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Exploring mechanical work changes in controlled ankle motion (CAM) boot walking: the effects of gait speed and shoe levelling
Get PDFPreferred walking speed (PWS) is lower when wearing a controlled ankle motion (CAM) boot, which can potentially make comparisons between footwear conditions difficult. Standardising walking speed accounts for this but lacks the ecological validity of PWS. The aim of this study was to compare acute biomechanical responses to CAM boot wear when walking is freely chosen and when it is controlled. Twelve healthy participants walked on an instrumented treadmill at their PWS and at three standardised speeds: 3, 4, and 5 km/h. They did so in three footwear conditions: (1) with a Rebound® Air Walker CAM boot on the right leg, (2) with a Rebound® Air Walker on the right leg and an Evenup Shoelift™ on the left, and (3) in normal footwear. Comparisons between footwear conditions were largely similar in the ipsilateral limb at PWS and at the standardised speeds, which included a decrease in total mechanical work and ankle joint work during CAM boot wear (p < 0.001). At the standardised speeds, total mechanical work and hip joint work were lower during CAM boot wear than wearing normal shoes and the Evenup Shoelift™ (p ≤ 0.014), although there were no differences between footwear conditions at PWS (p ≥ 0.095). As such, acute responses to CAM boot wear are different when speed is standardised compared to when speed is freely chosen, meaning conclusions cannot necessarily be transferred between approaches. Based on these differences observed between walking speeds, it would be prudent for future studies to try to maintain ecological validity by using PWS
Editorial: Remote assessment, measurement, and delivery in sport, physical activity and health
Get PDFTechnology has had an increasing influence on our lives for some time, and this was accelerated by the enforced remote way of working five years ago. The first paper in this special topic from Chahin-Inostroza et al. articulates some of the challenges faced during this time as countries across the world enforced distancing measures and remote working to control the spread of COVID-19. Sport was not exempt, and both national and global events were put on standby. However, this not only affected elite athletes, but amateur athletes too had fewer opportunities to socialise with peers and receive feedback and advice. In their cross-section of amateur Chilean athletes, Chahin-Inostroza et al. report how the use of some technologies and training software changed during periods of quarantine, and remained elevated when quarantine ended
Opening the Dialogue on Death: Navigating the Journey of Bereavement, Grief and Trauma Within Probation Delivery
Get PDFAs individuals we each hold our own experiences of bereavement and grief. Death affects us all, but our journeys of navigating this are profoundly personal, unique, complex and very much form part of our ongoing, and dynamic story. Open conversations about death are rare, especially when reflecting on the possibilities of impact and influence on a person's life moving forward. These inevitable experiences, occurring within both personal and social contexts highlight the role of emotion, relational work, and emotional labour. Particularly within the context of probation, they also underscore the recognition of trauma, addiction, and the impact of desistance
from or persistence in crime. Within this article, we aim to shed light, provoke thought and invoke conversation. There has been research in prisons (Wilson 2011; Wilson et al 2022; Wilson 2023; Vaswani 2014, 2015 and 2018), but again, probation remains in the shadows
Exploring the sensitivity of episodic and spatial memory tests to healthy and pathological cognitive aging
Get PDFIntroduction
In an increasingly aging society, testing hippocampal-dependent cognition in a quick and low resource manner will be crucial in: assessing the potential benefits of lifestyle choices and interventions affecting cognitive ageing (such as those involving exercise, diet, and sleep); detecting pathological aging, such as in Alzheimer’s disease, where hippocampal degeneration occurs relatively early on.
Methods
Over 300 participants aged 18-89 completed three cognitive tests, namely the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III), The Four Mountains Task (4MT), and a new task introduced here, the Spaces and Sequences Episodic Video Task (SSEVT). Hippocampal tissue is particularly vulnerable to aging, and the 4MT and SSEVT were designed to be hippocampal-dependent. Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that 4MT and SSEVT performance would be significantly compromised by aging. As an initial proof-of-concept exploration of these tests’ ability to detect pathological aging, such as in Alzheimer’s disease, we compared 10 patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) with matched subsamples of the older group (Healthy ageing, HA).
