Women’s and girls’ sports: more popular than you may think

About half of Americans consume female sports content

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The number of Americans who watch or follow girls’ and women’s sports goes well beyond those who view TV coverage of women’s athletic events, a new study suggests.

 

In fact, just over half of American adults spent some time watching or following female sports in the past year, the results showed.

 

U.S. adults spend about one hour a week consuming female sports content, which may seem higher than expected, according to the researchers.  Still, it is only a small fraction of Americans’ overall sports consumption.

 

The study was unique in that it took a broad look at how Americans consume female sports and incorporated all types of involvement, said Chris Knoester, co-author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University.

 

That could include those who watched girls participate in high school athletics or read about female athletes in sports publications, as well as watching professionals live or on TV.

 

“It’s not just people who are passionate and invested who consume girls’ and women’s sports,” Knoester said.

 

“Sometimes it’s parents watching their daughters play soccer, or sports fans who are flipping through channels looking for something to watch, or a person who reads about female sports stars.”

 

The study, which was published recently in the Journal of Emerging Sports Studies, was led by Rachel Allison, associate professor of sociology at Mississippi State University.

 

Allison noted that there have been intriguing signs that interest in women’s sports has been growing, such as the National Women’s Soccer League setting a new attendance record of more than 1 million fans this past season and a record-breaking 55,000 people attending a women’s college basketball exhibition game.

 

“But there’s surprisingly little research on consumers of women’s sports – this is one of the first studies to examine how common it is for American adults to watch or follow women’s and girls’ sports,” she said.

 

Survey data came from the National Sports and Society Survey (NSASS), sponsored by Ohio State’s Sports and Society Initiative.

 

The survey was completed by 3,993 adults who volunteered to participate through the American Population Panel, run by Ohio State’s Center for Human Resource Research. Participants, who came from all 50 states, answered the survey online between the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019.

 

Because NSASS participants are disproportionately female, white and Midwestern, the researchers weighted the survey results to reflect the U.S. population more accurately.

 

Results showed that 55% of respondents said they spent at least some time over the previous year watching or following female sports.  The survey did not define what it means to “watch or follow” sports, so responses are based on participants’ perceptions of those terms.

 

However, 60% of respondents reported watching or following female sports none or almost none of the time.

 

The researchers estimated the number of hours participants spent watching or following girls’ or women’s sports over the past year by taking the total hours of watching/following sports and multiplying that by the approximate proportion of time they reported watching or following female sports.

 

The result: Researchers estimated survey participants watched or followed female sports for about an hour a week.

 

“It was relatively moderate levels of consumption of female sports,” Allison said.

 

The study also dug into who were most likely to take in women’s sports. Lesbians were a key audience for women’s sports, results showed, and were among those most likely to be avid consumers.

 

“But we did find some evidence that men disproportionately consume more total hours of female sports than women do, which is really striking,” Knoester said.

 

The reason appears to be that men tend to follow and watch much more sports in total than women do, so they come into contact with more female sports.

 

People’s family background also played a key role. As might be expected, people whose families were deeply embedded in sports in general had more interest in following or watching female athletes. Having more girls and women family members encouraged more exposure to and appreciation of female sports.

 

“In particular, having mothers who were highly athletic or who were involved as a sports fan seems to elevate people’s consumption of women’s sports, even later in adulthood,” Allison said.

 

The study also examined how beliefs about women and men in society and sport were related to women’s sport consumption.

 

Not surprisingly, those who thought that women were inferior to men in sports were less likely to watch or follow them.

 

But, curiously, those who didn’t believe women and men were equals – for example, those who said husbands should make all important decisions in a family – were also more likely than others to be women’s sports consumers.  The same was true for those higher in homophobia.

 

The researchers believe that may be because sports, in general, tends to attract men who have less egalitarian and more homophobic views.

 

Overall, the researchers say the findings show that there is already moderate interest in women’s and girls’ sports and that it is growing and has the potential to grow even larger.

 

“Even though women’s sports receive less than 5% of all sports media coverage, according to some estimates, our results suggest that the interest may be larger than assumed,” Knoester said.

 

Allison added that knowing the audience is critical.

 

“What we are learning about who watches and follows female sports is critical to successful marketing efforts and audience building,” she said. “It can help women’s sports achieve a higher level of commercial success.”

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Who Watches and Follows Girls’ and Women’s Sport? A Gendered Life Course Analysis of U.S. Adults’ Consumption

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Jan-2024

 

How big data transforms the insurance sector

Peer-Reviewed Publication

KEAI COMMUNICATIONS CO., LTD.

