فصلنامه پژوهش های فیزیولوژی و مدیریت در ورزش
سال هفتم شماره 3 (پاییز 1394)

The aim of this study was to survey and identify those factors influencing service quality of National Olympic and Paralympics Academy of Iran from customers’ viewpoints. The research method was descriptive – survey. The study population consisted of athletes, coaches, staff members, students and all National Olympic and Paralympics Academy service users who were admitted in the academy in June 2012. Given the statistical population, the sample consisted of 120 subjects and then by Morgan table, it considered of 92 subjects. 120 SERVQUAL questionnaires were distributed among the statistical sample and finally 92 questionnaires were evaluated. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts and its reliability was calculated and confirmed by Cronbach's alpha test. The results of descriptive and inferential statistics (K-S test, Friedman variance analysis) showed a significant gap between perceived services and expected services. In addition, those factors influencing service quality of the academy were ranked and identified. Results of this study were consistent with most studies conducted to evaluate the quality of services, particularly in the area of sport.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic training with and without lavender consumption on lactate and cortisol levels in non-athlete male students. 37 non-athlete male students (age: 23.13 ± 2.54 yr and body mass index: 22.11 ± 2.77) participated in three experimental groups and one control group. They performed aerobic training with 60-75% of maximum heart rate for 8 weeks (3 sessions per week). Two groups consumed lavender and one of these groups also performed aerobic training. Findings showed a significant reduction in plasma lactate and serum cortisol levels after 8 weeks of aerobic training in all 3 experimental groups with and without lavender. However, these changes were not enough to make significant changes among the groups. Also, no significant differences were observed in plasma lactate and serum cortisol levels of subjects. According to these results, 8 weeks of aerobic training with and without lavender consumption postpones fatigue and improves athletic performance in non-athlete male students through lowering levels of lactate and cortisol.

This research aimed at assessing social capital of volunteers in university sport associations using exploratory factor analysis method. The methodology was descriptive –correlation conducted as a survey. The statistical population consisted of volunteer students who were the members of Iranian university sport associations. 260 students from 10 universities were selected as the sample by random cluster sampling method. A researcher- made questionnaire was administered to collect data and its content and face validity was already checked and confirmed by an expert university panel. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was employed to test the reliability of the questionnaire (α=0.86). Then, exploratory factor analysis with a varimax rotation was employed to recognize social capital factors and structural validity of the research factors and questionnaire. On this basis, 26 social capital variables were classified into seven categories. The results showed that the most important factor was “trust” (mean 3.62±0.71) and the least important factor was “partnership and team work” (mean 3.41±0.7). The factors to be identified were determined by the following criteria: a) a pre specification of the number of factors based on the literature review; b) factor selection based on eigenvalues greater than 1.0; c) visual inspection on the basis of the Scree-plot; d) variance description criterion; and e) comprehensibility of the extracted factors. These seven scales accounted for 77.34% of the variance and were labeled as “partnership and team work, commitment, cooperation, trust, identity, information and awareness, empowerment and education”. The study suggests that sport organizations should pay a particular attention to social capital index and its related factors especially "trust" that has a determining role when absorbing and employing volunteers who are active in Iran sport arena.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of 12 weeks of progressive aerobic training with omega supplement on serum levels of chemerin and insulin resistance in obese inactive women. In this semi-experimental study, 32 obese inactive women (age 36 ± 3 yr, body mass index 35.52 ± 5.23 kg/m2) who had no regular physical activity were selected as the sample and randomly divided into four groups of 8 subjects: training (T), training - omega (T OM), omega (OM) and control (C). The subjects in groups T and T-OM performed progressive aerobic training at an intensity corresponding to 60-80% of maximum heart rate 3 days/week for 12 weeks. The subjects in groups T-OM and OM consumed 7 omega-3 capsules, each containing 1000 mg omega-3 every week and subjects in groups T and C consumed placebo during the same period. Fasting blood samples were taken before and after 12 weeks of aerobic training and supplementation. Results of two-way ANOVA demonstrated the interaction of training – omega significantly reduced serum levels of chemerin (P=0.010) and improved insulin resistance index (P=0.010) and glucose (P=0.004) in obese inactivewomen. Compared with the effect of training and omega separately, the combined intervention of training - omega led to a further reduction in serum levels of chemerin in obese inactive women, but this interaction appears to be less effective in relation to the further improvement of insulin resistance index.

