4095 research outputs found
Sort by
Skills Development for the Post-Pandemic Events Industry: The Learning and Teaching of Virtual Events in Higher Education
No full textThis chapter explores learning and teaching experiences in virtual event management. In the face of the corona virus pandemic, the event industry has had to adapt and adjust to survive. One of the ways in which this was done was through the production of virtual events. Likewise, universities preparing graduates for work in event management jobs had to quickly adapt to the changes taking place in industry and turn all ‘live event' assessments into virtual event assessments to ensure graduate employability. This case study addresses the essential skills and knowledge required by graduates to work in virtual event management. It provides commentary on best practices in learning and teaching and the experience of a tutor and students making a quick shift from a face-to-face event assessment to a virtual event assessment at a post-1992 university in the UK. The chapter concludes looking at some of the challenges and opportunities associated with teaching virtual event management in an emergency remote teaching scenario
Examining the Predictors of Mental Ill Health in Esport Competitors
Get PDFFew research studies have examined the predictors of mental ill health in esports. This
study addresses that gap by investigating stressors, sleep, burnout, social phobia anxiety and mental
ill health in esport athletes. An online survey was disseminated to competitive student esport athletes
(n = 313) residing in the UK. The survey included measures of stressors resulting from competing in
esports, sleep quality, burnout, and social phobia, as well as outcome measures of mental ill health.
Hierarchical regression analyses examined these relationships. All the hypotheses were supported,
with stressors significantly predicting sleep quality, burnout, and social phobia anxiety, and stressors,
sleep quality, burnout, and social phobia anxiety were all significant positive predictors of mental ill
health. The strength of these predictions varied, for example, the daytime dysfunction subscale of
sleep was a strong predictor of all outcome variables; two subscales of burnout, reduced sense of
accomplishment and exhaustion significantly predicted each of the three mental ill health outcome
variables, and two subscales of social phobia anxiety, fear and avoidance, significantly predicted
mental ill health. Our study has important implications for player health in esports, highlighting
interventions that could target specific aspects of stress, sleep, burnout, and social phobia anxiety to
improve the mental health of those who compete in esports
Pierre Bourdieu and actor training: Towards decolonising and decentering actor training pedagogies
Get PDFIn response to issues with the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of marginalised communities in the texts used for actor training, actor trainers and scholars have theorised and brought to the studio race, gender, crip, or class critical theories to evaluate the social representations that the actors create with their body, voice, and imagination. Such interventions narrow their scope for valid reasons, but problematise actor training studios that involve trainees with multiple and intersecting identities, both dominant and marginalised. This essay argues that Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social power can sustain a holistic and comparative exploration of how actors can mobilise the positive representation of communities with multiple and intersecting marginalised identities. The first part of the essay brings Bourdieu’s concepts habitus, capital, and field to text-based training thinking and constructs a critical framework to assess actor training practices. The second part of the essay uses the framework to theorise the potential of Bertolt Brecht’s Marx-inspired pedagogy of the gestical actor to decolonise and decenter contemporary actor training. The essay finishes with positioning the Bourdieu-inspired framework among contemporary pedagogies that address social inequalities. It invites actor trainers to utilise theoretical models to mobilise social dynamics in training and explore the actors’ unconscious biases
The Effect of Learning to Drum on Behaviour and Brain Function in Autistic Adolescents
Get PDFThere is an acknowledged need for improved service provision in the context of autism spectrum disorders. Previous studies have demonstrated the positive role drum training can play in improving behavioral outcomes for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral difficulties. However, to date, none of these studies has explored how these behavioral changes translate at the neural level. Our study provides strong evidence that drumming not only reduces hyperactivity and inattention in autistic adolescents but also strengthens functional connectivity in brain regions responsible for inhibitory control and action outcome monitoring
Tailoring sexual health interventions for middle-aged and older adults, including vulnerable populations: A scoping review
Get PDFThis scoping review aims to synthesize existing literature on good practice in sexual health interventions for adults over 45 years and in vulnerable groups. Methods Using PRISMA-ScR guidelines, search terms focused on sexual health, good practice, and vulnerable groups, in over-45s. Results Of the 9 studies that met the inclusion criteria, 7 were focused on HIV and risk reduction. Use of alternative methods of communication, alongside inclusion of behavioral and cognitive measures such as condom use and perceived stigma, was key to tailoring interventions. Conclusion This review highlights the imperative for further research on sexual health interventions with these overlooked populations
Tourism recovery plans by UK Destination Management Organisations (DMOs): a new sustainable chapter, or a return to business-as-usual?
