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Performance management of National Sports Organisations: a holistic theoretical model
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Organisational performance of sport organisations has been studied over the last three decades. However, little attention was paid towards performance management (PM) compared to performance measurement. The purpose of this paper is to close this research gap by establishing a holistic perspective for PM of National Sports Organisations (NSOs) that accounts for their uniqueness, the interdependence of their operating systems and their relationship with their environments. Furthermore, this paper presents a holistic model of PM for NSOs.
Design/methodology/approach
The model was developed from a literature review process and uses the macro, meso and micro framework to describe external and internal environmental influences that affect the PM of NSOs.
Findings
The NSO’s ability to respond to the dynamics of their external environment by implementing organisational processes that account for the resources available and their structural designs influences their PM. Furthermore, the ability of the individuals within NSO to create enabling environments for PM influences organisational efficiency and effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
This paper contributes to sport management literature on the PM of NSOs, and informs sport managers on ways to improve organisational performance by implementing holistic approaches to PM.
Originality/value
This is the first study that takes a holistic approach to PM of NSO and depicts the specific elements that play a crucial role in managing NSO’s multi-dimensional performance
Objective Uniaxial Identification of Transition Points in Non-Linear Materials: Sample Application to Porcine Coronary Arteries and the Dependency of Their Pre- and Post-Transitional Moduli with Position
Get PDFThis study aimed to develop an objective method for the elastic characterisation of pre- and post-transitional moduli of left anterior descending (LAD) porcine coronary arteries.
Methods
Eight coronary arteries were divided into proximal, middle and distal test specimens. Specimens underwent uniaxial extension up to 3 mm. Force–displacement measurements were used to determine the induced true stress and stretch for each specimen. A local maximum of the stretch-true stress data was used to identify a transition point. Pre- and post-transitional moduli were calculated up to and from this point, respectively.
Results
The mean pre-transitional moduli for all specimens was 0.76 MPa, as compared to 4.86 MPa for the post-transitional moduli. However, proximal post-transitional moduli were significantly greater than that of middle and distal test specimens (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Post-transitional uniaxial properties of the LAD are dependent on location along the artery. Further, it is feasible to objectively identify a transition point between pre- and post-transitional moduli
Objective assessment of stiffness in Achilles tendinopathy: a novel approach using the MyotonPRO
Get PDFObjectives The aim of this study was to establish quantitative values for asymptomatic and symptomatic Achilles tendons.
Design Cohort study with a single (cross-sectional) time point of patients diagnosed with unilateral Achilles tendinopathy and an asymptomatic group with comparative homogeneity.
Methods A sample of 50 participants: 25 diagnosed with symptomatic unilateral Achilles tendinopathy (AT group) and 25 with asymptomatic Achilles tendons (control group 2). The asymptomatic side of the AT group was used as a control (control group 1). Measurements at 2 cm intervals on the tendon from its insertion at the calcaneum up to the musculotendinous junction were taken non-weight bearing (NWB) and weight bearing (WB) using the MyotonPRO.
Results There was a significant (p<0.005) decrease in natural oscillation frequency (F) at points 2, 3 and 4 of the AT group (NWB condition) and points 2 and 3 for the WB condition. There was a significant (p<0.005) increase in logarithmic decrement (D) at points 2 and 3 signifying a decrease in elasticity. Dynamic stiffness (S) was significantly (p<0.005) reduced in the AT group at points 2 and 3 WB and point 3 WB. There was no significant difference in creep (C) observed between the symptomatic and asymptomatic tendons. There was a significant (p<0.005) increase in mechanical stress relaxation time (R) at point 2 NWB.
There was a correlation between body weight and gender on tendon mechanics, with the symptomatic tendons. No significant differences were observed between the control group 1 and control group 2.
