Estimating Energy Cost of Physical Activities from Video Using 3D-CNN Networks

This research proposes a machine learning model that can estimate the energy cost of physical activities from video input. Currently, wearable sensors are commonly used for this purpose, but they have limitations in terms of practicality and accuracy. A deep learning model using three dimensional convolutional neural network (3D-CNN) architecture was used to process the video data and predict the energy cost in terms of metabolic equivalents (METs). The proposed model was evaluated on a dataset of physical activity videos and achieved an average accuracy of 71% on energy category prediction task and an root mean squared error (RMSE) of 1.14 on energy cost prediction task. The findings suggest that this approach has the potential for practical applications in physical activity surveillance, health interventions, and at-home activity monitoring

An analysis of the nutrition support process in rugby union athletes in New Zealand: Practical considerations and applications within rugby developmental environments

Nutrition has long been an important consideration for optimal sporting performance and recovery, athlete well-being and the modulation of injury risk. Ensuring that athletes follow dietary patterns that are nutrient-dense and facilitate the meeting of energy and macronutrient requirements is a crucial part of the sports nutrition practitioners’ role. Furthermore, the practitioner should facilitate athletes understanding of meal timing and its potential benefit towards optimising performance and recovery. The accurate collection and interpretation of dietary intake data and provision of appropriate support towards athletes meeting overall nutrient requirements, promoting adherence to macro and micronutrient- dense dietary patterns and manipulation of meal timing may thus facilitate optimal performance and recovery. The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in December 2019 and subsequent global spread saw the World Health Organisation declare a pandemic. As a result, governments and local authorities implemented a variety of restrictions to minimise the spread of the virus. In March 2020, New Zealand enforced strict lockdown restrictions that saw the forced closure of shops, restaurants, gyms and training facilities alongside mask requirements, social distancing, and the encouragement of more intensive hygiene procedures. As such, the purpose of Chapter 3 was to report the perceived influence of such restrictions on nutrition and training habits in rugby players. Changes in living situations were reported in response to lockdown restrictions, and diet quality may have improved, with limited respondents reporting reduced fruit and vegetable intake and increased packaged and convenience food intake. Furthermore, participants reported a reduction in motivation to exercise and train during lockdown, with follow-up survey responses indicating positive changes once restrictions were lifted. A variety of sources of nutrition information aside from dieticians or nutritionists were reported by participants including coaching staff, team-mates, family, social media, and the internet. Collectively, the data indicate that unexpected events such as the emergence and global spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus can influence athletes’ dietary choices and nutrition practitioner support may be valuable for ensuring athletes make appropriate dietary choices during times of reduced training volume to maintain lean mass, adaptations, health and mitigate injury risk upon the return to play. The use of technology to assist and facilitate the monitoring and analysis of dietary intake has gained popularity in both research and practice due to less participant burden and the potential for more accurate information. Despite this, the practical validity of such tools is unknown. The findings of Chapter 4 indicate that the remote food photography method application utilised in this thesis demonstrates ecological validity on a group level in athletic individuals. Despite this, significant individual variability is present, with inter-individual discrepancy in the % difference in calculated energy and macronutrient values. As such, the findings of this data suggest the remote food photography method may be beneficial for providing group level recommendations; however, individual intakes must be interpreted with caution. In Chapter 5, the daily distribution patterns of professional and semi-professional rugby players were investigated. Rugby players may benefit from consideration of protein distribution, with mechanistic research suggesting an even spread of 0.4g‧kg‧d across 4 – 6 meals may result in a more optimal anabolic response; as such, adherence to such a pattern may optimise recovery, physiological adaptations, and performance. The data in Chapter 5 are in alignment with patterns presented in other athletic disciplines, whereby sub-optimal consumption is reported at snacks and only two eating occasions meeting the proposed 0.4g‧kg threshold for eliciting an optimal anabolic response. The manipulation of daily protein distribution was to be applied as an intervention in response to the findings in Chapter 5 to investigate the influence of optimised patterns on body composition, performance variables and well-being; however, it was determined following initial monitoring of the participants’ dietary intake that requirements based on best- practice literature and recommendations were not being met. As such, the intervention reported in Chapter 6 was adapted to investigate how the implementation of full-time nutrition practitioner support delivered over a four-week period in an environment where prior support was minimal influenced total and per-meal nutrient intake, nutrition knowledge, body composition and well-being in provincial academy rugby players. Significant increases following intervention delivery were observed for total energy and protein intake. Additionally, consumption of protein at the breakfast, post-gym and snack eating occasions was greater. Carbohydrate intake pre-gym significantly increased in response to the intervention whilst consumption at PM snack and dinner was reduced. The development and execution of the research contained in this thesis demonstrates the unpredictable and volatile nature of working in performance environments. Furthermore, major challenges during the nutrition support process, as would be delivered by sports nutrition practitioners, may influence the quality-of-service provision. As summarized in Chapter 7, the research in this thesis provides novel insight into the influence of full-time nutrition support when delivered by practitioners over a four-week period; as such, future research should further bridge the gap between research and practice by analysing the impact of nutrition support over prolonged periods. Additionally, incorporating qualitative data collection will allow for the better understanding of athletes’ perceptions of current and desired nutrition support, how the inclusion of nutrition support benefits their perceptions of performance and well-being, and how well- received the inclusion of nutrition support would be. Additionally, future research should aim to build upon the themes introduced in this thesis and explore how the manipulation of dietary protein intake influences athlete-specific performance and adaptation, allowing for the creation of sport-specific, evidence-informed recommendations