 

IMAGE: 

MAPPING NETWORK OF KEYWORDS

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CREDIT: HAITHAM NOBANEE, ET AL.

In 2022, the insurance industry made a whopping USD 6 trillion globally—more than the entire economy of big countries like Japan and Germany. A new study, published in The Journal of Finance and Data Science, looked at how technology, especially big data, is shaking things up in insurance. Big data means using a lot of information to make better decisions.

The study found that by using big data, insurance companies can understand risks better, offer fair prices and keep customers happier.

“What's surprising is how fast insurance companies are jumping on the big data bandwagon,” says first author of the study, Nejla Ellili. “They're investing a lot of money in it—around $3.6 billion by 2021! And guess what? It's paying off! Big data helps them save money, offer better insurance deals, and catch more fraud. But it's not all sunshine; there are some problems too.”

 The study found that these is a need to be careful about privacy and ethics when using all this data. The findings also revealed that while much is known about how big data is helping insurance right now, there's still a lot to be elucidated in terms of the long-term effects.

“This means researchers and people in charge of insurance rules need to keep studying to make sure big data is used the right way,” adds Ellili. “Our findings give us a roadmap, like a guide, for future research, telling us what we should look at next.”

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Contact the author: Professor Haitham Nobanee

College of Business, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi 59911, United Arab Emirates

Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, University of Oxford, Marston Rd, Headington, Oxford OX3 0EE, UK

The University of Liverpool Management School, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Emails: (haitham.nobanee@liverpool.ac.uk; haitham.nobanee@adu.ac.ae; haitham.nobanee@oxcis.ac.uk; nobanee@gmail.com ).

The publisher KeAi was established by Elsevier and China Science Publishing & Media Ltd to unfold quality research globally. In 2013, our focus shifted to open access publishing. We now proudly publish more than 100 world-class, open access, English language journals, spanning all scientific disciplines. Many of these are titles we publish in partnership with prestigious societies and academic institutions, such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

 

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JOURNAL

The Journal of Finance and Data Science

DOI

10.1016/j.jfds.2023.100102 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Systematic review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The applications of big data in the insurance industry: A bibliometric and systematic review of relevant literature

 

Re-calibrating the sail plan for Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders in ocean sciences

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA

 

IMAGE: 

NATIVE HAWAIIAN GRADUATE STUDENT SURVEYS REEF. 

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CREDIT: TODD GLASER

In Hawaiʻi and across much of Oceania, Pacific Islanders celebrate the connections between their islands and the ocean that surrounds them. “As descendants of the ocean, the dearth of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) in ocean science seems inconsonant,” writes a team of authors that includes University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa faculty, students, and alumni in an article in a special issue of the journal Oceanography, “Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Ocean Sciences. The authors ask, “Where are all our island people in the ocean sciences?”

“To understand the root causes of this disparity and potential solutions, UH faculty, staff and students approached this problem through the lens of voyagers, examining the past course of history of the peoples of the Pacific and attempts to make headwinds in programs focused on increasing participation in ocean sciences,” said co-author Rosie Alegado, associate professor in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).

The article highlights programs in SOEST that are aimed at reducing barriers for Native Hawaiians in the geosciences—including summer bridge programs, internships, and other professional development programs. And, in better defining the persistent, systemic, and collective barriers that NHPI face within the western society and the academy, the authors identify gaps that conventional professional development programs aimed at minoritized groups in the geosciences have been unsuccessful in filling. 

“One of the biggest gaps that we found related to Native Hawaiian-serving programs within the ocean sciences is that while many may be culturally based, few are Native Hawaiian led,” said lead author Haunani Kane, SOEST assistant professor. “Native Hawaiians are often overlooked in the development and leadership of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander-serving programs. Programs led by Native Hawaiian scientists and community members ensure that they are culturally centered safe spaces for students to collectively grow their identities as both Native Hawaiians and scientists.”

Importantly, the authors shared lessons learned from building two waʻa (canoes)–programs specifically designed to carry students forward toward futures that center oceanic ways of knowing. 

SOEST Maile Mentoring Bridge 

The SOEST Maile Mentoring Bridge program (Maile) was founded in 2013 with the goal of attracting and retaining more NHPIs into geoscience degree programs and careers. The foundation of Maile was to build and foster robust partnerships with neighboring community colleges within the UH system. Maile mentees are carefully paired with experienced mentors—SOEST graduate students, postdocs, or recent graduates.

