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Accentuate the negative? Effects of eccentric overload on muscular adaptations during split jerk performance.
No full textWe aimed to assess the effectiveness of using accentuated eccentric loading (AEL) with the split jerk to enhance muscular adaptations of experienced weightlifters over an 8-week training cycle. Eighteen subjects with at least 1 year of consistent split jerk training were randomly assigned to an experimental group that used AEL training for the split jerk or a traditional loading (TLT) group. Both training programs included weightlifting competition lifts and their derivatives, strength movements such as the back squat, and accessory exercises that targeted midline stability. Both groups trained the split jerk twice a week for 5 working sets per session and 3 repetitions per set, with AEL using weight releasers to unload at completion of the dip phase. Body composition, anthropometric, and 1 repetition maximum split jerk and back squat outcomes were assessed. Bayesian analyses including hierarchical models that produced summary standardized mean difference comparisons for each outcome category were performed. Results were uncertain, with estimates either close to zero (Pooled Strength z = 0.01 [95%CrI: -0.30 to 0.26]), or tending to favor AEL (Pooled Body Composition z = 0.10 [95%CrI: -0.12 to 0.27]; Pooled Anthropometry z = 0.07 [95%CrI: -0.06 to 0.20]). In conclusion, we obtained insufficient data to clearly support hypotheses of superior muscular adaptations when applying AEL during split jerk training over an 8-week intervention compared to traditional methods in weightlifters. However, central estimates tended to indicate small effects favoring AEL, warranting further investigation with different training program designs, larger sample sizes and longer intervention durations
Contemporary art in the post-Yugoslav space: case studies in hauntology.
Full text linkThis edited volume is centered on the production, discussion, and consumption of contemporary art in the post-Yugoslav space now. Authors in this volume demonstrate how and why contemporary art discourses have continued to overcome chronic difficulties in local cultural economies since the dissolution of the common federal space of socialist Yugoslavia. This book focuses on socialist Yugoslavia's prevailing cultural legacies of anti-fascism, non-alignment, queer and feminist movements, and socially engaged art, which inform and shape contemporary critiques of neoliberal capitalist conditions in the arts. Chapters are rooted in ongoing global challenges in contemporary art: a universal exhaustion through over-work (on the part of the artist/art worker) and over-stimulation (the audience); the structural weakness of contemporary art as a set of institutional activities; and the instrumentalization of art. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, contemporary art, gender studies, Slavic studies, politics, and post-conflict studies
Taking advantage of option X29 of NEC4's potential to advance transnational efforts to limit climate impacts of contstruction.
No full textThe construction sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases that lead to climate change. Innovations to tackle the climate impacts of construction have, expectedly, been rooted in public law. The private sector has supported public law efforts through its own private law innovations. Some of its most notable innovations have been the incorporation of climate provisions in standard form contracts extensively on standard form contracts like the FIDIC and NEC. The most recent innovation has been the addition of a climate clause (Option X29) to NEC4, the latest version in the NEC’s series. Coming from the private sector and being grounded in private law, Option X29's potential to advance efforts to limit climate impacts of construction has been overlooked. This paper argues that that Option X29 empowers the public to use judicial review to compel states to develop public law regulation of climate impacts of construction
Understanding teacher educators' quality of life: insights from the PERMA model.
Full text linkTeacher Educators (TE) are a specific category of Higher Education (HE) academics whose primary responsibility is the preparation of Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) for the Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary, and Further Education and Training contexts. TEs navigate this important, multifaceted role in addition to growing work pressures and decreased resource allocations. Though these stressors often lead to burnout, negatively impacting TEs' wellbeing, productivity, and career satisfaction, many persevere in this career despite these challenging experiences. This qualitative study employs the popular PERMA model (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment) to explore the protective factors that support TEs' mental health, wellbeing, and resilience. Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) was applied to a combination of open-ended survey responses (n = 154) and semi-structured interview (n = 14) data from Higher Education TEs in Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK). Participants reported that excessive relational demands and the undervaluation and under-recognition of accomplishments in promotion systems challenged their wellbeing. However, findings highlight how positive emotions, vocational workflow, social support, a sense of meaning/purpose, and professional accomplishment can support thriving in the workplace. Our sample further benefitted from general wellbeing practices (diet, exercise, mindfulness), professional collegiality, and boundary setting, which help maintain work–life balance. These findings suggest that HE institutions might consider PERMA-informed initiatives – such as wellbeing programmes, formal recognition of diverse work achievements, and flexible workload policies – to mitigate workplace stress and promote TE resilience. Promoting these factors may improve quality of life outcomes for TEs and enhance outcomes within initial teacher education
Moins de temps, mêmes gains : comparaison de l'entraînement en supersets et en séries traditionnelles sur les adaptations musculaires.