Validación concurrente y de constructo de una escala para valorar el esfuerzo percibido de hombres jóvenes durante el ciclismo acuático

Se ha recomendado la actividad física en el medio acuático con colocación vertical del cuerpo en una variedad de programas y actividades de ejercicio físico debido a sus positivos beneficios relacionados con la salud y el rendimiento físico. Esto ha atraído y aumentado el número de individuos aparentemente sanos de diferentes grupos de edad y sexo, e, incluso, aquellos con necesidades especiales que realizan ejercicios en el medio acuático. Además de las ventajas del entrenamiento en el medio acuático para el acondicionamiento físico general, se ha producido una expansión en el universo del “aqua fitness” debido a la aparición de varios tipos de equipos o materiales desarrollados para potenciar los beneficios de las propiedades físicas específicas del agua. Fruto de la aceptación de los materiales destinados al acondicionamiento físico en el medio acuático en posiciones verticales, se han adaptado incluso otros equipos/materiales que hasta la fecha eran más propios del medio terrestre, como por ejemplo así son las bicicletas acuáticas, el “aqua step”, los mini trampolines, las cintas de correr, los “aqua postes”, los remos y máquinas elípticas, etc. En este sentido, el ciclismo acuático es una forma de acondicionamiento físico que puede incorporar personas interesadas en mantener o mejorar, entre otros aspectos, la aptitud cardiorrespiratoria. Sabiendo que este tipo de actividad puede ser aplicable a todos los grupos de edad y niveles de acondicionamiento físico. En general, es conocido que para que se pueda conseguir una mejor prescripción, control y seguridad del ejercicio físico, los parámetros más utilizados para monitorizar la intensidad durante las sesiones y/o actividades suelen ser la frecuencia cardíaca (FC) y las calificaciones o ratios del carácter del esfuerzo percibido (RPE) durante la realización de ejercicio físico. Para monitorizar la RPE durante el ejercicio físico se ha aplicado habitualmente la escala de Borg (1982) y, en base a ella, se han validado otras escalas para diferentes grupos de edad y tipos de ejercicios, aplicables muchas de ellas tanto al ámbito del fitness como a áreas clínicas. Dichas escalas han sido validadas para ejercicios en tierra tras establecer su adecuación mediante correlaciones con diversas variables fisiológicas. Sin embargo, todavía no existe una escala de RPE específicamente validada para el ciclismo desarrollado en el medio acuático. Por tanto, la presente tesis tuvo como objetivo validar una escala de tasa de esfuerzo percibido para controlar la intensidad durante el ciclismo acuático desarrollado por hombres jóvenes, sanos y en forma. Por tanto, en este estudio, treinta hombres jóvenes, sanos y físicamente activos realizaron un protocolo de cicloergómetro acuático con aumento progresivo de la carga. La validez concurrente se estableció correlacionando la Escala de Ciclismo Acuático (ECA) con la captación de oxígeno, la ventilación pulmonar (VE), la FC y las respuestas de concentración de lactato en sangre (LS) a la prueba de carga incremental máxima. La validez de constructo se estableció correlacionando la RPE derivada de la ECA (0-10) con la obtenida con la Escala de Borg (6-20). Se midió la RPE general, el consumo máximo de oxígeno (VO2máx), el consumo de oxígeno indexado al peso corporal (VO2), VE, FC y LS durante cada etapa del ejercicio. El rango de respuestas al ejercicio en la prueba incremental fue: VO2máx = 1.07–3.55 L / min; VO2 = 14.26–46.89 ml / Kg / min; VE = 23.17–138.57 L / min; FC = 99.54–173.31 latidos / min; BL = 1,18-11,63 mM; ECA global = 1,11-9,33. Los análisis de correlación / regresión mostraron la ECA como una función lineal positiva de VO2max (r = 0.78; p <0.05), VO2 (r = 0.87; p <0.05), VE (r = 0.86; p <0.05), HR (r = 0,77; p <0,05) y BL (r = 0,85; p <0,05). La ECA se mostró distribuida como una función lineal positiva de la escala RPE-Borg (r = 0,97; p <0,05). El ANOVA indicó que una cadencia de pedaleo incremental de 15 batidos por minuto (bpm) provocó diferencias significativas (p <0.05) con respecto a etapas previas en la mayoría de las variables analizadas. En conclusión, la ECA es una herramienta apropiada para monitorizar la intensidad del esfuerzo