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The priming effect of using the bilateral squat and rear foot elevated split squat on bilateral and unilateral vertical jumping performance at different time points
No full textThis research examined the priming effects of back squats (BS) and rear foot elevated split squats (RFESS) on bilateral countermovement jumps (CMJ), right single-leg countermovement jumps (RCMJ), and left single-leg countermovement jumps (LCMJ) in well-trained athletes. Seventeen male participants, all trained in competitive team sports including basketball, football, and handball (age: 24.2 ± 5.2 years; weight: 72.6 ± 8.2 kg; 1RM BS: 122.79 ± 11.7 kg; 1RM RFESS: 78.26 ± 10.9 kg) performed 3 sets of 3 repetitions of both exercises at 80% of their 1RM as conditioning activities (CAs), before executing CMJ, RCMJ & LCMJ at 0, 4, 8, and 12 minutes post-CA. Although no significant differences were noted between the two CAs, significant improvements were observed after BS at 4 minutes for CMJ (+14.4 %, 6.1cm), RCMJ (+10.4 %, 2.0cm), and LCMJ (+13.7%, 2.6cm), as well as at 8 minutes for CMJ (+8.4 %, 3.5 cm), RCMJ (+11.3%, 2.1cm), and LCMJ (+12.4%, 2.4cm). For the RFESS, significant results were observed at 4 minutes for CMJ (+7.9%, 3.4cm), RCMJ (+11.2%, 2.2cm), and LCMJ (13.7%, 2.5cm), and at 8 minutes for CMJ (+7.1%, 2.9cm), RCMJ (+11.2%, 2.1cm), and LCMJ (+10.6 %, 2.0cm). These results demonstrate that both BS and RFESS effectively prime bilateral and unilateral vertical jumping performance at 4 and 8 minutes post-CAs. Practitioners can use either option to enhance jump performance in training or before competition. However, for bilateral jumps at 4 minutes post-CA, BS shows greater percentage improvements than RFESS. Practitioners should exercise caution when applying the priming effect in contrasting training scenarios
Tunnelling through the anthropocene: making oddkin with a children’s picturebook
No full textFor Donna Haraway, staying with the trouble requires making oddkin, that is, humans, non-humans and more-than-humans require each other in unexpected collaborations and combinations. “We become-with each other or not at all” (Haraway 2015, p.4). Working with this insistence for staying with each other, the trouble and the unexpected, welcoming collaboration and combination, we recount the processes involved in the curation and creation of a picturebook (entitled Making Odd Kin) with over 100 four-year-old children as part of an environmental education project (www.minibeasts.org). As a feminist project, Making Odd Kin is concerned with multispecies justice by finding pathways for resilience and resurgence within a damaged world as a practice of “tunnelling” (Tsing & Haraway, 2014). Through this tunnelling methodology we imagine a children’s literature that might better register the complexities of multispecies flourishing and be respectful of children’s capacities for world-making. Our book project might be taken as an example of the tunnelling proposed by Tsing & Haraway through its insistence that localized actions and collaborations with diverse life forms build resilience and offer ways to live well together on a dying planet. As Haraway, Le Guin and we argue, storytelling and making odd kin with other beings are vital to fostering new ways of understanding and relating to the world
Cloistered knowledge capture and retrieval: offline LLMs and vector search for enterprise
Get PDFIn an era of rapid technological advancements, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has proven to be an invaluable tool for enhancing various aspects of human life. This research paper delves into the potential impact of cutting-edge AI technologies on business by integrating them into a knowledge management system. The aim of this study is to explore how these innovations can contribute significantly to empowering businesses, facilitating their growth, bolstering their competitiveness in the marketplace, and provide resilience against staff mobility. This paper examines recent advancements in Generative Transformers, Vector Databases, and Large Language Models to support the development of a novel, secure system for the capture, storage, and retrieval of knowledge—purpose-built for business-focused knowledge management. It implements and evaluates a system that challenges a sanitized version of an actual business dataset consisting of 595 documents to a set of 40 actual business enquiries. The accuracy, trustworthiness and response time of the system is evaluated with a thorough review of its limitations and recommendations for future work
Review of Antonio’s Revenge
Get PDFA review of Antonio's Revenge by Thomas Marston, performed by Half Trick Theatre Company in Edinburgh, 2024, published in Shakespeare Bulletin, Spring 202
Digital twin for O-RAN towards 6G
Get PDFIn future wireless systems of beyond 5G and 6G, addressing diverse applications with varying quality requirements is essential. Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architectures offer the potential for dynamic resource adaptation based on traffic demands. However, achieving real-time resource orchestration remains a challenge. Simultaneously, Digital Twin (DT) technology holds promise for testing and analysing complex systems, offering a unique platform for addressing dynamic operation and automation in O-RAN architectures. Yet, developing DTs for complex 5G/6G networks poses challenges, including data exchanges, ML model training data availability, network dynamics, processing power limitations, interdisciplinary collaboration needs, and a lack of standardized methodologies. This paper provides an overview of Open RAN architecture, trend and challenges, proposing the DT concepts for O-RAN with solution examples showcasing its integration into the framework
Asymmetry of single leg jump and lateral shuffle performance in pre-juvenile basketball players
Get PDFThe aims of this study were to: 1) assess and compare the performance of lateral shuffles and lower limbs jumps among pre-juvenile basketball players; and 2) calculate the asymmetry scores of these assessment methods and examine the association between their performance and existing inter-limb differences. Thirty-nine pre-juvenile basketball athletes (23 boys and 16 girls) performed the countermovement jump, single leg countermovement jump, single leg lateral jump, single leg broad jump, and four shuffle tests (2 distances of 2.5 and 5 m × 2 in each direction) on separate days. Results revealed significant differences between the left and right shuffle at distances of both 2.5 m (p < 0.05) and 5 m (p < 0.01), with inter-limb asymmetry scores ranging from 3.3 – 5.1%. There was no significant difference between the performance of the left and right legs in each single-leg jump test, while the inter-limb asymmetry values ranged from 5.3 – 8.6%. Correlation analysis showed there were no correlations between the inter-limb asymmetry, shuffle asymmetry and performance, while the right single leg countermovement jump performance were significantly correlated with shuffle performance (all p < 0.00119). Shuffle performance in different directions exhibits significant differences which were unrelated to inter-limb asymmetry, demonstrating the task-specific nature of asymmetry and natural variability seen in lateral movements of pre-juvenile basketball players. Practitioners are advised to use a diversified approach to assess asymmetry. These findings have implications for injury prevention and performance enhancement
