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Following or forging a way through the world: audio walks and the making of place
No full textAudio walks are increasingly used as tools for city boosterism and tourist promotion, in part because they offer alternative invitations into place; they seemingly personalise the urban experience, they allow multiple stories of place to emerge and they present ‘insider’ knowledge that may be quirky and different. Yet in their desire to open up the city, these audio walks tend to produce particular kinds of place. They present very smooth, polished, choreographed and linearised invitations to place, wherein knowledge is assembled not developed, a route is given not made and, to borrow from Ingold (2007), we become passengers not wayfarers. This paper argues that audio walks are not always like this, they can be more than a geographical given or an instrument of navigation that gives us place ready-made. It suggests, through a focus on the creation and reception of a community-based audio walk project within Cardiff, South Wales, that the material line of the audio walk conceals and creates other worlds. These worlds, whether real and imagined, past, present or future, arise through the entanglement of lived experiences that happen in the moment of the walk’s making and doing. Thus, attending to this ‘making’ and ‘doing’, reveals the audio walk as a living and lively encounter with the world; it is an emotional and affective way of making not merely representing place.Parts of the research on which this paper draws was funded by Beacon for Wales
The theatricality of accountability: The operation of governing bodies in schools
No full textThe shift from political leadership to new forms of governance has led to the
establishment of locally appointed bodies in many public organizations including schools.
From a dramaturgical perspective, this article focuses on the accountability of these new
bodies, in particular on the codes of accountability. Using school governing bodies to
illustrate, the article evaluates whether accountability in practice might be likened to a
theatrical performance. The findings presented are relevant to school governing bodies and there may be wider application in public sector boards more generally
Abbreviated resonant frequency training to augment heart rate variability and enhance on-demand emotional regulation in elite sport support staff
No full textSupport and management staff in elite sport experience work-related stress and emotional disturbance to a similar extent as athletes (Fletcher and Wagstaff 2009). The resonant frequency breathing technique (Lehrer et al. 2000) can inhibit autonomic changes associated with stressful situations or events and as such provides a potential emotional regulation tool. The present study utilised five practitioner-led heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback sessions and home practice via mobile applications to train support and management staff (n = 9) in resonant frequency breathing techniques. Although baseline HRV did not change from pre to post training, participants increased total HRV (i.e., SDNN; p = .006), parasympathetic HRV (i.e., RMSSD; p = .028) and HRV reflective of baroreflex function (i.e., low frequency power; p = .018) while accurately performing resonant frequency breathing without a breath pacer. Post-intervention questionnaire data revealed an increase (p = .032) in habitual use of somatic strategies for emotional regulation, and social validation data suggested that the technique enhanced emotional regulation at home, work and during international competition. HRV biofeedback and the resonant frequency technique provided an on-demand emotional regulation technique for elite sport support and management staff.ERDF A4B fundin
Is there evidence to support the use of the angle of peak torque as a marker of hamstring injury and re-injury risk?
No full textHamstring strain injuries are the predominant injury in many sports, costing athletes and clubs a significant financial and performance burden; therefore, the ability to identify and intervene with individuals who are considered at high risk of injury is important. One measure that has grown in popularity as an outcome variable following hamstring intervention/prevention studies and rehabilitation is the angle of peak knee flexor torque. This current opinion article will firstly introduce the measure and the processes behind it. Second, the article will summarise how the angle of peak knee flexor torque has been suggested to measure hamstring strain injury risk. Finally, the numerous limitations will be presented and the article will outline how these limitations may influence the usefulness of the angle of peak knee flexor torque measure. These include the lack of muscle specificity, the common concentric contraction mode of assessment, reliability of the measure, various neural contributions (such as rate of force development and neuromuscular inhibition), as well as the lack of prospective data showing any predictive value in the measure
Observation interventions as a means to manipulate collective efficacy in groups
No full textThe purpose of this multistudy investigation was to examine observation as an intervention for the manipulation of individual collective efficacy beliefs. Study 1 compared the effects of positive, neutral, and negative video footage of practice trials from an obstacle course task on collective efficacy beliefs in assigned groups. The content of the observation intervention (i.e., positive, neutral, and negative video footage) significantly influenced the direction of change in collective efficacy (p < .05). Study 2 assessed the influence of content familiarity (own team/sport vs. unfamiliar team/sport) on individual collective efficacy perceptions when observing positive footage of competitive basketball performance. Collective efficacy significantly increased for both the familiar and unfamiliar conditions postintervention, with the largest increase for the familiar condition (p < .05). The studies support the use of observation as an intervention to enhance individual perceptions of collective efficacy in group-based activities. The findings suggest that observations of any group displaying positive group characteristics are likely to increase collective efficacy beliefs; however, observation of one's own team leads to the greatest increases