durante el ciclismo desarrollado en el medio acuático en hombres jóvenes, sanos y en forma. De manera aplicada se observó que un breve incremento en la cadencia de pedaleo acuático de 15 bpm aumentará la intensidad del ejercicio durante el pedaleo acuático.Physical activity in the aquatic environment with vertical body positioning has been recommended in a variety of physical exercise programs and activities due to its positive health and physical performance benefits. This has attracted and increased the number of apparently healthy individuals of different age groups and sex, and even those with special needs who exercise in the aquatic environment. In addition to the advantages of training in the aquatic environment for general physical conditioning, there has been an expansion in the universe of "aqua fitness" due to the appearance of various types of equipment developed to enhance the benefits of the specific physical properties of water. As a result of the acceptance of materials intended for physical conditioning in the aquatic environment in vertical positions, even other equipment/materials that to date were more typical of the land environment have been adapted, such as aquatic bicycles, the aqua step, mini trampolines, treadmills, aqua poles, oars and elliptical machines, etc. In this sense, water cycling is a form of physical conditioning that can be incorporated by people interested in maintaining or improving, among other aspects, cardiorespiratory fitness. Knowing that this type of activity can be applicable to all age groups and levels of physical conditioning. In general, it is known that in order to achieve a better prescription, control and safety of physical exercise, the most used parameters to monitor intensity during sessions and / or activities are usually the heart rate (HR) and the ratings or ratios of the character of the perceived exertion (RPE) during the realization of physical exercise. To monitor RPE during physical exercise, the Borg (1982) scale has been applied and based on it, other scales have been validated for different age groups and types of exercises, many of them applicable both to the field of fitness as well as clinical areas. These scales have been validated for exercises on land after establishing their adequacy through correlations with various physiological variables. However, there is still not specifically validated RPE scale for cycling developed in the aquatic environment. Therefore, the present thesis aims to validate a scale of perceived exertion rate to control the intensity during water cycling developed by young, healthy and fit men. Therefore, in this study, thirty young, healthy and physically active men performed a water cycle ergometer protocol with progressively increasing load. Concurrent validity was established by correlating the Aquatic Cycling Scale (ACS) with oxygen uptake, pulmonary ventilation (VE), HR, and blood lactate concentration (BL) responses to the maximal load incremental test. Construct validity was established by correlating the RPE derived from the ACS (0-10) with that obtained with the Borg Scale (6-20). Overall RPE, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), body weight indexed oxygen uptake (VO2), VE, HR, and BL were measured during each stage of exercise. The range of responses to exercise in the incremental test was: VO2max = 1.07–3.55 L/min; VO2 = 14.26-46.89 ml/Kg /min; VE = 23.17-138.57 L/min; HR = 99.54–173.31 beats/min; BL = 1.18-11.63 mM; Global RCT = 1.11-9.33. Correlation/ regression analyzes showed ACE as a positive linear function of VO2max (r = 0.78; p <0.05), VO2 (r = 0.87; p <0.05), VE (r = 0.86; p <0.05), HR (r = 0.77; p <0.05) and BL (r = 0.85; p <0.05). The ACE was distributed as a positive linear function of the RPE-Borg scale (r = 0.97; p <0.05). The ANOVA indicated that an incremental pedaling cadence of 15 beats per minute (bpm) caused significant differences (p <0.05) with respect to previous stages in most of the variables analyzed. In conclusion, the ACS is an appropriate tool to monitor the intensity of effort during cycling developed in the aquatic environment in young, healthy and fit men. In an applied way, it was observed that a brief increase in the water pedaling cadence of 15 bpm will increase the intensity of the exercise during water pedaling

