Faculty of Humanities
School of Social Sciences
Department of Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
Sports events impact on the economic as well as the social context of residential populations in the proximity of sport venues. Social effects are, however, not as easily and objectively measured as economic effects. Success and failure of sports events are influenced by social perceptions of the event and sports event managers need to create a balance between economic and social effects in order to establish sustainability.
Two sport venues - Vodacom Loftus mega-sport stadium and LC de Villiers multi-sport venue - form part of the sport facility network of the Tswhane Metropolitan Council and are included in the proposed competition and practice profile of the 2010 World Soccer Cup Tournament.
The aim of this research project was to measure residents’ perceptions of the social costs and benefits of sport events in the two residential areas in the proximity of the aforementioned sport venues. Findings indicate that respondents are dissatisfied with the social costs to their quality of life and community resources.
Residents adjacent to Loftus indicated a higher social cost index in comparison to those living near LC de Villiers. This implies that residents adjacent to Loftus do not perceive the effects of the sport stadium as beneficial, whereas the residents adjacent to LC de Villiers perceived the effects as beneficial
Contact person: Prof AE Goslin.
The values of commitment, mutual benefit, engagement, solidarity and free will are universal to mankind and form the cornerstones of volunteerism. Although sport as a social phenomenon in South Africa depends heavily on volunteers to deliver services to sport consumers, reality indicates problems regarding sustained commitment and retention of volunteers, which could impact negatively on the learning curves and standard of sport event management.
The aim of this study was therefore to measure the discrepancy between the expected needs and the satisfied needs in terms of job content and job context (as determinants of job satisfaction) of volunteers in sports settings, which could serve as input for a sustainable human resource plan for South African sport volunteers.
Respondents in the study indicated that they were dissatisfied with their style of supervision, their expected administrative duties, the support system to manage their problems, the receiving of adequate information on policies, plans and procedures, their participation in decision making, and the general organisational climate of the sport event they are volunteering services for, the recognition of their achievements and the furthering of their status as volunteers.
Based on her research findings, Prof Anneliese Goslin advises that event organizers and bidders for international events alike should strategically address the concerns of volunteers to improve the efficacy of events.
Goslin’s “valuable contribution to volunteerism in sport” was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 2006. She also received the South African State President’s Award for Sport for her role as a recreation administrator. Internationally, she received a Catalyst Award from the Global Centre for Social Change through Women’s Leadership and Sport. The centre forms part of the Kennesaw State University’s Wellstar College of Health and Human Science in the United States of America (USA). The award was handed to Goslin on 27 October 2006
Contact person: Prof AE Goslin.
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