1,431,369 research outputs found
Back-bench rebels
No full textPhilip Cowley, Reader in the University’s School of Politics and International Relations, was recently nominated for the Times Higher young researcher of the year award. In this podcast, Philip discusses his research into back bench rebellions within the British parliament. Philip describes his research as practical politics, linking academic research to the real world of political debate.
Since the British Labour party’s re-election with a reduced majority of 66 MPs in May 2005, some back bench Labour MPs have continued to vote against their own party, led by Prime Minister Tony Blair. This has forced the British government to make a series of concessions on a range of legislation. After the election, it was widely anticipated that Labour party MPs, with a reduced majority, would have to tow the party line. Philip discusses his research into back bench behaviour, highlighting that the British back bench MPs have traditionally been more rebellious than many people may expect.
Philip also discusses the issues behind the bank bench revolts, in particular highlighting that back bench rebellions are now at a post war high–ironically, as the new Labour government of 1997 was determined not to be a ‘split’ party like the previous Conservative government led by John Major. Philip also discusses the impact of the Tony Blair’s announcement that he will step down as leader of the Labour party, and whether this has affected the frequency of revolts
Post-Activation Performance Enhancement as a Strategy to Improve Bench Press Performance to Volitional Failure
No full textPost-Activation Performance Enhancement (PAPE) has been commonly used as a strategy to improve acute
force production, although its effects on performance to volitional failure are still unknown. The aim of this study was to
analyse the influence of a PAPE protocol on bench press performance in a training set to volitional failure in trained
individuals. Fourteen participants with at least two years of resistance training experience (age 24.57 ± 2.7 years; body
mass 77.47 ± 12.2 kg; body height 174.21 ± 7.4 cm; medium grip bench press 1 repetition maximum (1RM): 101.6 ± 25.8
kg), of which 14 completed the control protocol and 12 completed the experimental protocol, took part in the study. After
a standardised warm-up, participants completed three sessions: 1) a 1RM test for the medium grip bench press, 2) a
control condition consisting of a set of the bench press to volitional failure with 80% 1RM (CON), and 3) an experimental
condition consisting of a set of the bench press to volitional failure with 80% 1RM after a PAPE protocol (PAPE). The
PAPE protocol consisted of a heavy set of one repetition with their 93% 1RM as the conditioning activity. Under the
PAPE condition, participants performed significantly more repetitions than under the CON condition (p = 0.008, ES =
0.5, small effect), their last repetition was slower (p = 0.02, ES = 0.52, small effect) and presented a higher velocity loss
(p = 0.004, ES = 0.75, moderate effect). These results suggest that a traditional PAPE protocol improves the number of
repetitions performed to volitional failure
Bench development along the regulated, lower River Dee, UK
No full textChannel change to regulated flows along large lowland rivers with cohesive bank materials has been investigated on the lower Welsh Dee, including the tidally influenced reach. Reduction of channel width has involved the formation of a 5-40m wide discontinuous bench, often linking point and concave locations. Map evidence shows that wide benches occur where historically the channel had migrated laterally; narrow benches were found at stable channel locations. Auger cores of the bench deposits clearly differentiated the two contrasting depositional environments within meandering rivers: point bench and concave bench. Around an individual bend a morphologically continuous bench showed a gradient in sediment characteristics from coarser sediments (point locations) to finer organic deposits (concave locations); it also showed a topographic gradient, gaining 0.5m in elevation around the bend suggesting that bench accretion at concave locations is faster than at point locations in fluvially dominated reaches. Such patterns are suggested to have important implications for riparian ecosystems
Acute chest pain after bench press exercise in a healthy young adult
