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Physical education teacher education: Disrupting ableism in gymnastics
Get PDFPhysical education teacher education (PETE) has been identified as fertile ground for preparing teachers for teaching disabled pupils. However, there is an absence of visibly disabled bodies in PETE. Our research explores (1) how disabled bodies navigate the ableism that saturates PETE; and (2) how teacher educators can work with (disabled) prospective teachers to disrupt ableism through a critical perspective. This article generated data through four semi-structured interviews with Jack, a disabled prospective teacher with cerebral palsy, to capture his embodied experiences of gymnastics as part of his PETE. The interviews were recorded, transcribed with the analysis resulting in the following themes: (1) Internalised ableist expectations about bodies in gymnastics; (2) Hiding the disabled body from the able-bodied gaze; (3) Experiencing exclusion and learning about disability; and (4) Co-constructing anti-ableist pedagogies in gymnastics. We conclude with a call for research and practice relating to challenging, disrupting, and transforming ableism in PETE
Exploring perinatal loneliness as a key social determinant of perinatal mental ill health in the UK: findings from a multidisciplinary consensus statement exercise that mapped knowledge about measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions, and agreed future priorities for research, policy and practice
Get PDFObjectives New parents are at increased risk of loneliness, which adversely affects parental and infant health and well-being and has been linked to anincreased likelihood of parental mental illness. In the UK, perinatal mental illness is estimated to cost £8.1bn a year, predominantly due to lasting poor health anddevelopmental consequences for children. The purpose of this consensus statement is to determine the state of this research field, highlighting key issues for researchers, policymakers and those responsible for perinatal mentalhealth services and interventions. We will also highlight knowledge gaps to be addressed in future perinatal loneliness research.Design, setting and participants The Parental Loneliness Research Group held six online meetings between October 2023 and May 2024, attended by academics and practitioners from the UK and USA. Attendees conducted a mapping exercise by appraising published, unpublished and ongoing perinatal lonelinessresearch. The findings were shared with advisory groups, including parents with lived experience of loneliness. A consensus statement was then drafted, reflectingexisting knowledge and gaps in the current evidence about the experience of perinatal loneliness in the first 1001 days.Results A consensus about the definitions, measurement, prevalence, antecedents, impacts and interventions relevant to perinatal loneliness is outlined. Gaps in the literature are highlighted.Conclusions Despite emerging research into perinatal loneliness, it is hard to determine prevalence due to limited analyses of national survey data. Recommendations for future research include secondary data analysis;prioritising equality, diversity and inclusion; reconsidering solutions to perinatal loneliness through a social justice lens; co-producing interventions, and rigorous evaluation of existing interventions
“I’ve not been knocked out, so I’ll probably be fine:” Amateur Rugby players do not know the risks they are taking
Get PDFConcussion is prevalent in British amateur Rugby and there is currently contradicting evidence of the attitudes and knowledge of concussion in Rugby players. As such this study aimed to investigate the reasons for the variance in attitudes and knowledge of concussion in British amateur Rugby. As concussion is a lived experience within sport, we utilised qualitative interviews using reflexive thematic analysis to assess data obtained from nine amateur Rugby players that had sustained over three concussions to understand if they are aware of the known risks associated with such injuries. Our findings show that poor duty of care from those around the player with suspected concussion was prevalent, and that this poor duty of care enables poor attitudes toward and limited knowledge of concussion. It was also discovered that a lack of education could explain this poor duty of care that is offered to Rugby players by non-players. Poor duty of care and lack of education encourage continued participation from the player with suspected concussion. When there are examples of World Rugby failing in their duty of care of the best players in the world, it is unsurprising that players and non-players in the amateur game follow suit. Therefore, the education of both players and non-players in amateur Rugby matches is paramount, as well as World Rugby improving their concussion practices, in tackling the poor attitudes and knowledge base that we see in the amateur Rugby game
EPOCH Tutorials - Reading Resistance: A Practical Guide to Working with The National Archives Ancient Petitions Collection (SC 8)
No full textIntrigued by Issue 20's article on the politics of Plantagenet petitions? Read on for a practical guide to working with petitions in your own research
Physical Activity Volume and Intensity for Healthy Body Mass Index and Cardiorespiratory Fitness: Enhancing the Translation of Children's and Adolescents' Accelerometer Physical Activity Reference Values
Get PDFThis secondary data analysis aimed to demonstrate the utility of physical activity (PA) wrist accelerometer outcome reference values by identifying the PA volume (average acceleration) and intensity distribution (intensity gradient) centiles and values associated with body mass index (BMI) status (normal weight, overweight, and obese) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF, multistage shuttle runs test) status (low, moderate, and high) in children and adolescents. We assessed the dose–response associations between average acceleration and intensity gradient with BMI and CRF outcomes using restricted cubic spline linear mixed models. To aid translation of the findings, we calculated the increases in average acceleration needed to shift exemplar participants to “healthy” weight and CRF status. For boys and girls, there was a nonlinear inverse association between average acceleration and BMI. In both sexes, a positive dose–response was observed between average acceleration and intensity gradient with CRF. The values and centiles of average acceleration and intensity gradient that aligned with BMI and CRF statuses were identified. To move from an average acceleration associated with overweight to healthy weight, 10‐year‐old boys and girls would need to increase daily average acceleration by 23 mg (~30‐min running) and 16 mg (~18‐min running), respectively. These findings further demonstrate the importance of PA in relation to BMI and CRF and the utility of PA reference values for the translation of accelerometer outcomes into meaningful information. Additional studies demonstrating how PA reference values can be used to track behaviors and provide insights into health associations could inform practice further