Results
Supporting the hippocampal-aging related hypothesis, 4MT and SSEVT scores showed appreciably stronger age-related declines than ACE-III scores. The middle-aged group (mean: ∼51 years) were significantly worse than the young group (mean: ∼21 years) on the 4MT (Cohen’s d = 0.724) and the SSEVT (Cohen’s d = 0.443); and the older group (mean: ∼71 years) were significantly worse than the middle-aged group on the SSEVT (Cohen’s d = 0.724). Neither pattern was seen for ACE-III. Suggestively, the MCI patients performed worse than the matched HA group on the 4MT (consistent with previous work), and on our novel SSEVT, but not on the ACE-III.
Discussion
We conclude that the 4MT and SSEVT may be suitable for assessing lifestyle choices and interventions affecting cognitive ageing. We also propose that these findings provide an initial proof-of-concept for these tests’ ability to detect pathological aging in its early stages and support further exploration of this with larger clinical samples
Evaluation of a video review-facilitated coach development programme
No full textThe response of sport coaches to different forms of learning facilitation is important for the design and effectiveness of coach development programmes (CDP). The aim of this study was to provide a longitudinal evaluation of a video review-facilitated CDP on the learning and engagement of 10 junior rugby league coaches, operating in the participation domain. Employing an ethnographic research design, an extended case study approach utilised a variety of data collection techniques including participant observation, semi-structured interviews and informal unstructured interviews. Thematic analysis of the data revealed the following key themes: (1) facilitated reflection, (2) enhanced awareness, (3) impact on coaching practice, and (4) learning group composition. The findings provide empirical support for the integration of video of practice into a CDP, with its use demonstrating the potential for a more collaborative and relevant analysis of coaching practice. Through reporting how the coaches make sense of their social learning experiences in the dynamic and messy world of sport coaching, the findings further our understanding and appreciation of the complex interaction of community coaches’ learning, knowledge and practice
Geomorphology of Stansbury Peninsula, Nelson Island, Antarctic Peninsula
Get PDFThe proglacial landscapes of Antarctica offer critical insights into past and ongoing deglaciation processes and the impacts of climate change. This study presents the first geomorphological map of the proglacial part of Stansbury Peninsula (Rip Point) and Cariz Cabo Cape in the northern part of Nelson Island. We identify and characterise a variety of glacial, proglacial, paraglacial, and periglacial landforms using high-resolution drone imagery, fieldwork, and geological data. The defined landforms presented reflect a complex interplay of erosional and depositional processes shaped by multiple glacial advance-retreat cycles since the Last Glacial Maximum, with evidence for significant glacial activity during the Holocene. The presence of hyaloclastite and crystalline erratic boulders further contributes to the reconstruction of glacial dynamics in the region. Our findings provide a crucial dataset and baseline for studies on future Antarctic deglaciation, periglacial processes, and the expansion of proglacial landscapes driven by ongoing climate change
Signaling role of finance in the relationship between environmental regulation and firm green innovation
No full textThis paper investigates the signaling role of finance in shaping the relationship between China's New Environmental Protection Law (NEPL) and firm-level green innovation, drawing on the “Signaling View” framework. Leveraging the NEPL as a quasi-natural experiment and utilizing data from Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2020, our findings reveal that firms significantly increased their green innovation post-NEPL. Firms, especially those in high-polluting industries, utilized green patents as strategic signals to demonstrate environmental responsibility, enhance reputation, and reduce financing costs. Green patent applications and acquisitions increased by 14.5 % and 15.7 %, respectively, in these sectors. The signaling effect is more substantial among larger firms and those with greater media exposure, highlighting the role of public scrutiny in motivating environmental compliance. Further analysis reveals broader benefits of green signaling, including improved media sentiment, higher ESG scores, and lower debt financing costs. Our findings emphasize the synergistic role of finance and policy in advancing green innovation through the signaling effect
Cultural Capital and Self-determined Behaviour: Conceptual and Empirical Evidence of Smoking Cessation in Egypt
No full textDespite the prevalence of tobacco use, Egypt lacked smoking cessation treatments to combat the nation's rising smoking population and studies on smoking cessation were limited in the majority of low- and middle-income countries. There is an urgent need to study the enablers of smoking cessation. This study adopted a quantitative research approach to test the conceptual framework. Data were collected using two sampling methods: a random sample in the first phase followed by a snowball strategy. A total of 569 ex-smokers who had successfully stopped smoking completed self-administered questionnaires. Structural equation modelling was adopted for the data analysis.
