8383 research outputs found
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Relative age effect in male and female elite international amateur boxing
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Sports Sciences on 21/10/2024, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2024.2413722This study aimed to determine whether the Relative Age Effect (RAE) was present in different sexes and age categories in 12 elite-level international amateur boxing competitions. A total of 4813 athletes competing between 2013 and 2022 were analysed. Athletes were split into four quartiles according to their birth date and compared to the expected (equal) birth date distribution using chi-squared goodness of fit. The results revealed greater RAE prevalence in youth compared to the senior group. RAE was more prominent in males compared to females, with the female group showing an inverse RAE trend. Odds ratio (OR) showed an overrepresentation of male boxers born in Q1 compared to Q4 (OR > 1.19-1.33), while senior female boxers presented an inverse trend (OR < 0.95). Odds Ratios for medallists within the youth group were greater than 1.07 (except Q3 × Q4 = 0.93) highlighting an overrepresentation of boxers born earlier in the year. A shift in strategy to reduce the RAE in young boxers whereby coaches focus less on the short-term pursuit of sporting success is encouraged. Organisations and coaches should increase awareness and provide systematic education around RAE, whilst creating equal competitive opportunities for all young boxers to reduce the extent of RAE in boxing.N/
Habitus, capital and the shaping of sporting careers: A qualitative study of Norwegian youth
Get PDF© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupPrevious research has established that youngsters’ sporting repertoires become particularly malleable during the early- to mid-teenage years, shifting from formal, organized sports to more informal, recreational activities. This study investigated the processes underlying these changes, using the theoretical framework of social and cultural capital and habitus. Forty-one individual qualitative interviews, with 17–18-year-old middle-class Norwegians, were conducted in order to understand the role of family, friends, and peers in shaping sporting repertoires and careers. Through three analytical themes – ‘Shifting forms, shifting orientations’; ‘Sporting capital and family cultures of sport’; and Sporting repertoires and the growing significance of friends’ – our findings lend support to notions of family cultures as important in initiating young people’s sporting careers by building their sports-related ‘cultural capital’ and establishing sporting routines. However, our findings also indicate that such primary socialization into sport may not be enough for building the sporting repertoires necessary for lifelong engagement. The development of sporting habitus tends to be facilitated by social capital in the form of friendship networks within which friends become increasingly significant in shaping sporting repertoires. Understanding the dynamism and mutability of sporting repertoires during the youth life-stage is crucial for developing sports policies that foster lifelong sports engagement.Unfunde
Understanding Buddhism: A Guide for Teachers
No full textThis book is not available on ChesterRepBuddhism is often the religion that teachers have the least confidence in teaching despite being the sixth largest religion in the UK and being commonly regarded as one of the six major religions to be taught in schools throughout the country. This book explores the beliefs and practices of Buddhism as a lived religion in the UK. This book engages with Buddhist beliefs and practices and provides students and teachers with the confidence to address misconceptions and recognise the importance of beliefs in the lives of believers, in a way that will enable readers to go forward with confidence. Aspects of Buddhism explored include the concepts that form the central beliefs of Buddhism, and then the expression of these beliefs in worship, daily life, and the ethics of Buddhists in the modern day. Each chapter includes authentic voices of believers today and provides opportunities for the reader to consider the concepts and how they can be respected and taught and in the classroom.
