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Innovation, Social Capital, and Regional Policy: The Case of the Communities First Programme in Wales
Get PDFThis paper analyses how and why different forms of social capital are associated with different forms of innovation within the Communities First programme in Wales. Quantitative analysis shows that the Communities First programme partnerships analysed in this research are supportive of building both bonding and bridging social capital. Different types of bonding social capital appear to be positively related with two of the three types of innovative activity; it is bridging social capital which is statistically more strongly related to innovation outcomes, with some types of bonding social capital actually negatively related to hidden innovation. Whilst social capital building should not be considered a panacea for increasing levels of innovative activity within policies such as the Communities First programme. The qualitative analysis reveals multiple ways in which the Communities First programme partnerships evaluated are actively encouraging the simultaneous formation of bonding and bridging social capital, with evidence of hidden innovation and in particular social innovation being simultaneously formed. It can be stated, therefore, that regional policy aiming to develop non-traditional forms of innovation should more closely and explicitly reflect the relevance of building and maintaining particular types of bonding and especially bridging social capital
Physiological effects of motor learning strategies to retrain running gait: A pilot study
Get PDFRunning gait retraining has been proposed as a rehabilitation strategy for overuse, running-related injuries (Barton et al., 2016, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50, 513-526) and uses motor learning strategies to facilitate changes in running gait. Whilst risk-reducing effects in biomechanical indicators of overuse injury have been evidenced, the concurrent effects on physiological performance responses are unclear. The aim of the study was to develop an insight into the physiological effects of running gait retraining strategies commonly used in injury rehabilitation. With institutional ethics approval, nine recreational, rearfoot striking runners (mean ± SD age: 24 ± 5 years; height 1.70 ± 7.4m; body mass 68.3 ± 6.2kg) completed three conditions of treadmill running (six min) at 10 km.hr-1, with a five min rest period between conditions. A normal running condition and two intervention conditions using the verbal cues of “run quietly” (quiet) and “run like you are trying to squash oranges” (orange) were completed in a randomised order. The intervention conditions represented external focus of attention and analogy motor learning strategies respectively and involved cues being presented every 30s. Mean oxygen consumption and heart rate during the final two min and mean central (cRPE) and peripheral (pRPE) ratings of perceived exertion were obtained for the cohort during each condition. The orange condition produced the greatest increase in oxygen consumption (2.8%; effect size [ES] 0.51) and heart rate (3.3%; ES 0.53) compared to the normal condition. The quiet condition had similar oxygen consumption (-0.1%; ES 0.04) and heart rate (0.7%; ES 0.11) to the normal condition. Oxygen consumption and heart rate were greater in the orange condition than the quiet (2.9%; 0.81 ES and 2.7%; 0.91 ES, respectively). The orange and quiet conditions had slightly elevated pRPE compared to normal condition (11.4, 11.4 and 10.9 respectively), as well as an elevated cRPE (12.4, 12.0 and 11.6 respectively). An analogy learning strategy was found to have larger effects on physiological indicators of running performance during gait retraining than an external focus of attention, possibly due to underlying biomechanical alterations evidenced in the analogy learning strategy (Gittoes et al., 2017 BASES). The respective effects were reflected in perceived central effort levels and partially reflected in perceived peripheral muscular effort levels. Clinicians implementing running gait retraining to reduce biomechanical risk indicators are encouraged to use analogy cues, but to consider reducing running workload due to the physiological effects associated with this motor learning strategy
Design for circular economy: Developing an action plan for Scotland
Get PDFIn Europe, concern regarding environmental degradation, resource scarcity and price volatility brought
about through traditional linear production methods, coupled with the need to enhance the global
competitiveness of European business has led to an increased focus on creating the framework condi-
tions for a transition to a circular economy. Transition from a linear to circular economy is not
straightforward and there are very few existing examples of the transposition of the EU's
‘
Circular
Economy Action Plan
’
into national or regional policy. This article reports on a project undertaken in
Scotland to develop tangible and realistic policy proposals, aligning market and government needs in
order to create favourable conditions for the public and private sector to adopt circular principles.
