A Foucauldian auto-ethnographic account of a male former soccer player's move to coaching female players:a call to problematize the importation of gendered assumptions during a common coaching transition

It has frequently been observed that the disproportionate number of male coaches within women’s soccer is problematic, not least, because it limits the opportunities for the progression of female coaches. Despite this, the transition from “male former player to male coach of female players” is one that remains common, is likely to continue, yet is not widely discussed in the sport/ coach transition literature. This is an oversight given the numerous problematic outcomes that are routinely connected to the presence of male coaches in women’s sport. In this confessional, analytical autoethnography, we build upon our existing work regarding coaching women’s soccer that has been informed by Michel Foucault’s conceptual framework. Precisely, we use a collection of creative narrative reflections to discuss the first author’s transition from that of a British semiprofessional soccer player context, to an Assistant Coach of a female soccer team in a North American varsity program. In so doing, we trace and map some of the (problematic) learned gendered assumptions which initially shaped and guided the first author’s coaching assumptions, relationships, approaches, and practices within this context, before unpacking some of the challenges he navigated along the way (with varying degrees of success). We end by summarizing our paper and a call to male coaches working with female athletes to reflect on how “thinking with Foucault” might help them to coach in more ethical and gender-responsive ways by both problematizing imported gendered assumptions and developing active allyship practices.</p

Effect of gravity-induced shape change on the diffusion-limited evaporation of thin sessile and pendant droplets

A comprehensive study of the effect of gravity-induced shape change on the diffusion-limited evaporation of thin sessile and pendant droplets on a horizontal substrate is performed. Specifically, theoretical predictions for the evolution, and hence the lifetime, of sessile and pendant droplets evaporating in four modes of evaporation, namely the constant contact radius (CR), the constant contact angle (CA), the stick-slide (SS), and the stick-jump (SJ) modes, are obtained. In particular, it is shown that gravity-induced shape change can cause quantitative differences in the evolution of sessile and pendant droplets compared to that of a droplet in the absence of (or in the neglect of) the effect of gravity (a "zero-gravity droplet"). For example, whereas sessile and pendant droplets evaporating in the CR mode evolve in qualitatively the same manner as a zero-gravity droplet, the evolution of droplets evaporating in the CA mode is more complicated. Specifically, while a zero-gravity droplet evaporating in the CA mode evolves according to the well-known "d^2"' and "2/3" laws, an initially large sessile droplet evolves according to qualitatively different "d" and "1/2" laws, and an initially large pendant droplet evolves with the contact radius and the volume (but not, of course, the contact angle) behaving as if the droplet was evaporating in the CR mode. It is also found, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, that the maximum height of a sessile droplet evaporating in the CA mode is a non-monotonic function of time when the initial volume of the droplet is sufficiently large. Furthermore, it is found that for all four modes of evaporation a sessile droplet always evaporates faster, and hence has a shorter lifetime, than a zero-gravity droplet with the same initial volume, which in turn always evaporates faster, and hence has a shorter lifetime, than a pendant droplet with the same initial volume. It is also shown that for all four modes of evaporation the lifetime of a droplet is a monotonically increasing function of the initial volume of the droplet, that the lifetime of a droplet evaporating in the CA mode is always longer than that of the same droplet evaporating in the CR mode, and that the lifetimes of droplets evaporating in the SS and SJ modes both always lie between the lifetimes of the same droplet evaporating in the extreme modes

Cannabis Use Cessation and the Risk of Psychotic Disorders:A Case–Control Analysis from the First Episode Case–Control EU-GEI WP2 Study: L’arrêt de l’utilisation du cannabis et le risque de troubles psychotiques: Une analyse cas-témoins tirée de l’étude cas-témoins EU-GEI WP2 centrée sur les premiers épisodes psychotiques

Objectives: To establish whether the risk of psychotic disorders in cannabis users changes with time following cannabis cessation using data from the European Network of National Networks studying Gene–Environment Interactions in Schizophrenia (EU-GEI) case–control study. Methods: The EU-GEI case–control study collected data from first episode psychosis patients and population controls across sites in Europe and Brazil between May 2010 and April 2015. Adjusted logistic regressions were applied to examine whether the odd of psychosis case status changed: (1) with time following cannabis cessation and (2) across different cannabis use groups. Results: Psychosis risk declined following cessation of cannabis use (β = −0.002; 95% CI −0.004 to 0.000; P = 0.067). When accounting for duration of use, this effect remained (β = −0.003; 95% CI −0.005 to −0.001; P = 0.013). However, in models adjusting for frequency and potency of use the result was not significant. Analysis of different cannabis use groups indicated that ex-users who stopped 1 to 4 weeks previously had the highest risk for psychotic disorder compared to never users (OR = 6.89; 95% CI 3.91–12.14; P &lt; 0.001); risk declined for those who stopped 5 to 12 weeks previously (OR = 2.70; 95% CI 1.73–4.21; P &lt; 0.001) and 13 to 36 weeks previously (OR = 1.53; 95% CI 1.00–2.33; P = 0.050). Ex-users who stopped 37 to 96 weeks (OR = 1.01; 95% CI 0.66–1.57; P = 0.949), 97 to 180 weeks (OR = 0.73; 95% CI 0.45–1.19; P = 0.204), and 181 weeks previously or more (OR = 1.18; 95% CI 0.76–1.83; P = 0.456) had similar psychosis risk to those who had never-used cannabis. Conclusion: Risk of psychotic disorder appears to decline with time following cannabis cessation, receding to that of those who have never used cannabis after 37 weeks or more of abstinence. Although, preliminary results suggest that frequent users of high potency types of cannabis might maintain an elevated risk compared to never users even when abstaining for longer than 181 weeks.</p