No full textThe purpose of this study was to compare the effects of superset versus traditional resistance training (RT) on muscular strength, hypertrophy, body composition, and local muscular endurance. Forty-three young, resistance-trained male and female participants were randomly assigned to either a superset RT group (SS) or a traditional RT group (TRAD). The RT protocol targeted the upper and lower body musculature using six exercises (lat pulldown, Smith machine bench press, seated leg curl, leg extension, dumbbell biceps curl, and cable triceps pushdown). All exercises were performed in the same session, twice weekly for eight consecutive weeks. Participants in TRAD completed all sets for one exercise prior to performing a different exercise with two minutes of rest between sets. Participants in SS performed a set for one exercise followed immediately by a set for another exercise then two minutes of rest, which was repeated for a total of four sets per superset. Outcomes included muscle thickness of the upper and lower limbs, body composition, bench press one-repetition maximum, isometric knee extensor torque, countermovement jump height and upper and lower body local muscular endurance performance. Consistent evidence was obtained that both groups generally experienced similar average increases in muscle thickness across all assessed muscle groups (Bayes factor [BF] = 0.54, range: 0.23 to 1.3) as well as the same average changes in strength (BF = 0.28, range: 0.14 to 0.41), power (BF = 0.22), local muscular endurance (BF = 0.59, range: 0.54 to 0.63), and body composition outcomes (BF = 0.19, range: 0.13 to 0.24). Despite similar estimates of between-group changes, SS completed sessions in 36% less time than TRAD. In conclusion, supersets appear to be a time-efficient alternative for eliciting muscular adaptations in a resistance-trained population
Navigating infant food insecurity: low-income parents infant feeding intentions and practices in the UK.
Full text linkFood insecurity is increasingly being recognised as a public health issue in high income countries, exacerbated for many by the recent cost-of-living crisis. High food prices mean many households, especially those with children, are vulnerable to food insecurity. Since 2021, and the emergence of the UK's "cost-of-living crisis", food charities have reported increased requests for support from families with young children. However, the experience of food insecurity amongst families with very young infants remains poorly understood. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first qualitative study exploring UK parents' and carers' lived experiences of the impact of the cost of living crisis on their infant feeding intentions and practices. Semi-structured interviews (N = 11) were conducted with parents'/ carers' living in Scotland, who self-identified as living with food insecurity and were or had been responsible for feeding an infant aged 0–6 months born any time from January 2022. Using thematic analysis, seven main themes were identified: 1) The struggle to afford food and formula in the face of reduced income, 2) Earning but struggling: a lack of financial support for parents in work, 3) Hard work and sacrifice, parents' actions to secure food for their baby, 4) Don't ask, don't tell: limited to no conversations about finances or formula with healthcare professionals, 5) Positive views about breastfeeding but challenges dictating practice, 6) Income shortfall struggles: the provision of support from family and third sector organisations, 7) Experiences of stigma and guilt accessing and receiving support. Parents can struggle to afford food to feed their families and infant formula, which could lead them to sacrifice their own food needs. Families and third sector organisations often provide financial and instrumental support for new parents living on a low income. However, this study indicates that some parents can experience stigma and embarrassment accessing this type of support. Conversations with healthcare professionals around new parent's financial circumstances and infant formula could provide an opportunity for intervention and support
Living in post-Brexit Britain during the pandemic: how did it feel for EU citizens?