“Looking back on the last 10 years of my life, the Maile Mentoring program has made such a huge impact,” said Diamond Tachera, study co-author and alumni and co-director of Maile. “As an undergraduate student, it was so important for me to see people, especially wāhine (women), who looked like me working and thriving in their scientific fields. Being part of the Maile ʻohana as a graduate student mentor also helped me to build confidence in myself as I continued to struggle to find my place and identity in academia. I will be forever grateful for the support and aloha that comes with being part of the Maile ʻohana.”

“I believe the Maile Mentoring program has been successful because it places an emphasis on meeting the needs of the whole student, not just their research endeavors,” said Alegado. “In focusing on creating a nurturing environment in SOEST, we place a stronger emphasis on retention of students, not just recruitment, which increases completion and graduation rates for NHPI.”

The MEGA Lab

To overcome traditional barriers related to retention of NHPIs in the ocean sciences, the multiscale environmental graphical analysis (MEGA) Lab, a predominantly Native Hawaiian-led lab and nonprofit physically located in Hilo, Hawai‘i, developed a research program that prioritizes inclusive research experiences. Foundational to their success has been incorporating community members and cultural values into research projects, and creating global partnerships that value Native Hawaiian research.

As a way to creatively explore what Native science and kuleana (responsibility) could look like if research and cultural priorities were equally weighted in all aspects of the research design, the MEGA Lab assembled a Native Hawaiian research team to embark on a 15-day voyage to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. 

“That trip inspired me to re-imagine what research looks like when it's grounded in our ʻōiwi perspectives and how I can contribute to create more room for that to happen,” said Kainalu Steward, graduate student in the SOEST Department of Earth Sciences. “That experience helped me find kuleana in this collective work at the monument and reinforced my interest in pursuing higher education.”

Looking to the horizon 

“Moving forward, we believe that in order to make progress in the representation, retainment, and success of Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders in STEM, we must first address the historical and ongoing traumas of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders through active engagement in reclamation of cultural identities and knowledge,” said Kane. “We also believe student success requires building community support systems both within and beyond UH where students can safely explore their whole identity as Indigenous scientists.” 

The MEGA Lab founders are also calling for a culture change in academia and their “experiment to disrupt the hierarchical and stereotypical structures that exist in science and act as barriers to inclusion,” as they write in a second article in the special issue of Oceanography, provides a template. “Our goal was to create an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional lab that promotes an inclusive, equitable, and uplifting team environment where everyone can thrive in a fun and productive workspace.” 

“All of the work we do to support Native Hawaiians, women, and other underrepresented groups (the fish) can only have limited success given our current toxic workplace culture (the fishbowl),” said Barbara Bruno, faculty specialist at SOEST and co-author of the first article. “The fishbowl —​not the fish—​ needs to change.”

“Academia can often be reluctant to change, which is unfortunate as much of the workplace culture can serve as barriers to inclusion in STEM,” said John Burns, lead author of the second article and associate professor at UH Hilo. “We must embrace open-mindedness and be ready to transform the very culture of science in order to enhance diversity. Diverse perspectives and ideas not only foster a healthy work environment but can also serve as our most powerful asset, fueling the drive for new discoveries.”

Maile Mentoring Bridge Program mentors and mentees survey the intertidal zone during the full moon. 

A team of Native Hawaiian researchers conducted an expedition to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. 

CREDIT

Kane, et al., 2023

JOURNAL

Oceanography

DOI

10.5670/oceanog.2024.137 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Case study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Ho‘okele ka Wa‘a: Recalibrating the Sail Plan for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the Ocean Sciences

 

Is oxygen the cosmic key to alien technology?

University of Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank explores the links between atmospheric oxygen and detecting extraterrestrial technology on distant planets.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER

 

IMAGE: 

COINED BY ASTROPHYSICS ADAM FRANK AND AMEDEO BALBI, THE “OXYGEN BOTTLENECK” DESCRIBES THE CRITICAL THRESHOLD THAT SEPARATES WORLDS CAPABLE OF FOSTERING TECHNOLOGICAL CIVILIZATIONS FROM THOSE THAT FALL SHORT. “YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET BIOLOGY—YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO GET INTELLIGENT CREATURES—IN A WORLD THAT DOESN’T HAVE OXYGEN,” FRANK SAYS, “BUT WITHOUT A READY SOURCE OF FIRE, YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO DEVELOP HIGHER TECHNOLOGY." 

