Dimensions of Diversity and Society in Sport Organizations

SPTM 605

Dimensions of Diversity and Society in Sport Organizations

Professor: Dr. Austin Anderson

Office: PAC 312

E-Mail:

Required Texts

Coakley, Jay. (2015). Sports in society: Issues and controversies. (11th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw Hill, ISBN: 978-0-07-802252-4

Selected Course Readings—Available online through USI Library Resources (Labeled as “Reading #” in Course Calendar). Course readings will build upon particular content presented in the chapter to encourage discussion and application of critical perspectives.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Sport: Essays from Activists, Coaches and Scholars, available via free download at http://www.diversityinsport.com/

Course Description

This course explores how historical and contemporary forces in society have shaped the opportunities and experiences of various cultural groupings in the realm of sport. In particular, the course will focus on diversity issues as they relate to race, ethnicity, gender, social class, sexuality and physical ability/disability. Careful attention will be paid to the impact and professional challenges surrounding cultural and organizational diversity within sport and society. Examples of possible topics include: Native American names and mascots for sport teams, homophobia in sport, social class stratification in sport, gender equity in collegiate sport, and the expansion of sporting opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Pre-Requisites: None

Course Objectives

Dimensions of Diversity and Society in Sport Organizations is presented as vital sport management issues in the 21st century. Students will be able to:

·  Demonstrate an understanding of historical and contemporary forces that have impacted opportunities and experiences for various cultural groupings in sport

·  Utilize critical perspectives and theories in examining the experiences of specific cultural groupings in sport

·  Analyze the complex interactions of race, ethnicity, social class, sexuality and physical ability/disability in sport and a multicultural society

·  Evaluate the managerial and analytical skills necessary to create and implement organizational policies addressing cultural and organizational diversity within sport

COURSE EXPECTATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

Student Expectations

Students are expected to complete high quality work. There is no excuse for erratic participation, skipped readings, poor discussion, sloppy work, poor grammar, spelling errors, typos, or poor composition skills. Deductions will be made for careless work that shows lack of effort and little attention to detail. If you need help, there are on-campus and on-line resources to help with skill development. Please contact me if you have concerns or needs. Help can be arranged through the Writer’s Room or Academic Skills.

Students who have problems with course requirements, technology skills and/or learning skills are expected to contact academic support services to address these issues as soon as possible. The instructor reserves the right to initiate assessment opportunities if there is evidence that the reading and required preparation has not been completed in a thorough, timely manner.

Course Materials

Required course materials (besides textbook – see above) are available on Blackboard. If additional reference or research materials are needed you should utilize the services of the USI Rice Library Distance Education Resources. The distance learning librarian is Phillip Orr. You may contact him at: or by phone at (812) 461-5328 or (812) 464-1907. The toll free number is: 1-800-246-6173

Storage devices: Each student should have a USB or jump drive to save or back up all projects.

Notebook: You might purchase a small notebook to keep beside your computer for note-taking purposes as you work on procedures or discover resources.

Binder and/or folder: You should have a 3-ring binder and/or pocket folder for storage of documents, resources, articles and all evaluated/returned assignments.

Technology

This course utilizes USI Blackboard to house relevant course materials and to facilitate course-related communication. Detailed information regarding assignments and course materials are located on the SPTM 605 Blackboard course site. To access the site, students log in to MyUSI at http://my.usi.edu and click the “Portal Sign In” link. On the Welcome page in Blackboard, the SPTM 605 course link will be visible to enrolled students on the right side of their computer screen under “My Courses.”

This course will also require the use of VoiceThread for class participation and module completion, which requires a webcam or camera enabled phone/device.

