Sport for development and peace is and often cited phrase. By declaring the year 2005 as the “International Year for Sport and Physical Education”, a significant step has been made towards the recognition of sport as one of the most popular and powerful cultural phenomenon. But more important than the recognition is the appropriate use of this potential towards achieving greater acceptance and understanding of differences among people, their values and cultures, and thus, a more peaceful global world.

The power of sport is used in numerous projects and initiatives around the globe for the acceleration of personal and social development. Examples of good practice include: peace-building and peace-keeping instruments from the Peres Center for Peace in Israel, the “football for peace” methods in Colombia, the social integration issues through “Soccer in the Streets” in the United States or the “Street League” in England, and more. With the world-wide recognition of sport as a medium for education, development and peace, the United Nations has developed a website www.sportanddev.org to give you more insight into this world-wide movement.

Throughout this year we have witnessed many programs, projects and meetings, including the “Sport and Peace” conference in Moscow, which discuss the cultural aspects of sports. This presentation will shed further light onto the importance of value changes in a global culture and the role of sport and physical activity in this process, with special focus on older adulthood. As the representative of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport I will begin my analysis with some general observations on value change in the global village.

Values are constantly changing – they are not constant. Are values universal or rather cultural specific? And how can they best be studied? Philosophers and social scientists have been preoccupied with the topic of value change for some time. In fact, the subject is so large, that no one book or author can address the subject in its entirety. However, no science, no knowledge, no valuation, no sense or goal perception, and no value orientation can be formulated without a philosophical base.

It is clear that people in the world are increasingly becoming preoccupied with money and economic concerns, regardless of culture, class, race, gender, nationality, or age. But economically motivated actions are not necessarily good. Are these examples of value changes only a phenomenon of the Western World? What about the rest of the world? Although an international perspective on value change might be difficult to establish, we are all familiar with the trendy phrase of the "world becoming a global village" (Wilcox, 1994), referring to general globalization processes that are taking place worldwide (- often one-sided driven and controlled by the Western economy). One could argue that the existence of so many different cultures and socio-economic systems make it quite difficult to speak about one common value structure to which the whole world is succumbing, but technological advances and the breakdown of the communist planned system seem to make the impossible possible. The technological era characterized by an enormous increase in communication due to the information-super-highway is reaching people in all corners of the world, overcoming language barriers, breaking down national borders, and obscuring cultural differences. Not only the explosive growth of the media and telecommunication systems, the growing interdependence on national economies as well as the resulting environmental problems are also characteristic of the globalization process, which is spreading the capitalist free market value system to the rest of the world. All of this has partly led to feelings of anxiety, disorientation and hopelessness in regard to generally accepted values, which does not enhance the global peace process.

In recent years, sport philosophers have mainly focused on developing normative ethic structures, that are to provide guidance for morally right actions within the realm of modern sport. However, they have hardly been concerned with the investigation of the moral dilemmas in the world of sport within the larger socio-cultural context. I am proposing the need for a different approach that is situated in the heart of social reality – here sport and physical activity. As I have claimed in the special issue of Sport Philosophy in the Sport Science Review (Volkwein, 1996) and elsewhere the social sciences can be seen as benefiting from each other when they are not treated in isolation; - since there exists no neutral theory nor are there independent, observable facts. In thisis paper I will outline (1) definitions and theories about value changes in general and (2) its application and meaning to older people’s participation in sport and physical activity.

A consensus with respect to the meaning of the term "values" is absent in such fields as philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and sport sciences. Definitions include everything from values narrowly defined as utilities in decision theory, to preferred ways of life, to values as what is desired, to more normative conceptualizations of values as what ought to be desired. Most definitions specify the characteristics of values and put the study of value into an adequate theoretical framework. First, values have to do with normative as opposed to existential propositions. Second, unlike attitudes, values are higher order constructs that exert a direct or indirect influence on attitude. Most definitions agree that values can be conceptualized as being distinct from simple preferences. Unlike attitudes, values provide abstract frames of reference for perceiving and organizing experience and for choosing among alternative courses of action (see Kluckhorn, 1996 or Rokeach, 1973).

