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Head Acceleration Event Exposure During Elite Men’s and Women’s Rugby Union Training
No full textObjectives
The aim of this study was to describe the incidence and magnitude of head acceleration events (HAEs) during elite men’s and women’s rugby union training for different contact training levels and drill types.
Method
Data were collected during the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons from 203 men and 125 women from 13 clubs using instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) during in-season training. One author reviewed the training videos to identify the contact level and drill type. HAE incidence was calculated per player minute.
Results
For men’s forwards and backs, only 4.7% and 5.8% of HAEs were ≥ 25 g and ≥ 1.5 Krad/s2, and 3.4% and 4.4% for women’s forwards and backs, respectively. The incidence of ≥ 5 g and ≥ 0.4 Krad/s2 was highest during full-contact training for men’s forwards (0.20/min) and backs (0.16/min) and women’s forwards (0.10/min). HAE incidence was 2–3 times higher during repetition-based compared with game-based training drills for men’s forwards (0.25/min vs 0.09/min) and backs (0.22/min vs 0.09/min) and women’s forwards (0.09/min vs 0.04/min) and backs (0.08/min vs 0.03/min). HAE incidences were halved when repetition-based training drills used pads compared with no pads for men’s forwards (0.21/min vs 0.44/min) and backs (0.17/min vs 0.30/min), and women’s forwards (0.06/min vs 0.14/min) and backs (0.06/min vs 0.10/min).
Conclusion
The average HAE incidence (~ 13–20% of weekly HAEs) and magnitude during an in-season training week is very low compared with matches. Opportunities to materially reduce HAE exposure in training are likely more limited than previously assumed. Future research on HAE load and injury, and understanding players’ specific weekly training exposure, may inform effective individual player management
Genetic programming‐based model for estimating maximum pull load of fiber‐reinforced polymer‐to‐concrete bond interfaces with graphical user interface implementation
Get PDFThis study presents a novel, interpretable machine learning framework for predicting the maximum pull load of fiber‐reinforced polymer (FRP) bonded to concrete substrates. A comprehensive test database comprising 983 datasets was gathered from relevant existing studies. The datasets include key input parameters such as concrete compressive strength, bond length, width of FRP sheet, width of concrete block, FRP thickness, and elastic modulus of FRP sheets, with the maximum pull load as the output parameter. Utilizing this curated database, a symbolic regression model based on genetic programming (GP) was developed to uncover the nonlinear relationships among critical variables including axial stiffness of FRP, bond length, and concrete compressive strength. The model's predictive performance was evaluated using standard regression metrics, achieving mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) values below 5 kN, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) slightly above 10%, and coefficient of determination (R2) exceeding 0.90 on both training and testing datasets. These results confirm the model's accuracy and generalizability. Unlike black‐box models, symbolic regression offers an explicit mathematical expression, ensuring transparency and interpretability for engineering applications. To facilitate practical deployment, a user‐friendly graphical user interface (GUI) named MaxPLoad‐FRP‐Concrete‐GPaided‐PredictionModel was developed, enabling practitioners to input key design parameters and obtain immediate, interpretable predictions. This tool serves as a valuable decision‐support system in the structural design and quality control for FRP‐strengthened concrete structures
The MOGBA randomized controlled trial: Evaluation of a complex movement skill intervention for 8-12 year old children in primary school Physical Education
Get PDFA global decline in levels of movement competence and physical activity in children presents the urgent need to look at how to reverse this trend. The Movement Oriented Games Based Assessment (MOGBA) is an intervention designed to improve children’s complex movement skills, based on principles of motor development and assessment theories. There is a positive relationship between children’s movement competence and physical activity (PA), with a further relationship established between PA and childhood obesity. This study aimed to assess how using MOGBA in PE lessons might impact primary children’s movement competence, PA, muscular fitness and self-perceptions of game and physical competence. A cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted involving 229 children (51% girls) from nine different schools located in the north of England. The average age of participants was 9.1 years (SD = 0.21). Participants were randomized at the school level into either the MOGBA intervention group (n = 128 students) or a wait-list control group (n = 101). The MOGBA intervention was delivered over nine weeks during PE lessons by trained deliverers. The main components of the intervention included the implementation of 14 games-based activities, which were designed to support assessment within PE lessons and enhance children’s movement competence. The game-based cards also provided guidance on how to tailor activities to meet the children’s individual needs by manipulating space, effort and relationships. Pre-Post test design was employed, with participants