The book forms part of the Teaching Religions and Worldviews series of guides, each one designed to build teachers' confidence and expertise in teaching a different religion or worldview in the classroom..Unfunde
Thinking about drawing as cause and consequence: Practical approaches in time
Get PDF© 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Art & Design Education published by National Society for Education in Art and Design and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.This paper, a conversation between Simon Grennan, Carol Wild, Miranda Matthews and Claire Penketh, explores drawing as cause and consequence, applying Grennan’s thinking to three drawings as a means of exploring and exemplifying ideas discussed in his keynote at the iJADE Conference: Time in 2023. Following an initial introduction to key ideas that were raised for that audience, the paper explores the ways that three particular drawings operate, with temporality offering one of a number of ways that they may be explored. The paper centres on three questions: (i) What might students learn are the different purposes
of drawing? (ii) How might students adjudicate the status of drawn traces? (iii) How might students adjudicate the value of drawing activities?Unfunde
Key Terms in Comics Studies
No full textThis edited book is not available on ChesterRepKey Terms in Comics Studies is a glossary of over 300 terms and critical concepts currently used in the Anglophone academic study of comics, including those from other languages that are currently adopted and used in English.Conference: "The Commercial Business of Comics: Transforming Authorship, Distribution, Technology, Story and Aesthetics in the Global North and South." | Funder: British Academ
Navigating food fraud: A survey of Nigerian consumer knowledge and attitudes
Get PDF© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Food fraud presents a growing threat globally, impacting consumer health; food safety; and brand credibility. The key motivation for food fraud is usually an economic or financial advantage. Economically motivated food fraud (EMA) is the illegal deception, deliberate and intentional substitution or addition of a substance in a food product, which may pose a possible health risk to unsuspecting consumers. This study aims to assess the awareness and attitudes of Nigerian consumers towards food authenticity and the regulatory measures in place to combat food adulteration. The study comprised 2160 respondents who were asked about their knowledge of high-profile food fraud incidents, frequently adulterated products, and their opinions of the effects of food fraud and preventative measures. The findings of this study revealed that more than a third of respondents were unfamiliar with the term “food fraud”. However, they were aware of local high-profile cases, such as “plastic rice” and counterfeit dairy products. Most participants relied on point-of-sale information for assessing food authenticity, with street vendors being viewed as potential sources of food adulteration. The study also found that more than half of the respondents were concerned about food fraud regardless of whether it involved local or imported products. A wide variety of food items were identified as prone to adulteration or fraudulent activity. These included alcoholic drinks, dairy products, honey, rice, and tomato paste, amongst others. These findings highlight the need for improved consumer awareness, regulatory effectiveness, and remediation efforts to combat food fraud in Nigeria.Unfunde
An investigation of the effects of retinoids and mesenchymal stem/stromal cell secretomes on embryonic stem cells
No full textGastrulation is a landmark event in early embryonic development that marks the formation of the three germ layers. Spatiotemporal activation of retinoic acid receptors (RAR) α, β, and γ is crucial for proper embryonic development. In addition, mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC) secretomes encompass trophic biological factors that provide global signalling pathways capable of regulating immature cell types via paracrine activities. The overall aim of this study was to explore (i) the influence of ATRA and highly selective agonists and antagonists for RARα and RARγ in the regulation of gastrulation and (ii) how the paracrine activity of MSCs regulates immature cell types during development. Transcriptome analysis conducted on a pre-existing mouse ES cell gastruloid dataset (Rossi et al., 2021) revealed the level of expression of RARα and RARγ in developing gastruloids identified heterogeneous cell types. UMAPs showed that mRNA RARα expression was ubiquitous. In contrast, RARγ mRNA expression was restricted to primitive cell types and strongly associated with the expression of stem cell markers, namely Pou5f1 (Oct4), Nanog, Sox2, Sox1, and Tbxt (Brachyury) at days 4, 5, and 6 of gastruloid development. Immunofluorescence (IF) revealed presence of RARα and RARγ in mouse ES cells, both primarily localised within nucleus, with some detected in the cytoplasm. Treatment of mouse ES cells with RARγ agonist significantly reduced ES cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas RARα agonism mirrors control effect. Additionally, WNT-induced gastruloid axial elongation was blocked by ATRA and RARγ agonist treatment. Conversely, 10 nM RARα agonist treatment slightly enhanced elongation, though not statistically significant. Surprisingly, 100 nM RARα agonist disrupted gastruloid elongation. Co-addition of RARγ antagonist to override the effect of ATRA blockage showed marginal effect. Serum-supplemented and serum-free (sf) MSC conditioned medium (CM) bound to the culture substratum had no significant impact on ES cell proliferation but was marginally better than control. 24 h serum or serum-free MSC CM had a comparable effect on ES cell proliferation to their respective control conditions, whereas late harvested MSC CM (48 h and 72 h) inhibited ES cell proliferation. Proteomic analysis of sfMSC CM identified 38 proteins consistently secreted across 48 h sfMSC CM triplicate samples. GO revealed enrichment in excreted factors and extracellular factors, while KEGG pathways identified 12 associated biological processes. STRING analysis revealed a complex, functionally interconnected protein-protein interaction (PPI), highlighting sfMSC secretome coordinated functional roles. Investigation of the paracrine activity of 48 h sfMSC secretomes on mouse ES gastruloids revealed induction of gastruloid elongation structure, albeit at ~58% frequency. Overall, the studies presented in this thesis have made use of a highly tractable gastruloid system to show that signals provided by RARα and RARγ, WNT/β-catenin, and extracellular signalling as provided by paracrine activities of MSC secretomes are integrated to mediate events during gastruloid development
