Sports Fitness and management

Sports Fitness and management

Introduction

Physical activity has increasingly become a focal point in recent times. As such, every institution ranging from schools to workplaces has made concerted efforts to persuade people to adopt a culture of physical activity. This drive is out of the concept that physical exercise has a therapeutic effect, both at the physical and psychological levels (Williams, 2017). Communication about the essence of physical exercise is majorly executed through promotional materials. While this is the case, not all advertisements are effective. Therefore, it is paramount to elucidate on the best physical exercise promotion practices to help the stakeholders develop more effective advertisement models. This paper seeks to evaluate a physical exercise poster focusing on the adequacy of the language used, age appropriateness, and accuracy of information presented.

Image 1: A poster by Hills Farm Police Community Group promoting physical exercise

Source: Howells (2017)

The appropriateness of the language used for the parent audience

While it is not indicated, the poster is intended for parents of teenage students, whether attending primary or secondary school. The key rationale for this assertion is that it is at this stage of life that criminal behaviours emerge (Milkman & Wanberg, 2012). While the most significant proportion of the concepts used in the poster are straightforward, thus easy for the parents of secondary schoolers to understand, some terms are technical. Therefore, parents might be distracted easily and quickly. One of the seemingly composite terms used is recognised qualification. Such a concept requires one to have proficiency in the English language to know the message being presented. This necessarily means that parents with ESL background cannot decipher what the underlying communication. Recognised qualification means officially accepted certificate of proficiency. Therefore, the advertiser needs to incorporate more straightforward wording so that every parent can make better meaning of the poster. Otherwise, the language used in the rest of the poster is clear and self-explanatory.

The appropriateness of the age ranges according to the evidence read about in this unit

An effective promotional material is the one with an age-appropriate design. In a scientific inquiry performed by the Youth Sport Trust (2016), it was revealed that children who engage in organised sports along with physical activities at any time while in primary school are better placed to achieve better emotional, social, and behavioural skills relative to those who do not participate. In light of this, one would expect the poster to target children, that is, people who have not attained the age of the majority. Nonetheless, the poster does not spell out the age group it is targeting. Instead, it leaves the viewers to insinuate the audience. If the poster identified teenagers as the focus age group, then it would have been appropriate according to the findings of the Youth Sport Trust (2016) study. However, if the poster purported to focus on any other age group, then it would have been age-inappropriate.

The degree to which the claims made in the poster accurate in relation to research evidence

One of the primary claims made in the poster is that crime is most likely to occur at night. However, the existing evidence does not seem to confirm this assertion. In contrast with the claim, th Office of Justice Programs (2018) documents that the number of violent or aggressive offenses perpetrated by adults usually increases hourly, generally from six in the morning through the afternoon and evening hours. The agency continues to express that these crimes often peak at nine at night. From this time, violent crimes drop, reaching the lowest point at six n the morning. As if not enough, the Office of Justice Programs (2018) identifies that the violent crimes perpetrated by the juveniles usually peak in the afternoon, mostly between three and four, which is the hour at the completion of the school day. Therefore, going by this evidence, then the claim about the time of day crime occur illustrated by the poster is not accurate.

Another fundamental claim made by the poster is that engaging in organised activities is critical because it tends to divert attention away from crime, not mentioning antisocial behaviours. This claim is indeed accurate as the existing body of criminology research well supports it. For example, in line with this claim, Dashper and Fletcher (2016) revealed that the most effective approach for reducing crime rates among juveniles is to divert young people away from adverse social activities sport-based intervention, usually abbreviated as SBI. Similarly, the study Meenagh (2011) revealed that people aged between 14 and 20 years who involve themselves in organised sports are less likely to take part in antisocial behaviours when compared to their counterparts not engaged in such sports.

An additional claim advanced by the poster is that sports have the ability to change values by eliciting respect, teamwork, and building self-esteem. This claim is also supported by evidence, hence accurate. In correspondence with the message, Murphy (2012) demonstrates that when a child participates in organised sports activities, he or she is likely to gain or improve his or her social skills, including respect and personal skills such as teamwork. Erdal (2018), on his part, showed that a child with low self-esteem is likely to experience a positive change when they engage in organised sports. The self-esteem will improve even more where the child is paired with a mastery-oriented coach.

Even with the accuracy of most claims made in the poster, the resource does not provide any reference. Especially for the most elite parents, the lack of references might raise an alarm. They may feel that the poster is just an opinion, thus lacking credibility and validity. If this is the case, then it is highly possible that such parents might overlook the message communicated. Therefore, to improve the meaningfulness of the poster in the eyes of the targeted audience, the advertisement must seek to incorporate references. However, the advertiser must be very careful when including the references. He or she must only consider referencing credible sources, for example, scholarly books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and government publications. Media sources might raise a red flag. The advertiser must, however, ensure that he or she does not input too many references, as doing so might make the poster less attractive besides disorienting the audience.

Conclusion

Conclusively, it is appropriate to claim that the poster by Hills Farm Police Community Group is a meaningful artifact and capable of achieving its purpose, that is, calling on people to engage in physical activities (organised sports) to avert the occurrence of crime. However, the poster has several inconsistencies that jeopardise its effectiveness in communicating the intended message. This paper has offered some recommendations to make the poster more meaningful.

References

Dashper, K., & Fletcher, T. (Eds.). (2016). Diversity, equity and inclusion in sport and leisure. London, UK: Routledge.

Erdal, K. (2018). The Adulteration of Children’s Sports: Waning Health and Well-Being in the Age of Organized Play. London, UK: Rowman & Littlefield.

Howells, K. (2017). Unit 12: What are the social benefits of sport and exercise? Milton Keynes, UK: The Open University.

Meenagh, A. (2011). Leisure, Organised Sport and Antisocial Behaviour An Examination of Youth’s Involvement in Leisure, Organised Sports and its Effect on Antisocial Behaviour. Masters Dissertations, Technological University Dublin.

Milkman, H. B., & Wanberg, K. W. (2012). Criminal conduct and substance abuse treatment for adolescents: Pathways to self-discovery and change: the provider’s guide. Oxford, UK: Sage.

Murphy, S. (Ed.). (2012). The Oxford handbook of sport and performance psychology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Office of Justice Programs (2018). Violent crime time of day by offender age. Retrieved from https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03401.asp?qaDate=2016

Williams, G. (2017). Unit 9: Physical activity, moving more. Milton Keynes, UK: The Open University.

Youth Sports Trust (2016). Out of school activities improve children’s educational attainment, study reveals. Retrieved from https://www.youthsporttrust.org/news/out-school-activities-improve-children’s-educational-attainment-study-reveals