Conclusions The MyotonPRO measured decreased stiffness over a section of the tendon corresponding clinically with Achilles tendinopathy. This may have potential in identifying risk of injury and informing rehabilitation, however further extensive research is required to generate baseline data for specific population groups monitoring variables over time. Age, gender and body mass index appear to have some bearing on the mechanical properties of the tendon but mainly in the tendinopathy group
Smart Systems Implementation in UK Food Manufacturing Companies: A Sustainability Perspective
Get PDFThe UK food industry faces significant challenges to remain sustainable. With major challenges, such as Brexit, on the horizon, companies can no longer rely on a low labour cost workforce to maintain low production costs and achieve economic sustainability. Smart Systems (SS) is being seen as an approach towards achieving significant improvements in both economic and environmental sustainability. However, there is little evidence to indicate whether UK food companies are prepared for the implementation of such systems. The purpose of this research is to explore the applicability of Smart Systems in UK food manufacturing companies, and to identify the key priority areas and improvement levers for the implementation of such systems. A triangulated primary research approach is adopted that includes a questionnaire, follow-up interviews, and visits to 32 food manufacturing companies in the UK. The questionnaire and interviews are guided by a unique measuring instrument that the authors developed that focusses upon SS technologies and systems. This paper makes an original contribution in that it is one of the few academic studies to explore the implementation of SS in the industry, and provides a new perspective on the key drivers and inhibitors of its implementation. The findings suggest that the current turbulence in the industry could be bringing food companies closer to the adoption of such systems; hence, it is a good time to define and develop the optimum SS implementation strategy
Utility of international normative 20 m shuttle run values for identifying youth at increased cardiometabolic risk
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine the ability of international normative centiles for the 20 m shuttle run test (20mSRT) to identify youth at increased cardiometabolic risk. This was a cross-sectional study involving 961 children aged 10–17 years (53% girls) from the United Kingdom. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves determined the discriminatory ability of cardiorespiratory fitness percentiles for predicting increased cardiometabolic risk. ROC analysis demonstrated a significant but poor discriminatory accuracy of cardiorespiratory fitness in identifying low/high cardiometabolic risk in girls (AUC = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.54–0.63; p = 0.04), and in boys (AUC = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.54–0.63; p = 0.03). The cardiorespiratory fitness cut-off associated with high cardiometabolic risk was the 55th percentile (sensitivity = 33.3%; specificity = 84.5%) in girls and the 60th percentile (sensitivity = 42.9%; specificity = 73.6%) in boys. These 20mSRT percentile thresholds can be used to identify children and adolescents who may benefit from lifestyle intervention. Nonetheless, further work involving different populations and cardiometabolic risk scores comprising of different variables are needed to confirm our initial findings
Event futures: innovation, creativity and collaboration
Get PDFThis special issue has at its centre the theme Event Futures: innovation, creativity and
collaboration. This theme was the basis of the Association for Events Management
Education (AEME) annual forum hosted at Cardiff Metropolitan University, 5–7 July 2017.
Accordingly, it is gratifying to see some of the papers presented at the Forum make their
way through the editorial process, to emerge here in published format.
The annual AEME forum and the International Journal of Event and Festival
Management are communication forms. They have a symbiotic role in the future of
events education and research. Events have evolved and changed through time, raising
both challenges and opportunities for the practitioner, the educator and the researcher alike.
It is through a combination of collaborative activity and forwards thinking that the progress
of events will continue to evolve. This special issue offers a record of some of the discussion,
debate and vision of that evolution. The contributing papers highlight current and future
success in academic and applied contexts
Static and Dynamic Lung Volumes in Swimmers and Their Ventilatory Response to Maximal Exercise
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While the static and dynamic lung volumes of active swimmers is often greater than the predicted volume of similarly active non-swimmers, little is known if their ventilatory response to exercise is also different.
Methods
Three groups of anthropometrically matched male adults were recruited, daily active swimmers (n = 15), daily active in fields sport (Rugby and Football) (n = 15), and recreationally active (n = 15). Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) was measured before and after exercise to volitional exhaustion.
Results
Swimmers had significantly larger FVC (6.2 ± 0.6 l, 109 ± 9% pred) than the other groups (5.6 ± 0.5 l, 106 ± 13% pred, 5.5 ± 0.8, 99% pred, the sportsmen and recreational groups, respectively). FEV1 and MVV were not different. While at peak exercise, all groups reached their ventilatory reserve (around 20%), the swimmers had a greater minute ventilation rate than the recreational group (146 ± 19 vs 120 ± 87 l/min), delivering this volume by breathing deeper and slower.
