Thesis and Research Data Repository Leeds Beckett University
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New Colonialists of Africa? – Tackling the White Saviour Complex in Contemporary Voluntourism
No full textThis critical reflection aims to explore the increasing phenomenon of voluntourism in the tourist industry, with western tourists spending months or even years volunteering in African or other third world countries. It also attempts to examine how these attitudes tie into people’s understandings of the differences between how both “First” and “Third” world countries work and explores the unconscious privilege and unequal race relations bundled up in these “selfless” acts. The contribution draws on colonialist theories alongside theories on the sociology of tourism in order to examine how a distorted postmodern form of the tourist gaze has led to the growth of this sector. Doing so a discourse analysis will be employed to study the marketing of voluntourism on the most popular websites and unpacking the language and assumptions implicit in how it is sold to the public.</p
Training loads and player wellness in youth sport: Implications for illness
No full textDespite the athlete monitoring cycle becoming increasingly popular within sport, very little evidence exists with regards to the relationships present between its measures or its relationship with illness incidence in youth athletes. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the true predictive ability of an integrated athlete monitoring cycle model, incorporating measures of the training dose (training load), training recovery (sleep) and training response (wellness questionnaires (DWB and PRS), countermovement jumps and salivary IgA (s-IgA)), with regards to illness incidence in youth athletes. Study 1 outlined the reliability and usefulness of DWB (poor/marginal), PRS (poor/marginal) and CMJ (good/useful). Despite study 1’s findings, study 2 showed that CMJ was not suitable for use as a training response measure in youth athletes. Studies 3 and 4 supported the use of the sleep quality subscale as a training recovery measure rather than within the DWB training response measure (which was reduced to the four item DWBno-sleep). The overall DWBno-sleep score, fatigue, stress and mood were statistically related to the training recovery, whereas only muscle soreness was related to the training dose. Statistically, PRS was related to both the training dose and recovery. Despite the presence of these statistical relationships, only the effect of training load, including match exposure, on PRS was practically interpretable. Unfortunately, technical issues prevented the true predictive ability of an integrated athlete monitoring cycle model with regards to illness incidence being tested. However, study 5 showed that s-IgA measures could not accurately predict illness in youth athletes. Furthermore, analysis of the longitudinal trends of s-IgA, DWBno-sleep and PRS showed that the subjective fatigue/wellness measures were more responsive to qualitative events than objective measures of immune function. Overall, the results of this thesis provide support for the use of the integrated athlete monitoring cycle in youth athletes, particularly when subjective training response measures are included. However, future research needs to consider the true predictive ability of the proposed integrated athlete monitoring cycle model with regards to illness incidence
Anorexia Nervosa: A Late Modern Mind Game
No full textAnthony Giddens begins his public lectures by rhetorically asking: ‘What do the following have in common? Mad cow disease, the troubles of Lloyds Insurance, the Nick Leeson affair [at Barings Bank], genetically modified crops, global warming, the notion that red wine is good for you and anxieties about declining sperm counts?’ (Garland, 2003: 48).</p
Mail Order Brides: Choice or Constraint?
No full textSince the 1980s, “mail order brides” have risen in prevalence. The term refers to women who are advertised and then selected by men for marriage. In today’s information society, characterised by the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), online websites and agencies are the dominant platform to find “love”. Typically, white, Western, older men desire younger, Asian women (Seeking Asian Female, 2016). This piece will focus specifically on brides from the Philippines, as the Philippines is the leading source of mail order brides. Approximately, 20,000 women are exported as brides annually (Lloyd, 2000). Significantly, mail order brides are a unique and to many, a bewildering artefact of global inequality across social structures. Filipino women are constrained by inequality such that they seek a subordinate role as it is preferable to poverty and destitution.</p
An Indifference to Indifference?