Full text linkIn the visual essay, we present the images produced by participants during a study on the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic and Brexit on the emotions and feelings of middle-aged European citizens. The study was conducted using an art-based method where participants were asked to produce some form of artwork(a drawing, a collage, a photograph, a video or even apiece of music) and were then interviewed by the researchers. The emphasis was focused on the emotional states experienced by the participants during the lockdowns and in their new citizen status post-Brexit. The visual essay features some of the participants' artwork, representing their feelings and moods during that period and includes extracts from the interviews conducted in the follow-up of the artworks. The images create a gallery, a visual tour of felt emotions, highlighting the singularity of the participants' affective states as well as the condensed meanings of shared symbols they used
Designing a framework to support practice-based interprofessional education initiatives for student pharmacists: a modified Delphi study.
Full text linkThe aim of this study was to determine consensus among key stakeholders on statements to design a framework supporting practice-based interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives for student pharmacists. The study used a two-round modified Delphi technique. Statements were developed from published literature, a document analysis of international IPE frameworks and findings from empirical studies completed as part of a wider program of research. This study was underpinned by the 3 P (Presage-Process-Product) Model of Classroom Learning. A 4-point Likert scale was used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Consensus was pre-set at ≥70% agreement for individual statements. Panelists could provide comments at the end of each section; these were analyzed thematically. The Robert Gordon University School Ethics Review Committee granted ethical approval. Forty-five panelists consented to participate; a response rate of 82.2% (37/45) was achieved in round 1 and 71.1% (32/45) in round 2. In round 1, consensus was reached on 70/75 (93.3%) statements/sub-statements. In round 2, consensus was reached on 9/11 (81.8%) statements; five statements which did not achieve consensus in round 1 and 6 new statements based on panel members’ comments. The two statements that did not reach consensus related to summative assessment. Two themes were identified: "Realistic versus idealistic approach?" and "Looking at the bigger picture". Key stakeholders agree on the majority of presage, process and product factors that must be considered during the development of practice-based IPE initiatives. Further investigation is needed to clarify any factors potentially contributing to a lack of agreement on statements relating to assessment
Good practice guidance for selecting delay analysis methods.
Full text linkThe appropriateness of delay analysis methods (DAMs) has been at the core of disagreements over delay assessments during the past decades. Delay experts continue to disagree over their suitability while not offering best or good practice guidance. Scholars are critical of their performance while not proposing pragmatically superior DAMs. Judges do not deal with this issue while insisting that the parties should accept the DAMs and indicating that the DAMs should be accurate, effective, and harmonized with contracts. However, the parties are heavily reliant on expert advice and model agreements, which do not offer adequate delay analysis terms, although contract terms are not only well-established legal instruments but also a requisite for clear risk allocation and certainty. While the need for an effective DAM selection model in this context is obvious, such a model has not been offered. Instead, guidance on a set of endorsed DAMs has been provided, but legal systems continue to generate disputes over delay assessments. This paper evaluates published literature and contributes to the fulfilment of this knowledge gap by offering a DAM selection model that is based on six recognized DAMs and is instrument-based, precision-oriented, impartial, effective, and coordinated with legal systems and construction contracts
Review on improved neural network algorithms for battery state of energy estimation in smart grids.
No full textEfficient and accurate state of energy (SOE) estimation is essential for the efficient operation and optimal management of smart grid energy storage systems (ESS). As lithium-ion batteries become the mainstream energy storage technology, their complex and nonlinear behavior under different operating conditions poses significant challenges for SOE estimation. This paper analyzes the promising application prospects of feedforward neural networks (FNNs), recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and their variants (long short-term memory networks (LSTMs), gated recurrent units (GRUs)), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and hybrid models. It simultaneously explores data acquisition and preprocessing techniques, performance evaluation metrics, and practical application scenarios, identifying core challenges such as data sparsity, model interpretability, and computational efficiency. Future research directions are proposed, including advanced hybrid modeling, online adaptation, and edge computing integration. Although numerous existing reviews have validated the effectiveness of various neural network algorithms in SOE estimation, most studies focus primarily on algorithm types. Therefore, this paper systematically examines the adaptability and limitations of various algorithms. Based on a comprehensive analysis of specific smart grid scenarios with diverse requirements, this paper explores how to evaluate, select, and optimize neural network algorithms to achieve the optimal balance between estimation accuracy, efficiency, and robustness. Furthermore, through a holistic analysis of existing research, this paper bridges the gap between technical principles and practical applications, providing researchers with more targeted decision-making references
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