Get PDFThis chapter evaluates the extent to which sustainable principles have been included on the destination recovery plans implemented by British Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) in response to Covid-19 and their subsequent quarantines during the period 2020 – 21. The aim of the chapter is to explore if this pause in activities created by the Covid-19 crisis was used by UK DMOs as an opportunity to develop sustainable destination management plans, or alternatively, led them to prioritise financial income as the key driver in their recovery. The chapter also identifies the goals, motivations, performance indicators and strategies applied by those DMOs which developed post-Covid tourism destination recovery plans, with particular focus on those which have decided to include sustainability elements in their plans. The chapter concludes by developing a set of principles that other Destination Management Organisations could apply when intending to develop sustainable management plans for their destinations in response to future major operational disruptions
Post Sport Programme Journeys: Evidence for Longer Lasting Effects of Sport for Social Change Programmes
Get PDFDespite valid criticism and queries related to the long-lasting effectiveness, monitoring, and evaluation of sport (social) intervention programmes, there persists an almost unarguable perspective that sport inevitably contributes to the positive development of young people. These claims are, admittedly, substantiated by a relatively wide body of work that demonstrates the effectiveness of these types of programmes on a more immediate, lifespan scale of many projects’ (and oftentimes the more prompt, almost instant after-effects) measured capacity. The literature pertaining to longer lasting success, however, is sparser, and it in this sense that this paper/mini review explores this subject and outlines more recent, emerging evidence related to exploring the long-term effectiveness of these types of interventions
Sport injury psychology: An overview and introduction to the special issue
No full textWelcome to this special issue of the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology on Sports Injury Psychology. We introduce this special issue in the knowledge that just over 20 years ago, Britton Brewer was tasked with a similar introduction to write as Guest Editor of the 1998 special issue (Brewer, 1998). At that point in time, Brewer remarked that a special issue was timely given the expanding research interest in sports injury psychology and broadening of the domain to include topics, such as adherence to rehabilitation and interventions to prevent injury. Despite growing interest in the psychology of injury, Brewer highlighted the need for further research, suggesting “there is obviously a great deal more to be learned about the role of psychological factors in the occurrence of and recovery from sports injuries” (p. 2). The previous special edition, therefore, acted as a call to action, challenging researchers to traverse the sports injury landscape, building upon existing knowledge. Nearly 25 years later this special edition opens up a timely question asked by many a traveler, “are we there yet?
‘Overstretched and under-resourced’: the corporate neglect of port welfare services for seafarers
Get PDFIn the context of the provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, this paper draws on new qualitative data collected from seafarers’ welfare centres, charities involved in seafarers’ welfare service provision, seafarers, port chaplains and seafarers’ centre volunteers. It examines the kinds of port-based welfare services currently provided to seafarers, and whether these meet seafarers’ expectations/needs. It provides new data on the perspectives of chaplains and stakeholder organisations in relation to the provision of seafarers’ services and starkly reveals the contemporary funding challenges experienced by these individuals/groups. The paper critically appraises the current reliance by ports, shipping companies, and government entities on the provision of free welfare services for seafarers. It concludes that Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, guidance relating to the funding of seafarers’ welfare services requires strengthening and that the funding of seafarers’ welfare services in ports across the world requires remedial action
A systematic review of match-play characteristics in women’s soccer
Get PDFThis review aimed to (1) systematically review the scientific literature evaluating the match-play characteristics of women’s soccer, (2) determine the methods adopted to quantify match-play characteristics of women’s soccer, and (3) present the physical, technical and tactical characteristics of women’s soccer match-play across age-groups, playing standards and playing positions. A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted in May 2021; keywords relating to the population, soccer and match-play characteristics were used. Studies which quantified physical, technical or tactical performance of women’s soccer players during match-play were included. Excluded studies included adapted match-play formats and training studies. Sixty-nine studies met the eligibility criteria. Studies predominantly quantified match-play characteristics of senior international (n=27) and domestic (n=30) women’s soccer match-play, with only seven studies reporting youth match-play characteristics. Physical (n=47), technical (n=26) and tactical characteristics (n=2) were reported as whole-match (n=65), half-match (n=21), segmental (n=17) or peak (n=8) characteristics. Beyond age-groups, playing standard, and playing position, fourteen studies quantified the impact of contextual factors, such as environment or match outcome, on match-play characteristics. Distance was the most commonly reported variable (n=43), as outfield women’s soccer players covered a total distance of 5480-11160 m during match-play. This systematic review highlights that physical match-performance increases between age-groups and playing standards, and differs between playing positions. However, further research is warranted to understand potential differences in technical and tactical match-performance. Coaches and practitioners can use the evidence presented within this review to inform population-specific practices, however, they should be mindful of important methodological limitations within the literature (e.g. inconsistent velocity and acceleration/deceleration thresholds). Future research should attempt to integrate physical, technical and tactical characteristics as opposed to quantifying characteristics in isolation, to gain a deeper and more holistic insight into match-performance