The relationship between imagery function and collective efficacy in elite and non-elite athletes
No full textThis study investigated the relationship between imagery function and individual perceptions of collective efficacy as a function of skill level. Elite (n = 70) and non elite (n = 71) athletes from a number of interactive team sports completed the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ) and the Collective Efficacy Inventory (CEI). Multiple hierarchical regression analysis was then used to examine which SIQ sub-scales predicted individual perceptions of collective efficacy. For the elite sample, Motivational General-Mastery (MG-M) imagery accounted for approximately 17% of the variance in collective efficacy scores. No significant predictions were observed in the non elite sample. The findings suggest MG-M imagery as a potential technique to improve levels of collective efficacy although competitive level may moderate the effectiveness of such interventions
Application of maximum power point tracking to increase the power production and treatment efficiency of a continuously operated flat-plate microbial fuel cell
No full textA logic-based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and LabVIEWTM interface for digitally controlled variable resistive load were developed and applied to a continuously operating flat-plate microbial fuel cell (FPM). The interaction between the designed MPPT algorithm and electrochemically active microbial performance on the electrode was demonstrated to track the maximal performance of FPM system. MPPT could dynamically derive the optimal performance from varied operating conditions of FPM such as organic concentration, flow rate and sampling interval, and produce a maximum power density of 88.0 Wm-3. The results could provide essential information to build an automatic control strategy to achieve the maximum performance from field scale microbial fuel cells for applications to sustainable bioenergy recovery from various biomass feedstocks.1. A Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method based on Boolean logic was developed
2. A MPPT control was applied to a continuously operating flat-plate MFC (FPM)
3. The MPPT maximized the power density and bioelectrochemical activity of FPM
4. Direct and in-situ control of microbial fuel cell system was demonstratedThis study was supported by the Mid-Career Researcher Program (2013069183) through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), and the MFC Research and Business Development (R&BD) center co-funded with K-water, Hanhwa E&C and Taeyoung E&C, and was also supported by the NERC RRfW MeteoRR project, UK (NE/L0 14106/1)
Emergent Verbal Behavior in Preschool Children Learning a Second Language
No full textWe evaluated the emergence of untaught second-language skills following directly taught listener and intraverbal responses. Three preschool children were taught first-language (English) listener responses (e.g., “Point to the horse”) and second-language (Welsh) intraverbal responses (e.g., “What is horse in Welsh?” [ceffyl]). After intervention, increases in untaught second-language tacts (e.g., “What is this in Welsh?” [ceffyl]) and listener responses (e.g., “Point to the ceffyl”) were observed for all three participants
An analysis of processes and strategies used by qualified nurses in assessing the mental capacity of acutely and critically ill hospitalised adult patients
No full textIntroduction: Mental capacity is the ability to understand, reason, and exercise choice by making informed decisions. Acute and/or critical illness may impact upon the decision making abilities of hospitalised adult patients. Assessment of patients for reduced, fluctuating or absent capacity gives the healthcare team the legal authority to assess best interests and to make treatment decisions without consent under this justification. Qualified nurses are the ever-present professional group in acute and critical care settings. They may initiate assessments of mental capacity which may be influential in the ways that the decision making of patients is facilitated or substituted. There are, however, few studies that focus on processes employed by them in this area in fast-moving clinical settings, although it is recognised that physical illness may have a significant impact upon capacity status.
Aim: To explore processes and strategies used by qualified nurses in assessing the mental capacity of acutely and critically ill hospitalised adult patients.
Methods: A qualitative grounded theory approach was used, informed by the methodological pathway of Corbin and Strauss (2008), to explore assessment processes used by 13 registered nurses employed in acute and critical care environments in a district general hospital in South Wales. Data were collected through a series of digitally recorded, semi-structured interviews which were transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed leading to a central category
Findings/Discussion: Informal, intuitive, nurse-led processes were used to assess the mental capacity of patients which resulted in an articulation of “something not quite right” and which combined processes for the assessment of the physiological and mental capacity status of patients. A dynamic, holistic approach was evident which recognised the need to support the rights, dignity and autonomy of patients. This suggested the assessment of mental capacity was not a lone process but one that contributed to a cyclical process in which multi-professional assessment was necessary and ongoing, and in which qualified nurses had a co-ordinating role. This led to the development of the theory, Nurse Managed Patient Focused Assessment and Care.
Conclusion: This study has provided an insight into nurse-led assessment processes that appear to be hidden due to their informal and instinctive nature. Processes appear to be holistic, patient-centred and dynamic. The developed theory, Nurse Managed Patient Focused Assessment and Care, provides a framework to explain processes and strategies used by qualified nurses in assessing mental capacity of, and caring for, adult patients with acute and/or critical illness. This framework may inform clinical practice in this area and can serve as a basis of an assessment tool. It may also inform programmes of education for nurses in the need to enhance critical analysis of what has been identified as a fundamental role of the qualified nurse