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The use of individualised, media-based sleep hygiene education for professional female footballers
Full text linkSleep hygiene can be defined as practicing habits that facilitate sleep; poor sleep hygiene is common among elite athletes, and improving this can be one way to enhance sleep indices. Given the large inter-individual variability of sleep, there is a need for further investigation into individualised sleep hygiene for elite female athletes, with consideration for the practical application of the method. Using a self-controlled time series design with repeated measures, n = 16 professional female footballers completed a 9-week study during mid-season. Monitoring of sleep (actigraphy, self-report) occurred at week 1, 4, 7 and 9-a control period occurred at week 2 and 3, and a subsequent intervention period occurred at weeks 5 and 6. Based on baseline sleep monitoring, media-based messages were designed with the purpose of giving a singular sleep hygiene message; all participants received these individualised messages daily across the 2-week intervention period at a standardised time of 8.00 p.m., with the intention of them actioning the sleep hygiene point. One-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was conducted to assess the differences between control period, intervention period and follow-up for each measured variable. Significant differences were observed post-intervention for sleep efficiency (p < 0.001) and sleep latency (p < 0.001), whereas the athlete sleep behaviour questionnaire score significantly improved in the follow-up period (week 9) post intervention (p = 0.039). This is the first study to present this novel method of individualised sleep hygiene education for elite female athletes and is also the first study to demonstrate the use of sleep hygiene interventions to improve sleep factors for female athletes' mid-season. This demonstrates a promising, time-efficient approach to sleep hygiene education, with a potentially wide scope of application, as well as demonstrating there is indeed potential for elite female athletes to gain sleep improvements mid-season
New Zealand blackcurrant extract has no effect on physiological and cardiovascular responses during low-intensity sustained intermittent isometric contractions in men
No full textPurpose: Intake of anthocyanin-rich supplements such as New Zealand blackcurrant (NZBC) extract for 7 days showed beneficial effects on cardiovascular function at rest and during moderate and high-intensity exercise. The effects of 4- and 7-day intake of 600 mg of NZBC extract on cardiovascular function, femoral artery diameter, muscle force, muscle activity and muscle fatigue during low-intensity sustained intermittent isometric contractions were examined. Methods: Fifteen healthy males (age: 25±6 years, height: 180±7 cm, body mass: 82±8 kg) visited the laboratory on five occasions (familiarisation, days 4 and 7 of placebo (PLA) or NZBC extract intake). Each visit required the participants to hold the isometric contraction of the m.quadriceps femoris at 10% of their isometric maximal voluntary contraction (iMVC) for 5 bouts of 2-min. At the end of each 2-min, an iMVC was performed with subsequent 20 s rest before starting a subsequent bout. Electromyography, isometric muscle force, hemodynamic and ultrasound data were recorded. Results: At days 4 and 7, there were no effects for NZBC extract on systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, stroke volume, total peripheral resistance and femoral artery diameter. Although the isometric contraction protocol resulted in fatigue, there were no differences between PLA and NZBC extract conditions for isometric muscle force and muscle activity at days 4 and 7 (P>0.05). Conclusion: NZBC extract had no effect on cardiovascular function and exercise-induced fatigue during repeated bouts of low-intensity sustained intermittent isometric contractions of the m.quadriceps femoris, maybe due to the low demand of the exercise model
Foundations of expected points in rugby union: a methodological approach
Full text linkThis study explores the feasibility of an Expected Points metric for rugby union, aiming to shift performance analysis from descriptive indicators to a predictive metric of possession quality. Notational analysis was conducted on 132 Premiership Rugby matches, producing a dataset of 35,199 unique phases of play containing variables such as team in possession, pitch location, play type, score differences, time remaining and scoring outcomes. Four machine learning algorithms were explored to predict scoring outcomes: multinomial logistic regression, random forest, support vector machine and k-nearest neighbors. After extensive feature engineering and hyperparameter optimisation, the best-performing model achieved 39.7% accuracy, below a literature-derived baseline for practical usability (44.3%), making it unsuitable for applied contexts. A key challenge was predicting minority scoring outcomes due to severe class imbalance. SMOTE was explored to address this imbalance, resulting in a lower accuracy (35.7%) but an improved 34.4% F1-score. This study highlights the limitations of modelling scoring outcomes in open-play team sports, challenging the predominant positivist paradigm in sports performance analysis. The methodology provides critical foundational groundwork and a benchmark for future research to build upon. It recommends exploring advanced samplers for minority classes, expanded feature sets and alternative modelling techniques, such as recurrent neural networks
Ways of seeing trees: in memory John Berger
No full textOpening with a quote from a John Berger poem, and unfolding to the soundtrack of a Hindustani raag bhairav, this short lyrical filmpoem alludes to Berger's famous early work of art criticism Ways of Seeing - and pays tribute to his work as writer, artist and activist for global environmental justice. Audio Description notes and recordings are available via the link below
Investigating success in the transition to university: a systematic review of operationalisations of 'success'
