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The article presents the authors views on the effects of social changes on sports in the U.S. The article refers three papers on this subject. These paper includes sociologist August Cornte's concern for the social changes in the early portion of the 19th century. Comte viewed societies in terms of their statistics and dynamics. It is apparent in the article that scholars have approached the study of social change in society and sport from diverse perspectives and hold differing views as to its outcomes for society in general and sport in particular. The papers referred to here, explore diverse aspects of social change in sports. The first paper, criticizes the discipline of sociology of sport for its lack of attention to social change in play, sport, and leisure contexts. Arguing that social change is ubiquitous and deserving of our attention, she provides an overview of theoretical frameworks for the analysis of social change, including cyclic theories, a variety of developmental formulations in sociology and anthropology, and structural functionalism. The second paper provides an excellent case study of social change in a nation state and its influence on sport.

The author was delighted that sociologists Alan G. Ingham and Peter Donnelly found his article, worthy of their efforts. The topic is clearly a significant one for sociology of sport and it is time when everyone came to grips with those more pressing issues that have heretofore hindered the development of the field. Ingham and Donnelly's research paper does not contribute substantively to the development of applied sociology of sport. However, it does address a number of significant issues regarding the political and philosophical implications of such an enterprise. While the author is sensitive to their concerns, he says that he must point out that many of the issues they raise were originally addressed by many sociologists in stage I of this process in the 1960s and 1970s define Stage I as the exploratory phase, in which goals are identified, assumptions are examined, and implications are critically evaluated. Unfortunately, Ingham and Donnelly's contribution misses the mark since their concerns deal almost exclusively with Stage Tissues. Had they been familiar with the earlier works to develop applied sociology, perhaps their paper could have made a more pertinent contribution to the development of Stage II. However, the issues that were debated at length in the 1960s and 1970s have now become rather tiresome.

Sociological production is prompted and affected by the major social preoccupations of the society it stems from. This is an inherent feature of the social sciences because those who produce knowledge, in this case sociologists, participate in the society they study. The aim of this article is to highlight the social and historical conditions that are at the root of the production of knowledge in the sociology of sports, and the role the latter has played in the exercise sciences in Quebec. This article is composed of two parts. First, it will try to shed light on the social dynamics that created the sociology of sport. Second, it will try to show that the researchers' problematics and the theoretical traditions they have followed were a part of the power dynamics specific to Quebec society and the field of physical education. Briefly, this paper aims to show that the sociology of sport in Quebec has been shaped by the socio-historical conditions in which it has been created and that, at the same time, it has generated a specific social and academic dynamics.

Copyright of Sociology of Sport Journal is the property of Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents a brief overview of the growth and development of the North American Society for Sociology of Sport, beginning with its formation at the Second CIC Symposium on Sociology of Sport at Minneapolis in 1978. Although the organization's maturation and success may not be highly correlated with the development of the subdiscipline itself, consistent interest in sport sociology topics and the absence of a forum for exchange are viewed as important factors that led to its formation. Historically, the organization has consisted of diverse perspectives which have been viewed as an organizational strength. Recently, however, a form of subtle intolerance seems to be promoting a separate identification for various scholarly perspectives. A cau- tionary warning is issued against the possible rise of elitism that could evolve from the creation of false cleavages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A small number of sociologists of sport has opted to produce what have been defined as autoethnographies or narratives of self. These are highly personalized accounts that draw upon the experiences of the author/researcher for the purposes of extending sociological understanding. Such work is located at the boundaries of disciplinary practices and raises questions as to what constitutes proper research. In this paper, I explore this issue by focusing upon the criteria used by various audiences to pass judgment on an autoethnography/ narrative of self that I submitted to and eventually had published, in a leading journal. The problems of having inappropriate criteria applied to this work are considered, and the charge of self-indulgence as a regulatory mechanism is discussed. Reactions to a more trusting tale are then used to signal various criteria that might be more relevant to passing judgment upon this kind of tale in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociology of Sport Journal is the property of Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An analysis of the 434 free communications by the 575 presenters at the first seven annual meetings of NASSS (1980-1986) reveals several important pat tents and trends with respect to (a) number of free communications, (b) number of presenters, (c) presenter's sex, (d) presenter's institutional affiliation, and (e) dual and multiple authorships. A classification of the free communications by subject matter reveals which research topics are of current interest to sport sociologists. Implications of these data for understanding the current stage of development of the subfield are discussed in relation to Mullins' four-stage developmental model for scientific specialties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author presents his views on the comments of sport sociologist John J. MacAloon on sport sociology in the U.S. The author agrees with most of the thinking contained in MacAllon's conference address. Many of the sport sociologists have been too slavishly committed to classical sociological theories or to quantitative empiricism. Sport sociologists have failed to remember that sports are a collection of highly differentiated phenomena that necessitate qualifications as to which sports, engaged in by which groups of people, and in which broader social contexts. They have been influenced in their scholarly thinking by their own society's popular discourse about sport, and this has undoubtedly blinded them in some ways to interesting research problems. However, in spite of the fact that MacAloon wishes to avoid naming names, it should be noted there are several good examples of research on ludic activities conducted along the lines that he favors, although none deals with a pervasively popular American sport.

Presents an obituary for Trevor Williams, former member of the 'Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly' editorial board who died on December 17, 1998 of heart attack in Great Britain. Family background; Educational attainment; Contributions in the sociology of sport for disabled persons.