The findings of this study indicate that the accumulation of Cultural Capital could serve as an independent cause for successful smoking cessation behaviour in Egypt.
Egypt should invest in cultural activities and educational establishments which not only help its smoking population acquire new skills but also contribute to successful and sustained smoking cessation. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to expand Self-determination Theory and combine Cultural Capital to understand successful smoking cessation behaviour. While most studies focused on current smokers and intentions to quit, this study assessed ex-smokers who had successfully ceased smoking. It confirmed that Cultural Capital alone could contribute to behavioural and sustained behavioural change
A systematic review and ‘best-fit’ framework synthesis of contributory factors to telephone triage safety
Get PDFTelephone triage is a popular service globally but is under-represented in healthcare safety research and the definition of its safety is not well understood. Moreover, human factors frameworks for organisational learning are often designed for use in face-to-face healthcare and may be less reliable for detecting contributing factors in telemedicine. A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature in Scopus and PubMed databases to identify patient safety indicators and contributing factors to primary care telephone triage safety was conducted. Both qualitative and quantitative studies were included. No studies were excluded due to quality but Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tools supported commentary on quality considerations. 96 peer-reviewed articles met the requirements for inclusion, and definitions of, and contributing factors to safety were synthesised using the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) as a ‘best-fit’ framework. Few studies defined safety. Most included studies measured ‘appropriateness’ of care/advice. Few research articles used data from actual incidents and/or near-misses. To reflect the various safety indicators “actionable, appropriate, and timely care, avoiding unavoidable deterioration or harm” is proposed as a working definition for telephone triage safety. Regarding contributing factors to telephone triage safety, most studies focused on individual worker and patient factors. Physical environment and organizational factors were under-researched, which is particularly pertinent since both are likely to differ from face-to-face care, unveiling noteworthy directions for future research. The review culminated in a list of contributory factors to patient safety in telephone triage with potential to use these to support incident investigation and system redesign
Evaluating the Role of an Assistive Online Toolkit to Support Autistic Students During the Transition into University
No full textAutistic students face significant challenges in higher education, particularly regarding navigation, sensory overload, and accessing appropriate support. This study explores the role of an Assistive Online Toolkit in addressing these barriers and promoting autonomy, well-being, and social adaptation. Through qualitative analysis of student experiences, findings reveal that navigation difficulties and sensory overload contribute to heightened stress and disorientation. The Toolkit’s mapping and location features provided practical solutions, enhancing students’ confidence and independence in navigating campus. Additionally, a lack of awareness about available support services created further obstacles, which the Toolkit helped mitigate by offering clear guidance on reasonable adjustments and self-advocacy strategies. The transition to university also brought challenges in academic adaptation and social integration, with many students experiencing isolation and anxiety. The Toolkit’s resources helped normalize help-seeking behaviors and fostered a sense of belonging. These findings highlight the importance of digital assistive technologies tailored to autistic students’ needs, reinforcing the necessity of framing autism within a disability paradigm to ensure access to legal protections, accommodations, and continued innovation in assistive solutions
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