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The analysis of physical performance during official competitions in professional English football. Do positions, game locations, and results influence players’ game demands?
Get PDFBeato, M, Youngs, A, and Costin, AJ. The analysis of physical performance during official competitions in professional English football: Do positions, game locations, and results influence players’ game demands? J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2023—This study aimed, first, to verify if physical parameters were different between players' positions during official matches in English professional football, and second, if the game location (H and A) or results (W, L, D) affected players' physical performance. Twenty-five male professional football players of the same team were included in this data analysis (age = 27 ± 9 years) during the 2022–23 season. Players were divided into positions: center backs, wide backs, center midfielders, attacking midfielders, and strikers. The external load parameters were distance covered, high-speed running (HSR), sprinting distance, accelerations, decelerations, and high metabolic load distance (HMLD, meters > 25.5 w·kg−1) that were monitored using global navigation satellite systems Apex (STATSports). Linear mixed models' analysis for positions reported a significant difference in total distance (p = 0.011), HSR (p < 0.001), sprinting distance (p < 0.001), accelerations (p = 0.003), decelerations (p = 0.002), and HMLD (p < 0.001). Centre backs showed the lowest physical performance in the metrics analyzed, whereas players in the other positions frequently displayed a similar physical performance. Regarding locations and results, differences were only found between locations for decelerations (p = 0.041) and between results for HMLD (p = 0.010). In conclusion, physical performance was influenced by players' positions, whereas game location or results seem to not affect physical performance during official competitions. Consequently, practitioners can physically prepare their players independently from the location of the match or of the possible game results, whereas specific positional training is requested to optimally prepare their players
The monitoring of readiness to train and perform in female football: current evidence and recommendations for practitioners
Get PDFPurpose: Monitoring player readiness to train and perform is an important practical concept in football. Despite an abundance of research in this area in the male game, to date research is limited in female football. The aims of this study were, firstly, to summarize the current literature on the monitoring of readiness in female football; secondly, to summarize the current evidence regarding the monitoring of the menstrual cycle and its potential impact on physical preparation and performance in female footballers; and thirdly, to offer practical recommendations based on the current evidence for practitioners working with female football players.
Conclusions: Practitioners should include both objective (e.g., heart rate and countermovement jump) and subjective measures (e.g., athlete-reported outcome measures [AROM]) within their monitoring practices. This would allow them to have a better picture of female player’s readiness. Practitioners should assess the reliability of their monitoring (objective and subjective) tools before adopting them with their players. The use of AROM could play a key role in contexts where technology is not available (e.g., in semi-professional and amateur clubs), however, practitioners need to be aware that many single-item AROM instruments have not been properly validated. Finally, tracking the menstrual cycle can identify menstrual dysfunction (e.g., infrequent, or irregular menstruation) that can indicate a state of low energy availability or an underlying gynaecological issue, both of which warrant further investigation by medical practitioners
An evaluation of BERT applied for AIOps
No full textBERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) is a masked language model often used for natural language processing (NLP) applications such as text classification, named entity recognition, and sentiment analysis. Integrating BERT with AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) helps improve the analysis and processing of IT-related data. IT ticket log analysis and classification is one possible application of BERT for AIOps. This poster paper proposes a framework using state-of-art algorithms to classify and predict the severity, Assignment group and Ticket resolution for IT incident prediction. We argue that the proposed framework would accelerate the handling IT incidents with improved accuracy. The experimentation was performed on the IT Service Management (ITSM) dataset containing 500,000 real-time incident descriptions with their encoded labels (Dataset 1) from a reputable IT firm. Our results indicates that transformers models assist IT teams to promptly identify and resolving issues, optimising system performance, and proactively preventing incidents or major outages. Our research aids IT operations teams to concentrate their efforts and resources more effectively by streamlining incident management processes. Besides BERT, we have compared state-of-the-art transformers models such as ERNIE and RoBERTa. The results demonstrate a significant improvement in reducing Mean time to resolution for IT incident outages
Disease trajectories in the Revised Hammersmith Scale in a cohort of untreated patients with spinal muscular atrophy types 2 and 3.
