AI and Individualized Education in Phys Ed and Sport

The development of AI technologies in recent years has opened the doors to a wide array of application domains. One field of study in particular has great potential to use this knowledge: physical education and sport. New devices and software have made their way into the field of physical activity, motivating the investigation of AI-driven technologies as a tool in developing a new type of educational system. The general scope of this chapter is to analyze the use of AI individualized education in one major field of study: physical education and sport. The use of AI technologies in training future teachers is also discussed and analyzed. The implementation of AI software in sport is brought to attention, along with relevant case studies. Limitations and hurdles in constructing intelligent support systems for training were identified. Accessibility of an AI-driven educational system was detailed, pointing out barriers with regard to culture, social environment, and age differences.

Legal, Ethical, and Integrity Issues in Sports Industry

This chapter focuses on the issues of the sports industry. Since sport, in addition to its other aspects, is a fast-growing industry, the chapter considers the importance of sports industry for the sector as a whole. The chapter shows the basic elements of sports industry structure, together with the peculiarities of Russian sports industry legal support in general and in some particular directions. The authors give definitions of “sports industry,” “sports product,” “sports entertainment product,” “professional sports,” “professional athlete,” “sports ethics,” and “sports integrity.” Being a good basis for sports business development, the legislation of the Russian Federation in the sphere of legal services for business and commercial activities within the sports industry takes into account sports-specific features and its principal functions enabling professional sports sector to provide benefits to economy and society. However, there is still space for further development.

The Legal Validity of E-Sports as a Sport

The chapter aims to investigate the e-sports phenomenon and analyze its legal relevance and validity with the traditional sports world. The chapter looks to provide the current framework of the e-sports field and its potential to be a sport, followed by the legal challenges it faces towards being possibly recognized as one. The second segment of this chapter additionally looks into the regulations currently in place as well as analyzes the minimum changes required in order to ensure the growth of this field. The chapter eventually concludes by analyzing the possible future for the field and suggestions to help facilitate its development.

Innovative Aspects of Virtual Reality and Kinetic Sensors for Significant Improvement Using Fireworks Algorithm in a Wii Game of a Collaborative Sport

A new report on childhood obesity is published every so often. The bad habits of food and the increasingly sedentary life of children in a border society has caused an alarming increase in the cases of children who are overweight or obese. Formerly, it seemed to be a problem of countries with unhealthy eating habits, such as the United States or Mexico in Latin America, where junk food is part of the diet in childhood. However, obesity is a problem that we already have around the corner and that is not so difficult to fight in children. In the present research the development of an application that reduces the problem of the lack of movement in the childhood of a smart city is considered a future problem which it is the main contribution, coupled with achieving an innovative way of looking for an Olympic sport without the complexity of physically moving to a space with high maintenance costs and considering the adverse weather conditions.

“The Leaver” and “The Left”

The study of parasocial relationships has surged in recent years, as fans use new media to access even more information about various media personae. Most work involving sports fans has examined behavior at a particular time rather than over time. This article investigates how Kansas basketball fans reacted to the departure of former head coach Roy Williams over a period of nine years. Opinions were culled from reader responses to articles mentioning Williams on KUsports.com. Each comment was analyzed thematically and then coded by an expressed grief state using the Kubler-Ross (1969) model. The notion of parasocial divorce is introduced to describe the depth of parasocial relationships for highly motivated fans. The findings reveal an ebb and flow of affection and antipathy toward Williams over time. Results demonstrate how quickly fans may grow to loathe a former group member, but also how rapidly and under what conditions that parasocial relationship may be repaired.

Technology and Ethical Behavior in Running Sports

Wearable technologies' popularity in sporting practices continues to grow. Runners use GPS watches and activity trackers to track steps, log miles, map courses, and monitor heart rates. Likewise, wearables are integrated into long distance running events, with race officials relying on technologies to effectively execute events. However, technologies can also enable and monitor cheating. Many studies focusing on the individual explore why cheaters make unethical decisions. Actor-Network Theory shifts cheating's focus from the individual and moral failings to an assemblage that includes not only the runner, but nonhumans, such as technology, as well. A 2015 Canadian Ironman cheating incident case study illuminates intricate relationships and networks between humans and nonhumans. By examining the intersections of cheating and technology in running sports, the authors see where and how technology works as intended or is repurposed. Whereas a human-centered approach to sport and cheating dismisses wearables' agency, Actor-Network Theory reveals their underexamined, sociotechnical complexities.

e-Sport as Leverage for Growth Strategy

While e-Sport today becomes a big business and a highly publicized industry, a big business and a highly-publicized industry, it is still studied from a descriptive perspective rather than from an analytical one. In this paper, the author proposes to analyze the relationship between e-Sport and the growth strategy of the game League of Legends (LoL) developed by Riot Games. How competitive community and casual community evolve together? What are the conditions for a virtuous growth? The author deepens the link between the traditional free-to-play dynamics based on acquisition-retention-monetization of players and the dynamics of e-Sport based on managing audience, pro-gamers, competitive events and broadcasting. The author finds that casual players and pro-gamers have specific roles that, combined with an active policy centered on player's experience developed by Riot Games and with a growing media ecosystem, create externalities on each other.

Infrared Thermography as a Means of Monitoring and Preventing Sports Injuries

Sports injuries are one of the most important problems in sports. Moreover, professional sports injuries lead to a difficult recovery process for the athletes, reduced athletic performance, and large economic costs. Infrared thermography (IRT) is a safe, non-invasive and low-cost technique that allows for the rapid and non-contact recording of Skin Temperature (Tsk). Recent research results have demonstrated new applications for this technique; among them, the monitoring and prevention of sports injuries appears to be one of the most interesting applications. Although IRT is not as objective as other methods, it may be sufficiently accurate and reliable as a complementary tool considering the theory that musculoskeletal structures should be in thermal equilibrium when in a healthy state. Therefore, the main contribution of IRT is to help identify an injury before it occurs, providing an opportunity for preventative action.

Getting Supporter Engagement in Sports

This chapter attempts to provide a better understanding of the impact that sport marketing is having on achieving customer engagement. To accomplish this goal, the case of the Real Madrid F.C., estimated at having over 200 million supporters worldwide, is analyzed. Moreover, the team is among the top three clubs of the world in terms of followers and engagement on social media. As regards brand value, the Real Madrid F.C. is worth more than any team in the world. The combination of the aforementioned factors made the Real Madrid F.C. the appropriate brand to choose for this study, representing a leading organization in sports, business, and marketing. A number of methods were used to collect data for this study; specifically, information about the team was gathered by repeatedly browsing its website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts, and apps. Data from interviews published in business press and posts were also compiled. Additionally, a focus group was conducted to discuss the customer engagement of Real Madrid's fans.

An Extended Study on Training and Physical Exercise in Esports

This chapter is an extended revision of the authors' earlier study (2016) on the training routines of professional and high-level esport players, with added focus on their physical exercise. The study is methodologically mixed with a quantitative survey sample (n=115) and a qualitative interview sample (n=7). Based on this data, high-level esport players train approximately 5.28 hours every day around the year, and professional esport players at least the same amount. Approximately 1.08 hours of that training is physical exercise. More than half (55.6%) of the professional and high-level esport players believe that integrating physical exercise into their training programs has a positive effect on esport performance; however, no less than 47.0% do the physical exercise chiefly to maintain their overall state of health. Accordingly, the study indicates that professional and high-level esport players are physically active as well: those of age 18 and older exercising more than three times the daily 21-minute physical activity recommendation given by the World Health Organization.