The aim of this study was content analysis of the Iranian sport books with an emphasis on sport components. The methodology was descriptive and content analysis and data were collected by coding sheets and researcher-made coding instruction with confirmed face and content validity and correlation coefficient Sqat coefficient (0.91). The population consisted of all sport books introduced on national library and home book websites from the beginning till 2012. The sample was equal to the population. The findings showed that more books (69.3%) had general topics. The books about sport for all and recreational sport were in minimum (0.5%). There were significant relationships between sport components and publishers and also between sport components and circulation. Most books had championship topics and specific fields such as football and footsal (11.4%). Most educational books were published by non-sport publishers.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of six weeks of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on plasma levels of cellular and vascular adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 & VCAM-1) in sedentary young men. 24 sedentary young men voluntarily participated in this study and were randomly divided into two groups: experimental (n: 12, age: 24.33±1.41 yr, height: 176.22±4.91 cm, weight: 72.27±6.59 kg) and control (n: 12, age: 23.27±2.01 yr, height: 180.22±6.88 cm, weight: 76.27±7.23 kg). Experimental group performed three HIIT sessions per week for 6 weeks. Each session consisted of four to six repeats of maximal sprint running within a 20 m area with 30 sec. recovery. Fasting blood samples were collected one day before and 48 hours after the training protocol for lab analysis. Data were analyzed by independent t test and results showed that six weeks of HIIT significantly reduced ICAM 1 (27.13%) (P=0.027) in the experimental group compared to control group and the decrease (7.15%) in VCAM-1 was not significant (P=0.32). Also, the present study showed a significant increase (8%) in VO2max and a significant decrease (15.68%) in body fat of experimental group compared to control group. Therefore, it appears that HIIT improved plasma levels of cellular and vascular adhesion molecules in sedentary young men in addition to effectively reducing body fat and increasing aerobic fitness. It seems that with regard to time effect, HIIT is an efficient factor to prevent and improve risk factors of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between job vocational factors and job satisfaction in physical educators of Rasht city based on Herzberg theory. The statistical population were all physical educators of Rasht city (N=160) in the academic year of 201 - 2011. 126 subjects (78.75%) answered the 33-item questionnaire of Job Vocational Factors (Ingles, Chuck and Pastor, 1996) with 7-point Likert scale and reliability coefficient of 0.8 and the standard 71-item questionnaire of Job Satisfaction (Smith et al., 1969). The data were analyzed by Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient tests and t test at P≤0.05. The findings showed that among job vocational factors of the physical educators, recognition and respect, the balance of working and organizational conditions, and inclusivity were the most important factors respectively. Also, among job satisfaction factors, satisfaction from work nature was the first factor and pay was the last factor. Although there were no significant relationships between all job vocational factors and the top three job vocational factors and job satisfaction, there was a significant, low, positive relationship between work and organizational conditions factor and satisfaction from school principal (P=0.4, R= -0.18). There was a significant, low, negative relationship between inclusivity factor and satisfaction from work nature (P=0.4, R= -0.18). Although job vocational factors cannot increase job satisfaction, optimal working conditions and inclusivity can reduce dissatisfaction. Instructor's satisfaction from work nature, their relationship with their colleagues and lack of satisfaction from pays indicated the importance of this job and social psychological factors as well as external factors such as pays and other facilities for job satisfaction.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between physical fitness indices including aerobic and anaerobic power, thigh forceps muscle strength and endurance and repeated sprint ability (RSA) in male soccer players. Subjects of the study included 3 elite male soccer players with at least 3 years of experience of membership in a soccer team (mean age: 22.03 ± 0.98 yr, height: 174.76 ± 6.25 cm, and weight: 65.64 ± 5.93 kg) who participated in the study voluntarily. The study variables including anaerobic power, aerobic power, forceps muscle endurance and strength and repeated sprint were measured using Wingate, Astrand, dynamometer and Repeated Sprint Ability (RSA) tests respectively. Statistical methods of Pearson correlation and multiple regression were used for data analysis. Results indicated a significant and negative relationship between aerobic and anaerobic power, forceps muscle strength and total time of repeated sprints (P0.05). Findings indicated that aerobic and anaerobic power respectively were the best predictors of total time of repeated sprints in RSA.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of selected marketing mix elements on brand equity dimensions. The method was descriptive - correlational. The statistical population consisted of the Mojhaye Abi center consumers and 262 subjects were selected as the sample. For data collection, Price, Service Center Image, Advertising and PromotionalSales Questionnaire (Yoo, Donthu and Lee, 2000), Perceived Quality Questionnaire (Henseler, Wilson and Westberg, 2011), Brand Associations and Loyalty Questionnaire (Washburn and Plank, 2002) and Brand Awareness (Keller, 2001) were used and their reliability was determined by Cronbach's alpha as α = 0.79, 0.73, 0.84, 0.78, 0.79, 0.82, 0.80, 0.77 respectively. Overall, the stepwise regression results indicated that service center image and advertising among the selected marketing mix elements had an effect on brand equity. The results of this study showed the importance and role of different marketing efforts to build a strong brand name. In order to increase the power of a brand, managers need to invest on the advertising and service center image.