being assessed at baseline and within 7 days post intervention. The assessment included measures of movement competence (Dragon Challenge), in-class PA (accelerometer), muscular fitness (standing long jump and plank), and perceived game and self competence (Game Play Perception Profile and Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children). Findings show that MOGBA had a positive effect on the primary outcome of movement competence (ES: 0.18; 95%CI: -0.02, 0.38; p = 0.071) and a significant positive outcome (ES: 0.30; 95%CI: 0.04, 0.56; p = 0.025) on the way that students perceived their ability in game play. An impact was not observed on in-class PA and muscular fitness. These findings are significant as we know that increased movement competence and game self-perceptions mean children are more likely to engage with future movement, sport and physical activity opportunities. This could positively influence lifelong PA levels and promote better health. Further work should involve teachers and coaches using MOGBA to support children’s movement competence in the hopes of supporting their involvement in sport and PA
Show me the love! Gen Z perceptions of organizations’ love for them
No full textPurpose
Relationship management research within public relations literature highlights the value of organizations gaining stakeholders’ affection for them. However, what has not been explored much is a reciprocal focus on organizations’ affection for – or affective orientation toward – stakeholders. Accordingly, drawing on and extending brand love research within marketing literature, this study explores stakeholders’ (i.e. Gen Z) perceptions of an organization–stakeholder love (OSL) orientation toward them.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on Finnish Gen Z participants’ (n = 290) responses to an online structured interview in which three dimensions of brand love (i.e. intimacy, passion and commitment) were explored.
Findings
Findings indicate that Gen Z perceive an organization demonstrating an OSL orientation toward them when (1) brands/organizations use technology to nurture closer ties with them and (2) organizations take a stand on issues with which they too strongly identify.
Practical implications
Results of the study offer insight into how organizations may convey an affective orientation toward stakeholders in their communication strategies as well as their organizational culture, systems, policies and practices.
Originality/value
The study contributes to relationship management literature by providing some initial empirical evidence on the manifestations of love that young adults in Finland see occurring in contemporary brand–customer relationships, thus contributing to an emerging body of work adopting a stakeholder-centric approach to relationship management
Morality expression drives favorable consumer outcomes for P2P tour guide: The role of elevation, trust, and enjoyment
Get PDFThe emerging peer-to-peer platforms enable individual tour guides to market themselves via online profiles. Given the growing societal interest in responsible tourism, tour guides can utilize online profiles to communicate responsible tourism endeavors that showcase positive moral character. However, how consumers respond to such expressions of responsible conduct is unknown. Through four experiments, we find that a moral self-description (vs. social or control) elicited higher elevation, further enhancing trust and enjoyment, leading to more favorable consumer responses (i.e., booking intention, willingness to pay, and likelihood to recommend). Thus, the underlying mechanisms are explained by elevation, trust, and enjoyment. Moreover, consumers' self-esteem and tour guides' motives are two boundary conditions. Specifically, positive reactions to the tour guide's morality expression are more pronounced among high self-esteem individuals and when the guide is intrinsically motivated. This research contributes to the literature on P2P tourism services and offers practical implications for tourism providers
John Bright in Anglo-American relations: why an English radical became an American hero
No full textThis article explores the development of John Bright’s heroic status in America for his activities in helping to defuse Anglo-American tensions during the American Civil War and his promotion of the Union cause to British audiences. It argues that while revisionists have questioned the extent of Bright’s influence on British public opinion, they overlook his value to Lincoln’s administration as evidence of a putative ‘silent’ pro-northern majority in Britain, and the emotional impact of his oratory on ordinary Americans. Bright therefore acted as an unofficial ambassador from the people of Great Britain to the people of the United States, helping to moderate anti-British feeling. It concludes by considering how Bright’s post-bellum reputation was shaped by tensions between his wartime role and subsequent controversies over free trade
Exploring the factors that influence the delivery of physical education in alternative provision schools in England
