5112 research outputs found
Sort by
Perceptual, thermoregulatory and performance effects Of menthol gel application in trained triathletes exercising in hot conditions:Sweat response and exercise performance
Get PDFPurpose. Topical menthol application improves thermal perception and enhances performance but reduces sweat production in hot environments. In the aquatic environment, where sweat evaporation is of limited thermoregulatory benefit (i.e., minimal evaporation) and leads to dehydration and cardiovascular strain, downregulating thermoregulatory sweating may have little consequence but preserve hydration status and improve subsequent performance especially in air (i.e., after 1st transition in triathlon); we tested this hypothesis. Method. Eight trained triathletes (36 (5) yrs; height 1.77 (0.1) m; 73.9 (8.0) kg) completed two experimental conditions with prior whole-body application of menthol GEL (40g, 3.5% menthol) contrasted to NO-GEL. The protocol comprised 30-minute swimming (@85% 400 m PB) in tropical water (29 °C) followed by a 20 km self-paced cycling time-trial (TT). Measures were deep body temperature (gastrointestinal pill; TGI), skin temperature (Tskin), sweat production, RPE, thermal sensation (TS) and comfort (TC). Paired (t-test) and ANOVA compared data (0.05 alpha level). Results. Wetbulb globe temperature equated to ‘red flag’ conditions - heat injury potential for all. Terminal TGI was 38.8 (0.3) °C and 38.8 (0.7) °C and TT performance was 39:36 (04:31) and 40:53 (05:53) minutes in the GEL and NO-GEL conditions respectively (p = .340; 95% CI -222 to 88 s; d = -.22). Sweat production increased in the GEL condition 1140 (257) mL; NO-GEL 961 (202) mL (t = 2.482, p = .042; 95% CI 08 to 349 mL; d = .77). Conclusion. Menthol improved perception but increased thermoregulatory sweating and didn’t enhance performance (partial hypothesis support)
Effectiveness of spirituality-centered cognitive therapy and contextual transdiagnostic approach on marital mutuality, dissociative experiences, and cancer related fatigue in women after mastectomy
No full textIntroductionBreast cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. Post-mastectomy, women often experience heightened emotional distress, diminished quality of life, and interpersonal challenges.ObjectivesThis study seeks to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of Spirituality-Centered Cognitive Therapy (SCT) and the Contextual Transdiagnostic Approach (CTA) on marital mutuality, dissociative experiences, and cancer-related fatigue in women after mastectomy.MethodsIn this randomized controlled trial, 132 women, selected based on inclusion criteria from an initial pool of 167, were randomly assigned to two intervention groups: SCT (n=66) and CTA (n=66). Each group underwent eight 60-minute therapeutic sessions over four weeks, held twice weekly from August to September 2022. Standardized questionnaires assessing marital mutuality, dissociative experiences, and cancer-related fatigue were administered pre- and post-intervention. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with repeated measures was employed for data analysis using SPSS-24.ResultsCTA demonstrated superior effectiveness in reducing dissociative experiences compared to SCT. Conversely, reductions in cancer-related fatigue were more pronounced in the SCT group. Improvements in marital mutuality were comparable between the two therapeutic approaches.ConclusionsBoth SCT and CTA proved effective in enhancing psychological and relational well-being in women post-mastectomy. However, SCT more effectively alleviated cancer-related fatigue, while CTA showed greater efficacy in addressing dissociative experiences. These findings highlight the potential of integrating tailored therapeutic approaches to improve quality of life for breast cancer survivors
Entrepreneurship education in Egypt
No full textThe article traces the development of Entrepreneurship Education in Egypt from its origins circa 2008 to 2023. It shows how entrepreneurship has become an integral component of the country's economic development strategy and the role that Higher Education is playing. While acknowledging that considerable progress has been made it calls for further development
Is the police service still a long-term career choice?:perspectives of new recruits
No full textPurpose: This article is timely due to the current high attrition of officers (National Police Chiefs Council, 2023) and will explore the literature surrounding retention and attrition of officers, the impact of this on trust and confidence, and the need to understand the reasons why officers join the service coupled with their expectations of the police as a long-term career (>10 years).Design/methodology/approach - This research will describe a study using a survey that examined views of 120 new recruits from 3 UK police forces on why they joined the service.Findings - It notes that many still see the police service as a long-term career and indicate little intention of leaving, raising further questions surrounding the reasons for the current high attrition rates. It concludes with where police forces could focus to improve retention, suggesting some reasons for the attrition such as low job satisfaction, poor welfare and organisation culture, and some practical suggestions as to where police forces could focus to improve retention.Research limitations/implications -Albeit this research was sent to a small sample (n = 127) and did not address shift work issues or welfare support, it will serve as a foundational pilot. The research initial findings can inform future studies with more detailed analyses and targeted strategies to enhance officer retention and public trust in the police force.Practical implications: The research aims to provide insights into how recruitment motivations and job satisfaction impact long-term retention.Social implications: This research highlights the significance of examining the reasons for new recruits joining the service, and of implementing retention strategies prioritising stability, officer support, and community engagement to cultivate a trusting relationship between the police and the public.Originality/valueThis study was designed to examine if current new police officers still view the police as a long-term career choice and to identify if their reasons for joining the service have changed with the current political climate of policing in the UK