Values are culturally prescribed and thus can differ significantly from nation to nation. The challenge of human beings is to choose among them, and thus answer the recurring question: What manner of human being shall we be? Without values human behavior would be without direction, chaotic, and ultimately self-destructive. That is not to say that with values human beings are not capable of self-destruction. At the beginning of the 21^st century this world seems to experience quite the contrary - one can refer to the ecological crisis, our nuclear technic and military potential, the micro-electronic and biochemical advances, including gene technology. Human beings might need the "right" values in order to prevent self-destruction and increase the quality of life for all people; but who is to say which values are the right ones, and by what means values are chosen? There is insufficient knowledge about how different configurations of core values translate into attitudes and, in turn, how attitudes translate into behavior and actions. However, what we do know is that we all have to become more tolerant of other people’s values and respect different cultures in order pave the road towards global peace.

In North America, for example, Inglehart (1985) in his extensive research on value changes asserts that the public's emphasis has shifted from more socially oriented values, e.g. equality or national security, to personal values such as freedom, comfort and excitement. Thus, values have changed from materialistic to post-materialistic values. Klages et al (1992) state that value change is characterized by processes of individualization; he acclaims value changes due to the process of 'functional differentiation of modern industrialized societies.' That is, Klages et al explain value change not as much as a shift but rather as an expansion, as 'value pluralism' (see also Tetlock, 1986). Thus, the traditional value orientation does not vanish, it is extended. Generally, the 'old' achievement ethic is loosing its significance at the beginning of the 21th century.

It needs to be pointed out here, however, that these described value shifts or better value pluralism is not the same for everyone in society; it can be characterized as a middle class phenomenon of people between the ages 20 and 50. 'Post-industrialized society' is attributed by Klages et al as one with decreasing achievement ethics and increasing expectations of the state, as well as an increased orientation and interest in leisure activities.

Values are important columns of a culture and are necessary for the survival of that culture. When needs of people and values change, culture changes as well and so do the actions of people. This process is interrelated to cultural norms and to outside influences. General globalization processes come to mind. Globalization, one could argue, is destructive to individual cultures and lets a new world order and culture emerge - based on capitalist value structure governed by the making of money and profit. This worldwide process can be destructive to traditional values that people hold, many people argue, but it can also open new dimensions. The export and import of cultural traditions and values can provide a challenge to make the world a better, a more humane and more peaceful place to live. The voices of philosophers range from optimism to pessimism to cynicism, which is also reflected in the discussion and proposals of the future development of sport and physical activity. It is hoped that sports and physical activity will play an important part in achieving a better understanding among individuals, nations, and thus, a more peaceful world. An important aspect of this process is the integration of older adults into the world of sport and exercise, since this will benefit not only the individuals involved, but also the inter-generational, national and hopefully international exchange.

Changes in the world of sport/exercise are a reflection of changes in society - in a microscopic dimension. New offerings in the movement culture are described as a reflection of dramatic value changes (Heinemann, 1989). Changing values in sport are identified by Digel (1986) as part of the general process of value change in society, especially in the area of leisure. Society and the subsystem sport have an inter-relationship: society influences the world of sport, e.g. through an increase in leisure time, and sport influences society, e.g. through body worship, fitness, and new body ideals. Let us focus just on one segment of the population and apply the importance of value change and changes in sport and physical activity to older adults – a group often ignored.

The older adult population is the fastest growing segment of society. From 1990 to present, the number of persons over age 65 has increased by 2.6 million (8%) as compared to a 6% increase for those under age 65. Of this growing population, in 1996, 20.0 million were older women and 13.9 million older men. Minority older adults represented 13% of this group, and in 2030 those from minority populations are expected to represent 25% of the older adult population (Administration on Aging, 1998).

With such a large proportion of the population over the age of 65, it becomes increasingly important to evaluate the values, needs and concerns of older adults. Although people over the age of 65 are a diverse and heterogeneous group, there are certain questions regarding health, happiness, and quality of life, value and meaning of sport /exercise, which can be evaluated for older adults in general.

