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Exploring self-concept in women with overweight or obesity
No full textOverweight and obesity remain pressing issues, with numbers increasing globally (World Health Organisation, 2021). The literature review highlights the intricate causes and factors involving this. Most treatments focus their attention on the physiological facts that excess weight contributes to health problems/non-communicable disease risk, and therefore, their focus is on reducing the physical size of the individual through diet and exercise. Rarely are people asked questions that explore the underlying contributors to an individual’s weight status. Self-concept (self-image, self-esteem, and ideal-self) has been of interest in this topic area and there have been suggestions that this could enhance understanding individual causes and factors of eating behaviours. However, self-concept remains a small component in current preventable measures. The literature in this area demonstrates very few papers published on all three components of self-concept in women with overweight or obesity and none that were phenomenological and used phenomenological analysis. Given this limitation, this research phenomenologically explored the subjective interpretations and lived experiences of eight participants, with the research question exploring: ‘What are your lived experiences of your self-concept?’. This research aims to fill the literature gap by pulling together existing literature around this topic area and forming a path of its own by changing the focus to the individual, rather than the symptom of being overweight or obese. After careful consideration, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was found to be the most suitable methodology to explore participants' subjective interpretations and lived experiences of self-concept. The resulting major themes that emerged address: (1) The Process in Understanding Lived Experiences that Formed the Self, (2) The Impact of Lived Experiences on Engagement in Different Forms of the Self, (3) The Impact of Lived Experiences on the Body in the World, and (4) The Lived Experience of Weight on the Self. As a result of the findings, by incorporating a therapeutic approach to current interventions in overweight and obesity, counselling psychologists can provide clients with the opportunity to explore their self-concept as a whole. Treating the physical size of weight alone does not allow space to identify any underlying factors of the behaviour. Consequently, this research underscores that preventive measures should extend beyond just physical weight, aiming to uncover any underlying factors that may be influencing the behaviour. This understanding can serve as a foundation for therapy to address the behaviour at its core. All of which demonstrates how this research is an essential addition to the literature on phenomenological work with overweight and obesity to help tackle this ongoing global concern
‘En femme…’: a phenomenological-hermeneutic enquiry into the lived experience of crossdressing for adult male-born subjects in the United Kingdom
Get PDFCrossdressing means wearing clothing, makeup and/or accessories not traditionally associated with the sex you were assigned at birth (Amnesty International, 2015). This study explores the lived experience of people who engage in crossdressing and how they make sense of it. Eight participants were recruited and interviewed face-to-face and online on Zoom, using a semi-structured, in-depth interview. The participants are adults who were assigned male at birth and are involved in regular crossdressing activities as part of their sexual or gender expression, or both, or they self-identify as crossdressers. The method for the study, which is grounded within an existential hermeneutical and phenomenological epistemology, is Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). In the findings, twelve themes were generated and structured in four super-ordinate themes: From expression to identity through time; Milestones in acceptance and ownership; Tension, anxiety and struggle; Aspects of being-in-the-world. For the participants, crossdressing has been a meaningful and particular way of being: a way of being gendered, a way of being sexual and a way of being with your body, yourself and others. For them, expressing crossdressing has been an existential change in condition, which comes with different levels of freedom, visibility, power, vulnerability, privileges and threats. For each participant, living their lives as crossdressers meant navigating a complex map of temporalities, spaces and people with different degrees of visibility, social acceptance and self-acceptance, which involve different strategies, behaviours and decisions to come out and be out, or to remain closeted. Overall, crossdressing emerged as a concept at the intersection of gender and sexuality, practice and identity, the personal and the political, the social and the private, the internal and the external, the visible and the hidden
Making mathematicians: developing expert attitudes with authentic maths activities
Get PDFOne of the goals of an undergraduate degree in mathematics is to transform students’ perception of mathematics from calculations with the rote application of formula to the reflective, creative problem-solving that is highly valued in academia and other professions. This can be achieved by incorporating authentic mathematical activities (i.e. the kind of tasks a maths graduate can expect in the workplace) into the design and delivery of undergraduate programmes.
The Middlesex maths team have implemented a variety of novel teaching and learning methods into their specialist maths provision to achieve this aim. Our approach includes the use of generative artificial intelligence; extended, vague, problem-solving assignments; student choice in assessment; and reflective components.
