Estimating Knee Movement Patterns of Recreational Runners Across Training Sessions Using Multilevel Functional Regression Models

Modern wearable monitors and laboratory equipment allow the recording of high-frequency data that can be used to quantify human movement. However, currently, data analysis approaches in these domains remain limited. This paper proposes a new framework to analyze biomechanical patterns in sport training data recorded across multiple training sessions using multilevel functional models. We apply the methods to subsecond-level data of knee location trajectories collected in 19 recreational runners during a medium-intensity continuous run (MICR) and a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session, with multiple steps recorded in each participant-session. We estimate functional intra-class correlation coefficient to evaluate the reliability of recorded measurements across multiple sessions of the same training type. Furthermore, we obtained a vectorial representation of the three hierarchical levels of the data and visualize them in a low-dimensional space. Finally, we quantified the differences between genders and between two training types using functional multilevel regression models that incorporate covariate information. We provide an overview of the relevant methods and make both data and the R code for all analyses freely available online on GitHub. Thus, this work can serve as a helpful reference for practitioners and guide for a broader audience of researchers interested in modeling repeated functional measures at different resolution levels in the context of biomechanics and sports science applications

The differential effects of potential and realized absorptive capacity on imitation and innovation strategies, and its impact on sustained competitive advantage

Drawing on the knowledge-based view of the firm and the theory of resources and capabilities, this study attempts to (i) investigate the differential antecedent roles of knowledge-based capabilities such as potential and realized absorptive capacity on imitation and innovation strategies, and (ii) to assess how such interactions lead firms to achieve a sustained competitive advantage. Using quantitative data from 211 managers in middle and top managerial roles, we conducted structural equation modeling via partial least squares. This paper contends that imitation and innovation strategies might be complementary while yielding competitive advantages, and that the degree to which organizations absorb external knowledge has an impact on this connection. Contrary to previous research, this novel focus treats innovation and imitation strategies as distinct, but not opposing, notions. The results of this study fill a knowledge gap in the field of innovation management and provide empirical evidence for the interplay between absorptive capacity and the two complementary business strategies—innovation and imitation—which aids organizations in maintaining their competitive advantages

Con Air: exploring the trade in counterfeit and unapproved aircraft parts

Counterfeit aircraft parts are among the most well-known counterfeits and pose a significant risk to public safety. It is estimated that as much as 10% of the legal market for aircraft parts are counterfeits and the presence of these parts on commercial aircraft are more commonplace than many people realise. Yet, criminological research on this pressing issue is remarkably scarce. Informed by accounts from specialised and highly knowledgeable actors embedded in the aviation industry, this paper aims to explore how counterfeit and unapproved parts enter the legitimate supply chain and what factors drive or motivate their circulation and use

Biting Back: A Green-Cultural Criminology of Animal Liberation Struggle as Constructed Through Online Communiqués

This article conceptualises animal liberation direct action in green-cultural criminological terms. To do this, it draws on Johnston and Johnston’s methodological approach and undertakes qualitative content analysis of animal liberation communiqués published on the website, Bite Back. Whilst a significant body of scholarly literature has discussed animal liberation struggles, this article develops an understanding of these often-criminal acts and events within a cultural criminological context. Findings from this analysis reveal three themes. First, activists variously resist and embrace the state and media’s ‘terrorisation’ and discursive delegitimating of animal liberation struggle. Activists wilfully play on the framing of themselves as terrorists. Second, activists are also able to re-contextualise what might otherwise be seen as minor, apolitical events into a much broader liberation struggle. Third, animal liberation activism is frequently and explicitly connected to other emancipatory struggles. To conclude, the article argues that animal liberation activists engage in direct action on a local level, and strategically promote hyper localised instances of direct action globally through online communiqués. In doing so, animal liberation activists engage in a ‘prefigurative integration’ of what might otherwise be dismissed as isolated hyper local ‘petty events’ within a global struggle against violence, exploitation and oppression