No full textHistorically, practice within physical education (PE) has tended to treat students the same, without accounting for difference. This has generated much research interest within the field. Importantly, research on difference and experience within PE has commonly adopted a ‘single-issue’ approach, which considers individual identity positions in isolation (Penney, 2002). For example, there have been many studies which consider the influence of disability or ethnicity or gender (for example, Hills, 2007; Barker, 2017; Maher et al., 2019a). In contrast, this research attends to notions of difference within PE by utilising an intersectional framework. This builds on a growing body of research in PE that adopts this framework (for example, Oliver and Hamzeh, 2010; Stride, 2014; Haegele et al., 2018; Thorjussen and Sisjord, 2018). Inspired by the core principles of intersectionality, outlined by Hill Collins and Bilge (2016), I specifically focus upon the intersections of disability, ethnicity and gender to explore how multiple differences influence girls’ experiences in PE. Data generation took place over a two-year period in a secondary school in the north of England. This school has higher than the national average numbers of ethnic-minority students (90%) and students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (15%). Thirteen girls aged 11 and 12 took part in a qualitative research project, ‘PE and Me’, which included focus group discussions and the generation of research artefacts. Data were also generated through observations before, during and after the ‘PE and Me’ project. Data analysis involved two phases. First, I adopted a storyteller position, presenting each student’s experience in the form of a narrative. Second, I took a narrative analyst position (Smith, 2016a), drawing out patterns and themes emerging from all of the narratives. The findings demonstrate the complex and fluid nature of each girl’s experience in PE. Experiences are influenced by a myriad of factors, including the structure and delivery of PE, the context of the school, and peer relationships. The complex construction of identity leads to different experiences as the girls move across spaces and interact with different people, leading to moments of privilege and marginalisation. These findings have important implications for future research within PE, calling for a more nuanced understanding of sameness and difference, and a more critical examination of the methodological approaches used when researching with students. Moreover, this thesis calls for practitioners to better recognise the ways in which differences are created through practice, to ensure a more equitable experience is had by all.No description supplied</p
Neoliberalism and the Commodification of Mental Illness in Surveillance Society
No full textNeoliberal ideology has been widely criticised for its focus on the individual and lack of focus on the social (Brohman, 1995). This is true in many ways, but in this essay, I will examine how neoliberal ideology has individualised mental illness, and obscured social causation. In this critical reflection I will explore the commodification of mental illness and how this is justified by neoliberal ideology. I will also explore how information technologies are increasingly being used by individuals to check symptoms, and how this selfsurveillance may be a factor in the rising prescription of medicines. Finally, I will reflect on whether the preference for medicines is in the interest of the individual or profit.</p
A Narrative Analysis of 'Morally Challenging Behaviour' Experienced by Donors and Recipients in Online Sperm Donation Communities
No full textDonor conception has become an increasingly socially acceptable way to deal with issues of male sterility or as a means to start a family for single women and same-sex couples. Sperm banks and fertility clinics offer a range of treatments, privately and on the NHS, but issues of accessibility and choice have led many donors and recipients to contact one another directly through connection websites and social media. While such websites are not illegal, they are unregulated. Previous research (McQuoid, 2015) suggests that recipients of online sperm may be at risk of abuse or harassment from donors when using such sites. This thesis applies a narrative approach to explore the occurrence of ‘morally challenging behaviour’ that sperm donors and recipients may have observed or experienced within the online sperm donation community. The aims of the research are to: 1) learn about donor perceptions of the kinds of norms and values that are sanctioned by the ‘online sperm donation community’ and the degree to which they condone or reject these behaviours; and 2) to discuss any ‘less than positive’ experiences recipients may have had whilst engaging with online sperm donors, the way in which they respond to difficult or traumatic experiences, and the endurance of their sense of self in such scenarios. Three prolific donors from the UK, USA and Australia respectively, and five UK-based recipients were interviewed in two separate studies using an adaptation of Brown et al.’s (1989) Real Life Moral Choice and Conflict Interview and Wengraf’s (2004) Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method. The interviews were analysed using Carol Gilligan’s Listening Guide Method of Psychological Inquiry (2015), which included four ‘listenings’ covering ‘narrative events,’ ‘the self,’ and the ‘listenings’ for the existence of two conflicting or contrapuntal voices (i.e., voices in counterpoint). Issues raised as part of the third and fourth listenings for the donors related to a rejection of fertility clinics, sexual motivations of donors, recipient screening and anonymity and, for the recipients, related to the acceptance/mitigation of risks, exploitation, harassment, and safety. The findings of these studies support McQuoid’s (2015) research which suggests that recipients may be at risk of abusive, threatening, or coercive behaviours from sperm donors in an unregulated context. This highlights the need for safeguarding and regulatory frameworks to protect recipients seeking to obtain sperm online.</p
Pre-registration children’s nurse education in play in both academic and clinical arenas: a mixed methods study
No full textUnder direction from the Nursing Midwifery Council, nurse education is becoming more generic. With an increasing adult focus there is a risk and concern that issues relevant to children’s nursing may become diluted or removed altogether. When a child is hospitalised, play becomes an important link to home. It is a way they can take control of what is potentially a very painful and distressing time for them. There is concern that children’s nurses may not be taught to assess and plan for the children’s play needs - a key part of being able to provide holistic nursing care.
