احمد محمودی

Background: Superstitions and rituals have long been a part of sports culture, with many athletes believing that they can bring good luck or improve their performance. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between superstitions and sports success in Iraqi football league players. Materials and Methods: This study used a descriptive-correlational analysis method, with data collected in the field from a sample of 200 players randomly selected from the population of players in the Iraqi football premier league. Two standard questionnaires, Superstition in Sports and Sports Success Questionnaire, were used to collect data, both of which were designed based on the Likert five value range. Results: The study found that there is a significant relationship between superstitions and sports success, with the most important priority related to the component of "team ritual" (5.58) in superstitions and "commitment" (4.58) in sports success. The study also found that 37% of changes in sporting success are related to superstitious components. Conclusion: Based on the study's findings, it can be concluded that the use of superstitious rituals can have a positive effect on the sports success of athletes.

Today, the sports industry is known through modern technology, especially in the field of manufacturing sports tools and equipment. The present study uses correlation and applied methodology, which was done in the field using Structural Equations Modeling (SEM). The statistical population included producers of sports products, of which 320 producers from Iran were considered through available sampling. Morris (2002) Standard Entrepreneurial Marketing Questionnaire, Moghimi Market Orientation (2011), Noh and Fitzsimmons Information Technology (1999), and Azizi (2011) Financial Performance Questionnaire were used to collect data. Finally, 292 questionnaires were received physically and electronically. The results showed that entrepreneurial marketing and market orientation had a direct and indirect effect (mediated by technology) on financial performance and they significantly affected the financial performance. Finally, the model had the goodness of fit. In general, manufacturers who adopted a combination of entrepreneurial marketing strategy and information technology had better and more rational financial performance by taking advantage of attractive entrepreneurial opportunities. According to the research results, it is suggested that manufacturers provide the consumers with superior value by paying attention to the market orientation and innovation, to enable the company to achieve a competitive advantage.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the situation of football refereeing in Iran using the SOAR framework. The method of the present study was descriptive-analytical with an applied nature. The SOAR analytical technique was used to collect information from interviews and form focus groups, formulate a development strategy and explain the strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and measurable results. The study's statistical population included all national and international football referees in the country, and the sample was purposefully selected (n=151). The research instrument was based on an exploratory study and rewriting of basics, interviews, and similar studies by the researcher, whose content validity was confirmed by experts, and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha (α=0.89). The results showed that the existence of many interested in football refereeing, the great interest of Iranian youth in football refereeing, the establishment of national and international refereeing courses, and the emergence of Iranian referees in the first place in Asia, respectively the most critical priorities in terms of strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results. According to the findings, to improve refereeing at the global level, it is necessary to formulate a strategic plan based on the brand-based model that can align all the potentials in the country with its overall refereeing goal.

Background: Sports and physical activity are important for the healthy growth and development of children. However, various contextual and interfering factors can hinder the development of sports and physical activity in children.   Aim : The purpose to identify the contextual and interfering factors affecting the development of sports and physical activity in children. Material and Methods: The present study adopts a combinatory approach, where the first stage is qualitative and exploratory, and the second stage is descriptive-survey. In the qualitative stage, 16 experts in the field of children's sports were interviewed using purposive sampling, and the collected data were analyzed using MAXQDA 2020 software. In the quantitative stage, SPSS software version 26 was used for exploratory factor analysis and t-tests, while PLS 3 software was used for confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The results of this study suggest that there are five contextual factors-personal and family, infrastructure and equipment, supportive, economic and managerial as well as five interfering factors-human resources, organizational, media activities, control and evaluation, and legislation. Furthermore, the results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the research measurement model was validated. Conclusions: In conclusion, it can be acknowledged that by considering the identified factors in the development of sports and physical activity in childhood, it is possible to address some of the challenges in the field of children's sports.

The study aims to evaluate the effective factors on creating a social bond in religious tourists using the services of recreational-sports complexes in Mashhad. The research method was quantitative with a structural equation model approach. The statistical population of the study was religious tourists who used the services of recreational-sports complexes in Mashhad. A total of 388 tourists were selected as the sample by convenience sampling. The measurement tool was a modified Adamczyk 25-item questionnaire based on expert opinions, which has four subscales (intimacy, security, passion, and commitment). The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts while the construct validity was confirmed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was also obtained by more than 0.7 using Cronbach's alpha. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used. Finally, the results revealed that the components of secure and intimate bonding are the most essential elements of creating a social bond in religious tourists using the services of recreational-sports complexes in Mashhad, respectively. Consequently, this study emphasizes strengthening indicators such as infrastructure development, equipment, and facilities to reduce risks, using new marketing methods, protecting the tourist information, attention to the opinions, interests, and values of religious tourists, creating an intimate and social atmosphere, creating a secure and reassurance environment, etc. to create a social bond in religious tourists using the services of recreational-sports complexes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effective factors on web browsing (Cyberloafing) of human resources in sport organizations. The research method was descriptive-correlational and based on structural equations and also the data were collected by questionnaire. The statistical population of the study consisted of all employees of the Ministry of Sport and Youth, among whom, 237 were randomly selected as sample and finally 225 (93.74%) questionnaires were analyzed. A 14-question questionnaire was used to collect the data. Finally, the collected data were analyzed in two parts: descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS and LISREL software. The results showed that the predictive power of this model based on the sum of variance of the three factors was 61.52%. Also, there is a significant priority among the cyberloafing components, according to which the attitude of employees is in the first priority, descriptive norms in the second priority and perceived barriers in the third priority. Considering the way employees use the internet and web browsing, the need for more in-depth research and attention to these types of HR behaviors become more apparent.