Suchergebnisse

The purpose of this paper is to outline a case study approach that deals with a central problem of applied sociology of sport, i.e. how to relate the different worlds of science and practice (in this case: sport policy) to one another. In the first part, the conceptual perspectives of the case study are presented. These perspectives emphasize a specific understanding of objectivity. First of all, policy analysis has to deal adequately with the structural patterns and rules of the "policy game". This means that phenomena like the bounded rationality and the incrementalism of policymaking or the conceptual utilization of scientific knowledge by policymakers have to be observed. Typical strategic orientations and networks of different actors in the field of public policy as well as potential roles of applied social scientists have to be analyzed according to the rules of the policy-game. With regard to the scientists, however, their close relationship to the rules of the "scientific game" must not be neglected. In this context a pragmatic orientation of applied social science is best suited to integrate the different scientific and professional interests.

This article outlines a theoretical framework for an interactive, research-driven approach to building policy capacities in health promotion. First, it illustrates how two important issues in the recent public health debate, capacity building and linking scientific knowledge to policy action, are connected to each other theoretically. It then introduces an international study on an interactive approach to capacity building in health promotion policy. The approach combines the ADEPT model of policy capacities with a co-operative planning process to foster the exchange of knowledge between policy-makers and researchers, thus improving intra- and inter-organizational capacities. A regional-level physical activity promotion project involving governmental and public-law institutions, NGOs and university researchers serves as a case study to illustrate the potential of the approach for capacity building. Analysis and comparison with a similar local-level project indicate that the approach provides an effective means of linking scientific knowledge to policy action and to planning concrete measures for capacity building in health promotion, but that it requires sufficiently long timelines and adequate resources to achieve adequate implementation and sustainability.

Sport appears to be particularly geared to test out contradictory results in status crystallization research as it allows the identification of conditioning variables with a high level of specificity (Malewski). The potentials of extending crystallization theory and research to rank crystallization, i.e. within group/team ranks, is outlined but not followed in the present analysis. Results based on samples of adults and of athletes in 6 different individual and team sports show that participants in sport up to age 32 are lower in status crystallization with a tendency of lower crystallization by level of sport (recreational, competitive, top sport). Regression analysis for the age group of 27-32 shows that the low status crystallization of athletes, of and those at the top in particular, is mainly to be explained by the interaction of and not the singularly tested major effects, although the latter show some power of explanation as well.

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund
Dieser Beitrag unterstützt die theoretische Fundierung und Spezifizierung der für die Gesundheitsförderung zentralen Begriffe der "Struktur" und "Strukturentwicklung", um so strukturbezogene Interventionen zielgenauer und wirksamer gestalten zu können. In diesem Rahmen wird mit der kooperativen Planung ein Ansatz vorgestellt, mit dem sich eine gesundheitsförderliche Strukturentwicklung theoriebasiert und zugleich praxisnah erreichen lässt.

Material und Methoden
Eine Analyse des wissenschaftlichen Diskurses zur gesundheitsförderlichen Strukturentwicklung zeigt zunächst Defizite der bisherigen Begriffsbildung auf. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden ein theoriebasierter Strukturbegriff und ein Modell zur Erklärung der Mechanismen gesundheitsförderlicher Strukturentwicklung als Bezugsrahmen eingeführt. In diesem Kontext wird die kooperative Planung als "innovative soziale Praxis" definiert, im Modell verortet und anhand empirischer Beispiele erläutert.

Ergebnisse
Notwendige Bedingungen einer Strukturentwicklung durch kooperative Planung werden aufgezeigt. Im kooperativen Prozess entwickelte Maßnahmen beziehen sich sowohl auf gesundheitsrelevante Angebote und Infrastrukturen als auch auf Veränderungen der politischen Praxis. Wirkungen werden insbesondere anhand veränderter Handlungsfähigkeiten beteiligter Akteur:innen sowie veränderter Handlungsschemata und Ressourcenallokationen im kommunalen Kontext veranschaulicht.

Schlussfolgerung
Die kooperative Planung sollte zukünftig auf einer breiteren Basis und auch in neuen Anwendungsfeldern erprobt und weiterentwickelt werden.

Despite the recent rapid development of policies to counteract physical inactivity (PI), only a small number of systematic analyses on the evolution of these policies exists. In this article we analyze how PI, as a public health issue, "translates" into a policy-making issue. First, we discuss why PI has become an increasingly important public health issue during the last two decades. We then follow Guy Peters and conceptualize PI as a "policy problem" that has the potential to be linked to policy instruments and policy impact. Analysis indicates that PI is a policy problem that i) is chronic in nature; ii) involves a high degree of political complexity; iii) can be disaggregated into smaller scales; iv) is addressed through interventions that can be difficult to "sell" to the public when their benefits are not highly divisible; v) cannot be solved by government spending alone; vi) must be addressed through a broad scope of activities; and vii) involves interdependencies among both multiple sectors and levels of government. We conclude that the new perspective on PI proposed in this article might be useful and important for i) describing and mapping policies to counteract PI in different contexts; ii) evaluating whether or not existing policy instruments are appropriate to the policy problem of PI, and iii) explaining the factors and processes that underlie policy development and implementation. More research is warranted in all these areas. In particular, we propose to focus on comparative analyses of how the problem of PI is defined and tackled in different contexts, and on the identification of truly effective policy instruments that are designed to "solve" the PI policy problem.

Abstract Despite the recent rapid development of policies to counteract physical inactivity (PI), only a small number of systematic analyses on the evolution of these policies exists. In this article we analyze how PI, as a public health issue, "translates" into a policy-making issue. First, we discuss why PI has become an increasingly important public health issue during the last two decades. We then follow Guy Peters and conceptualize PI as a "policy problem" that has the potential to be linked to policy instruments and policy impact. Analysis indicates that PI is a policy problem that i) is chronic in nature; ii) involves a high degree of political complexity; iii) can be disaggregated into smaller scales; iv) is addressed through interventions that can be difficult to "sell" to the public when their benefits are not highly divisible; v) cannot be solved by government spending alone; vi) must be addressed through a broad scope of activities; and vii) involves interdependencies among both multiple sectors and levels of government. We conclude that the new perspective on PI proposed in this article might be useful and important for i) describing and mapping policies to counteract PI in different contexts; ii) evaluating whether or not existing policy instruments are appropriate to the policy problem of PI, and iii) explaining the factors and processes that underlie policy development and implementation. More research is warranted in all these areas. In particular, we propose to focus on comparative analyses of how the problem of PI is defined and tackled in different contexts, and on the identification of truly effective policy instruments that are designed to "solve" the PI policy problem.