Conclusions
The swimmers utilised their larger static volumes (FVC) differently during exercise by meeting their ventilation volume through long and deep breaths
UBC-Nepal expedition: The use of oral antioxidants does not alter cerebrovascular function at sea-level or high-altitude
Get PDFHypoxia is associated with an increased systemic and cerebral formation of free radicals and associated reactants that may be linked to impaired cerebral vascular function a neurological sequela. To what extent oral antioxidants prophylaxis impacts cerebrovascular function in humans throughout the course of acclimatization to the hypoxia of terrestrial high-altitude has not been examined. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of orally ingested antioxidants at clinically relevant doses (vitamin C, E, and alpha-lipoic acid) on cerebrovascular regulation at sea-level (344 m; n = 12; female n = 2 participants), and at high altitude (5050 m; n = 9; female n = 2), in a randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blinded crossover design. Hypercapnic and hypoxic cerebrovascular reactivity tests of the internal carotid (ICA)] were conducted at sea-level, while global and regional cerebral blood flow [i.e. ICA and vertebral artery (VA)] were assessed after 10–12 days following arrival at 5050 m. At sea-level, acute administration of antioxidants did not alter cerebral hypoxic cerebrovascular reactivity (pre vs. post: 1.5 ± 0.7 vs. 1.2 ± 0.8 %∆CBF/-%∆SpO2; P = 0.96), or cerebral hypercapnic cerebrovascular reactivity (pre vs. post: 5.7 ± 2.0 vs. 5.8 ± 1.9 %∆CBF/∆mmHg; P = 0.33). Furthermore, global cerebral blood flow (P = 0.43), as well as cerebral vascular conductance (ICA P = 0.08; VA P = 0.32), were unaltered at 5050 m following antioxidant administration. In conclusion, these data show that an oral antioxidant cocktail known to attenuate systemic oxidative stress failed to alter cerebrovascular function at sea-level and cerebral blood flow during acclimatization to high-altitude
Influence of myocardial oxygen demand on the coronary vascular response to arterial blood gas changes in humans
Get PDFIt remains unclear if the human coronary vasculature is inherently sensitive to changes in arterial PO2 and PCO2 or if coronary vascular responses are the result of concomitant increases in myocardial O2 consumption/demand (MVO2). We hypothesized that the coronary vascular response to PO2 and PCO2 would be attenuated in healthy men when MVO2 was attenuated with β1-adrenergic receptor blockade. Healthy men (n=11; age: 25 {plus minus} 1 years) received intravenous esmolol (β1-adrenergic receptor antagonist) or volume-matched saline in a double-blind, randomized, crossover study, and were exposed to poikilocapnic hypoxia, isocapnic hypoxia, and hypercapnic hypoxia. Measurements made at baseline and following 5-min of steady state at each gas manipulation included left anterior descending coronary blood velocity (LADV; Doppler echocardiography), heart rate and arterial blood pressure. LADV values at the end of each hypoxic condition were compared between esmolol and placebo. Rate pressure product (RPP) and left-ventricular mechanical energy (MELV) were calculated as indices of MVO2. All gas manipulations augmented RPP, MELV, and LADV but only RPP and MELV were attenuated (4-18%) following β1-adrenergic receptor blockade (P<0.05). Despite attenuated RPP and MELV responses, β1-adrenergic receptor blockade did not attenuate the mean LADV vasodilatory response when compared to placebo during poikilocapnic hypoxia (29.4{plus minus}2.2 vs. 27.3{plus minus}1.6 cm/s) and isocapnic hypoxia (29.5{plus minus}1.5 vs. 30.3{plus minus}2.2 cm/s). Hypercapnic hypoxia elicited a feed-forward coronary dilation that was blocked by β1-adrenergic receptor blockade. These results indicate a direct influence of arterial PO2 on coronary vascular regulation that is independent of MVO2
Survival of the drunkest: The relationship between intrasexual competition and excessive alcohol consumption by university students.
Get PDFRecent evidence has highlighted intrasexual competition as a potential influence on anabolic−androgenic steroid use; however, the potential impact on other substance use behaviors has yet to be explored. This study examined the potential role of intrasexual competition on alcohol consumption at a university, an environment where excessive consumption is the socially desirable norm. In total, N = 223 university students were recruited from a single university in Wales, United Kingdom, and a 2-way between-subjects Analysis of variance was run to determine the relationship between alcohol consumption (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and intrasexual competition (Intrasexual Competition Scale). There was a significant positive association between self-reported alcohol use and levels of intrasexual competition. Further analysis identified this relationship was exclusive to those who did not participate in university sport. The findings of the current study provide further evidence for intrasexual competition as a potential influence on substance use behaviors and highlights that sports participation may be protective against this relationship