No full textThe transition to university is a challenging period for students that has a range of negative consequences for them if it is not successful. Many stakeholders, not to mention the students themselves, want to ensure this transition is as successful as possible to ensure positive outcomes. As such, a body of research has attempted to explore this transition with the aim of identifying profiles of students, potential risk factors, and to tailor support and university induction activities. Though noble in intention, the literature body is highly disparate and contains methodological inconsistencies and flaws that make navigating the findings and moving to the development of practical applications for ensuring successful student transition difficult. The present paper consolidates part of a larger systematic review (preregistered on PROSPERO, CRD42022330515) to highlight the diverse range of operationalisations of said student transition ‘success’. From the 55 retained papers, 34 different measures are discussed in relation to 10 higher order domains. We propose a more parsimonious framework for a tripartite definition of success including a balance between academic outcomes, psychosocial development, and health and wellbeing
Sustaining student concentration: the effectiveness of micro-breaks in a classroom setting
Full text linkThis study investigates the impact of break frequency on students' attention and quiz performance during university classes, grounded in cognitive load theory and the concept of spaced learning. Involving 253 second-year undergraduates, it reveals significant effects of break conditions on performance, with micro-break participants outperforming others and sustaining better performance over time. The study employed a mixed-methods design, comparing traditional break periods with more frequent micro-breaks. Results showed that while performance declined across seminars for both conditions, aligning with vigilance literature, the micro-break condition exhibited more consistent performance. These findings contribute to our understanding of cognitive load management and the spacing effect in educational settings. The study highlights the importance of addressing attention spans in classrooms and suggests that incorporating micro-breaks may enhance students' engagement and academic achievement. Implications for instructional design in higher education are discussed, offering evidence-based strategies for educators to optimize the learning experience
Good definitions: embodying autism through film poetry
Full text linkNaomi Foyle explores how her late autism assessment in 2020 provoked the revelation that performance has paradoxically enabled her to ‘unmask’: to bodily express her hidden autistic self. Discussing traits including gender fluidity, frank sexuality, hyperempathy, hypersensitivity, Foyle reflects on spoken word and audio visual work including the filmpoems 'Good Definition' (2008) and 'Ways of Seeing Trees' (2025), and the music video 'Boas and Blindfolds', produced with various collaborators.
A blog post published in the Online Gallery of Poetry Off the Page, Around the Globe (University of Vienna and Literaturhaus Wien)
Narcissism and passive-aggression: testing the moderating effect of perceived ostracism
No full textThe present study examined the relationship between narcissism and passive aggressive behaviors, which were operationalized as three conceptually distinct sub-components: inducing criticism, ostracizing others, and sabotaging behavior. The study also explored the potential moderating role of perceived ostracism (i.e., feeling ignored or excluded by others). Consistent with our hypothesis, data from an online sample (N= 219) showed that narcissism was positively related to passive aggressive behaviors. However, a significant moderating effect of perceived ostracism was observed in relation to inducing criticism, but not in relation to ostracizing others or engaging in sabotage. Specifically, at high levels of perceived ostracism there was a stronger relationship between narcissism and inducing criticism compared to when perceived ostracism was low. As such, perceived ostracism may act to amplify this passive aggressive behavior in narcissists. Implications of the present study are discussed
Criminal law and criminal justice: morals and policy
No full textCriminal Law and Criminal Justice: Morals and Policy goes beyond the traditional criminal law textbook and invites students to examine underpinning theory. It questions why we criminalise certain behaviour and whether the decisions made by the courts can be justified according to legal principle, morals and policy.
Providing an overview not only of the legal doctrine of criminal law, but also of the underpinning theory behind the legal doctrine, the book encourages critical thinking around the context behind and implementation of legal decisions. It applies this to current issues, such as respect for personal autonomy, prevention of domestic abuse and discouraging gang activity, whilst providing a clear overview of the law relating to actus reus, mens rea, property offences, homicide, non-fatal offences, sexual offences, accessorial liability, and defences. Using hypothetical scenarios students will develop an understanding of why certain rules exist and then be able to critically analyse why certain behaviour is criminalised. An in-depth study of several key cases will show how the rules and theory play out in practice and students will examine how morals and policy have influenced these decisions.
Featuring thinking points as well as further reading suggestions, this textbook is suitable for all students of criminal law, as well as for those studying jurisprudence
An ergonomic assessment of British Army Infantry career training courses to identify opportunities for evidence-based interventions to enhance role-related physical fitness
Full text linkAn ergonomic assessment was conducted to quantify the activities and physical demands during the British Army’s 8-week Platoon Sergeant and Section Commander Battle Courses (PSBC, SCBC). Twenty PSBC and 18 SCBC male infantry soldiers volunteered. Body Mass (BM) was measured pre- and post-course, with course physical activity levels (PAL), energy expenditure (EE) and sleep profiles quantified using tri-axial accelerometery. The courses were predominately field-based, involving slow and rapid load carriage tasks, digging and moving casualties. Average daily EE (SCBC = 4020 ± 599 vs. PSBC = 3876 ± 525 kcal.day−1; p>0.05) and BM decreases were similar (SCBC = −3.9 ± 2.9 vs. PSBC = −2.0 ± 2.7 kg; p>0.05). Daily PAL was higher for SCBC than PSBC (2.1 ± 0.3 vs. 2.0 ± 0.3, p=0.041), likely due to greater moderate-vigorous activity levels (p=0.003). Daily sleep durations were variable, but similar across courses (≈5.1 hr.day−1; p>0.05). These data confirm these courses are arduous and can be used to inform course-specific physical screening tests and training to increase course success