Economic and political determinants of the South African labour share, 1971–2019

This study examines the drivers of the steady decline in South Africa’s private sector labour share between 1971 and 2019. The focus on South Africa is instructive as its distributional contestation is bounded in a matrix of racial conflict. Crucial reforms on trade, finance and welfare were undertaken since 1994, but the study finds little evidence that the extension of the franchise promoted egalitarianism, since white economic elites invested in de facto political power. This study employs an Unrestricted Error Correction Model to estimate the drivers of the private sector labour share, and the findings suggest that globalisation, financialisation and public spending have decreased the labour share, while the effects of education have been positive but insufficient to halt the decline

Hybrid photocathode based on a Ni molecular catalyst and Sb2Se3 for solar H2 production

We report a H2 evolving hybrid photocathode based on Sb2Se3 and a precious metal free molecular catalyst. Through the use of a high surface area TiO2 scaffold, we successfully increased the Ni molecular catalyst loading from 7.08 ± 0.43 to 45.76 ± 0.81 nmol cm−2, achieving photocurrents of 1.3 mA cm−2 at 0 V vs. RHE, which is 81-fold higher than the device without the TiO2 mesoporous layer

Synthesis, crystal structure, and characterization of Na2SrV4O12: A low‐firing dielectric vanadate

In this work, cyclotetravanadate Na2SrV4O12 was synthesized at a relatively low sintering temperature of ∼ 500 ° C using a solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope characterization featured a tetragonal structure that was built by a 3D frame of isolated tetracyclic (V4O12)4−. Dielectric measurements demonstrated strong dependence on frequency and temperature. A low relative permittivity of εr ∼ 8 ± 0.2 and a dielectric (loss tanδ) ∼ 0.4 ± 0.01 was achieved at a frequency of 10 kHz and room temperature. ac impedance and conductivity analysis revealed a thermally activated migration behavior of charge carriers with a short-range hopping feature. XPS analysis validated the existence of oxygen vacancy and reduction in vanadium (from V5+ to V4+), which gave rise to charged lattice defects. The migration or hopping of such charged defects was responsible for the observed electrical behaviors. Owing to the simple composition, inexpensive raw materials, and low density (2.99 g/cm3) make Na2SrV4O12 ceramic a potential candidate for lightweight devices and in photocatalytic degradation and all-solid-state ion batteries

Constituting link working through choice and care: An ethnographic account of front‐line social prescribing

Link worker social prescribing has become a prominent part of NHS England’s personalisation agenda. However, approaches to social prescribing vary, with multiple discourses emerging about the potential of social prescribing and different interpretations of personalisation. The transformational promise of social prescribing is the subject of ongoing debate, whilst the factors that shape the nature of front‐line link working practices remain unclear. Based on 11 months of in‐depth ethnographic research with link workers delivering social prescribing, we show how link workers’ practices were shaped by the context of the intervention and how individual link workers navigated varied understandings of social prescribing. Following the work of Mol, we show how link workers drew differentially on the interacting logics of choice and care and trace a multiplicity in front‐line link working practices within a single intervention. However, over time, it appeared that a logic of choice was becoming increasingly dominant, making it harder to deliver practices that aligned with a logic of care. We conclude that interpreting personalisation through a logic of choice could potentially undermine link working practices that privilege care whilst obscuring the need for wider investment in health care systems and the social determinants of health

Ageing Well with Creative Arts and Pets: The HenPower Story

HenPower is a programme that enables older people who live with dementia in care homes to take part in hen-keeping and hen-related creative activities. It was introduced into UK care homes to address evidence suggesting older adults who live with dementia in care homes can experience diminished personal wellbeing. This study aimed to 1) assess the impact of HenPower on people who have dementia who are living in a care home and 2) explore care home staff views and experiences of the HenPower programme. A nested qualitative design was adopted, utilizing observation of 29 older people who live in a care home and 25 staff individual and small-group interviews. Five themes emerged: ongoing meaningful engagement with hens, self-expression through creative activities, improved mood and participation, improved social interaction, and enhanced living environment. HenPower offers potential wellbeing benefits to older people living in care homes, many of which echo with existing evidence on non-pharmacological approaches