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CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER ILLUSTRATION / MICHAEL OSADCIW

In the quest to understand the potential for life beyond Earth, researchers are widening their search to encompass not only biological markers, but also technological ones. While astrobiologists have long recognized the importance of oxygen for life as we know it, oxygen could also be a key to unlocking advanced technology on a planetary scale.

In a new study published in Nature Astronomy, Adam Frank, the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Rochester and the author of The Little Book of Aliens (Harper, 2023), and Amedeo Balbi, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Roma Tor Vergata, Italy, outline the links between atmospheric oxygen and the potential rise of advanced technology on distant planets.

“We are ready to find signatures of life on alien worlds,” Frank says. “But how do the conditions on a planet tell us about the possibilities for intelligent, technology-producing life?”

“In our paper, we explore whether any atmospheric composition would be compatible with the presence of advanced technology,” Balbi says. “We found that the atmospheric requirements may be quite stringent.”

Igniting cosmic technospheres

Frank and Balbi posit that, beyond its necessity for respiration and metabolism in multicellular organisms, oxygen is crucial to developing fire—and fire is a hallmark of a technological civilization. They delve into the concept of “technospheres,” expansive realms of advanced technology that emit telltale signs—called “technosignatures”—of extraterrestrial intelligence.

On Earth, the development of technology demanded easy access to open-air combustion—the process at the heart of fire, in which something is burned by combining a fuel and an oxidant, usually oxygen. Whether it’s cooking, forging metals for structures, crafting materials for homes, or harnessing energy through burning fuels, combustion has been the driving force behind industrial societies.

Tracing back through Earth’s history, the researchers found that the controlled use of fire and the subsequent metallurgical advancements were only possible when oxygen levels in the atmosphere reached or exceeded 18 percent. This means that only planets with significant oxygen concentrations will be capable of developing advanced technospheres, and, therefore, leaving detectable technosignatures.

The oxygen bottleneck

The levels of oxygen required to biologically sustain complex life and intelligence are not as high as the levels necessary for technology, so while a species might be able to emerge in a world without oxygen, it will not be able to become a technological species, according to the researchers.

“You might be able to get biology—you might even be able to get intelligent creatures—in a world that doesn’t have oxygen,” Frank says, “but without a ready source of fire, you’re never going to develop higher technology because higher technology requires fuel and melting.”

Enter the “oxygen bottleneck,” a term coined by the researchers to describe the critical threshold that separates worlds capable of fostering technological civilizations from those that fall short. That is, oxygen levels are a bottleneck that impedes the emergence of advanced technology.

“The presence of high degrees of oxygen in the atmosphere is like a bottleneck you have to get through in order to have a technological species,” Frank says. “You can have everything else work out, but if you don’t have oxygen in the atmosphere, you’re not going to have a technological species.”

Targeting extraterrestrial hotspots

The research, which addresses a previously unexplored facet in the cosmic pursuit of intelligent life, underscores the need to prioritize planets with high oxygen levels when searching for extraterrestrial technosignatures.

“Targeting planets with high oxygen levels should be prioritized because the presence or absence of high oxygen levels in exoplanet atmospheres could be a major clue in finding potential technosignatures,” Frank says.

“The implications of discovering intelligent, technological life on another planet would be huge,” adds Balbi. “Therefore, we need to be extremely cautious in interpreting possible detections. Our study suggests that we should be skeptical of potential technosignatures from a planet with insufficient atmospheric oxygen.”

This work was funded in part by a grant from NASA.

 

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JOURNAL

Nature Astronomy

DOI

10.1038/s41550-023-02112-8 

ARTICLE TITLE

The oxygen bottleneck for technospheres

 

New research shows “Juvenile T. rex” fossils are a distinct species of small tyrannosaur

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BATH

 

IMAGE: 

ARTIST ILLUSTRATION OF NANOTYRANNUS ATTACKING A JUVENILE T. REX.

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CREDIT: ANDREY ATUCHIN

A new analysis of fossils believed to be juveniles of T. rex now shows they were adults of a small tyrannosaur, with narrower jaws, longer legs, and bigger arms than T. rex. The species, Nanotyrannus lancensis, was first named decades ago but later reinterpreted as a young T. rex.

The first skull of Nanotyrannus was found in Montana in 1942, but for decades, paleontologists have gone back and forth on whether it was a separate species, or simply a juvenile of the much larger T. rex.

Dr Nick Longrich, from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath (UK), and Dr Evan Saitta, from the University of Chicago (USA) re-analysed the fossils, looking at growth rings, the anatomy of Nanotyrannus, and a previously unrecognized fossil of a young T. rex.

