نشریه مدیریت منابع انسانی در ورزش
سال دهم شماره 2 (بهار و تابستان 1402)

The main objective of the present study is to design a simulation model for human resource productivity development in Sports and Youth General Directorate of the Yazd Province, Iran.

In this study, a mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative) was used, which was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of nature and method. In the qualitative part, the statistical population included university faculty members, managers, assistants, as well as experts of the Sports and Youth General Directorate of the Yazd Province, and in the quantitative part, it included university faculty members. Due to the wide range of experts, sampling was performed by snowball method in the qualitative part until reaching theoretical saturation, and in the quantitative part, it was carried out by judgmental sampling. The measuring tools in the qualitative and quantitative parts were interview and questionnaire, respectively. Moreover, in order to analyze the specialized interviews, thematic analysis method was used, and then the relationship model was tested by the DEMATEL method. Finally, the human resource productivity development model was simulated using the agent-based modeling approach.

The data analysis led to the identification of 50 initial codes, 12 sub-themes, and 3 main themes (organizational, environmental, and occupational), and the organizational factor was recognized as the most influential factor. The simulation results also indicate that the presented model can provide an appropriate estimate of the future development of human resource productivity in the Sports and Youth General Directorate of the Yazd Province.

The results of the present research work suggest that sports managers should provide suitable conditions in terms of environment, occupation, and organization, which play a significant role in the development of human resources productivity in sports organizations.

The purpose of this study was to design a talent management model for the merit-based selection of managers in sports organizations.

The research work employed a qualitative methodology based on grounded theory, and data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was conducted using the Glazer's (1992) method. The study participants were 15 professors from the sports management faculty with managerial experience in sports organizations. The sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved.

The results of the study showed that after a step-by-step coding process, 134 final codes were obtained, which were grouped into 12 sub-categories and 2 main categories: competencies of sports managers and talent management process of sports managers. The findings revealed that by taking into account the competencies of sports managers (managerial, specialized, political, functional, professional, ethical, and communication skills) and the talent management process of sports managers (organizational platforms, prerequisites, talent identification and attraction, education and training, and retention and maintenance), a talent management model for the merit-based selection of managers in sports organizations can be developed.

The research findings indicate that the talent management system enables the organization to effectively recruit and attract sports managers with strong managerial skills. These results can contribute to improving the meritocracy of sports management and enhancing their overall performance.

This qualitative study aimed to identify the general requirements and main criteria for admission to formal sports coaching education programs.

The study utilized an exploratory qualitative design, with semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection method. Qualitative thematic analysis was employed as an analytical strategy to identify, analyze, and report patterns or themes that emerged from the data. Eighteen experienced experts involved in coach education were selected through a purposeful sampling procedure and participated in the research work.

The study identified three high-level themes that represent the general requirements and criteria for admission to the formal sports coaching education programs "prerequisites," "human skills," and "ethical orientation." The prerequisites included having a background related to the sport, interest, and age. Effective communication with people, paying attention to the socio-cultural characteristics of athletes, and mutual and appropriate understanding of athletes were identified as the human skills required. The sub-themes of ethics included compliance with ethical issues, the role of being a model, not having an unethical history, helping athletes to develop ethics, being committed and trustworthy, and having a coaching philosophy.

 The study's findings suggest that by considering the proposed criteria, the initial selection of candidates interested in entering formal sports coaching education programs can be modified, resulting in the training of higher-quality coaches with a greater capacity to improve athlete performance.

Referees are one of the most important human resources of federations and provincial delegations, whose professional development and growth will require spending time, money, and energy for them and organization. The purpose of this research work was to reflect on the challenges and requirements of the refereeing profession based on the life experiences of Iranian elite football referees.

The research method was qualitative and based on the phenomenological approach. The participants were 10 football referees of national and 1st level. The research tool was unstructured in-depth interviews. The duration of each interview was between 20 and 60 minutes. The process of completing the interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached. We used strategies such as respondent validation, transferability, and peer review to validate the research process.

The findings showed that background factors, judgment skills, professional growth and moral values were subjects related to requirements. Also the referees' challenges were explained in three categories: challenges related to judgment, challenges related to the organization, and personal challenges.

The findings of this research show that football referees have challenges and sufferings that can lead to consequences (e.g. burnout, leaving the profession, physical and mental injuries, etc.). By knowing the requirements of refereeing (e.g. physical fitness, mental and psychological readiness, communication skills, etc.), it is possible to plan for the empowerment of referees in order to witness the high quality of judging and attractiveness in the games.

The present research work is conducted based on a structural-interpretive approach with the aim of categorizing the effective sociological dimensions of the personal branding of Iranian physical education teachers.

