Built environment is an important correlate of physical activity participation. Understanding the long-term effects of environment on health behavior is necessary for the promotion of population-based physical activity. However, most studies assessing the relationships between physical activity and environment have been conducted in the United States and Australia. The present study reviews Japanese researches on built environment and physical activity, and discusses the applicability of the built environment on promoting physical activity among Japanese adults. A review was conducted by searching the PubMed and Ichushi electronic database from inception to Sept 24, 2009. Eligible articles were identified as follows : 2 studies that developed the environment scale ; 10 studies that assessed the relationships with physical activity and built environment. There have been only a limited number of studies which were conducted with Japanese adults, thus more researches are needed to draw conclusions about the built environment associated with physical activity.

抄録全体を表示

    Ski boots, which are the interface between a skier and a ski, are important for making progress in ski turn technique. Especially in alpine ski races, suitability of design of the boots for racers becomes more important for achieving accurate and quick lean of the leg in ski turns. This study aimed at building a new design concept of a ski boot that can improve the results of Japanese alpine ski races. In this paper, a new design of an upper shell of a ski boot that was adjusted to the features of the frame of Japanese alpine ski racers was analytically and experimentally examined. As a result, it was demonstrated that the front and rear parts of the upper shell of a ski boot should be separately adjusted to the length of the shank of each player for well-balanced quick lean of the leg in the ski turn. Finally, the effect of the new design of the upper shell was verified in laboratory experiments on leaning balance and field tests for RSV by a Japanese female ski racer of the first rank.

抄録全体を表示

    The purpose of this study was to examine the measurement accuracy of jump height by using WiMAS in repeated jumps. In addition, the measurement data of repeated jumps were applied to a muscle endurance test. WiMAS is a measurement unit recorded by an accelerometer of MEMS type and a transmitter. Twenty university students wore a WiMAS recording device on the hip and measured single movement jumps and repeated squat jumps at the rate of 60 times per minute on a force platform. The correlations of the measured jump height in single movement jumps and repeated squat jumps were calculated. Moved distance during repeated jumps were filmed with a digital video camera and calculated by using the two dimensional DLT method. Muscle endurance of legs was evaluated by applying jump height data by WiMAS and force platform to BOSCO′S TEST. The errors of the jump height which were measured by using WiMAS and force platform were small. There were high correlations between the data of WiMAS and the data of force platform in single movement jumps, repeated squat jumps and results of BOSCO′S TEST. During repeated jumps, the moved distance to longitudinal direction was 0.73±0.15 (m) and horizontal direction was 0.35±0.07 (m) .

抄録全体を表示

    The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the sports consciousness and situations of amateur players who are not registered in the Japan Football Association (JFA) in comparison with those of JFA athletes. From this, the author considers the factors that make amateur players become more actively involved in playing football. The method of the study was based on the predictive model of sports behavioral science. The results show the major factors which contribute to a quantitative increase in activities of playing football, and also suggest that, by taking these results into consideration, the JFA will be able to expect a rise in the number of football players, which will lead to a further development of the football market in Japan.

抄録全体を表示

    In this research, we focused on the competitive balance in the open league. We aimed to find out the effect of the league system’ s change, with or without new entries, and find out the relationship between wages and competitive balance. This research analyzed the J. League (Japan Professional Football League) , which changed from a closed league to an open league, and the English Premier League, which changed the revenue structure and increased its turnover in recent years. To measure competitive balance, we used the Herfindahl Index of Competitive Balance (HICB) , the Five Club Concentration Index of Competitive Balance (C5 index) . As a result, it was found that in the Premier League, competitive balance has declined in recent years. But in the J. League, on the other hand, after 1999, the year that the Second tier (J2) was made and the League adopted the promotion and relegation system, competitive balance slowly increased. Imbalance of Wages in the Premier League was substantially larger than in the J. League. From these results, we made a suggestion that adoption of a promotion and relegation system is one of the factors which improve competitive balance.