The aim was to investigate the education which pre-registration children’s nurses receive in play in both academic and clinical arenas. To achieve this three research questions were identified. First what experiences of play do pre-registration children’s nurses have whilst out on clinical placement? Secondly what are pre-registration children’s nurses taught in university concerning play? Third, what education in play would pre-registration children’s nurses like to receive to prepare them for their clinical role?
A mixed methods design was utilised. Programme specifications and focus groups have been examined using inductive content analysis and thematic analysis. This was the first time that both programme specifications have been examined, and the opinions and experiences of student children’s nurses around play researched.
Concerning programme specifications, only 17% cite play. Those that do, make clear links between play and communication and distraction. They do not contain any reference to therapeutic play or the benefits which play in hospital can bring. Focus group discussion centred around two main categories, ‘play within hospital’ and ‘education needs.’
Recommendations are made around a number of areas: the content of teaching of play within the curriculum, placement documentation, increased nurse’s awareness of the importance of play, parents being supported to play with their children in hospital, and the importance and use of the hospital playroom.</p
Evaluating the dietary intake, energy expenditure and balance of young professional male rugby league players across the season
No full textThe primary aim of this thesis was to evaluate the dietary intake, energy expenditure and energy balance of young professional male rugby league players across the season. Twenty participants from one European Super League U19 academy were recruited. Prior to assessing ‘free-living’ dietary intake, study 1 investigated the validity of a traditional and contemporary dietary assessment tool to measure the total energy intake of young professional rugby league players (n =12). Findings highlighted a small and moderate mean bias for under-reporting by Snap- N-Send
a very likely higher (4.96 (0.97) MJ; ES =0.30 (0.07); p =0.0021) total energy expenditure across
a five-day microcycle matched for physical activity demands.
Findings highlighted the large resting metabolic rates (11.63 (2.46) MJ.day-1), total energy expenditures
(18.93 (3.18) MJ.day-1) and moderate physical activity levels (1.6 (0.2)) of players. Players were in a self-reported negative energy balance (-1.63 (1.73) MJ.day-1; p =0.233) and lost body mass (-0.65 (0.78) kg; p =0.076). To support a desired increase in player body mass, case study 1 established the large energy requirements (resting metabolic rate: 14.7 MJ.day-1; total energy expenditure: 22.4 MJ.day-1; physical activity level: 1.5) of one young professional rugby league player across a two-week pre-season microcycle, using the Behaviour Change Wheel to design and implement a behavioural intervention over a twelve week period. Study 4
Findings highlighted the large resting metabolic rates (10.26 (1.49) MJ.day-1), total energy
expenditures (16.15 (0.77) MJ.day-1) and moderate physical activity levels (1.6 (0.2)) of players. Players were in a self-reported negative energy balance (-0.70 (1.11) MJ.day-1; p =0.145) and lost body mass (-0.3 (0.6) kg; p =0.222). Sub-analysis within study 4 (n = 5), demonstrated an almost certainly higher total energy expenditure across a pre-season (study 3) vs. in-season microcycle (0.02 MJ.kg.BM- 1; ES =1.14 (0.41); p =0.004). Study 5 and study 6 utilised data collected within study 3 and 4 to investigate the validity of wearable technology or Snap-N-Send to measure the total energy expenditure or total energy intake of young professional rugby league players across ‘true’ free-living conditions (n = 8), respectively. To support appropriate energy intakes following match-play, case study 2 investigated three-day changes in resting metabolic rate following a competitive young professional RL match (n = 5). Findings demonstrated almost certainly, most likely and likely increases in resting metabolic rate at 24 (2.38 (1.02) MJ.day-1; ES =1.06 (0.43); p =0.006), 48 (1.44 (0.93) MJ.day-1; ES =0.62 (0.38); p =0.025) and 72 hours (0.94 (0.78) MJ.day-1;ES =0.40 (0.32); p =0.055) after baseline. In conclusion, studies presented within this thesis establish the large resting and total energy requirements of young professional male rugby league players across the season, which are increased in the days following training-based collisions and competitive match-play. Players require support to consistently achieve desired manipulations of energy balance required for optimal physical development across pivotal youth development periods.</p
To Deceive and Conquer: How Neoliberal UK and USA Coercively Mobilized the Concept of Freedom
No full textDrawing on ideas about neoliberalism, information society and globalisation, this critical review will focus on how countries such as the UK and USA employed neo-liberalism to mobilize the concept and idea of freedom to pursue policies of war, free markets and austerity. Thalos (2016) argues that the theory of freedom is a social construction, and that freedom is not just given to us, but rather a political concept and to understand freedom we must understand the constraints that are restricting people from being ‘free’.</p