This research work was descriptive-analytic in terms of purpose and method. The data collection tool for the research work was documentary studies, interviews, and a Delphi questionnaire. The statistical population of this research work included experts and specialists in the field of physical education and sports students, of which 22 were purposefully selected in each section of the research work as a sample. In the process of data preparation and production, the sociological dimensions of personal branding of physical education teachers were first identified using the Delphi method and semi-structured interviews. Afterward, the ISM structural-interpretive modeling method was used to interpret the relationships between dimensions and indicators, and the MICMAC method was used to categorize the sociological dimensions.

The data obtained from the questionnaire was analyzed and plotted in a 5-level interactive network using structural-interpretive modeling. As a result, the professional and occupational skills indicator was identified at the highest level, and the scientific capabilities indicator at the foundational level. In addition, the power of influence and interdependence of these indicators on the "power-influence" matrix were examined, and based on the findings, the most influential indicators in this matrix were identified as "sports and championship, resume, and performance” “scientific capabilities. 

The research findings confirm that paying attention to, and "professional and occupational skills" the sociological dimensions of physical education teachers' brands and knowing their levels and influence can contribute to the creation and promotion of a stronger and more reliable personal brand and facilitate the achievement of educational goals by a teacher using this brand.

Athelte abuse is an under-researched topic and a major and growing concern worldwide, because this phenomenon has increased terribly in the last two decades in all sports and at all sports levels. In this regard, the aim of the current research work was to identify and explain the dimensions of abuse in sports (a study of Iran's national athletes).

The current research method is qualitative and in the form of thematic analysis, and the statistical population includes experts in the field of national athletes. The sampling method was purposeful and a semi-structured interview was conducted with 18 participants until theoretical saturation. Coding technique was used to analyze the data.

The findings of the research work indicate that the conceptual framework of abuse of athletes includes five main themes of types of abuse, causes and triggers of abuse, individual roles of abuse, platforms of abuse and consequences of abuse of athletes, which have 16 sub-themes and they include 131 concepts.

The results of this research work have provided important applications in both theoretical and practical parts. On the one hand, it is the first study conducted in the field of abuse of athletes and it has solved a part of the huge gap in this field in domestic research, and on the other hand, it is a coherent view about the concept of abuse, roles, people, factors, conditions, has presented the bases and consequences of the abuse of national athletes and has brought a wide range of necessary measures to reduce, control and manage the factors of this phenomenon.

By reason of higher expenditure on getting a medal at Paralympic games, an efficient method for utilizing resources on finding optimum talent identification and development (TID) system was always at scientific researches. To reach these purposes, the aim of this study was to validate physical fitness and anthropometric questionnaire for TID battery test of sitting throwers.

This study was standardizing descriptive design. 98 Iranian seated athletes (52 males and 46 female) filled out our questionnaire with 65 questions covered physical fitness (37 items) and anthropometrical (28 items) parts. Confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's Alpha were employed to evaluate the validity and reliability of this questionnaire. One sample T test was also used to check participation opinions about our questionnaire.

Our results showed that the questionnaire was valid (1.96 < T-value < -1.96) and reliable (Cronbach's Alpha > 0.7). Analysis also resulted that Paralympic athlete scores of physical fitness and anthropometric tests were higher than the desirable level.

Our findings with the purpose of reducing TID expenditure have implication in optimum identification and efficient selection of elite sitting throwers for administrators and managers of Paralympic sitting throwing events.

Different sports federations can try to grow and develop their organization's human resources by using favorable relations with sports federations of other countries. Therefore, the design of the model was the influencing factors on the development of communication between the sports federations of Iran and the countries of the Persian Gulf.

The present research work was conducted in a mixed qualitative and quantitative method. The phenomenological approach was used in the qualitative part, and in the quantitative part, the descriptive survey approach was used. The participating community of the qualitative part includes experts related to the subject of the study, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 of them. The data collection tool in the quantitative part was a researcher-made questionnaire taken from the qualitative part, the content validity of which was confirmed by Several experts, and due to the limitedness of the statistical society, according to the Morgan table, it was completed by 384 people related to the subject. The reliability of the instrument was also estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Finally, confirmatory factor analysis (structural equation model) was used in order to present the influencing factors on the development of communication between sports federations of Iran and Persian Gulf countries.

According to the information obtained from the research work, 71 primary topics were identified in the form of 11 main topics: media content, behavioral norms, infrastructure development, management strategy, political dimensions, security dimensions, sports interactions, international solidarity, sports communication, national prestige, and educational experiences. Also based on the results of the factor loadings, it can be said that the dimensions of security (0.952) have the most influence and national prestige (0.394) have the least influence on the development of communication between sports federations of Iran and Persian Gulf countries.

It is suggested to the senior managers of sports federations in Iran to use the concepts identified in this research work to improve sports relations with other countries.

 The purpose of this work was to identify the effective factors in transition of football players from the amateur to the professional level in Iran.