Measuring the growth rings in Nanotyrannus bones, they showed that they became more closely packed towards the outside of the bone - its growth was slowing. It suggests these animals were nearly full size; not fast-growing juveniles.

Modelling the growth of the fossils showed the animals would have reached a maximum of around 900-1500 kilograms and five metres - about 15 per cent of the size of the giant T. rex, which grew to 8,000 kilograms and nine metres or more.

The researchers have published their findings in Fossil Studies.

“When I saw these results I was pretty blown away,” said Longrich. “I didn’t expect it to be quite so conclusive.

“If they were young T. rex they should be growing like crazy, putting on hundreds of kilograms a year, but we’re not seeing that.

“We tried modeling the data in a lot of different ways and we kept getting low growth rates. This is looking like the end for the hypothesis that these animals are young T. rex.”

Supporting the existence of distinct species, the researchers found no evidence of fossils combining features of both the Nanotyrannus and T. rex - which would exist if the one turned into the other.  Every fossil they examined could be confidently identified as one species or the other.

Neither did the patterns of growth in other tyrannosaurs fit with the hypothesis that these were young T. rex.

Dr Longrich said: “If you look at juveniles of other tyrannosaurs, they show many of the distinctive features of the adults. A very young Tarbosaurus - a close relative of T. rex - shows distinctive features of the adults.

“In the same way that kittens look like cats and puppies look like dogs, the juveniles of different tyrannosaurs are distinctive. And Nanotyrannus just doesn’t look anything like a T. rex.

“It could be growing in a way that’s completely unlike any other tyrannosaur, or any other dinosaur- but it’s more likely it’s just not a T. rex.”

But that raises a mystery — if Nanotyrannus isn’t a juvenile Tyrannosaurus, then why hasn’t anyone ever found a young T. rex?

“That’s always been one of the big questions. Well, it turns out we actually had found one,” said Longrich. “But the fossil was collected years ago, stuck in a box of unidentified bones in a museum drawer, and then forgotten.”

The research led Longrich and co-author Evan Saitta to a previous fossil discovery, stored in a museum in San Francisco which they identified as a juvenile Tyrannosaurus.

That young T. rex is represented by a skull bone - the frontal bone - with distinctive features that ally it with Tyrannosaurus, but which aren’t seen in Nanotyrannus. It comes from a small animal, one with a skull about 45 cm long and a body length of around 5 metres.

Dr Longrich said: “Yes, it’s just one specimen, and just one bone, but it only takes one. T. rex skull bones are very distinctive, nothing else looks like it. Young T. rex exist, they’re just incredibly rare, like juveniles of most dinosaurs.”

The researchers argue these findings are strong evidence that Nanotyrannus is a separate species, one not closely related to Tyrannosaurus. It was more lightly-built and long-limbed than its thick-set relative. It also had larger arms, unlike the famously short-armed T. rex.

“The arms are actually longer than those of T. rex. Even the biggest T. rex, has shorter arms and smaller claws than in these little Nanotyrannus. This was an animal where the arms were actually pretty formidable weapons. It’s really just a completely different animal - small, fast, agile.

“T. rex relied on size and strength, but this animal relied on speed.”

The long arms and other features suggest it was only distantly related to T. rex - and may have sat outside the family Tyrannosauridae, which T. rex is part of, in its own family of predatory dinosaurs.

The new study is the latest in a series of publications on the problem, going back decades.

Longrich said: “Nanotyrannus is highly controversial in paleontology. Not long ago, it seemed like we’d finally settled this problem, and it was a young T. rex.

“I was very skeptical about Nanotyrannus myself until about six years ago when I took a close look at the fossils and was surprised to realise we’d gotten it wrong all these years.”

The authors suggest that, given how difficult it is to tell dinosaurs apart based on their often-incomplete skeletons, we may be underestimating the diversity of dinosaurs, and other fossil species.

Longrich said: “It’s amazing to think how much we still don’t know about the most famous of all the dinosaurs. It makes you wonder what else we’ve gotten wrong.”

Comparison of T. rex and Nanotyrannus skulls

CREDIT

Nick Longrich

Graph comparing growth curves of T. rex vs Nanotyrannus

CREDIT

Dr Nick Longrich

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JOURNAL

Fossil Studies

DOI

10.3390/fossils1010009 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

ARTICLE TITLE

Taxonomic status of Nanotyrannus lancensis (Dinosauria:Tyrannosauroidea) - a distinct taxon of small-bodied tyrannosaur

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

3-Jan-2024