Sports

Introduction: The present study aimed to determine the effects of a selected group exercise on motor skills and cognitive function in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs).Methods: Forty children with ASD aged 5-12 years participated in this quasi-experimental study. The Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP), and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were performed in 3 assessment stages of baseline, pretest, and posttest in Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK). The repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used for analyzing the collected data.Results: The current research results demonstrated that the selected exercises presented positive effects on motor skills (P<0.05) in the studied subjects; however, they indicated no significant effects on their cognitive function (P>0.05).Conclusion: According to the present study results, the SPARK’s training is effective on children with ASDs and severe mobility limitations; however, it presented no cognitive function improvement in the study participants.

Writing effective and persuasive manuscripts for submission to the high-indexed Iranian and international English-medium journals for the purpose of publication deserves having to-the-point knowledge and proficiency, which the Non-Native English writers of the non-English speaking countries seem to be lacking. Therefore, researchers need to identify problems and challenges that the group of writers encounter in the field of English for Research Publication Purposes (ERPP). Therefore, this study aims to identify the ERPP needs of the Physical Education Ph.D. students and writers. Hence, interviews were conducted with a group of Physical Education content experts and Ph.D. students to identify the writers’ problems and challenges. The interviews were tape recorded as the participants had already been informed of the recordings and research aim. The tape recordings were then transcribed and analyzed in the thematic analysis and the grounded theory methods. The data analysis came up with four major themes (gained in the selective coding stage), 20 sub-themes (gained in the axial coding stage) and 83 themes (gained in the initial/open coding stage). The four major themes were `problem with language,’ `problem with content,’ `problem with journals,’ and `the demotivating factors.’ The fourth major theme, i.e., `the demotivating factors’, consisted of the sub-heading the technological illiteracy problem, which should be regarded as the novelty feature of this paper. The research is useful for material designers and instructors of the English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) and others to offer tailor-made education to the tertiary level Physical Education students.

Little research has been carried out on the common symptoms and mental disorders in Iranian elite athletes. The purpose of this study was to identify the mental health problems in Iranian elite athletes as a retrospective study at the National Olympic Academy (NOA) of Iran. The present study is a cross-sectional and retrospective descriptive study which was conducted by evaluating the athletes' psychological documents. A total of 143 athletes (male, n= 83, female, n= 60) were analyzed from the population of elite athletes (n=240) who referred to the mental training and consulting center in the NOA during the years 2007-2021. The results showed that most athletes referred to the center to improve their performance (37.8%). Anxiety (27.3%), depression (16.8%), interpersonal problems (11.2%), impulsiveness (2.8%) post-traumatic stress (PTSD) (2.8%), sleep disturbance (1.4%) were the most common mental disorders reported by athletes. In addition, surveying the relationship between demographic characteristics and mental health issues revealed a relationship between gender and mental health problems; there was no relationship between other demographic variables with mental health problems. The results of this study illuminate the spread of common mental health problems in Iranian elite athletes over the last fourteen years. Screening and diagnosing psychological problems provide a better understanding of the application of appropriate psychological interventions and improving the mental health of elite athletes. Accordingly, future research may focus on better understanding of mental health problems reported in this study and studies them in a larger population.

Purpose: Considering the importance of sports entrepreneurship opportunities, the present study was conducted with the aim of modeling strategies for the development of sports entrepreneurship opportunities at the Middle level. Methodology : The current research was applied-developmental in terms of its purpose and exploratory-quantitative in terms of implementation method. The research community was sports entrepreneurs and postgraduate students of sports management, 164 of whom were selected as a sample based on Cochran's formula and random sampling method. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire on strategies for developing sports entrepreneurship opportunities (74 items), whose face validity was confirmed by the opinion of experts, and its reliability was calculated using Cronbach's alpha method of 0.74. Data were analyzed with exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling methods in SmartPLS-3 software. Findings : The findings of the exploratory factor analysis showed that the solutions for the development of sports entrepreneurship opportunities at the middle level had 74 items in 7 situational and regional factors, market and business environment, media, education, support, management and technological infrastructure, which factor loading, convergent validity with The method of average variance extracted and reliability was calculated by Cronbach's alpha method for all of them above 0.70. Also, the model of strategies for developing sports entrepreneurship opportunities had a good fit at the middle level and the model had a significant effect on each of the seven factors (P<0.001). Conclusion : According to the factors identified for the model of strategies for the development of sports entrepreneurship opportunities at the middle level and the effect of the model on each of the factors to improve the development of sports entrepreneurship opportunities, the conditions can be provided for the improvement of each of the factors.

Entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in the economic and sustainable development of all countries. The current research aimed to identify the opportunities and threats of the external environment of sports entrepreneurship in Ardabil, Iran based on the PESTLE model by examining the past and existing processes. A mixed approach was used to collect and analyze the research data. The research tool consisted of interviews and strategic council meetings. Theoretical and snowball sampling methods were used to reach the theoretical saturation (15 Experts). For analyzing the collected data in the qualitative section, a logical inductive method was used. The findings revealed that strategic environmental components of entrepreneurship in Ardabil province included: Ecological factors, Cultural and Social Factors, Political factors, Legal and juridical factors, Economic Factors, & Technological factors. According to the findings, considering the extracted factors in the process of spot entrepreneurship management can pave the way for developing entrepreneurship in sport setting. 

Generally, the music performances on sports activities are manifested and realized through the four mechanisms of reducing the feeling of tiredness, increasing excitement levels, creating harmony, and finally increasing calmness and the sense of comfort. This function becomes very important when considering that the music impact acts as a miracle doping in professional sports. Besides, the lack of enjoyment in sports activities is often mentioned as an obstacle to participation in sports activities. This article discussed, evaluated, and analyzed the research records in three main topics: 1. The benefits of music in sports activities, 2. The conceptual model for showing the different music impact in sports activities, and 3. The underlying mechanisms of music impact on sports. A scoping review of literature in sport and music field was conducted to fulfill the research objectives. Finally, the inference was made by proposing theories such as corresponding and induction of microscopic and macroscopic order along with another direct and secondary music impact. Researches have not been able to uncover all aspects of music magic secrets yet. So, this challenge remains for researchers and athletes on how to maximize the benefits of using music during sport and exercise by focusing on practical applied approaches.

The purpose of this study was to identify effective drivers in the future of sports businesses in Khorasan Razavi province. The participants included experts in management, marketing and sports businesses. The interviews were conducted by snowball method and continued until the theoretical consensus, and finally after 18 interviews we reached the theoretical consensus. For statistical analysis SPSS software and Mick Mac software were used. The results of cross-impact analysis based on MDI and MII matrices showed that supportive drivers, marketing drivers, as well as drivers of creativity and innovation play an important role in improving system relationships. In addition, the three groups of propellants having the highest and the least impact included economic divers, (educational divers) and customer-oriented divers respectively. On the other hand, propellants such as; Cultural drivers, communication drivers, and managerial drivers are more influenced than being influential. Finally, it was the propulsion of manpower that lacks a key and important role in the formation of sports businesses in Khorasan Razavi province, but they should not be forgotten completely. It is suggested that in order to develop more sports businesses in Khorasan Razavi province, these items should be on the agenda to achieve a bright future in sports in the province.

Physical education schools play an important role in the physical and mental progress of students as well as having a great impact on the international success of the athletes. Therefore, the architecture and educational sport settings are of high importance. Hence, the present study was carried out with the aim of developing the educational and sport spaces of physical education schools. The current research is phenomenological based on a qualitative method. The research population consisted of academic faculty members of the art and architecture departments, sport management department; experts of constructing and equipping sport places; physical education school principals, teachers, and students. Fifteen participants were selected through a purposeful sampling. The Data collection tool was a semi-structured interview and for the final validation, the validity and reliability criteria were applied. Factors affecting the development of educational and sport places of physical education schools included 68 sub-themes classified under nine main themes: spatial diversity, space function improvement, linkage of the places, light-related factors, color-related factors, design standards, design enhancement, safety factors, and health factors. Therefore, it is essential for relevant managers to take into account the standards of construction and design of physical education schools.

The primary objective of this research was to investigate the impact of new social media on the marketing of sports products in Iran. The research utilized a qualitative and applied methodology, focusing on experts in sports marketing and sports management professors as the research population. Data from interviews were analyzed through three stages of coding: open, central, and selective. Within the context of Internet marketing in sports, several key issues emerged, including the absence of a dedicated authority for Internet sports marketing, instability in sports management, lack of comprehensive regulations, and underutilization of Internet marketing in sports business processes. Traditional methods persisted despite economic challenges. The study concluded that the absence of a specific authority for Internet marketing in sports leads to confusion, improper monitoring, and potentially harmful marketing practices. Establishing consistent regulations is crucial to the development and institutionalization of Internet marketing in the sports industry.