Because this is an Internet-based course, students need regular and dependable access to a computer with an Internet connection. Basic computer technology requirements for Internet-based courses at USI include:

a)  A dedicated computer with an updated operating system, such as Windows 7 or Mac OSX

b)  A high-speed Internet connection (e.g. DSL or Cable). Note: If students are recording videos on VoiceThread they must have a wired connection.

c)  Java installed on your computer.

d)  Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer.

e)  Anti-virus software installed on your computer.

f)  Microsoft Office

g)  Headset

h)  Webcam

SUPPORT RESOURCES

Technical Support: Since your professors are not trained as technology experts, they will not be able to assist you with your technical needs. Please contact the Help Desk at (812) 465-1080 or send an email to for all your technical support needs. To learn more about the USI helpdesk, please visit http://www.usi.edu/distance/students/current/help-desk.

o  USI Blackboard Support http://www.usi.edu/it/blackboard-online-help
BB On Demand for Students http://ondemand.blackboard.com/students.htm

o  VoiceThread Support https://usi.voicethread.com/support/howto/Basics/ For issues involving VoiceThread, please contact the department of Distance Learning at (812) 228-5124 or send an email to .

USI students have assigned USI email accounts (). Students access email messages by logging in to MyUSI with username and PIN. Students that do not know or have forgotten their PIN can drop by or call the Registrar’s Office at 812/464-1762. If students prefer to get their MyUSI (and therefore their Blackboard-related) email at another email account, they can follow instructions at MyUSI for forwarding their email.

Please read USI’s Data Communication and Computer Use Policy.

Note: For students who would like to use the computer lab in the PAC Building. Room 207 is available from 8:00 am – 4:40 pm every day. Evening hours may be available depending on class schedules. Contact the education office at 812-465-7024 to verify the schedule.

Scanning: Depending on the resources and development choices you make, you might need access to a scanner to convert forms and other content to documents for posting.

File Storage and Organization:
You will need to have the means for storage of multiple, large files of various file types on your home or work computer. I would suggest creating a SPTM 605 folder in your “My Documents” folder on your computer hard drive to keep your files together. Be sure to create nested folders within your SPTM 605 folder for specific projects or tasks (ex. PowerPoint, Sound Files, etc.). Further, I would suggest backing up your files in another location such as a portable flash/thumb/USB drive.

Blackboard

Blackboard will be used for announcements, discussion, resources, access to course materials, and to submit specific assignments.

All written assignments not posted to the student’s individual website will be submitted through assignment links that are posted in the Assignments area. Students may review their completed evaluation though these links also.

Blackboard Privacy Policy and Accessibility: http://www.blackboard.com/Footer/Privacy-Policy.aspx

Netiquette Expectations

·  When posting information on the course site students are expected to respect the copyright on material that is reproduced.

·  On the Discussion Board and in e-mails use mixed case. UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING.

·  When posting statements or e-mailing messages, remember that your classmates are human beings whose culture, language, and humor have different points of reference from your own.

·  Any items (discussion board postings, Web page content, etc) found with extreme language or harassment will be deleted and removed.

·  One warning will be given to students not using proper “netiquette’ within e-mails or on the discussion board. A subsequent occurrence of poor “netiquette” will result in removal from e-mail and discussion board capabilities within the course Web site.

Email

Each student is required to have an email account. USI provides free e-mail accounts for all enrolled students. At the beginning of the semester an email will be sent to each student to verify his/her email address.

Please check your email at least once a day for any new information regarding this class. You are responsible for monitoring your e-mail messages. Periodically notification of assignments will be sent via e-mail. Failure to regularly respond to e-mail message could result in an unsatisfactory grade for this course.

The instructor checks his email on a consistent basis and will respond to student’s request on the same day it is sent (when possible).

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

Course Assessments

Please note: Late work WILL NOT be accepted—note due dates outlined below and on the course calendar.

