Coping with abuse—child referees in football: is it all just part of the job?

Following identification of child abuse embedded in sports, there has been a significant increase in research exploring the culture of sport and how this might be challenged to enable children's voices and support safeguarding. This has, however, focused largely on the experience of youth players with the place of youth officials significantly neglected in this context. This paper explores the experiences of youth referees through three English county FA case studies utilising a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis of interviews with U18 officials, adults working with them (Referee Development Officers, Referee Mentors, Youth Representative, Allocation Officer and parents). Findings showed that youth officials routinely experience abuse (physical/verbal) when fulfilling their role. The nature of this abuse is both physical and verbal, direct and proximal and largely normalised. Youth officials are actively prepared to anticipate and manage abusive situations. Despite wearing symbols indicating their status as children, youth officials are still subject to being targeted by both parents and managers. Abusive situations are rationalised as being the responsibility of the referee and due to the culture of football and wider society. Without cultural change, the continuation of abuse of referees is foreseen as an inevitability. Focusing on education, challenging a facilitating culture, and creating a discourse that cultivates the positive treatment of referees is crucial to addressing concerns to protect children's rights in refereeing football

Ambivalent Internationalisation: Reviewing Literature on the Social Policy Context for International Students in the United Kingdom and Implications for Social Exclusion

This study explored the social policy context for international students in the UK and its implications for social exclusion (an inability to fully participate in society). Within a rapid review policy literature addressing international student experience, forty-two articles from the Web of Science and Social Science Research Network (SSRN) were selected through multiple screenings. Migration and education were the most explored policy areas, followed by inequalities, work, health and wellbeing, security, and housing. Results demonstrated that policy both creates barriers to inclusion (e.g. hostile environment migration/bordering practices) and supports inclusion/adaption to social exclusion-related challenges (e.g. sanctuary scholarships for forced migrants, Graduate visas). All international students to some degree lack equitable participation in wellbeing-relevant provision. Overall, policies are constructed so the state and universities can extract value from internationals without fully including them in British society. Policies abdicate responsibility for students’ inclusion, making it expensive and complicated to build a life there

Enhancing pressurized esports performance: a pilot study on the combined effects of transcranial direct current stimulation and arousal reappraisal

This pilot study explored the combined impact of arousal reappraisal intervention and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) on state anxiety, challenge and threat appraisals, and performance under high pressure in esport contexts. Arousal reappraisal has previously been shown to enable individuals to interpret physiological arousal more constructively, while tDCS has demonstrated potential to increase the efficacy of psychological interventions. A fully repeated measures study design was employed where participants experienced four different experimental interventions: tDCS with arousal reappraisal, tDCS with active control, sham stimulation with arousal reappraisal, and sham stimulation with active control. Seventeen male Counter-Strike competitors participated in the study. Each participant received all four experimental intervention conditions, with measurements taken of state anxiety, challenge and threat appraisals, and esport performance under pressure. The findings tentatively suggest that arousal reappraisal effectively reduces cognitive anxiety, promotes favourable challenge appraisals versus threat, and enhances esports performance. This effect appeared more pronounced when arousal reappraisal was combined with anodal tDCS. Combining arousal reappraisal and tDCS may be a promising intervention for esports competitors facing performance pressure. The synergistic effects of these interventions warrant further investigation in larger samples

Practitioner perspectives on dance research

Practitioner Perspectives on Dance Research is a collection of accounts from scholars, educators, practitioners and makers that present an overview of key themes, arguments, and practices central to their individual research. Built upon conversations recorded as ResDance™ podcast episodes, this edited collection presents both theoretical discussions and first-hand insights into various research practices, engaging with both established and emergent ideas central to dance research. Whilst challenging current thinking, contributors from around the globe additionally offer reflections on ethics and practices of care, pedagogy and education, and the shifting perspectives on methodologies. By providing an accessible exploration of frequently employed approaches, this book illuminates the choices made and considerations taken in dance research practice. This interdisciplinary discourse presents a rich palette of perspectives, approaches and ideas and is ideal for students, researchers, academics and practitioners alike with an interest in the current state of dance, both in research and in practice

Experiences of individuals living with dementia, caregivers, and service providers regarding independence-enhancing technologies: focus group insights

This study explored the views and opinions of individuals living with dementia, caregivers, and healthcare professionals on assistive technologies that facilitate independent living. Using a qualitative approach, the researchers conducted focus groups with 35 participants in England. Findings revealed both the benefits and limitations of technologies like medication management devices, activities of daily living aids, GPS tracking, and smart home systems. While participants recognized the potential to enhance independence and safety, they highlighted usability, reliability, and technological failure as significant challenges. The complexity of digital interfaces and the cognitive demands of online interactions emerged as key barriers. Participants expressed a strong desire for more adaptive, user-friendly, and responsive technologies. The study underscores the importance of user-centered design and collaboration between developers, caregivers, and people living with dementia. By addressing the identified issues, future assistive technologies can improve quality of life for individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. These insights can guide the development of more effective, accessible, and ethical assistive technologies in dementia care