There are numerous facets to quality of life, or an individual’s satisfaction with the aspects of his or her life, such as health, social support, and employment status. A number of studies have found that one of the most important influences is health (Fontane, 1996; Loomis & Thomas, 1991). Regular exercise is an important factor effecting health and well-being . Researchers have discovered that exercise not only improves and heals the body; but can also bolster self-esteem and increase body satisfaction, control, and life satisfaction.

The physical benefits of exercise have been well established by empirical studies; recently, researchers have also begun to evaluate the psychological benefits of exercise. Exercise has been found to increase perceived health, body image, and self-concept factors which influence general well-being (Volkwein-Caplan, 2004; Kirkcaldy & Shephard, 1990). Researchers report that recreational activities are related to control, independence, decision making, expression, involvement, competence, stress reduction, and hopelessness – which are especially important in older adulthood.

In the 1990s researchers have begun to evaluate the physical and psychological benefits of exercise for older adults. This is especially true for older adults confined to nursing homes (Hennessy, 1989). Researchers question whether exercise is beneficial for everyone, or if the benefits decrease after a certain age. If exercise is found to be beneficial for older adults, more programs could be implemented to encourage the three-quarters of the older population that is estimated to be inactive (Clark, 1996) to engage in exercise.

Numerous studies support the statement that exercise enhances psychological well-being in older adults. Hickey, Wolf, Robins, Wagner, and Harif (1995) report that older adults participating in a 6-week exercise program increased in the amount of exercise they could participate in, indicating physiological benefits of exercise. Participants in the program also scored higher on three measures of well-being after participating in the exercise program displaying the psychological benefits of exercise.

Stones and Dawe (1993) were interested in finding out the effects of exercise on nursing home residents. The researchers tested the hypothesis that exercise can improve the memories of nursing home residents. One group of participants exercised while the other group watched videos so that engaging in an activity alone would not be implicated if a change in memory capacity was found. Stones and Dawe discovered positive benefits of exercise for older adults with increased memory capacity for semantically cued words.

There is also great concern that older adults living independently in the community do not exercise on a regular basis. Simonsick et al.(1993) found exercise decreased likelihood of mortality, and increased psychological benefits. Highly active older adults rated their health as better and demonstrated lower mean depression scores than those that were inactive. King, Taylor, and Haskell (1993) found that those who participated in a 12-month exercise program had reduced levels of stress and anxiety as compared to those that did not participate in the exercise program.

Older adults who do not engage in regular exercise have been found to be more depressed, more anxious, and less satisfied with their lives than those who engage in regular exercise (Ruuskanen & Parkatti, 1994). They have also been found to decline in functional fitness, the ability to engage in everyday activities, as compared to those who exercise (Hopkins et al., 1990). According to Simonsick et al. (1993) inactive older adults were more depressed, had lower self-rated health, and developed more physical illnesses than the active. The number of hours an older adult sleeps is lower for those that do not exercise (Bazargan, 1996). This study found that sleep problems were significantly greater among the older adults that did not exercise.

Researchers speculate that a lack of exercise may be implicated in the problems of aging usually associated with other causes. Rowe and Kahn (1987) concluded that a majority of the declines attributed to the aging process may be due to other factors such as a lack of exercise that is common among older adults.

Values are changing in society and subsequently in sport/exercise behaviors as well and vice versa. The prevailing question relative to how people react to these changes, especially older adults, is of central interest. There is no doubt that participation in sport and exercise is greatly beneficial – especially for older adults. Factors influencing whether older adults participate in these activities include: health or physical impairment, culture and values, socio-economic status, gender, environment, and more. The positive effects of exercise and sport participation include physical processes, well-being, cognitive processes, body image, self-esteem, control, and self-efficacy – factors that are especially important in societies that will see an increasing number of older adults in the near future. As the population of the United States and various countries in Europe and Asia continues to age, the focus on how to increase the quality of life as well as the meaning and value of sport and physical activity will no doubt increase. It was the intention of this paper, to sensitize the listener to the importance of researching this topic by the social scientists of sport and exercise, including the sport philosophers, as we are moving into the 21^st century.