Search results

Sport ecology research has finally reached a point of critical mass where it is time to see it as a subdiscipline within the sport academy. Researchers have worked to grow the quality of this research over the years. This improvement is due, in part, to the deeper collaboration that those working in the sport ecology field have made with industry professionals. These partnerships have led to richer data and deeper influence on common practice and deeper integration of sustainability in the sport sector.

This chapter discusses the progress and the challenges that have come with legitimizing this line of research, which some now refer to as sport ecology. We approach this chapter based on research specific to partnerships in and out of sport focused on advancing environmental sustainability. However, we draw on our own experiences as they pertain to the role that academics can play to enhance and contribute to the integration of environmental sustainability into industry practice by advancing sport ecology research.

Academics have an integral role to play through contributing a foundational understanding of research methods and specific content areas (e.g., marketing, consumer behavior, policy development, governance, and organizational behavior) to the sport sector's efforts.

The difficulties of engaging the sport sector are discussed and an optimistic, albeit idealized, “preferred future” is proposed on how academics and practitioners can collaborate to promote the sport sector's role in advancing worldwide efforts to address climate change through climate action.

The purpose of this chapter is to adopt and demonstrate the value of a political ecology approach in examining sport stadia, particularly stadia in the United States. We attempt to highlight how in the development of stadia key decision-makers sometimes overlook questions of community and environmental health and security.

We took an ontological approach in considering what it means for the stadium to exist in the current political ideological time period. For us, this meant raising questions about how we understand the varying human and nonhuman components of the stadium, and how they connect and influence one another. From there, we outline why political ecology is a useful framework for examining the environmental costs of stadia and their development. We utilize the city of Detroit's decision to provide funding for Little Caesars Arena – home to professional basketball and hockey competitions – to argue that investment in sport stadia creates environmental opportunity costs to the “host” community.

In the case of Detroit, we argue that private economic gain took precedence over community and environmental health and security when decisions were made on infrastructure. Specifically, despite the city going through bankruptcy and locking citizens out of water, the decision was made to provide millions of dollars for the construction of Little Caesars Arena and the development of the land immediately surrounding the arena. Through this, we suggest the need to produce informed case studies surrounding the environmental consideration.

The focus on community and environmental health and security is lacking from the discourse of stadia development in the United States. This chapter seeks to bring this consideration to the forefront by offering a way to examine these issues from a political ecological standpoint, and we urge researchers to conduct case studies using a political ecological framework with a community focus.

Athletes have leveraged their social platform and reach to advocate for a variety of social causes. Most recently, given the persistent impacts of climate change on sport, the sport sector has been leveraged to engage and educate fans, sport participants, and athletes to promote climate action while consuming sport and in their everyday lives. This chapter conceptualizes the term sport eco-activism and presents a rich history of the early stages of this form of activism and its interaction with sport. Specifically, we provide historical context and examples of how athletes and activist sport organizations (e.g., Surfers Against Sewage, Protect Our Winters) have drawn attention to the impacts of climate change on sport. We also highlight how these entities encourage spectators and participants to change their behaviors and further advocate for collective climate action. In addition, we offer insights on future directions of eco-activism within sport and how such activists can best resonate with their target audiences to create positive change through sport.

This chapter examines the case of threshold concepts, as an example of a theory being developed and applied within higher education research. It traces the origins and meaning of the term, reviews its application by higher education researchers and discusses the issues it raises and the critiques it has attracted. This case is of particular interest, as the idea of threshold concepts is little more than a decade old, yet in that time it has attracted considerable attention.

Simon L. Albrecht is a registered psychologist and has a PhD and a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology. Simon’s PhD focused on identifying the dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of organizational trust. Simon is a Senior Lecturer within the Organizational Psychology program at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. Teaching, research, and practice interests are in the areas of work engagement, organizational development and change, leadership development, culture and climate, and organizational politics. Simon has published in numerous international journals, has numerous book chapters in print, and has presented at international conferences. In addition to his academic and research interests Simon also has considerable consultancy experience. He has previously been a director of a human resource consultancy engaged in delivering a broad range of organizational development activities and programs.