The effects of acute caffeine ingestion on decision-making and pass accuracy in young soccer players: A preliminary randomized controlled trial

Caffeine has been shown to benefit physical aspects of different sports. In this paper, we aimed to understand the effects of caffeine on decision-making and the accuracy of soccer passes. Twelve young soccer players (16–17 years old and 20.8 ± 2.7 kg/m2 BMI) completed the tasks once after taking 3 mg/kg body mass of caffeine (CAF) and once after consuming similar amounts of placebo (PLA). For the decision-making task, participants were asked to determine the best outcome of ten simulated pre-recorded soccer events. For the soccer pass accuracy, participants performed five short- (10 m) and five long passes (30 m), as well as the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test. Although not statistically significant, participants were 1.67 % more accurate in short- and 13.48 % more accurate in long passes when they consumed caffeine compared to the placebo (14.67 ± 2.74 vs. 14.50 ± 2.97, p = 0.34, g = 0.27 and 7.50 ± 2.84 vs. 6.83 ± 3.13, p = 0.60, g = 0.14, respectively). However, participants' decision-making was 7.14 % and LSPT scores were 3.49 % lower when they consumed caffeine compared to the placebo (29.50 ± 3.09 vs. 30.67 ± 2.93, p = 0.28, g = −0.30 and 55.38 ± 11.91 vs. 57.48 ± 12.13, p = 0.08, g = −0.51 respectively). In conclusion, while the short pass accuracy remained consistent among almost all participants before and after caffeine consumption, the performance varied in the case of long passes. Moreover, most of the participants scored lower on decision-making and LSPT after consuming caffeine. This may suggest that more complex tasks with a higher number of passes might negatively be affected by low doses of caffeine ingested one hour before playing soccer. Future studies are required to elucidate the effects of caffeine consumption on distinct cognitive and passing tasks

The Talent Management of Indie Authorship: From American independent cinema and short “films” to pay-TV and streaming

This book explores the roles that talent intermediaries, including talent agents, talent managers and producers, play in packaging, marketing and selling screen media products, services and brands by constructing and positioning their clients and collaborators as indie-auteurs. Exploring several case-studies across a range of screen media during an era of media convergence, including American indie cinema, high-end television, music video, advertising and branded content, the book explores the strategies that talent intermediaries adopt and the industrial, cultural, and social connotations and hierarchies that indie-auteurism as a promotional discourse and tool carries and reinforces. Taking a cultural production approach that involves analysing promotional, extratextual and critical discourse surrounding projects such as The Revenant, Judas and the Black Messiah, The O.A and Mr. Robot, the book links taste and professional legitimacy to race and gender inequalities as it scrutinises notions about the maverick White male auteur that have proliferated around contemporary indie productions. Providing new perspectives on the careers of indie-auteurs such as the Coen brothers, Steven Soderbergh, and Tyler Perry, and addressing the work of lesser studied figures such as Amy Seimetz, Dee Rees, and Shaka King, the book stakes out new ground that complicates popular ideas of indie-auteurs as highly autonomous and innovative filmmakers by exploring how this authorial discourse migrates between media and is constructed and reconfigured in relation to changing industrial and cultural contexts

‘Getting closer to the place’: Stakeholder experiences and impact during archaeological research at Sobibór

The Sobibór Archaeology Project represents an important, long-term case study for understanding the complex ‘interests’ and relationships that may emerge during fieldwork at sites of atrocity. A complex demographic of stakeholders played parts in Sobibór over three decades, with a diverse range of motivations and expectations. Ethically sensitive forms of engagement with different stakeholders are needed in archaeological research, especially at the sites connected to the Holocaust and Nazi persecution. Based on a series of interviews with national and local government, heads of museums, archaeologists, heritage professionals, architects, a representative of the Rabbinical Commission for Jewish Cemeteries in Poland, and paid local workers involved in the research between 2007 and 2020, the paper evaluates the ways in which the research impacted different stakeholders over time, and how these stakeholders influenced the archaeological research in return

Don't be afraid, It's only business: Rethinking the video nasties moral panic in Thatcher’s Britain

As prone as the British appear to be to moments of spontaneous moral panic, it is important to recognize the forces that instigate, underpin and amplify these moments, and to acknowledge that these forces are rarely benevolent, or even for that matter, spontaneous. In 1982, just as home video was finding a foothold in the United Kingdom, a moral panic erupted about the advertising that was being used to promote an array of horror films that had been imported from Europe and America and released to the conservative British marketplace. These films became known as the ‘video nasties’, a disparate collection of unrelated films of varying qualities that were grouped together on the basis that they transgressed the boundaries of respectability. While many of these films were, and remain, difficult and challenging works, it is important to recognize that it was not a sense of public outrage or moral propriety that led to the films being banned, it was simply that the organizations and institutions involved stood to benefit from the frenzy of a moral panic. Though this was not immediately obvious. The moral panic famously led to the introduction of the Video Recordings Act, which Martin Barker (1984) and Julian Petley (1997) have explored as a convenient deflection for the Conservative Government, whose reputation had been badly damaged in their previous term. However, what has received far less scrutiny is the benefit of the introduction of the Video Recordings Act to the major film studios and their role in its introduction. This paper will explore this history and will consider how the Video Recordings Act reshaped the British video industry

The enhanced paper grip test can substantially improve community screening for the risk of falling