抄録全体を表示

    Corporate governance is essentially the way in which companies are managed. Among professional sport clubs, professional football clubs are typically registered as companies. Hence, the operation is determined by corporate governance. There was a steadily increasing volume of criticism and complaints regarding the governance of many companies. Also in sport industries worldwide, there occurs the conflict of interests between fans and clubs due to excessive commercialization. To tackle this problem, innovative “supporters′ trusts” have been successfully created in the British football and rugby leagues and union clubs by an organization called “Supporters Direct” , an independent but government backed body. Supporters come together collectively and set up these mutual organizations (called Industrial and Provident Societies-IPSs) and buy and hold the shares mutually in their clubs and where possible elect their representatives to the board as directors to express their concerns and opinions effectively. This has been effective at many clubs where they depend on supporters as well as the local community for their survival, and also at clubs in the English and Scottish Premier Leagues.
    Here in Japan, we find the sponsors have started to withdraw their sponsorship for the professional as well as amateur clubs due to the tightening corporate governance in the business societies. The successive withdrawals have caused damages to the development of sports, while sports are expected to provide good pastime for the ageing society in the future.
    In the circumstances it is now apparent that fans’ participation in the management of professional sport clubs has become more important than ever. Here we discuss the structure of supporters’ trust and its significance to fans′ involvement in the management of football clubs by comparing it with other types of ISA (Independent Supporters Association) , Mutuals, Share Purchase Cub and as such.

抄録全体を表示

    Since April 2008, health insurance providers have carried out health checkups and health guidance (HCHG) to insured individuals between the ages of 40 and 74. The purpose of this study was to find effective message channels to lead people to aware what HCHG is. The 525 respondents were obtained from the registrants of a Japanese social research company and were above 40 years of age (male : n=265, female : n=260, 48.4±5.5 years) . This longitudinal survey was carried out by using an internet-based questionnaire. We did the survey in November 2007 (T1) and December 2008 (T2) . The rates of awareness of HCHG were 47.8% at T1 and 77.3% at T2. The awareness level was significantly increased (p<.001) . Major factors regarding the degree of awareness about HCHG were female (OR=3.74, 95%CI=1.44-9.66) and participation in health check up (OR=1.91, 95%CI=1.05-3.48) , and health information from papers in hospital and pharmacy (OR=2.37, 95%CI=1.14-4.90) . The number of reference message channels in the awareness group was significantly higher than that in the no awareness group (t (272) =4.82, p<.001).

抄録全体を表示

    The aim of this research was to clarify the change in service quality of a stadium before and after the introduction of CCT using one facility in Japan as a case study, and to compare some performance data before and after the introduction of CCT. The data before CCT were collected in May 2006 and the post- CCT data were collected in November 2008. Random sampling of respondents was used in those years. In total, 758 respondents in 2006 and 292 respondents in 2008 were asked to complete the questionnaire after the football game. Some of the mean scores of “Cleanliness and comfort” , “Food and drink” , “Litter box” , “Toilet” and “Staff” were significantly higher than those of before CCT. However, the service quality of “Easy to watch” did not change between those years significantly.

抄録全体を表示

    The global expansion of sports has accomplished a transformation from a hegemonic spread, such as people in the colonies received from modern sports in the suzerainty of the colonial era to the diffusion of comodificated spectator sports after the World War II. The expansion of baseball after the 1990′s can be regarded as a model for the construction of interdependent relations on an earth scale which is based on the existence of a professional league in Latin America and the east Asian nations under the MLB, and the expansion of the market and the network for player recruitment to the baseball barren areas such as Europe and Africa. This article discusses professional baseball in China that started in the 1990′s when the globalization of professional baseball was advanced. First, a general view of the history of baseball in this country is related, based on previous work. Then it discusses whether CBL, a particular professional sports league with a certain meaning, which hasn’ t constructed its earning system get, will be able to get on the right track as a sports industry in the future and whether the Beijing Olympic Games can provide an opportunity to do so is argued according to the results obtained in 2008 by the questionnaire used at the Beijing Olympic Stadium.
    It is difficult to forecast the image of the future of CBL. Optimistic observation can be derived from the high percent of opinion that watching the Olympic baseball game is good chance of playing baseball and watching CBL games. But it is uncertain whether this result reflects the testee′s continuous intention. On the other hand, pessimism is derived from the result that the interest in baseball doesn′t directly connect with the popularity of a domestic league, according to the development of media.