Get PDFThere is currently no literature that considers the practicalities of delivering physical education (PE) in alternative provision schools, nor the challenges that this might entail. As such, this paper offers a unique contribution to knowledge by highlighting the key factors that influence the delivery of PE within alternative provision schools in England from the perspectives of practitioners (i.e. those tasked with delivering it). Following a Freedom of Information request, an online survey was distributed to all alternative provision schools in England (n=335, 48 responses). A purposive sample of practitioners (n=14) were then invited to take part in online semi-structured interviews. Qualitative responses from the survey (extracted into an Excel spreadsheet), along with the transcripts from the interviews, were analysed using inductive and deductive procedures. The data were subsequently mapped to the socio-ecological model (McLeroy et al., 1988) to identify what influenced delivery at multiple levels. This included factors at the intrapersonal level (e.g. staff confidence and competence, their pedagogical and content knowledge and feelings of isolation), interpersonal level (e.g. pupil needs/abilities, their behaviour and trauma, confidence, negative experiences of mainstream PE and lack of motivation), institutional level (e.g. spatial constraints, the facilities and equipment available and class sizes), community level (e.g. stigma and a lack of engagement with National Governing Bodies), and public policy level (e.g. recruitment of staff, financial constraints and attainment pressures). This paper presents a range of intersecting factors that influence what happens and how in PE in the context of alternative provision schooling
“We go hunting …”: Understanding experiences of people living with obesity and food insecurity when shopping for food in the supermarket to meet their weight related goals
Get PDFThe high prevalence of food insecurity in the United Kingdom has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. In high-income countries, those experiencing food insecurity struggle to buy and consume foods that meet Government healthy eating recommendations, and are at increased risk of obesity, linked to poor diet quality. Individuals in high-income countries purchase most of their food to consume at home from supermarkets, making this an important context within which healthier and environmentally sustainable food purchasing should be supported. However, the lived experience of supermarket food purchasing in people living with obesity and food insecurity has not been explored in depth. Adults, living in England and Scotland, who self-identified as living with obesity and food insecurity and looking to reduce their weight, were recruited to take part in semi-structured interviews (n = 25) or focus groups (n = 8) to explore their experience of shopping for food in the supermarket. Using thematic analysis, four main themes were generated: 1) the Restricted Consumer; restrictions around the type of food purchased, where food can be purchased and the resulting emotional toll, 2) the Conscious Consumer; decision making and effortful practices both in preparation of and during the shopping trip, 3) Mitigating the Rising Cost of Food; agency and actions taken to mitigate high food prices, 4) Stigma; instances of perceived and/or experienced weight and poverty-related stigma and the physical actions and cognitive social comparisons used to minimise stigma. Findings provide insights for evidence-based policy on the need for upstream changes within the wider food system to address the social determinants of health and support people living with obesity and food insecurity to eat healthier and more sustainable diets
Primary school girls discover their inner cheerleader through the M2 programme: An overview of the research findings
Get PDFIt is often claimed that physical education and school sport (PESS) can provide opportunities to transform the lives of those who participate. Research has consistently reported a variety of benefits for engaging in PESS. The development of fundamental movement skills, positive personal, social and health outcomes, and employability and life skills including teamwork, respect, resilience, trust, working with others and leadership have been well rehearsed (Coalter, 2007; Coalter, Theeboom and Truyens, 2020; Holt, 2008). Other suggested benefits include enhanced feelings of belonging
(Jones et al., 2020), combatting loneliness (Sport England, 2023), and improving pupils’ attention, engagement and behaviour within school lessons (Daly-Smith et al., 2018; Norris et al., 2020). It is also well documented that physical health and mental wellbeing can be improved through PESS and physical activity (Girlguiding, 20221; Sport England, 2023; World Health Organisation, 2020). This latter aspect is particularly important with ongoing concerns regarding young people’s mental health, and the rise in referral rates to mental health services (NHS Digital, 20232; Sport England, 2023)
Editorial Making tourism smart in the age of artificial intelligence
Get PDFThe development and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the major socio-economic, political and environmental issues facing the world today. It has also become a major issue in tourism. This editorial posits that tourism research needs to engage with AI and related new technologies at more than the level of business applicability and consumer perception and use, as important as they are. Rather we argue that different orders of the effects of AI need to be engaged with in tourism studies if researchers are to make a substantial contribution to making tourism smart, i.e., fully understanding its impacts, advantages, disadvantages, and long-term implications for business, destinations, consumers, society and the environment. Then all orders of effect need to be examined
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