Established theory on innovation ecosystems was adapted to map a
‘
Design for a Circular Economy
’
ecosystem in Scotland. Actions to build on system strengths and address weaknesses were co-developed
through interviews, workshops and peer review with key stakeholders in the ecosystem. Twelve actions
were developed addressing four major themes: business support and
fi
nance; skills and education;
promotion and awareness; and policy and regulation. The actions varied in scope from groundwork,
through instigating change to systemic change. The article concludes by summarising a number of good
practices drawn from the experience in Scotland that may be used in other countries looking to develop a
circular economy policy framework
What lies beneath: Fabric and embodiment in Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In
Get PDFThis article investigates discourses about fabric and embodiment in Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In (2011). The aim of the study is to consider how the film’s narrative and mise-en-scène positions fabric as an expression of corporeal vulnerability and subjectivity. Drawing primarily on Warwick and Cavallero’s notion of ‘permeable boundaries’, in the relationship between clothing and bodies, this article argues that Almodovar has interwoven motifs of somatic integrity and dissolution in relation to skin, textiles and film. This investigation proposes that The Skin I Live In offers a compelling interplay of surfaces that is a valuable resource to reflect further on the symbiotic connections between corporeal materiality and fabric
Lower limb stiffness and maximal sprint speed in 11-16-year-old boys
Get PDFThe purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between vertical stiffness, leg stiffness and maximal sprint speed in a large cohort of 11-16-year-old boys. Three-hundred and thirty-six boys undertook a 30 m sprint test using a floor-level optical measurement system, positioned in the final 15 m section. Measures of speed, step length, step frequency, contact time and flight time were directly measured whilst force, displacement, vertical stiffness and leg stiffness, were modeled from contact and flight times, from the two fastest consecutive steps for each participant over two trials. All force, displacement and stiffness variables were significantly correlated with maximal sprint speed (p 0.7) relationship with sprint speed, while vertical center of mass displacement, absolute vertical stiffness, relative peak force, and maximal leg spring displacement had large (r > 0.5) relationships. Relative vertical stiffness and relative peak force did not significantly change with advancing age (p > 0.05), but together with maximal leg spring displacement accounted for 96% of the variance in maximal speed. It appears that relative vertical stiffness and relative peak force are important determinants of sprint speed in boys aged 11-16 years, but are qualities that may need to be trained due to no apparent increases from natural development. Practitioners may wish to utilize training modalities such as plyometrics and resistance training to enable adaptation to these qualities due to their importance as predictors of speed in youth
Movement matters
Get PDFMovement
is the human
communicative
tissue that
weaves
together our
social
anticipations and
creative
aspirations
.