 The research method was qualitative and based on the foundation data theory. Data analysis was done according to Glazer (1992). The population consisted of football experts (professional coaches, managers of the football federation of Iran, organizations of sports and youth, professional clubs and sport and physical education academies). The participants were interviewed, and the interviews stopped when we reached repetitive answers. In order to collect information in the first stage, the literature was reviewed. Then semi-structured interviews were done, which was carried out online because of pandemic. Validity, reliability, acceptability, transferability, and approvability were measured.

 The data analysis identified 245 primary codes. Then 120 primary independent code were created, and 20 sub-categories and 4 main categories (technical, academic and talent identification, and organizational and human resource factors) were identified as the factors affecting factors on transferring football players from the amateur to the professional level in Iran.

 According to the findings, we recognized management factors including the development of technical and sports factors, supervision of football academies and schools, and the issue of talent acquisition, the review of relevant sports organizations and finally the empowerment of human resources in the field of football and also key tools to face with challenges of transition process. This, is turn, can facilitate transferring the young amateur players to the professional levels.

 The new Corona virus pandemic situation and the resulting Covid-19 disease have affected all aspects of human life, especially mental health. Considering the irreparable effects of the corona disease on athletes, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of perceived social support and coping strategies on athletes' Covid-19 anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 The method of current research work was descriptive-correlative in terms of quiddity, and cross-sectional in terms of time. The research statistical population was all football players of Semnan province league in adult category, where using the random sampling method, 208 people were selected as a sample. The research tools were 4 standard questionnaires of perceived social support by Zimmet et al. (1988), efficient coping strategies by Finset et al. (2002), and Corona anxiety by Lee (2020). Structural equations with variance-oriented approach were used to check the research hypotheses.

 The results of the research work showed that perceived social support and coping strategies have a negative and significant effect on athletes' Covid-19 anxiety. Also perceived social support has a positive and substantial effect on coping strategies.

 According to the results of the research work, it is possible to strengthen the level of social support and coping strategies of athletes by planning and psychological counseling in order to reduce the anxiety of the Covid-19 disease, and the mediating role of coping strategy was confirmed.

 Today, studying the concept of lifestyle and professional thoughts of elite athletes in different societies has become more important than ever before. On the other hand, by studying the background of the present researcher, he has investigated more research works in this field based on the components of lifestyle and professional thinking, and he has tried to find the root cause of the emergence of a certain thinking or lifestyle among elite athletes. It has not been done; therefore, the present research work was conducted in order to identify the effective factors in the formation of lifestyle and professional thinking of elite athletes.

 The current research work was conducted using a qualitative method and a contextual approach using a systematic design. In this research work, the samples were first selected purposefully, and the sampling process continued as a snowball and was completed by conducting an in-depth semi-structured interviews with 21 experts and reaching the theoretical saturation criterion. Then by analyzing the text of the interviews, observations were made, and the researcher's notes were coded. Validity and reliability of the generated codes were confirmed by four participants.

 First, by analyzing the text of the interviews, 107 open codes were identified and categorized in the form of 30 sub-categories and 5 main categories. Then in the social coding stage, the link between the categories under the title of causal conditions: individual conditions, background conditions: effective factors in the formation of personalities, situational situations: the philosophy and thoughts of coaches, the central category: professional thinking, strategies: the role of the federation, clubs and sports organizations; and

the objective components of lifestyle were determined in the form of the code determination paradigm. In the coding phase, the components of the coding paradigm were explained and the model was drawn.

 According to the results of the current research work, professional thinking is the inner and mental dimension of professional lifestyle, which shows itself objectively and outwardly in the components and sub-components of lifestyle; also it is necessary to work on the professional thinking and lifestyle of an athlete from the basic age until the person reaches the stage of self-awareness. In this case, when a person reaches professional levels, the professional lifestyle is internalized for him, and he automatically observes the professional principles. The results of this research work can be used to help administrators, coaches, and athletes for efficient educational planning and moving towards professionalism.

 The purpose of this research work was to design a professional development model for physical education teachers based on self-improvement with a qualitative approach.

 The research method was qualitative. The data analysis was done by the thematic analysis method. Interviews were used to collect the data. The validity and reliability of the research work was confirmed through the criteria of validity, transferability, reliability, and verifiability. A total of 15 interviews were conducted with experts and specialists, and continued until the research reached theoretical saturation and sufficiency, and then the obtained data was analyzed by open, central, and selective coding method.

 Based on the findings, 81 basic themes were organized in the form of 20 themes, and 7 comprehensive themes were framed. The overarching themes included individual professionalism, professional behavior, professional knowledge, constructive interactions, professionalization, organizational functions, and individual functions.

 For the purpose of professional development of physical education teachers, strategies such as structured communication and professionalization measures should be used to create a suitable environment for self-actualization and professionalism of physical education teachers.