Morality and Values in Sports Among Young Athletes: The Role of Sport Type and Parenting Styles - A Pilot Study

Values associated with Nordic Walking: An international cross-sectional survey among individuals practicing walking with poles

INTRODUCTION

The article is devoted to the sociological exploration of the social phenomenon that Nordic Walking has become in Europe and worldwide over the recent decades.

AIM

It is based on the results of original international sociological research study on the issue of sociodemographic profiles of Nordic Walkers in the context of the values associated with this sports activity.

METHODS

A cross-sectional quantitative study with convenience sampling study was performed among 416 Poles, 132 Europeans from 11 countries (Germany, the UK, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, and Norway), and 212 participants from 5 non-European countries (the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan). The study used an author's tool that included questions concerning the ways of doing Nordic Walking and its and social and organizational contexts, its classification and interpretation as a health-related, recreational, or sports activity, its position in the space of everyday life and in the sphere of preferred values, motives for walking with poles, meanings attributed to this activity, and the individual and social benefits associated with it.

RESULTS

The values most often associated with practicing Nordic Walking belong to the personal and psychophysical spheres. Their dominant position suggests that this activity is a complex one and that its advantages are not restricted to its motor aspects or to contact with nature. It is not a simple activity of walking with poles, as the initial stereotypes seem to suggest, but a kind of movement with a defined framework and a set of principles, engaging the physical and personal spheres of those who practice it, having a cultural meaning, and marked by cultural rootedness.

CONCLUSION

The research results can be useful for health care experts and for those responsible for building prevention strategies in various social groups. This is because they draw attention to the category of accessible and at the same time effective activities, with high individual and social potential. At the same time, they show that an important element of promotion strategies and social campaigns aimed at popularizing sport and healthy lifestyle should be axiological categories as significant predictors of individuals' actions and decisions.

Goals and Success in Sport: The Perspectives of Parents and Adolescent Girls in Kayaking

Setting objectives and evaluating success are intrinsically linked to motivation in sports and behavior during training and competition. According to social cognitive theory, the perception of success is divided into "task" and "ego", which indicate an inner orientation versus an external perspective when analyzing an athlete's achievements. These impressions can be influenced by various factors such as maturity level, gender, and the type of activity in which they participate. The current study compares perceptions of success among parents and adolescent girls competing in kayaking in Israel. To this end, a qualitative study was conducted with 20 in-depth interviews emphasizing goal setting and individual perceptions of success. The research findings reveal that contrary to previous studies, there is a perceptual gap between the two groups, with parents measuring success primarily in terms of enjoyment and self-fulfillment, and girls referring to perceived success in the context of achievements. It was also found that there is a discrepancy between setting goals and defining success, following experience and interactions within the training. The article discusses the reasons behind these gaps and the potential ramifications for sports activity and participation.

Defining sports moral character and clarifying its related concepts

This study examines the concept of sports moral character and clarifies the differences between it and related moral concepts in sports. The research is conceptual and uses the methods of a literature review and logical analysis. Sports moral character is shown to have the characteristics of practicality, growth, and integration. It is a stable moral quality that is gradually formed and displayed in sports practice under the influence of family, school, and social environments. Sports moral character differs in some ways from other related concepts. Sports morality is the objective existence of "reason," to which sports character and sportsmanship are both more applicable than is sports moral character.

The Influence of Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics-Based Psychological Capital Combined With Ideological and Political Education on the Entrepreneurial Performance and Sports Morality of College Teachers and Students

This study aims to alleviate the current tense employment situation and study the entrepreneurial situation of teachers and students in colleges and universities. Firstly, based on the educational concept of Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics (STEAM), Ideological and Political Education (IPE) is added to psychological capital to explore the effect of the combination of the two on entrepreneurial performance. An entrepreneurial performance impact model is constructed, and the questionnaire is set. Secondly, the influence of psychological capital combined with IPE on sports morality is explored, and a sports morality questionnaire is designed. Finally, the questionnaire results are analyzed. The results showed that most of the participants in the survey are under the age of 25. The 25- to 29-year-olds are the smallest among those surveyed. The respondents who participated in the survey had the most undergraduate degrees, accounting for 43.4%. The 40 items on entrepreneurial performance this time obey a normal distribution, and the scale has good reliability and validity. The main factor analysis results obtained by principal component analysis include 6 factors. Their total explanatory power exceeds 67%, and the six factors screened out this time are well represented. The model tolerance is between 0.45 and 0.5, and the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) value is less than 10. The scale does not suffer from multi-collinearity issues. IPE significantly strengthens the effect of psychological capital on entrepreneurial performance. The influences of various sports on sportsmanship, bravery, self-confidence, and self-transcendence are significantly different, and the P value is less than 0.001. The difference in aggressiveness is less than 0.01, indicating that it is very significant. Different sports have significant differences in the cultivation of sports morality, and the P value is less than 0.05. The differences in self-discipline are also significant, and there are extremely significant differences in compliance with rules, and the P value here is less than 0.001. There are no significant differences in sporting qualities. IPE combined with psychological capital has a significant impact on entrepreneurial performance. These contents provide references for the entrepreneurship education of teachers and students in colleges and universities. The contribution lies in expanding the research on psychological capital in entrepreneurial performance and laying a foundation for the combination of psychological capital and IPE.