High Tackle Headache:Implications of Referee Agreement for Tackle Height Law Change

Objectives: Rugby Union has a relatively high risk of injury. Early evidence suggests a benefit of lowering tackle height to reduce head and neck injuries, although concerns persist among stakeholders regarding implementation challenges. This study aimed to understand whether referees can reach the same conclusion regarding tackle height in a controlled environment (ie, video) and whether priming influenced these decisions.Methods: Forty-eight active referees completed a questionnaire based on high-tackle decision-making guidelines after watching tackles. Participants were randomly assigned one of two instructional videos containing a high or legal tackle to investigate the impact of priming on law interpretation.Results: The percent agreement regarding tackle height was 78.1% between participants, 62.7% between participants and an experienced analyst, and 74.0% between participants and a gold-standard referee. Mean intra-rater reliability when determining whether a tackle was high was substantial (percent agreement: 91.2%). For high tackles, 83% of participants agreed on the danger level, 57% on the contact location and 71% on the presence of mitigating factors. No significant effects of priming were observed. Inter-rater agreement among participants and the gold-standard referee was moderate for all items except danger and height, which showed strong agreement.Conclusion: These results suggest a need for improved referee training to support changes to the legal tackle height

The "Friday Effect":School attendance over the week ⁱ

Using newly released detailed data on absence from school, we find a ‘Friday effect’—children are much less likely to attend schools in England on Fridays. We use daily level data across the whole of England and find that this pattern holds for different schools and for different types of absence, including illness-related authorised and unexplained unauthorised absence. The Friday absence rate is 1.5 percentage points (20%) higher relative to the rest of the week. For authorised absences, the Friday rate is 0.81 percentage points higher than that for Monday to Thursday, while for unauthorised absences it is 0.71 percentage points higher. Furthermore, we document a social gradient in the ‘Friday effect’ for unauthorised absences, where the effect is larger in more deprived areas. This is especially the case for secondary schools. Similarly, in secondary schools the ‘Friday effect’ is 51% larger in areas with the highest rates of persistent absence compared with areas with the lowest persistent absence rates. We explore reasons for the ‘Friday effect’ and do not find evidence that parents working from home explain the higher absence rate on Fridays. We do find that Friday absences are greater in weeks that precede either a bank holiday or half-term—suggesting that the extension of holidays or trying to avoid holiday traffic might go some way to explain the patterns that we find. We show that eliminating the ‘Friday effect’ could lead to an improvement of 1.15% of a standard deviation in test scores and a 0.14–0.25% increase in later life income. Tackling weekly absence patterns may therefore help to raise attainment and reduce inequalities.</p

Does being vegetarian make you boyfriend material? Investigating the role of dietary preferences on mate appeal

Altering consumer demand for meat calls for a deep understanding of the factors consistently influencing people's appetite for meat and thus acting as a barrier to dietary change. Previous research has supported the link between meat and masculinity and its implications for mate appeal, whereby omnivores are perceived as more attractive potential romantic partners due to greater perceived masculinity. The present study extends this research by distinguishing between the role of dietary preference on short- and long-term mate appeal. An experimental study presented participants with profiles of ostensible men either described as having omnivorous or vegetarian diets. Results indicated that there were no differences in mate desirability nor in perceived intelligence, wealth or caringness, contradicting previous research highlighting the romantic benefits of meat consumption. Vegetarian men, however, were rated as more faithful, possibly alluding to some greater appeal for long-term romantic relationships, but further replications are needed. Implications and directions for further research are discussed

Influence of fibre orientation on mechanical behaviour of Onyx-carbon fibre composites fabricated via additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing has introduced new possibilities for fabricating composite materials with tailored mechanical properties, particularly through precise control of fibre orientation. This study explores the influence of carbon fibre reinforcement orientation on the mechanical performance of Onyx FR-A composites, manufactured using the Markforged FX20 printer. Mechanical tests, including tensile, compressive, open-hole tension (OHT), and interlaminar shear stress (ILSS) tests, were conducted on specimens with varying fibre orientations (0° and 90° relative to the loading axis). The findings demonstrate that fibre orientation plays a crucial role in determining material behaviour, with 0° orientations providing enhanced tensile and compressive strength compared to 90° orientations. Additionally, additive manufacturing enables the creation of complex geometries, such as OHT specimens, without secondary processes like drilling, which can damage fibres, offering significant advantages over traditional methods. The results offer critical insights into composite design for high-performance applications

Dataset for "DNA Sensing with Whispering Gallery Mode Microlaser"

Nucleic acid sensing is crucial for advancing diagnostics, therapeutic monitoring and molecular biology research, by enabling the precise identification of DNA and RNA interactions. Here, we present an innovative sensing platform based on DNA-functionalized whispering gallery mode (WGM) microlasers. By correlating spectral shifts in laser emission to changes in refractive index, we demonstrate real-time detection of DNA hybridization and structural changes. The addition of gold nanoparticles to the DNA strands significantly enhances sensitivity, and labelling exclusively the sensing strand or a hairpin strand eliminates the need for secondary labelling of the target strand. We further show that ionic strength influences DNA compactness, and we introduce a hairpin-based system as a dual-purpose sensor and con-trolled release mechanism for potential drug delivery. This versatile WGM-based platform offers promise for sequence-specific nucleic acid sensing, multiplexed detection, and in vivo applications in diagnostics and cellular research. This dataset includes the data from Figures 1-5 of the associated paper. It is organised into folders by figure number for easy navigation, with filenames indicating the corresponding figure and identifying letters (e.g., a, b, c, d). For details on how the data was collected refer to publication and its supplementary information