No full textJanet A Smereck,1 Argyro Papafilippaki,2 Sawali Sudarshan3 1Department of Emergency Medicine, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, 2Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA,3Emergency Department, Washington Adventist Hospital, Takoma Park, MD, USA Abstract: Bench press exercise, which involves repetitive lifting of weights to full arm extension while lying supine on a narrow bench, has been associated with complications ranging in acuity from simple pectoral muscle strain, to aortic and coronary artery dissection. A 39-year-old man, physically fit and previously asymptomatic, presented with acute chest pain following bench press exercise. Diagnostic evaluation led to the discovery of critical multivessel coronary occlusive disease, and subsequently, highly elevated levels of lipoprotein (a). Judicious use of ancillary testing may identify the presence of “high-risk” conditions in a seemingly “low-risk” patient. Emergency department evaluation of the young adult with acute chest pain must take into consideration an extended spectrum of potential etiologies, so as to best guide appropriate management. Keywords: chest pain, coronary artery disease, lipoprotein (a
Metal Bench
No full textGreen bench with- monarch butterfly, mallard duck, white dog wood flower and a bird painted on it
Exploratory Analysis of Benchmark Experiments -- An Interactive Approach
No full textThe analysis of benchmark experiments consists in a large part of exploratory methods, especially visualizations. In Eugster et al. [2008] we presented a comprehensive toolbox including the bench plot. This plot visualizes the behavior of the algorithms on the individual drawn learning and test samples according to specific performance measures. In this paper we show an interactive version of the bench plot can easily uncover details and relations unseen with the static version
Designing a landscape bench
No full textThe built landscape that ranges from the paved concrete paths that we walk on to the towering buildings that can rise thousands of feet above. These objects were intentionally designed by people to serve specific functions to benefit us. However, as time moves forward, and we as people change, our designs can become outdated, no longer relevant, or simply not exciting. The landscape bench is one part of the landscape that has struggled to evolve over the years and is limited in the number of functions that it could provide. The landscape bench has been documented for hundreds of years and has served as a place of refuge in the landscape - providing a hub for social interaction, a location to go to, and simply a place to sit. Our current perception and expectations have limited this piece of the landscape to just a place to sit, not allowing for even simple changes to its simple design. Through the design and build process this thesis investigates topics regarding material sustainability, site specific designs, and social interactions in relation to bench design and construction. Through the creation of a prototype and a final model this project created a well researched and designed bench for its site. The process demonstrated that making considerations for history, sustainability and case studies, the landscape bench can be designed and built with meaning and purpose.M.L.A.Includes bibliographical reference
Influence of the "Slingshot" bench press training aid on bench press kinematics and neuromuscular activity in competitive powerlifters
No full textThis study examined the acute effects of the ‘Slingshot’ on bench-press performance, prime-mover surface electromyographic (sEMG) amplitude, and barbell velocity during maximal and submaximal bench-pressing in competitive male powerlifters. Fifteen male powerlifters (mean } SD age: 27.05 ± 5.94 years; mass: 94.15kg; 1RM bench-press: 139.7 ± 16.79kg) participated in the study. Bench-press strength, average barbell velocity, and sEMG amplitude of the prime mover muscles (triceps brachii, pectoralis major and anterior deltoid) were measured during two conditions; ‘Raw’ (without use of any assistance) and ‘Slingshot’ [using the ‘Slingshot’ to perform both the weight achieved during ‘Raw’ 1RM testing (Raw max/SS), and absolute 1RM using the ‘Slingshot’ (SS)]. The results showed that the ‘Slingshot’ significantly increased bench press 1RM performance by a mean } SD of 20.67kg } 3.4kg. Barbell velocity and stick point analysis indicate that this improvement is likely driven by an increase in peak and pre-stick barbell velocity as triceps RMS was lower throughout all rep max phases with the ‘Slingshot’. The ‘Slingshot’ also caused reductions in RMS, specifically of the triceps at all rep ranges but barbell velocity was better maintained in the last reps of all sets. These data indicate that the ‘Slingshot’ specifically de-loaded the triceps muscle throughout all rep ranges and provide assistance to maintaining barbell velocity under fatigue during later repetitions of multiple-repetition sets. The ‘Slingshot’ training aid could therefore be used in de-load phases of bench press training or as an over-reaching and velocity training aid
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