Background Lower-limb strength measures can enhance falls risk assessment but due to the lack of clinically applicable methods, such measures are not included in current screening. The enhanced paper grip test (EPGT) is a simple-to-use and cost-effective test that could fill this gap. However, its outcome measure (EPGT force) has not yet been directly linked to the risk of falling. Research question Is the EPGT a good candidate for falls risk screening in older people in the community? Methods Seventy-one older people living independently in the community were recruited for this prospective observational study (median age 69 y, range 65y-79y). Lower-limb and whole-body strength were assessed at baseline using the EPGT and a standardised hand-grip method respectively. Incident falls were recorded monthly for a year through follow-up telephone conversations. The capacity of individual strength measures to predict falls and to enhance an established falls risk assessment tool (FRAT) commonly used by UK’s national health service (NHS) was assessed using binomial logistic regression. The analysis was repeated for the subset of participants without history of falling at baseline (prediction of first-ever falls). Results Increased EPGT force and increased symmetry in strength between limbs were significantly associated with reduced risk of falling. Compared to the NHS-FRAT, the EPGT correctly classified more people (73% vs 69%), it achieved higher sensitivity (56% vs 26%) and higher negative predictive value (76% vs 68%). Complementing the NHS-FRAT with the EPGT produced a more comprehensive model that correctly classified 91% of participants and achieved 98% specificity, 81% sensitivity, 89% negative and 96% positive predictive value. Replacing the EPGT with hand-grip strength consistently undermined prediction accuracy. The EPGT remained highly accurate when focused on the prediction of first-ever falls. Significance The EPGT can substantially enhance falls screening in the community. These results can also inform effective personalised strength exercise interventions

Violence, grime, gangs and drugs on the south side of Birmingham

Offering an alternative interpretation of the relationship between inner city drug dealing and interpersonal violence, this chapter utilises a combination of ethnographic insights and case studies to conceptualise the myriad, messy and complex realities within Britain’s second city. The chapter argues that much of contemporary criminology frames such issues as being underpinned by the atypical lexicon of gangs, organised crime and most recently drill music. The authors propose, however, that it can better be understood through an understanding of cultural anelpis that pervades the lives of those involved in the often violent and largely unprofitable criminal ventures in some of the most deprived estates

Addressing Digital Poverty Through Community Engagement

Poverty is a significant factor in digital exclusion. Discover was a Stoke-on-Trent, HM Government UK Community Renewal Funded project, delivered between November 2021 and December 2022 which aimed to boost digital inclusion in the city. Originally designed to deliver a series of short courses to the most digitally excluded people in the city, the team reflected the need to create innovative approaches to engagement and training delivery to meet their aspirations. This chapter will provide an overview of the Discover Digital pop-up shop and its role in helping the project reach communities most digitally isolated. It will explore the role it played in helping people access grants for digital equipment, and its role in building relationships that made people feel able to ask for the help and support they need

Perform

This chapter discusses the performance of visual music. This type of performance can be undertaken by a soloist or ensemble of artists working towards a shared visual music ideal. Commencing with a discussion of the concept of performance and liveness with relevant historical context, the chapter will then consider matters related to visual performance materials, technologies, visual design and performance staging. The design of digital visual instruments is also examined. The chapter concludes with a case study of the performance known as Biphase. It explores the conceptualisation of the project, rehearsal and performance, as well as aesthetic considerations for cohesion between sound and image

Striking a Balance: Preserving, Curating, and Investigating Human Remains from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily

The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (Sicily) are an exceptional and culturally rich site utilised from the late sixteenth to mid-twentieth century C.E. The Catacombs are home to the largest assemblage (n=1,284) of partly or completely mummified remains in Europe. Given the unique nature of this crypt, thousands of tourists visit the Catacombs every year. This raises a plethora of challenges in terms of the preservation and curation of such a large assemblage of mummies, as well as the scientific study of these individuals. The Catacombs are open to visitors all year round, and a significant proportion of in-situ research must be conducted during opening hours whilst being surrounded by tourists. These difficulties are further compounded by the lack of investment in the site. This chapter will consider the ways in which the Capuchin mummies can be curated and preserved to acceptable standards within the constraints of limited funding, the need for scientific investigation, and the popularity of this site with tourists. This chapter will also demonstrate the importance of working transparently and encouraging an open dialogue with religious groups and cultural heritage bodies. The adoption of such an approach not only ensures the Capuchin mummies are preserved, displayed, and analysed appropriately, but guarantees the beliefs and wishes of the living and deceased are respected whilst simultaneously educating tourists that visit the site

Entrepreneurs: Just taking care of business, the drug business

This chapter focuses on criminal entrepreneurs – some old and some new – who have increasingly been drawn to the illicit drug trade not only to satisfy demand (it is easy money), but also as a response to the political economy where their skill set is no longer valued and they either adapt or die. Throughout this chapter the data is used to argue that illicit drug dealing must be seen against the backdrop of economic austerity and a political economy of neoliberal consumer capitalism that prioritises and promotes individualism, entrepreneurialism, pervasive consumerism and compulsive (conspicuous) acquisition. Therefore, drug supply fulfilled a number of functions in these criminal entrepreneurs’ lives that largely revolved around finding viable and dignified employment. However, what was common across all of our respondents was their dedication to conspicuous consumption and buying ‘the nice things in life’. Drug dealing among this group was used to bankroll a luxurious and desirable lifestyle and buy the ‘ornamental trinkets that bestow existential significance and social distinction’