The prevalence of specific learning difficulties in higher education: a study of UK universities across 12 academic years
Get PDFSpecific learning and attention difficulties are often first identified in childhood but they can cause lifelong academic and occupational challenges. We explored the prevalence of these difficulties and the representation of sex and ethnicity amongst all first-year students in UK higher education across 12 years– almost 5.7 million students –and compared course preferences and University destinations of those with and without difficulties. Students declaring learning/attention difficulties were more likely to be White or of Mixed ethnicity and least likely to be Asian. They were more likely to attend specialist HE institutions or newer universities, and more likely to study courses in creative arts and design, agriculture and architecture than law, languages, computer science and mathematical sciences. The number of students declaring difficulties has increased year on year, in actual terms and as a proportion of the student body, suggesting that efforts to increase diversity and inclusion have been successful. However, differences remain between students with and without learning/attention difficulties in terms of ethnicity, subjects studied, and HE institutions attended, so more needs to be done to identify and address reasons for this. While this paper reports data from UK students, it addresses an international question and invites similar explorations of other national datasets
Control of subsidiary HRM policies by multi-national corporate headquarters: the role of institutional differences and labor unions
Get PDFThere is a lack of clarity about the institutional sources of variation in the control of multi-national enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries by corporate headquarters (CHQ). Applying comparative institutional theory, we focus on the control of HRM policies by CHQ. First, we argue that when there are substantial home-host institutional differences in national employment protection regulation the dissimilarity in CHQ-subsidiary mindsets increases the likelihood of CHQ control. Second, we argue that union influence within the subsidiary amplifies that effect. We analyze a sample of 708 MNE subsidiaries in 32 countries with CHQs distributed across 39 countries. Unlike some prior work on subsidiary autonomy, we account for the multi-level nature of country and firm-level data. The evidence for the first of our arguments is mixed. However, in that we find a significant three-way interaction effect of CHQ control on home country and host country employment protection regulation and union influence, the second argument finds support
A narrative inquiry into early pregnancy loss, subsequent pregnancy and maternal attachment
Get PDFEarly pregnancy loss is a multi-layered phenomenon with profound physical, emotional and psychological implications. Existing research has consistently recognised that it can lead to psychological sequelae in a significant proportion of women, affecting many areas of their lives and having broader consequences for the whole family. Despite its frequency it remains a stigmatised and disenfranchised experience, shrouded in a culture of silence. The lack of public awareness and recognition surrounding this loss, often prevents women from speaking up and seeking help.
This study explored the complexity of women’s experiences of an initial early pregnancy loss, followed by a subsequent pregnancy and the psychological impact of such loss on maternal attachment. Adopting a narrative inquiry approach, four women were invited to tell their stories across two individual interviews and a focus group interview. The findings revealed several areas of common themes: feeling states, a unique form of bereavement, psychological sequalae of pregnancy loss, inadequate care and lack of follow-up support. The epistemic injustice the women endured emerged powerfully throughout their narratives. Without continuous professional support and follow-up care, joy in a subsequent pregnancy may be compromised and attachment to the subsequent child may be affected.
This research highlights the importance of counselling psychologists and other allied professionals developing a more nuanced understanding of the impact of early pregnancy loss and subsequent maternal attachment on the mother through specialist training in perinatal mental health. Implications for clinical practice, training and support provision are discussed
Multilingual voice-enabled informatics tools: catalyst for equitable AI in HIV and HIV-comorbidity healthcare management
Get PDFHuman Immunodeficiency Virus (henceforth HIV) is a global health problem, presently with no known cure. Africa has one of the highest incidences of HIV. Nigeria, within the West African (WA) region, is one of the largest economies on the continent. However, the country continues to struggle with HIV, with approximately 2 million individuals currently infected and experiencing ongoing transmissions. Management of the disease has been difficult due to communication barriers between English-speaking medical practitioners and indigenous patients in rural and suburban regions of the country and bordering countries. In this paper, we used fuzzy logic and voice-enabled technology to create WAHMIDS (West African HIV and HIV-comorbidity Multilingual Indigenous Diagnostic Software) and WAHMIMA (West African HIV Multilingual Informatics Mobile Application), which are health apps designed to help diagnose HIV and manage related health issues in both rural and urban areas for people who speak different indigenous languages in West Africa. Additionally, illustrations of the application of this tool to HIV diagnosis, using existing HIV data, are demonstrated. We expect that these tools will assist English-speaking medical workers and inhabitants of West African communities in their efforts to control HIV transmissions. These informatics tools have the potential to help prescribe medications for HIV and HIV-comorbidity patients. We anticipate that these informatics tools will help address healthcare disparities and promote diversity, equality, and inclusion by reducing the gaps in healthcare delivery between different regions and facilitating the collection of diverse patient data, which is essential for developing and planning more inclusive and accurate healthcare strategies in the West African sub-region