The Paradox of Parkour: An Exploration of the Deviant-Leisure Nexus in Late-Capitalist Urban Space

The cultural lifestyle sport of parkour maintains an ambiguous position at the nexus between deviance and leisure. It conforms to consumer capitalism’s commodified norms of ‘cool individualism’, risk-taking, and the creation of ‘deviant’ identities, whilst remaining a spatially transgressive practice that is continuously excluded by the spatial guardians of the hyper-regulated city. Drawing upon ultra-realist criminological theory and a critical rethinking of leisure, consumerism and urban space, this thesis explains parkour’s ambiguous position by suggesting that there is a fundamental paradox at the heart of parkour’s spatial practice that is a product of late-capitalism’s own making. As Post-Fordist Western societies shifted toward a consumer-oriented economy, consumer capitalism had to stoke the desire for cool and alternative identities such as parkour that tapped into subjectivities increasingly oriented to socio-symbolic competition and individualistic distinction. Simultaneously, deindustrialised cities were regenerated through the commodified urban leisure economy, prompting a renewed reliance upon hyper-regulated urban spaces to harness and direct desire and identities and consumption into these commodified spatial contexts. Consequently, this thesis argues that the paradox of parkour is a dual-product of late-capitalism’s cultivation of subjectivities geared to the pursuit of unique and culturally relevant identities, and a consumer economy that is reliant upon the hyper-regulated specificity of central consumer spaces. Consequently, consumer capitalism is caught in the double-bind of simultaneously promoting parkour whilst attempting to prohibitively direct it into approved and commodified spatial contexts. This is a paradox that has been entirely neglected in the academic literature on parkour, due in large part to the fetishisation of parkour as a form of ‘resistance’. This thesis challenges this fundamental assumption, drawing upon 28-months of in-depth ethnography among a parkour community in the North East of England. It accesses the wider life-worlds of traceurs, following them not only through their illicit practice of parkour in the city, but through their attempts to ‘make it’ in the commodified and professional world of parkour, cultural lifestyle sports, and social media fame. It explores the desires and motivations at the heart of the traceurs’ practice and their attempts to preserve a sense of culturally-relevant identity while navigating the precarious waters of early adulthood in late-capitalism. Additionally, the thesis utilises walking interviews with security guards to supplement ethnographic observations around spatial governance, systemic spatial violence and the amoral economy of late-capitalist cities. As such, the thesis provides a critical rebuke to the romanticisation of parkour as a mode of proto-political resistance, and instead attempts to explain its ambiguous position in the deviant-leisure nexus through an in-depth analysis of urban change, consumer culture, and identity in late-capitalism

Technology and Management for Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructures

A total of 30 articles have been published in this special issue, and it consists of 27 research papers, 2 technical notes, and 1 review paper. A total of 104 authors from 9 countries including Korea, Spain, Taiwan, USA, Finland, China, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Germany participated in writing and submitting very excellent papers that were finally published after the review process had been conducted according to very strict standards. Among the published papers, 13 papers directly addressed words such as sustainable, life cycle assessment (LCA) and CO2, and 17 papers indirectly dealt with energy and CO2 reduction effects. Among the published papers, there are 6 papers dealing with construction technology, but a majority, 24 papers deal with management techniques. The authors of the published papers used various analysis techniques to obtain the suggested solutions for each topic. Listed by key techniques, various techniques such as Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the Taguchi method, machine learning including Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), regression analysis, Strength–Weakness–Opportunity–Threat (SWOT), system dynamics, simulation and modeling, Building Information Model (BIM) with schedule, and graph and data analysis after experiments and observations are identified