Discussion Board Postings/Blogs

Each week, students will be expected to respond to a discussion board posting related to a topic presented by a peer. These topics will be posted by the designated peer(s) for that week in the discussion board by 12:00 AM Tuesday (i.e., if you are the designated student to post the lead discussion for Week 2, you will need to have it posted by midnight on Monday of Week 2). A response to the post is due by 5pm Friday each week. Each post should be a minimum of 500 words, and each response should be a minimum of 200. In addition to posting your own 200 word response to the discussion lead, you will also be required to respond to AT LEAST one of your classmates’ posts weekly. There is no word limit on these comments. There will be 13 total posts (outlined on course calendar). Each post is worth 20 points (260 points total). Late posts will not be graded.

Students will be notified of their assigned class lead day at the beginning of the course. The instructor will take the lead on discussions and activities for the first week to provide an example of the type of lead discussions that are expected. Student posts will be monitored by the instructor and students are expected to respond to inquiries that are made of them by the instructor and other students (no minimum word requirement on responses beyond your initial entry).

All student led posts should revolve around important aspects of the reading for that day from the text. Questions that students should think about when writing their 500 word lead post include:

·  What are the important aspects of the readings for us to discuss and remember?

·  How do the readings relate to my life and what I do with my time?

·  What are the particularly difficult to understand ideas that are brought up in the readings?

·  How can my current (or future) organization work to incorporate the diversity and organizational management issues raised??

·  What did I learn from the readings? What is still unclear that others (including the instructor) can help me learn?

Posts will lose SIGNIFICANT points (both original and response posts) if it is clear the student has not utilized the course and text information to inform their writing.

VoiceThread Postings

Students will be required to virtually participate through posting of original discussion topics on the course VoiceThread site. This virtual learning tool will allow the class to engage in active discussions through the use of audio and video technology. Postings will require that students reflect and respond to provided questions, and points will be assigned based upon how fully students respond to the questions asked, and/or provide thoughtful reflection in response to their peers’ postings as indicated in each assignment received. Specifically, students will receive full credit if their response answers the provided questions, and utilizes thoughtful reflection in response to responses made by peers. Each week, students are required to post a video response (Comment) to the VoiceThread slides that answers the questions presented, students are encouraged (strongly) to monitor and respond to their peers’ comments as well. There will be 13 required postings, worth 10 points each. VoiceThread postings should be made by 5:00 PM on Friday of the week assigned (see Course Calendar). (130 points)

VoiceThread Privacy Policy and Accessibility: https://voicethread.com/termsofuse/

Experiential Learning Engagement

As graduate students, and professional leaders, students are expected to actively engage in their communities and organizations as leaders. As part of this course, students will be expected to complete five (5) experiential learnings engagement (ELE) activities within their local community. These activities will relate to the current course discussion taking place, and students will submit proof of engagement and reflection to complete the assignment requirements. Course discussion will focus around these opportunities for engagement as well. These assignments are due by 5:00 PM Central Time on the dates outlined below. (100 points)

Written Exams

There will be two written exams in this course. The exams will be posted to Blackboard and must be completed by 5:00 PM Central Time on the day indicated in the course syllabus. Each exam is worth 50 points (100 points total)

Written Case Study

Students will culminate work in the course with an original research case study on a topic of their choosing. Students are encouraged to select from course topics/sub-topics that are addressed within class discussions and readings. This paper should conform to APA stylistic formatting, contain primary academic sources and use well-developed reasoning and analytical thinking skills to investigate a contemporary sport management topic in an in-depth manner. Exact description and grading rubric for the assignment will be distributed during the course. (100 points)

All assignments will be graded (and scores posted) before the next assignment is due.

Total Possible Points: 690

Grading Scale (final grades will not be rounded):

A 90-100%

B+ 87-89%

B 80-86%

C+ 77-79%

C 70-76%

D+ 67-69%

D 60-66%

F 59% or below

PLEASE NOTE: All scores for graded assignments will be placed on Blackboard as expediently as possible once they are submitted. Once grades are posted, the class will be informed either via email or with an in-class announcement. Once the class is informed of the grade posting, students should approach the instructor with any questions about the score within 48 HOURS. After the 48 hour period, posted scores will be “final”.