Fasting, faith and flexibility:supporting Muslim students and staff during Ramadan in higher education
No full textThe role of SEND assessment and review teams:Education Select Committee call for evidence on solving the SEND crisis
No full textThe artificial representation of the post-industrial working class:precarity, isolation and the intelligence of capitalism
No full textDuring and soon after the UK General Elections on the 4th of July 2024, social media users expressed their disdain for the outgoing Conservative government. A series of artificially generated photographs were posted of social media platforms mainly on X, Reddit and Instagram depicting prominent Conservative politicians doing jobs and performing tasks generally associated with low paid migrant labour and considered to be demeaning for senior political figures. Under the titles “AI Re-imagines Tory Politicians in Regular Life”, “AI has the created the politician as an immigrant”, and “Tories without the privilege” this series of images show former ministers and senior Conservatives as Deliveroo riders, janitors, warehouse workers and taxi drivers among other recognisable social roles and professions allegedly below the high status of a politician.Would it be safe to assume that the AI reimagining of Conservative politicians as immigrant workers is separate from reality? The fact that the reimagining in question is done by AI points towards the examination of the relationship between the imaginary, the real and the artificial with reference to the institution of work. The paper examines this relationship by constructing a theoretical and analytical framework around Karl Marx’s theory of surplus value and Terry Eagleton’s ideologization of the aesthetic. The paper makes three distinctive yet interconnected arguments. First, this series of AI generated images communicates in a strong and dismissive manner the low social status associated with employment in the gig economy. Second, the ethnic background of Conservative politicians reinforces the dominant political thinking and popular belief that essential service jobs are and should only be performed by immigrants. Third, AI is not designed to imitate biological intelligence but to reproduce the dominant ideology by imitating the existing social and labour relations
First impressions matter:the effects of third-party reports, experience, and qualifications on students’ expectancies of a lecturer’s competency
No full textExpectancy formation is an inevitable consequence of lecturer-student interactions and these expectancies may influence student-lecturer relationships. Despite this, little is known about the formation of expectancies within HE. This study aimed to address this gap and investigate the effects of a lecturer's teaching experience, applied experience, qualifications, and the presence of a third party on students’ expectancies of the lecturer’s competency. A cross-sectional between subjects experiment was conducted with 234 undergraduate students (Mage: 20.73 years) who watched one of ten video vignettes within which a lecturer’s teaching and applied experience, qualifications, and the presence of a third party were manipulated. Students rated their expectancies of the lecturer using the Perceived Lecturer Competency Scale and Perceived Influence Scale. ANOVAs revealed that an experienced lecturer with higher qualifications was perceived to be significantly more competent in subject knowledge compared with an inexperienced, less qualified lecturer. Applied experience was more influential on students’ expectancies of the lecturer’s competency compared with qualification and teaching experience. There was no significant difference in students’ expectancies of a lecturer when they introduced themselves compared to them being introduced by a third party when using the same dynamic cues. These findings suggest that lecturers can harness the information cues that they display to students during initial interactions, which is likely to promote the formation of positive expectancies and optimise student-lecturer relationships
Radical intellectuals, racist hegemony, and grassroots activism:towards a holistic, anti-racist political movement
No full textRecent scholarship on race and racism, and their connections with the political, ideological, economic, and social realities in which we live has moved forward in leaps and bounds. Influential new ideas have emerged, along with the recognition of alternative ways of knowing (epistemologies), revitalizing radical scholarship, and giving it renewed relevance and energy. Concurrently, the Western world, including the United States and United Kingdom, has seen a resurgence in racist, political rhetoric, and the rise of the far right. Against this backdrop, we provide a precis of contemporary anti-racist scholarship together with a discussion of the politically motived, media-driven, populist opposition to it. We outline the contributions that contemporary anti-racist thinkers have made to the debate on race and racism and what is to be done about it. We examine how some new, radical anti-racist paradigms, transformative frameworks that fundamentally challenge and seek to dismantle systemic racism and deeply rooted structures of racial inequality, are perceived as being antagonistic. However, we also argue that anti-racist, radical thought is beginning to converge in powerful ways, pointing towards new forms of resistance. In what follows, we argue for a radical form of anti-racism that eschews the artificial dichotomy between theorizing and activism, bridging the academy with the community, to strengthen the movement. In this conceptual piece, we draw upon anti-racist concepts such as ‘White Supremacy’ and ‘the Psychosis of Whiteness’ to inform the conversation