Why are organisational approvals needed for low-risk staff studies in the UK? Procedures, barriers, and burdens
Get PDFBackground: Health care staff should be given the opportunity to participate in research, but recruiting clinicians via their employing organisation is not always straightforward or quick in the UK. Unlike many countries outside the UK, very low-risk survey, interview or focus group studies can be subject to some of the same governance approval procedures as interventional studies. An exemplar study carried out by the NIHR funded Palliative Care Research Partnership North West Coast is used to highlight the challenges still faced by researchers and health care organisations when setting up a low-risk staff study across multiple NHS and non-NHS sites. Methods: A study database was created and information was collected on the first point of contact with the clinical site, Health Research Authority (HRA) and local organisational approval times, time from trust or hospice agreement to the first survey participant recruited and overall site survey recruitment numbers. Descriptive statistics (median, range) were used to analyse these data. Results: Across participating NHS trusts, it took a median of 147.5 days (range 99–195) from initial contact with the local collaborator to recruitment of the first survey participant and hospice sites mirrored these lengthy timescales (median 142 days, range 110–202). The lengthiest delays in the HRA approval process were the period between asking NHS trusts to assess whether they had capacity and capability to support the research and them granting local agreement. Local approval times varied between trusts and settings which may indicate organisations are applying national complex guidance differently. Conclusions: There is the potential for HRA processes to use more NHS resources than the research study itself when recruiting to a low-risk staff study across multiple organisations. There is a need to reduce unnecessary administrative burden and bureaucracy to give clinicians and research staff more opportunities to participate in research, and to free up NHS R&D departments, research nurses and clinicians to focus on more demanding and patient focused research studies. Hospices need standardised guidance on how to assess the risk of being involved in low-risk research without adopting the unnecessarily complex systems that are currently used within the NHS.This project is funded by the NIHR Palliative and End of Life Care Research Partnerships Funding Committee [NIHR135334]
Science fiction and Posthumanism in the Anthropocene
Get PDFIntroductory chapter to Science fiction and Posthumanism in the AnthropoceneUnfunde
Defining the Role of the Fire and Rescue Service in Mental Health Support for Older Adults: A Qualitative Study
Get PDF© 2024 The Author(s). Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Introduction: Anxiety and depression in older adults (60+ years of age) are under‐diagnosed and under‐treated. Older adults are less likely to seek help for these problems due to a lack of awareness, difficulty accessing health care due to availability or disability and fear of loss of independence. Existing points of contact between older adults and non‐traditional services, for example, the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS), could provide opportunities to support help‐seeking for mental ill‐health. The FRS conduct Home Fire Safety Visits (HFSVs) with older adults and are well positioned to provide health‐related support. This study examines a range of perspectives on the potential role of the FRS in the identification of, and signposting for, anxiety and depression in older adults. Methods: This was a qualitative study carried out using mixed methods in West Midlands, UK. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with older adults and health and social care providers (practitioners, managers, commissioners) to explore the acceptability of the FRS expanding its role to detect and signpost for anxiety and depression in older adults. Observations examined delivery of existing HFSVs to older adults. Data were combined and analysed using a reflexive thematic approach. Results: Eighteen health and social care providers and 8 older adults were interviewed; 10 HFSVs were observed. Two overarching themes were identified: (1) Potential role for the FRS and (2) Operationalising identification of mental health problems by FRS. Interviews and observations demonstrated how HFSVs offer a suitable opportunity to start conversations about mental health. All interview participants felt that although the FRS would be well placed to deliver an intervention, they would require training, support and a referral pathway co‐produced with and supported by health and social care partners. Conclusion: A whole‐system approach is needed if the FRS are to expand HFSVs to identify mental health problems in older adults and provide signposting to appropriate services. Patient or Public Contribution: J.S. is a public co‐investigator. A Patient Advisory Group contributed to the initial funding application, design and conduct of the study, including data analysis and advice on dissemination.NIHR [Research for Patient Benefit (NIHR:201967)
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