Place, recreation and local development

Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas (MMV9), Bordeaux, FRA, 29-/08/2018 - 31/08/2018It is our pleasure to welcome you to the 9th international Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas (MMV9) with a program including keynote speeches, organized and poster sessions, a half-day field trip, social events and post conference trips. This is the first time that France has hosted an MMV Conference. Our country is ranked as the world's top tourist destination, thanks largely to its culture, art, and gastronomy, as well as popular cities such as Paris and Bordeaux. On the other hand, France's potential as a destination for outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism is not hugely publicized, despite its many unique features in this respect: varied climate and natural assets (shoreline, mountains, lakes, and forests), large expanses of countryside, and a network of protected natural areas, to name but a few. France's protected areas are often free to access for the general public. However, in contrast with other countries, nature conservation in specific areas is much less widespread. Where it does take place, it is often centered on territories that are perceived to be "attractive", and where many conflicting activities are practiced. This may be one of the reasons why contractual tools and regional park systems are quite popular in France. The MMV Conference offers an excellent opportunity to discuss the situation in France in greater depth. The theme proposed for the conference was "recreation, place and local development". This reflects our assumption that recreational areas are not just physical assets designed to receive visitors for the purpose of leisure - which in itself would already be something of great importance - but that they reflect deeper social phenomena, as demonstrated through the range of organized sessions dedicated to discussing questions such as environmental education and economic development, but also emerging themes such as social integration, community resilience, environmental justice, and health. The traditional topics covered by MMV Conference reflect an evolving society: with innovations in monitoring techniques (both on people and nature), focus on new populations (Y generation, ethnic minority) and a larger concern for individual engagement and participative management. The 9th Edition of MMV is co-hosted by Irstea and BSA. This would not have been possible without significant contributions from a large number of additional partners and sponsors as well as our national scientific and organizing committee. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their help. After two years of planning, we are proud to announce that we have more than 160 presentations from 30 countries, meaning that the conference will host over 200 participants from across the globe. We are honored that the International Steering Committee has given us the opportunity to be part of this great MMV community, which organized its first meeting in 2002. We hope you will enjoy the conference as much as we enjoyed organizing it. If you can't be with us in person, we hope that you will enjoy reading our publications