Get PDFSpinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disorder characterised by progressive motor function decline. Motor function is assessed using several functional outcome measures including the Revised Hammersmith Scale (RHS). In this study, we present longitudinal trajectories for the RHS in an international cohort of 149 untreated paediatric SMA 2 and 3 patients (across 531 assessments collected between March 2015 and July 2019). We contextualise these trajectories using both the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale Expanded (HFMSE) and Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM). At baseline, this cohort included 50% females and 15% of patients had undergone spinal fusion surgery. Patient trajectories were modelled using a natural cubic spline with age, sex, and random effects for each patient. RHS and HFMSE scores show similar trends over time in this cohort not receiving disease modifying therapies. The results confirm the strong correlation between the RHS and RULM previously observed in SMA types 2 and 3a. Scoliosis surgery is associated with a reduction of 3 points in the RHS, 4.5 points in the HFMSE for the SMA 2 population, and a reduction of 11.8 points in the RHS, and 13.4 points in the HFMSE for the SMA 3a populations. When comparing the RHS and RULM, there is a lower correlation in the type 3a's than the type 2 patients. In the SMA 2 population, there is no significant difference between the sexes in either the RHS or HFMSE trajectories. There is no significant difference in the RULM trajectory in the SMA 2 or 3a participants by sex. This study demonstrates that the RHS could be used in conjunction with other functional measures such as the RULM to holistically detect SMA disease progression. This will assist with fully understanding changes that occur with treatments, further defining trajectories and therapy outcomes
A survey into the current fitness testing practices of elite male soccer practitioners: from assessment to communicating results
Get PDFThis study provides insight into the current fitness testing practices in elite male soccer. One hundred and two practitioners from professional soccer leagues across 24 countries completed an online survey comprising 29 questions, with five sections: a) background information, b) testing selection, c) testing implementation, d) data analysis, and e) data reporting. Frequency analysis was used to evaluate the responses to fixed response questions and thematic analysis was used for open-ended questions to generate clear and distinct themes. Strength (85%) and aerobic capacity (82%) represent the most frequently assessed physical qualities. Scientific literature (80%) is the most influential factor in testing selection and practitioners conduct fitness testing less frequently than their perceived ideal frequency per season (3.6 ± 2 vs. 4.5 ± 2). Time and competitive schedule were the greatest barriers to fitness testing administration. Practitioners mostly used a ‘hybrid’ approach (45%) to fitness testing, blending ‘traditional’ (i.e., a day dedicated to testing) and ‘integrated’ (i.e., testing within regular training sessions) methods. Microsoft Excel is the most used software for data analysis (95%) and visualization (79%). An equal use of the combination of best and mean scores of multiple trials (44%) and the best score (42%) was reported. Comparing a player’s test performance with previous scores (89%) was the most common method for interpreting test results. However, only 38% considered measurement error. Digital displays and verbal feedback are the most common data reporting methods, with different data reporting processes for coaches and players. Practitioners can use data and findings from this study to inform their current testing practices and researchers to further identify areas for investigation, with the overarching aim of developing the field of fitness testing in elite male soccer
The gender debate: is midwifery education ‘women’s work’?
Get PDFThis series of six articles is inspired by themes arising from the Royal College of Midwives State of Midwifery Education report. The series explores the current landscape and challenges in educating the future midwifery workforce, particularly those that pertain to the higher education workforce. This second article highlights some of the inequalities experienced by the majority female midwifery education workforce and their impact, exploring how these inequalities are symptomatic of many of the inequalities women experience more generally within patriarchal structures.
The article examines if midwifery education is ‘women’s work’, and how this can work to impede progression in leadership, research and scholarship for midwifery academics. How midwifery curricula can influence the future academic workforce in dismantling inequality is also considered
Translation and validation of the Hungarian version of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R)
Get PDFBackground
Evidence relating maternal birth experience to a range of maternal and neonatal outcomes is increasingly compelling. Consequently valid and reliable self-report of birth experience from the mothers perspective is critical.
Aim
The current study sought to translate and validate a Hungarian-language version of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R).
Method
Following forward and backwards translation into Hungarian, the Hungarian BSS-R (HU-BSS-R) was administered to women in a major Transylvanian hospital maternity unit within 72 h postpartum. Key psychometric characteristics were then examined in relation to factor structure, divergent and convergent validity, internal consistency, and known-groups discriminant validity.
Results
Two-hundred and thirty-two women completed the HU-BSS-R. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the HU-BSS-R to offer an excellent fit to data for the established tri-dimensional measurement model. The HU-BSS-R was also found to offer excellent convergent and divergent validity and known-groups discriminant validity. No significant differences were observed between internal consistency observations between the current study and the original UK validation study.
Conclusions
The HU-BSS-R is a valid and reliable translation of the original BSS-R, it has proved itself to have excellent psychometric properties and is suitable for use in the Hungarian maternity context
Competing concepts of public value and legitimacy in the police: organisational challenges in the investigation of rape and serious sexual offences
No full textConviction rates for rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) in England and Wales are at an all-time low, with 1.6% of cases resulting in
conviction. Whilst officers value victim care, their ability to support victims is compromised by organisational expectations aimed at regaining
legitimacy. The authors argue that strategies employed to re-establish legitimacy may conflict with wider public value delivery. They question the
application of New Public Management and target setting approaches to evaluate good policing. The paper offers suggestions as to why internal and
external legitimacy is required to achieve transformational change and wider legitimacy in RASSO investigations
Researching local public health priorities in the locked down city using online community focus groups: Reflections and recommendations
Get PDFIn this commentary paper we reflect on our experiences of conducting two qualitative public health projects in Leicester UK around health inequalities and marginalised groups during the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. To contextualise the commentary, we first provide information about Leicester and how and why it was disproportionately affected by the pandemic, as well as describing the origins, aims, and methodologies of the two projects. In the second half, we describe and evaluate some of the adaptations we made to our studies and conclude with suggestions for future qualitative community health research as we adapt to the post-pandemic research landscap
Three-, four- and five-day microcycles: the normality in professional football
Get PDFPurpose: This study aimed to quantify training and match day (MD) load during three-, four- and five-day microcycles in professional adult football, as well as analyzing the effect of the microcycle length on training load produced the day after the match (MD+1) and the day before the match (MD-1).
Methods: The study involved 20 male professional football players whose external and internal load were monitored for a whole season. Training exposure (EXP), total distance covered (TD), high-speed running distance (HSR), sprint distance (SD), individual sprint distance above 80% of the individual maximum velocity (D>80%), number of accelerations (ACC) and decelerations (DEC) were quantified as well as rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and session training load (sRPE-TL).
Results: Microcycles length affected most of the variables of interest: HSR (F = 9.04, p 80% (F = 20.25, p 80% (F = 4.51, p < 0.01), accelerations (F = 2.24, p = 0.06) and decelerations (F = 3.91, p < 0.01).
Conclusions: Coaches seem to be influenced by shorter microcycles in their training proposal, preferring sessions with a reduced muscle impact during shorter microcycles. Independently by the length of the congested fixture microcycle, the daily load seems to decrease when MD approaches