Retrieval-Augmented Generation to Generate Knowledge Assets and Creation of Action Drivers
Get PDFThis article explores the application of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to enhance the creation of knowledge assets and develop actionable insights from complex datasets. It begins by contextualising the limitations of large language models (LLMs), notably their knowledge cut-offs and hallucination tendencies, and it will present RAG as a promising solution that integrates external knowledge retrieval to improve factual accuracy and relevance. This study reviews current RAG architectures, including naïve and advanced models, emphasising techniques such as optimised indexing, query refinement, metadata utilisation, and the incorporation of autonomous AI agents in agentic RAG systems. Methodologies for effective data preprocessing, semantic-aware chunking, and retrieval strategies—such as multihop retrieval and reranking—are also discussed to address challenges such as irrelevant retrieval and semantic fragmentation. This work further examines embedding models, notably the use of state-of-the-art vector representations, to facilitate precise similarity searches within knowledge bases. A case study demonstrates the deployment of an RAG pipeline for analysing multisheet datasets, highlighting challenges in data structuring, prompt engineering, and ensuring output consistency
“Constantly overwhelmed and desperate for help”: Parents’ experiences of supporting their autistic child with mental health difficulties in the United Kingdom
Get PDFAutistic children and young people are at increased risk of experiencing mental health difficulties, but often face delays or barriers to accessing support. While evidence exists regarding parents’ experiences of supporting an autistic child, there is a lack of focus on parenting autistic children who are also experiencing mental health difficulties. This is despite the high likelihood of co-occurrence, the increased complexity this can bring, and the potential impact on the parents and their children. Thus, the present study aimed to explore parents’ experiences of supporting their autistic child with mental health difficulties in the United Kingdom (UK). Mixed-methods surveys were completed by 300 parents/carers of autistic children who had previously sought help for their child’s mental health difficulties. Qualitative data were extracted from open-text questions pertaining to parents’ perceived impact of their children’s mental health difficulties on all aspects of their life. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes, along with associated subthemes, were identified, namely 1) Deteriorating parental wellbeing, 2) The knock-on effect on the whole family, and 3) A lack of support. Findings underscore the significant challenges faced by parents, as they were often left to manage their child’s deteriorating mental health without sufficient professional support. The emotional and physical toll on parents was thought to be exacerbated by long waiting times, inadequate support services, and a lack of understanding of autism within healthcare and educational systems. There is an urgent need for more neuroaffirmative, personalised approaches to supporting autistic children and their families, along with timely access to effective interventions. By ensuring earlier intervention and reducing systemic barriers, both the mental health of children and the wellbeing of their families can be significantly improved, ultimately fostering better outcomes for all involved
Developments in Ukraine peace talks (April to June 2025)
No full textWhat are the latest developments in talks over a potential peace settlement in Ukraine
Coproducing a school-based mental health literacy programme: Exploring the views and experiences of primary school children in north-west England
Get PDFThe last decade has seen a growth in school-based mental health promotion and prevention programmes alongside an increasing expectation that the design and research of such programmes should be coproduced with children and young people to prioritise their voices. However, little is known about how such programmes are designed and experienced by children and young people, particularly in primary schools. This paper addresses this by reporting on original data from focus groups with 65 children (aged 6-11 years) from 10 primary schools in north-west England who took part in the coproduction of a sport- and art-based MHL programme, Tackling the Blues (TtB), during the 2022/23 school year. Three themes were generated: (i) “It's a funner way of learning stuff”: Appealing and age-appropriate coproduction; (ii) “We all have our own opinions, and it just matters … what we think”: Respect for different forms of knowledge and creating empowering and safe spaces; and (iii) “The only people that get to choose in this school is (sic) the teachers”: Positive and equitable relationships and respect for autonomy and choice. Our findings provide novel insight into children’s experiences of coproduction for the development of research and practical advantages of the design of school-based MHL programmes intended to benefit children. We conclude that for the benefits of coproduction to be fully realised, a diverse group of key stakeholders must be committed to sharing power and enacting a set of agreed principles to promote the design and development of future contextually and culturally relevant programmes
The Paradox of Ethical AI-Assisted Research
Get PDFUsing AI as a research assistant promises to provide significant benefits to researchers in terms of time-saving, efficiency, and reduced workload. However, as is well known, AI generated content and outputs are unreliable. Hence human supervision and oversight of the outputs of AI are necessary to perform AI-assisted research ethically. This paper argues that proper human oversight and supervision of many significant research tasks performed by AI research assistants involve, in many ways, performing the very tasks that were meant to be outsourced to AI in the first place. This is the paradox of ethical AI-assisted research. If used ethically and responsibly, AI does not provide significant net benefits in terms of increased efficiency and time-saving for researchers. But then there is relatively little gain in using AI as a research assistant. I then highlight significant risks for researchers and academics who engage in unethical AI-assisted research. Finally, I claim that the role of AI in ethical and responsible academic research should be reserved for secondary, as opposed to primary, research tasks