`Football Remembers':The Collective Memory of Football in the Spectacle of British Military Commemoration

This article examines two major rituals of contemporary national life in the UK: association football and military commemoration. It explores the ways in which remembering is enacted and performed within UK football and how these processes are related to issues of power, agency and identity in Britain today. Employing the concepts of collective memory and spectacle, this article argues that ‘memory entrepreneurs’ have sought to embed football as ‘site of memory’ in the performance of military commemoration. It concludes that this has contributed to the transformation of military commemoration, from a ritual that is observed to a spectacle that is consumed. This paper thus contributes to emergent debates on the militarization of civilian space, the shifting nature of civil–military relations in the twenty-first century, and the role of military remembrance in the reproduction of Britishness

O imaginário da derrota no esporte contemporâneo The competition and defeat experience in contemporary sports

Diante das necessidades impostas aos atletas de alto rendimento na atualidade, a superação se tornou um princípio e um termo recorrente entre aqueles que conseguiram chegar entre os mais destacados, os vencedores. Na estrutura do esporte contemporâneo observa-se a reprodução do modelo liberal que privilegia a vitória, embora sejam premiados os três primeiros colocados em disputas olímpicas. Isso leva muitas vezes o ganhador da medalha de prata e de bronze a se sentir derrotado, negando um feito digno de registro histórico. Os desdobramentos da derrota não são suficientemente estudados, o que contribui para uma atitude de negação em relação a essa situação tanto por parte de atletas como de profissionais que atuam no universo esportivo. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma discussão sobre o imaginário da derrota no esporte contemporâneo e como esse evento se dá entre atletas brasileiros ganhadores de medalhas olímpicas, bem como as suas várias representações no contexto social contemporâneo.<br>Considering the needs for high performance imposed to athletes nowadays, overcoming limits has become a principle and a recurrent term among those who achieve prominence: winners. In the structure of contemporary sports we observe a reproduction of the liberal model which privileges victory, although the first three prizes are awarded in Olympic disputes. This situation very often makes silver and bronze medallists feel defeated, denying their achievement, which is worth a historical record. The unfolding of defeat has not been properly studied, which contributes to denial of that situation by both athletes and professionals who work within the sports universe. The aim of this paper is to present a debate on the image of defeat in contemporary sports as well as how it takes place among Olympic medallists, together with its several representations in the contemporary social context

In vivo and in vitro investigations of heterozygous nebulin knock-out mice disclose a mild skeletal muscle phenotype

Nemaline myopathy is the most common congenital skeletal muscle disease, and mutations in the nebulin gene account for 50% of all cases. Recent studies suggest that the disease severity might be related to the nebulin expression levels. Considering that mutations in the nebulin gene are typically recessive, one would expect that a single functional nebulin allele would maintain nebulin protein expression which would result in preserved skeletal muscle function. We investigated skeletal muscle function of heterozygous nebulin knock-out (i.e., nebuli

Rugby union football in Australian society: an unintended consequence of intended actions

The place of rugby union football in Australian society presents a rich context to play and display critical social issues, particularly, identity formations and contestations. This essay examines the development of elite rugby union in Australia from its inception to professionalization. In its amateur development, the processes of colonization and cultural impositions created its culture and legacy. With the overlapping of sporting and economic networks, rugby union entered the professional era. This essay argues that the development from amateurism to 'shamateurism' to professionalism was uneven and contested on various levels. Whilst the development of rugby union in Australia was both a reflection and manifestation of globalization it did not totally parallel the globalization of sport in general, indeed rugby union football remains a particularly 'glocal' game. The points of resistance and departure, this essay concludes, distinguish the identity of rugby union from other sporting institutions and their wider social contexts