GENDERED EMBODIMENT, STABILITY AND CHANGE: WOMEN’S WEIGHTLIFTING AS A TOOL FOR RECOVERY FROM EATING DISORDERS

This thesis explores the everyday embodied experiences of women who use amateur weightlifting as a vehicle for recovery from eating disorders. Within online spaces and on social media, women frequently share their experiences of using weightlifting to overcome issues relating to disordered eating, body image, and mental health. In particular, women with a history of eating disorders credit weightlifting to be integral to their recovery journey. However, there is a dearth of research on women’s experiences with exercise during eating disorder recovery and no research that identifies weightlifting as beneficial to this process. To the contrary, discursive links are drawn between the practices of self-surveillance exercised by both eating disorder sufferers and weightlifters alike. In this regard, engagement with weightlifting during eating disorder recovery may signal the transferal of pathology from one set of behaviours to another. That is, from disordered eating to rigid and self-regulatory exercise routines. This thesis examines how women subjectively navigate and make sense of this pathologisation. The data for this research comes from longitudinal semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation with 19 women, living in the United Kingdom, who engaged in weightlifting during their eating disorder recovery. In addition, to build up a holistic picture and to explore how this phenomenon also ‘takes place’ online, I conducted a netnography of the overlapping subcultures of female weightlifting and eating disorder recovery on Instagram. Women’s standpoint theory and interpretative phenomenological analysis are combined to form the underpinning theoretical and analytical tools used to engage with these three rich data sets. Moreover, throughout I draw on an eclectic range of disciplinary perspectives, in order to bring together multiple fields of research and develop novel theoretical frameworks. In the findings, I argue that women’s experiences using weightlifting as a tool for recovery from eating disorders manifests in an embodied sense of multiplicity. In this sense, understandings of the body that are often viewed as ontologically distinct (muscularity/thinness/fatness) hang-together at once in the lived experience of a single individual. I argue that women, particularly those who have previously struggled with an eating disorder, are too readily positioned as vulnerable to media and representation. To theoretically combat these ideas regarding women’s assumed passivity, I develop the concept of ‘digital pruning’ to account for women’s agency in relation to new media. I contend that weightlifting offers women in recovery from eating disorders a new framework for approaching eating and exercise. Specifically, weightlifting’s norms and values legitimate occupying a larger body, which gives women in recovery permission to eat and gain-weight in a way that is both culturally sanctioned and health-promoting. Finally, I explore identity transformation as a specific tenet of recovery from eating disorders. I argue that, on social media, recovery identities are characterised by personal empowerment, resilience, and independence. While offline, quieter and less culturally glorified aspects of recovery (such as relationships of care) are central to women’s accounts of developing a new sense of self as they transition away from an eating disorder identity. In summary, this thesis is an examination of the ways in which women strategically navigate pathology in relation to their bodies, social media, food/exercise practices, and identity. I argue that women develop a set of ‘DIY’ recovery practices that allow them to consciously channel and draw on their negative experiences with eating disorders, to develop new ways of living that serve their overall wellbeing. Weightlifting is integral to this process, as it provides women transitioning out of this difficult phase in their lives with new ways of relating to their bodies and of being in the world. I situate this phenomenon within a neoliberal socio-political climate in which individuals are required to take personal responsibility for their mental health and wellbeing, despite living within conditions which are not conducive to recovery

Salford postgraduate annual research conference (SPARC) 2012 proceedings

These proceedings bring together a selection of papers from the 2012 Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC). They reflect the breadth and diversity of research interests showcased at the conference, at which over 130 researchers from Salford, the North West and other UK universities presented their work. 21 papers are collated here from the humanities, arts, social sciences, health, engineering, environment and life sciences, built environment and business

The development and evaluation of a novel online tool for assessing dietary intake and physical activity levels for use in adult populations

The Synchronised Nutrition and Activity Program for Adults (SNAPA™) was developed to address the need for accurate, reliable, feasible, inexpensive and low burden methods for measuring diet and physical activity behaviours in free-living adult populations. Usability testing (n=5) identified a number of usability issues and the program was revised accordingly. Test-retest reliability (n=44) revealed no substantial systematic shifts in mean values. Outcome variables were percentage food energy from fat (%fat), number of fruit and vegetable portions (FV), and minutes of moderate to vigorous activity (MVPA). Single measure intra-class correlations (ICC) ranged from 0.62 to 0.72 and average measure ICC range from 0.76 to 0.84. The preliminary method comparison study (n=71) revealed correlations between SNAPA™ and multiple pass recall dietary interview-derived %fat and FV portions of 0.48 (bootstrapped 90% CI 0.31, 0.64) and 0.42 (bootstrapped 90% CI 0.22, 0.60) respectively. The correlation between SNAPA™ and accelerometry-derived MVPA was 0.39 (bootstrapped 90% CI 0.08, 0.64). The in-depth primary method comparison study (n=77) investigated the agreement between SNAPA™ and dietary observation and combined heart rate and accelerometry. The mean match and phantom rates between SNAPA™ and lunchtime dietary observation was 81.7% and 5.6%, respectively. Correlations between SNAPA™ and the reference method outcomes ranged between 0.39 and 0.56. Passing-Bablok (type II) regression analysis revealed both fixed and proportional bias for the estimation of energy intake; proportional bias for fat intake (g); a fixed bias for MVPA, and no substantial biases for %fat or FV portions. SNAPA™ was used to collect diet and physical activity data in a health promotion campaign, ‘Get a Better Life’ (n=1201), providing useful information on the feasibility of using the program in a real-world initiative. SNAPA™ is a promising tool for the surveillance of diet and physical behaviours at a group level in adult populations