Contemporary Sport Management, 5th edition, co-edited by Paul M. Pedersen, released

Paul M. Pedersen

The 5th edition of Contemporary Sport Management, co-edited by Paul M. Pedersen, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, was recently published. The text provides students with an overview of sport management by presenting extensive discussions of the foundational aspects of the profession and current topics from the field. It explains the relevance of legal, sociocultural, historical, political, and psychological concepts to the management of sport; the professional skills of sport managers; and ways in which the globalization of sport continues to affect sport management professions.

The new edition also contains a variety of updated learning tools, including international sidebars with associated activities, a timeline, ethics and critical thinking sections, a running glossary, chapter objectives, end-of-chapter reviews, and references to help students stay engaged with the material and understand key concepts and terms. In addition, the web study guide (WSG) contains multiple interactive learning experiences that assist students in retaining the information. From historical foundations and future directions to current issues and professional skill sets, this new edition continues to inform and inspire up-and-coming professionals to have a positive influence on the management of sport.

School sports may be a good preventive treatment for depression, stress in teens

Jack Raglin

Sports teach teamwork, discipline, time management, and sacrifice among many other life skills. But now researchers are finding that teens who play sports are less stressed and have better mental health. 

Canadian researchers published a recent study, which showed that sports teams could be used as a protective treatment against stress and depression in early adulthood. ... Researchers linked feelings of accomplishment and mastery of a sports skills to a better mental state. According to Child Trends Data Bank, depression increases during adolescence and peaks in early adulthood between 18 and 29 years old, which means preventive measures are in high demand. 

"Single sessions of activity reduce anxiety, improve mood, and raise feelings of energy that last for several hours," said Jack Raglin, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, in a recent story in Medical Daily. "Long-term participation can significantly improve conditions such as clinical anxiety and depression to a degree that rivals medication, both in adults and adolescents."

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Fighting Ebola: Passion for her country and love for public health helps IUSPH alum conquer fears

Tiawanlyn Gongloe

Tiawanlyn Gongloe, a graduate of the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, lives in Monrovia, Liberia, where she works for the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare as a member of the National Task Force, which was created to eliminate the Ebola virus from the country. Overwhelmed by the work involved in fighting the outbreak, which has led to more than 200 deaths in her country, she found time to answer some questions about her life in the midst of such tragedy and her experiences in Bloomington.

Born in Grand Bassa, Liberia, in West Africa at the beginning of a civil war that lasted “for 14 years of my life,” she fled to the United States with her family in 2002, when she was only 12 years old. She grew up in Bloomington, Ind., and received multiple degrees from Indiana University’s School of Public Health-Bloomington: a bachelor’s degree in community health and a Master of Public Health and Master of Science in School and College Health Education.

“Every day that I wake up and go to work, knowing that I will be in the field and I may encounter people who may be suspected cases of the virus, I have a moment of fear,” she wrote. ” However, my passion for my country and my love for public health has helped me to conquer this fear."

Tiawanlyn recently spoke about her experiences. 

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Ebola outbreak highlights need for IU-Liberia health collaboration

The Ebola outbreak in Liberia provides a dramatic illustration of the importance of an Indiana University initiative aimed at strengthening the public health and medical infrastructure of the West African country, say IU faculty members and administrators involved with the collaboration.

Launched in early 2012, the Center for Excellence in Health and Life Sciences seeks to build up Liberia’s capacity for meeting health care needs by providing training for the public health workforce and strengthening the curriculum and instruction in medical and nursing education programs.

Liberian students learn to take blood pressure readings in the Certificate in Public Health training program, part of an IU partnership.

Michael Reece

"The Ebola crisis is a perfect example of why this project is so important,” said Michael Reece, associate dean of the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington and IU’s coordinator of the public health component of the project. “It’s a textbook example of the value of IU’s global emphasis and leadership.”

The partnership brings together Indiana University with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the University of Liberia, and the Tubman National Institute of Medical Arts in Liberia. The partnership is supported by a grant from Higher Education for Development, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development

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Is abstinence unhealthy?

Sex arguably makes life better, more enjoyable and healthier for lots of familiar reasons. But is not having it – for whatever reason – necessarily unhealthy? Not really, experts say, at least not physiologically. And the good news is you’re not going to die from abstinence – nor will it likely lead directly to conditions such as cancer and heart disease, from which you may die. 

Abstinence, unlike not eating, doesn’t physically damage you, at least not directly. "It’s not a health crisis if you don’t," Debra Herbenick, a research scientist and professor at IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, says in a recent article in U.S. News & World Report, "No one is going to say that abstinence for six months is going to hurt you."

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