抄録全体を表示

    The purpose of this study was to reveal how professional baseball players were trained while they were amateur baseball players, and to examine ways to improve the problems faced by amateur baseball players. A survey of 300 professional baseball players was conducted.
    There were a lot of problems revealed in amateur baseball: “overwork and injury because of irrational, inefficient, and too long training” , “manner of the instructors” , “balance among baseball, studying, and playing” , and “violence to the players” . These results suggested that most professional baseball players wanted it to be done in a different way from their own experience, and that they had a strong awareness of the problems of traditional training.

抄録全体を表示

    This investigation focused on the “Oita” community, in which four professional sport teams exist. The purpose of this study was to clarify sports spectator behavior using the conception of place attachment. Place attachment is a concept that explains the emotional or affective bonds between a person and a particular place. The data for this study were collected through an internet survey from the fans of a professional sport team. The place attachment indicator included fifteen scale items based upon leisure research. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation was used to identify place attachment components and yielded two main components: place identity and place dependence. The scale reliability was examined using Cronbach’ s alpha. Three spectator types were identified by involvement level: high - medium - low involvement spectators. The findings of analysis for the three subgroups include the following: high involvement spectators have place identity, and place dependence that is higher than medium and low involvement spectators. High and medium involvement spectators have intention to attend other professional sports games that is higher than low involvement spectators. The results of this study indicate that the conception of place attachment enhances understanding of sport spectator behavior.

抄録全体を表示

    The purpose of this study was to introduce the organizing process for long-term preventive care in community groups.
    An interview survey was carried out for investing the plan for the project. The factors associated with needs and barriers for executing the project were analyzed.
    The following three factors were revealed as important matters for organizing community-groups.
1) Safety management system
2) Activity program suitable for the frail elderly
3) Word-of-mouth communication for promoting attractiveness of the program

抄録全体を表示

    Regarding sports as an industry, it is indispensable that top athletes become role models and icons. However, a great deal of change has been occurring in the career environment after graduation for the athletes of Japan. They have anxieties about their career possibilities and this is a major problem for developing the sports industry.
    This study investigated male students who belonged to university wrestling clubs. A survey about employment rates was conducted at five universities. The results showed a lower average rate of employment that of the over all rate, but there were big differences among the universities. Therefore, on the assumption that employment situation is affected by instruction and management in the athletic clubs, it is necessary to make proposals and take positive action to solve these problems.

抄録全体を表示

    The demonstration program, one of the sports events of the National Sports Festival, has been held by the municipalities of the hosting prefectures every year for the residents. In this program there have been many kinds of new sports events, such as Ground Golf, Indiaca, Petanque, and others. We focused on these programs, explaining the existence of sports legacies of the National Sports Festival and clarifying the types of these legacies. In order to do so, we investigated the changes that have taken place before and after in the activities of the new sports in almost all the demonstration programs which were held from 1996 to 2005.
    As a result, it became clear that sports legacies continue to exist in the hosting municipalities (22.1%) , and that those legacies can be classified generally into the following 4 types.
a) Municipalities where the new sports’ activities were started by holding demonstration programs (9 cases) .
b) Municipalities where the new sports’ activities were started by holding demonstration programs and new associations or groups of the new sports were organized after holding the demonstration programs (8 cases) .
c) Municipalities where activities related to the new sports already existed and after holding the demonstration program some associations or groups of the new sports were integrated or readjusted (10 cases) .
d) Municipalities which started to hold new sports events after holding the demonstration program (11 cases) .

抄録全体を表示

    The Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top was created by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 2005. From 2006, the dissemination campaign for the Food guide was conducted by the latter ministry.
    Both the awareness and use of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top has increased every year. The data suggests that dissemination of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top is promoting public health in Japan.

抄録全体を表示