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The aim of this study was to carry out a preliminary validation of "Motivational Climate in Physical Education Scale" in Greek educational context and specifically in relation to elementary school students. The participants of the research were 184 (101 male and 83 female) students of grades 5th and 6th from four elementary schools, in different geographical areas of Greece. The Greek version of Motivational Climate in Physical Education Scale was used for the data collection. The statistical analyses that were applied included: descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis and the One-way ANOVA analysis. The results showed that the questionnaire retains the structure of the four factors that its designers have recommended and the internal cohesion of the four factors was high (.85 the lowest and .90 the highest). Survey data revealed that the Greek version of the "Motivational Climate in Physical Education Scale" is a reliable tool for the measurement of motivational climate in the Greek educational elementary school environment, and the gender determines the climate of motivation with male students scoring higher in task involving and autonomy factors whereas female students perform better in task involving and relatedness.

This article describes how the current Greek sport-education context seems to offer relatively poor dual-career support in comparison to other available structures in the world. This results in additional obstacles for Greek athletes who wish to educate themselves and an ambiguous prospect for their future. Consequently, the Greek sport-educational context raises serious doubts whether high performance sports and education are compatible.

The present study was implemented in the context of the Erasmus+ program titled “AFTERMATCH - Life Beyond Sport”, the purpose of which was to investigate whether athletes acquire any skills from their involvement with sport that they can transfer in their profession after they finish their sporting career. The methodology employed was quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews). The sample consisted of 23 active athletes, 64 former athletes and 39 employers / HR managers of companies in five different European Union countries (Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovenia). A descriptive approach was used for the data analysis. The results showed that athletes acquire certain skills from their engagement in sport and those who realize it and use them make their transition to the labour market easier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of this study was to investigate: a) the influence of perceived constraints on recreational sport participation of Greek university students, b) the relationship between constraints dimensions and sport participation or non participation; and c) the relationship between constraint dimensions and frequency of sport participation, as well as intentions for participation. The methodology employed included review of relevant literature and administration of a specifically designed questionnaire, the University Sport Constraints Questionnaire (USCQ). The sample consisted of 3,041 students from 7 Greek universities. The results showed that there were 9 factors which explained 69.75% of overall variance. The most important constraint that affects participation was found to be "Accessibility," followed by "Lack of Knowledge." It was concluded that to increase the students' participation rate, campus recreation administrators need to develop effective strategies to design and promote campus sports and recreational programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social Media (SM) play an important role in the society and particularly in sports. Their versatile capabilities create wideranging virtual fan clubs around a sport event, a team, or an athlete, often influencing decision-making processes. This paper aims at: a) highlighting the concept and dynamics of SM, b) examining the SM's influence on sports and their role in democratizing the development of sport and more specifically of football and c) presenting the role of the fans that use the SM in shaping modern football into an interactive globalized environment. The case-study approach was adopted, involving the creation of a fan page in Instagram. The results showed that the SM influence on sport and more specifically on football increases and the role of the fans is enhanced, since they are no longer just spectators but they are actively involved in a team's activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a constantly changing world, performance improvement is high on the agenda of most organizations. The economic growth of the past century along with the technological progress and the new emerging trends have created new theories and practices for the profitability and the welfare of businesses, offering them a wealth of improvement models to utilize. The European Framework for Quality Management (EFQM), which is based on self-evaluation and requires commitment of all levels of the hierarchy, is a significant one of them. However, improvement and evaluation models are not widely spread in Greece and particularly in sport related entities. This study is an exploratory attempt to investigate the level of maturity of the Total Quality Management in Hellenic National Sports Federations (HNSF) using the EFQM model. Data for the present study was collected through a structured questionnaire from HNSF's Board members. The results showed that the HNSFs implement some of the management practices suggested by the EFQM; nevertheless, more effort is required in order for them to claim that EFQM is systematically implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many athletes from almost all countries prepare for years aspiring to participate in the Olympic Games (OG). The responsibility to select the athletes who will represent the country in the Games belongs to the respective National Olympic Committee (NOC). In order to select those who have better chances to perform well in the Games some NOCs have established selection criteria. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the Hellenic Olympic Committee's (HOC) Selection Criteria System (SCS) for the athletes who participated in the Athens 2004 OG. The methodology used included review of relevant literature, interviews from key people and personal involvement in the process. The results showed that with the introduction of the SCS Greek athletes achieved better results at the international level, including the 2004 OG. It was concluded that the HOC succeeded in establishing fair and transparent selection criteria for the athletes aspiring to participate in the OG and allowed the organization to make easier and better decisions regarding the selection of the athletes who would participate in the 2004 edition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EFQM Excellence Model is an advanced tool for organizations' improvement, which is based on the principles of the theoretical frame of Total Quality Management (Michalska, 2008). The aim of this study was a first attempt to assess the Hellenic National Sport Federations' (HNSFs) organizational-managerial operations and the investigation of their readiness degree for the application of Management Excellence's processes, according to European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model. An adaptive questionnaire, which was developed according to the managerial and functional environment of the HNSFs, was used to reflect the perception of people serving at the HNSFs about the application of quality management's and management excellence's practices. One hundred respondents from 18 HNSFs participated in this study. According to the results, processes of management's excellence do exist and are indeed applied, but neither often, nor systematically. Moreover, there is a differentiation in perceptions between the three hierarchical administrative groups. It is concluded that in this particular moment a management excellence program may prove difficult to be applied in the HNSFs, unless there is common perception and agreement between the parties involved, on: a) the meaning of management's excellence and b) the profits it may produce for the sport organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the value of education for High Performance Athletes, the challenges they face when they try to combine a career in sport with education and the opportunities available to educate themselves. The Socio-Ecological Model was applied to contextualize factors that inhibit their effort to get an education. It was found that such factors could be at individual, interpersonal, institutional and community levels, as well as state policies. However, the literature supports the argument that as life extends beyond a sporting career High Performance Athletes need to understand the value of education and by implementing a dual career strategy prepare themselves for the challenges of life when sport cannot be practised any more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the demand for the adoption of a corporate culture by not-for-profit festivals, festival organizations increasingly identify strategic planning process and stakeholder management as crucial components for successful events. The purpose of this article is to present a framework developed for categorizing ethnic festivals stakeholders from a functional role (i.e., marketing, administration, and production) and an ethnic origin (i.e., Greek, Greek-Australian, and non-Greek origin) orientated perspective. The proposed framework was developed and applied to the 20th Greek Festival of Sydney (GFS), which was held in 2002, by identifying, categorizing, and examining the role of its stakeholders in the management and delivery of the event. The identification of the type of stakeholders, the ways they influence the GFS organization, and the strategic implications that derived from their involvement are addressed. The methodology utilized to develop the stakeholder framework was qualitative in nature. It combined triangulated data that derived from a number of interviews with representatives from the GFS administration, participant observations, and content analysis of internal documents and reports. The GFS stakeholder analysis offered an understanding of the several marketing-, administration-, and production-related strategic implications to the organization and running of the festival, such as the impact on its content, participants, and future development. The proposed framework derives from the GFS case study, yet it has the potential to be used for the examination of stakeholders' strategic implications to other ethnic festivals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]