Substantiating relational reflexive practice: where the paddle meets the water

This paper is the product of a year-long process of inquiry with an opportunistically chosen group of fellow travellers in management education. We provide examples of relational reflexive practice, noticing the entanglements with art and relevant literature, as well as our own practice as educators, researchers and organisa- tional practitioners. We revive Hannah Arendt’s notion of ‘action’, (and the interaction with ‘work’), the invisible and often overlooked movement across a web of relationships by which change happens in human processes (Arendt, 1958, 2018). We use our experience of our contact with the river, amongst other imagery, to make visible this ephemeral yet vital quality of relationships and give it its right- ful place in management education. Using a deliberately emergent action research methodology, as an opportunistic and grounded practice rather than a paradigmatic distinction, we aim to substanti- ate and develop relational reflexive practice for ourselves and with our diverse community. For this reason we return to methods and choices at several points in the paper. We shy away from bold claims, insights or definitions, as this dulls reflexive practice

My coach says: The effects of accelerated eccentric and landing cues to elicit change in countermovement jump propulsive and landing performance

The study aimed to determine if an accelerated eccentric (AE) cue during a countermovement jump (CMJ) produces distinct kinetic outputs. Eighteen strength-trained males (mean ± standard deviation ±SD: age = 25.9 ± 4.5 years; body mass = 87.1 ± 12.2 kg; stature = 181.7 ± 6.2 cm) completed a jump cue ("jump as high and fast as possible" (NORM) or AE ("fast downward, max braking, and jump as high and fast as possible") with two types of landing cues: deceleration eccentric (DC) ("decelerate as fast as possible once landed") and dissipating eccentric (DP) ("stop in your own time"). The Hawkin Dynamics Cloud system was used for jump analysis, including additional landing metrics. Participants performed 4 repetitions of AEDC, AEDP, NORMDC, and NORMDP in a randomized order on two separate occasions. When compared to the NORM conditions, the AE conditions had significantly greater peak and mean braking velocity (effect size (ES) = -0.77 to -0.89 and -0.60 to -0.83, respectively), mean braking power (ES =-0.56 to -0.59, mean braking force (ES = 0.40 to 0.46), braking impulse (ES = 0.35 to 0.41), force at minimal displacement (ES = 0.26 to 0.32), and peak propulsion force (ES = 0.24 to 0.26), with a reduced braking phase time (ES = 0.59 to 1.14). Only landing impulse showed acceptable reliability for landing metrics, with no significant differences between groups. Findings highlight AE's enhance braking (eccentric) metrics and overall CMJ performance. Future research should explore AE in strength-based exercises and further investigate CMJ landing phase metrics

Virtual reality based executive function training in schools: the impact of adaptivity on executive function and motivation

Executive function (EF) is a skill that is essential in many aspects of daily functioning and as such is a pertinent target for cognitive training protocols. With current findings about EF training being inconsistent, work is now needed to understand the core components that ensure successful training. A key component that is often cited as essential, but which lacks solid empirical justification is training adaptivity, which is thought to improve participant motivation and support engagement. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the relationship between adaptivity and motivation, in virtual reality (VR) based EF training with primary school-aged children. Sixty participants were allocated to one of three conditions: VR adaptive training, VR non-adaptive training, and a passive control group. Training in VR conditions consisted of 12 fifteen-minute sessions, delivered over 4 weeks and was delivered using the cognitive training game Koji’s Quest, developed by NeuroReality. All participants completed EF tests at pre- and post- time points. Participants in the VR conditions also completed motivation measures after the training. Results suggest that the adaptive training might influence the switching response over time, but further analyses did not confirm significant differences, possibly due to the small sample size and the high scores variability. Although no differences were observed on the quantitate measures of motivation, qualitative feedback did indicate that perhaps motivation may have been a contributing factor. Results provide initial evidence that short term VR cognitive training may be effective in improving cognitive flexibility in primary aged children, however due to the small sample size and high variability, results are tentative, and further research is necessary. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications for educational application

The use of individualised, media-based sleep hygiene education for professional female footballers

Sleep hygiene can be defined as practicing habits that facilitate sleep; poor sleep hygiene is common among elite athletes, and improving this can be one way to enhance sleep indices. Given the large inter-individual variability of sleep, there is a need for further investigation into individualised sleep hygiene for elite female athletes, with consideration for the practical application of the method. Using a self-controlled time series design with repeated measures, n = 16 professional female footballers completed a 9-week study during mid-season. Monitoring of sleep (actigraphy, self-report) occurred at week 1, 4, 7 and 9-a control period occurred at week 2 and 3, and a subsequent intervention period occurred at weeks 5 and 6. Based on baseline sleep monitoring, media-based messages were designed with the purpose of giving a singular sleep hygiene message; all participants received these individualised messages daily across the 2-week intervention period at a standardised time of 8.00 p.m., with the intention of them actioning the sleep hygiene point. One-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was conducted to assess the differences between control period, intervention period and follow-up for each measured variable. Significant differences were observed post-intervention for sleep efficiency (p < 0.001) and sleep latency (p < 0.001), whereas the athlete sleep behaviour questionnaire score significantly improved in the follow-up period (week 9) post intervention (p = 0.039). This is the first study to present this novel method of individualised sleep hygiene education for elite female athletes and is also the first study to demonstrate the use of sleep hygiene interventions to improve sleep factors for female athletes' mid-season. This demonstrates a promising, time-efficient approach to sleep hygiene education, with a potentially wide scope of application, as well as demonstrating there is indeed potential for elite female athletes to gain sleep improvements mid-season

Transforming lives: play-based learning programmes in emergency settings

In the third article in this series focusing on play in emergency settings, Debra Laxton and Sarah Ndlovu share more about the work of the children's rights organisation, Children on the Edge, in Kachin State, Myanmar