Strength is necessary for upper body normal function. Many women with breast cancer report impairments in upper extremity function after the time required for improvement after breast cancer treatment. It is not possible to know precisely if cancer adjuvant therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy have any effects on the unaffected arm. The aim of this study was subjective report on strength of women with breast cancer. Therefore, 33 postmenopausal women (51±6.46 yr) with breast cancer who completed the surgery, received chemotherapy and radiation therapy on average five years ago and 30 healthy postmenopausal women (53.26±5.05 yr) were selected. Strength was measured using a hand held dynamometer for flexion, horizontal adduction, internal and external rotations of shoulder, scapular abduction and upward rotation, scapular depression and adduction. Data were analyzed by MANOVA (P≤ 0.05). The findings indicated significant differences between the groups in six variables of shoulder girdle strength (shoulder flexion, internal rotation, external rotation, shoulder horizontal adduction, scapular abduction and upward rotation, scapular depression and adduction) and the strength reduction was respectively %74.1, %65.3, %75.5, % 63.9, %61.3, %74.8 in patients compared to healthy subjects. The results indicated the importance of evaluating the shoulder girdle strength in women with breast cancer. Based on these findings, years after treatment, decreased shoulder girdle strength is found in these patients, health care professionals need to focus on these special shoulder girdle strength factors during the treatment and designing training and rehabilitation programs for women with breast cancer.

DMS is a set of computerized information about a destination. DMS often contains information about attractions and facilities and also have the ability to reserve and record. The aim of the present study was the feasibility of the implementation of sport tourism destination management system (DMS) in Iran in 2011. The aim was application and the methodology was descriptive and survey. The population consisted of all heads of physical education and cultural heritage (N=60). The sample equaled the population (N=n=60). The data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 25 items to survey the heads of physical education and cultural heritage. For data analysis, descriptive statistics and one-sample t test were used with the statistical software package SPSS. The finding of onesamplet test with t=10.98 and P=0.001 showed that the information requirements of destination management organizations (DMO) in Iran provided the possibility to implement sport tourism destination management system. And infrastructures and e-business requirements needed to implement Iran sport tourism DMS provided the possibility to implement this system (t=10.355, P=0.001). Contexts of existing e-commerce in Iran present information on various platforms of information technology to end users (sport tourists) (t=1.84, P=0.001). Function and structure of Iran destination management systems can provided effective management of destination for sport management organizations (t 14.31, P=0.001). In general, it can be concluded that if tourism industry employs primary DMS lessons, it is expected that DMSs would strive a brighter future for Iran destinations.