When we consider
movement as a fluid, dynamic
process
of transmission
-
from tacit sensations to more explicit, expressive bids for
communication-it is possible to trace incremental developments of self, culture and
futur
Salivary Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase are Modulated by the Time and Context of Musical Performance
Get PDFAuditioning can cause considerable apprehension for musicians, typically giving rise to a
wide range of physical and mental stress responses irrespective of age, amount of practice
and level of experience. However, studies giving clear and replicable information on these
experiences, in particular the physiological reactions to such psychosocial stress and the
precise timing of that response have been limited. This study sets out to understand
musicians’ endocrinological reactivity and recovery to performing in low- and high-stress
auditions by focusing on the 2 endocrinological pathways: the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal
(HPA) axis and the sympathetic adrenal medullar (SAM). Salivary cortisol (CORT)
and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) samples were collected in 11 musicians (6 men, 5
women) 2 times prior to and 4 times after low- and high-stress conditions, and benchmarked
against musicians’ subjective experience of anxiety. The results reveal peak CORT levels
15 min after the performance, in the high-stress condition. By contrast, the activity in sAA
increased from 1 min before to after the performance, before dropping to levels below with
musicians’ low-stress conditions. This study demonstrates that (a) musical performing
affects both the HPA axis and the SAM system and that these responses are modulated by
the time and condition of performance, and (b) sAA is an important biomarker in understanding
musical performance stress
Reduced blood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses at rest and during exercise in lowlanders during acclimatization to high altitude
Get PDFBlood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses (QIPAVA ) is elevated during exercise at sea level (SL) and at rest in acute normobaric hypoxia. Following high altitude (HA) acclimatization, resting QIPAVA is similar to SL, but it is unknown if this is true during exercise at HA. We reasoned that exercise at HA (5,050 m) would exacerbate QIPAVA due to heightened pulmonary arterial pressure. Using a supine cycle ergometer, seven healthy adults free from intracardiac shunts underwent an incremental exercise test at SL (25, 50, 75% of SL VO2peak ) and at HA (25, 50% of SL VO2peak ). Echocardiography was used to determine cardiac output (Q) and pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and agitated saline contrast was used to determine QIPAVA (bubble score; 0-5). The principal findings were: (1) Q was similar at SL-rest (3.9 +/- 0.47 l min-1 ) compared with HA-rest (4.5 +/- 0.49 l min-1 ; P = 0.382), but increased from rest during both SL and HA exercise (P < 0.001); (2) PASP increased from SL-rest (19.2 +/- 0.7 mmHg) to HA-rest (33.7 +/- 2.8 mmHg; P = 0.001) and, compared with SL, PASP was further elevated during HA exercise (P = 0.003); (3) QIPAVA was increased from SL-rest (0) to HA-rest (median = 1; P = 0.04) and increased from resting values during SL exercise (P < 0.05), but were unchanged during HA exercise (P = 0.91), despite significant increases in Q and PASP. Theoretical modeling of microbubble dissolution suggests that the lack of QIPAVA in response to exercise at HA is unlikely caused by saline contrast instability
Jealousy Levels in Response to Infidelity-Revealing Facebook Messages Depend on Sex, Type of Message and Message Composer: Support for the Evolutionary Psychological Perspective
Get PDFSex differences in how and to what extent jealousy manifests have long been documented by evolutionary psychologists with males showing more pronounced responses to sexual infidelity and females to emotional infidelity. With modern technology facilitating the opportunity for extra-pair relations and the means by which inclinations towards infidelity can be monitored, social media is a fertile ground to test hypotheses derived from evolutionarily informed theories. The current study presented male (n = 21) and female (n = 23) undergraduate participants with realistic, unambiguously sexual and emotional messages both sent and received that had been discovered (imagined) on their partner’s Facebook messenger. Distress scores in response to these messages were measured on a scale of 0–10. Broad support for the evolutionary interpretation of sex differences in jealousy was found with more pronounced sexual jealousy in males, and emotional jealousy in females compared to males being evident. Similarly, salient sex differences were observed highlighting the importance of the composer of the infidelity-revealing message. For example, in females, higher distress was found resulting from the discovery of received (female rival) when compared to sent (male partner) messages, and received messages across sex (females higher). The results are discussed in relation to previous findings and in the context of growing concern relating to relationship dissolution and partner-initiated domestic violence
Bio-banding in Sport: Applications to Competition, Talent Identification, and Strength and Conditioning of Youth Athletes
Get PDFBio-banding is the process of grouping athletes on the basis of attributes associated with growth and maturation, rather than chronological age. Children of the same age may vary considerably in biological maturation with some individuals maturing well in advance or delay of their peers. The timing of maturation has important implications for competition, talent identification and training. Increased awareness and interest in the subject of maturation has sparked a renewed interest in the study and application of bio-banding. This overview describes the purpose and process of bio-banding, potential benefits and limitations, and also presents some recent advances in its application in youth sports