In this paper we discuss the implementation, benefits and challenges of these authentic mathematical activities, focusing on their effect on students’ perceptions of mathematics during their studies. We use questionnaires to determine how students’ perceptions of mathematics change while doing these activities and their attitudes to the activities themselves
Mess with Jayne Osgood and Sid Mohandas
No full textWelcome to a conversation on Contemporary thoughts about Play and Early Childhood. We have titled this one MESS as it links to the barriers to and possibilities in dirty, disorderly play. It also references the tangled mess of childhood itself and early years education practices. With your work on post-humanist, new materialist practices around this topic, we’re relying on you both to either sort this mess out or – better still- make it messier
Relationships between knee and ankle strength and horizontal deceleration performance at different sprint distances in multi-directional sports athletes
No full textThe aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between knee and ankle strength and horizontal deceleration performance following different sprint distances. Fifty-seven (n = 41male, n = 16 female) youth team-sports athletes completed: a) 5-m and 10-m horizontal deceleration ability (HDA) tests; b) concentric (60°/s, 180°/s) and eccentric (30°/s) relative peak torque (PT) measurements of the knee extensor (KE) and flexor (KF) muscles and the ankle plantarflexion (APF) and dorsiflexion (ADF) muscles in an isokinetic dynamometer. Pearson’s correlation coefficients revealed that concentric at 60°/s and eccentric at 30°/s KE were mostly related to deceleration performance both in HDA5-m (r = −0.50 to −0.61, p < 0.05) and HDA10-m tests (r = −0.50 to −0.63, p < 0.05). Moreover, a significant correlation was observed between concentric APF and average deceleration (DECavg) measured from HDA5-m test in both the dominant leg (DL) and non-dominant leg (NDL) (r = −0.52 to −0.53, p < 0.05), but not to 10-m horizontal deceleration performance. The current results indicate that deceleration performance varies in its demands on knee and ankle strength across different sprint distances. Athletes who frequently decelerate over short distances should focus not only on strengthening their knee strength but also on prioritising ankle strength
The journey from sports nostalgia to repurchase intention: a study from British consumers’ perspective
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There is weak evidence that nostalgia influences psychological and behavioural outcomes, and specifically that it triggers fantasies about the past. However, there is only limited research examining whether nostalgia in sports tourism has similar effects. This study therefore aims to examine the effects of several dimensions of sports nostalgia on fantasies about the past, emotional dimensions, and repurchase intention, both directly and through the moderating effect of self-referencing.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative survey was used. The views of 400 consumers from London, UK, were collected through Google Forms, using convenience sampling. The survey consisted of questions on five dimensions of sports nostalgia, as well as on fantasies about the past, the valence and arousal dimensions of emotions, repurchase intentions, and self-referencing. The data was analysed using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The findings suggest that each of the sports nostalgia dimensions has an effect on fantasies about the past, that fantasies about the past have an effect on emotional dimensions, and that emotional dimensions have an effect on repurchase intentions. A moderating effect of self-referencing on three of the sports nostalgia dimensions, i.e. the sports team, the environment, and socialisation, was also found in respect of fantasies about the past.
Practical implications
The results provide useful insights to marketers, such as enhancing their understanding of the importance of the sports nostalgia dimensions and their effects on fantasies about the past, including enhancing consumers’ emotions and repurchase intentions both directly and through the moderating effect of self-referencing.
Originality/value
This is the first study to develop a conceptual model based on the sports nostalgia dimensions and their effects on fantasies about the past, emotional dimensions, and repurchase intentions, directly and via the moderating effect of self-referencing
Effectiveness of suicide means restriction: an overview of systematic reviews
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Means restriction for suicide prevention at a population level typically involves policy or environmental changes to limit access to suicide methods. Several systematic reviews of suicide means restriction exist. This umbrella review aimed to synthesise their findings, assess evidence quality, quantify primary study overlap and identify evidence gaps.
Study selection and analysis
Searches were conducted across Web of Science, Ovid (PsycINFO, EMBASE), Cochrane and PubMed, supplemented by reference list screening. Study quality was assessed using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2. Study overlap was calculated using the corrected covered area.
Findings
We included 20 systematic reviews, synthesising evidence from 179 unique primary studies. Physical barriers to prevent jumping showed strong effect sizes, although primary study overlap was high. Train platform screen doors were associated with reduced site-specific suicide mortality, with no evidence of displacement to other sites, although the number of studies was small. Paracetamol pack size limitation reduced self-poisoning admissions, with mixed impacts on mortality. Bans on highly hazardous pesticides reduced suicide rates. More recent reviews suggest firearms restrictions may reduce suicides, but with small effect sizes and methodological limitations. Evidence quality ranged from high to critically low (12/20 rated as critically low). With the exception of pesticide restrictions, lower and middle-income settings were not represented.
Conclusions
Several means restriction approaches demonstrate effectiveness, although high study overlap and variable study quality were evident. A focus on differential impacts across sociodemographic groups, more evidence from lower and middle-income countries and evidence for suicide prevention on roads and from residential buildings is needed.
PROSPERO registration number CRD42024620103
The impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on social support networks and mental wellbeing in the United Kingdom: a qualitative exploration
Get PDFThe Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns significantly disrupted individuals’ access to social support networks, with implications for mental wellbeing. This qualitative study explored how people navigated these disruptions during the UK’s national lockdowns. Data were collected from 12 participants over age 18, who lived through all three UK national lockdowns using online semi-structured interviews. An inductive reflexive thematic analysis was applied. One overarching theme was created, comprising four subthemes: seeking and valuing physical proximity; experiencing disconnection and separation; the complex role of online communication; and the use of coping strategies. Participants described emotional challenges linked to physical separation, mixed experiences with digital communication, and the importance of both relational and individual coping mechanisms. These findings remain relevant in today’s context, where remote working, hybrid education, and digital socialisation continue to shape everyday life. The study offers insights into how support networks function in digitally mediated environments and highlights the need for policies and practices that foster meaningful connection and promote mental wellbeing in a post-pandemic society