested” or “very interested” in the sport. However, multiple leagues across the globe allow for differences regarding fan bases.
Major League Soccer (MLS) was adopted as an official men’s soccer league on December 17, 1993, by the United States Soccer Federation. The league consists of 27 teams (24 in the US and 3 in Canada). By 2023, the league will expand to 30 teams. The season begins in March and play continues through mid-October, with a playoff bracket.
The English Premier League (EPL) was established on February 20, 1992 and is made up of 20 clubs. The season runs from mid-August to mid-May, with 380 matches across the league being played. There are no “playoffs”; instead, a winner is determined by a point system. Points add up throughout the season (three points for a win, one point for a draw, none for a loss).
The average attendance for the two leagues is fairly consistent. The most popular team in the EPL, Manchester United, averaged 57,942 spectators per game in 2019 (Statista). The most popular team in the MLS, Atlanta United, averaged 52,210 spectators per game in 2019 (Statista). Average television viewership between the two leagues is drastically different. The EPL is the most watched sports league in the world. In 2019, a Nielsen study found that the total audience delivered on NBC per match averaged 462,000 viewers (this number does not include Spanish language broadcasts or streaming data from NBC Sports Gold and Peacock Sports Group). Another Nielsen study found that the MLS’s 31-game schedule on ESPN and ESPN 2 had a total average audience of 246,000 viewers.
This website identifies the major differences in marketing and fan groups between the two leagues, and includes ideas on how to overcome these differences and make Major League Soccer have a larger presence in the United States, like the way the Premier League has a large presence in the U.K.
Website Link: https://fangapsinmlsandepl.wordpress.com
ContributorsCook, Paige (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Camporeale, Joseph (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-12
Description
Research on legal socialization aims to develop an understanding of how individuals develop their relationship with law and legal actors, as well as how this relationship influences their behavior. One perspective of the legal socialization framework typically considers two models: the coercive model, where behavior is altered by authoritative force, and the consensual model, where behavior is altered by a sense of obligation. Legal socialization is not limited to the actual legal system and can be understood by applying the concepts to other rule-based systems. The current study applied the legal socialization framework to a previously unexplored rule system: motocross and supercross. The goal of this study was to see how formal and informal rule systems of motocross and supercross incorporate aspects of the coercive and consensual models to influence riders’ behaviors. To achieve this aim, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 professional motocross and supercross riders. Findings demonstrate that, although aspects of both models influenced rider behavior, riders expressed more desire for elements from the consensual model, including a penalty process that was clear, consistent, and allowed for rider voice. Findings also highlighted additional factors that influenced riders’ behaviors, including safety, image, relationships, and respect.
ContributorsRosenthal, Jessica Melonnie (Author) / Henson, Abigail (Thesis advisor) / Maguire, Edward (Committee member) / Trinkner, Rick (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The assessment and evaluation of dietary intake and nutrition knowledge in female athletes is especially important due to the high prevalence of inadequate intake in this population (Black et al., 2019). This study evaluated 1) the relationship of nutrition knowledge and dietary intake among collegiate female athletes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and Club sport levels and 2) the impact of competition level on this relationship as well. Participants (NCAA DI, n=51; NJCAA, n = 36; Club, n = 37) in this study answered two questionnaires, the Nutrition Sport Knowledge Questionnaire (NSKQ) and the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants (REAP) questionnaire to assess knowledge and dietary intake. Participants also provided anthropometric and demographic information. The NSKQ was scored as a whole and for each of the four subcategories. REAP was scored both by tallying the number of “usually/often” frequency responses and given a numeral score to estimate diet quality. Statistical analysis was conducted using Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-square and Spearman’s correlation tests to compare differences within subgroups of participants and evaluate any relationships that may exist between nutrition knowledge and dietary intake with significance set at p≤0.05. Differences in nutrition knowledge between competition groups were significant, H(2)= 16.94, p< 0.001. NCAA DI (p<0.001) and Club (p<0.001) athletes had higher nutrition knowledge than athletes at the NJCAA level. This was true for overall knowledge as well as knowledge subcategories. However, minimal relationships between nutrition knowledge and dietary intake were found. The overall correlation value was rs(118)= -0.10 (95%CI: -0.28 to 0.08), p>0.05. This suggests those with higher nutrition knowledge did not necessarily have better dietary intake. Improvements in the assessment of nutrition knowledge and quick assessment of dietary quality and the relation between both is needed.
ContributorsSkinner, Jensen Drew (Author) / Wardenaar, Floris (Thesis advisor) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Yudell, Amber (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020