“Whatever you are gay, straight whatever...” stereotyped from the outside: an exploration of women footballers’ gender barriers and experiences

Women can be empowered by playing historically masculine sports, but can also encounter criticism and marginalisation if gender boundaries are challenged. The principal aim of the present study was to examine the lived experiences of 18-22 year old women football players from a University in the East of England. The study adopted a Bourdieusian framework to examine how participants contested and negotiated gendered practices within their sport. The ways in which participants adopted symbolic and cultural practices were investigated. Ethical approval was granted by a University ethics Committee. 6 participants were recruited using opportunistic sampling. Study methods triangulated non-participant ethnographic observations, semi-structured group interviews comprising of 6 individuals and 4 individual interviews. Field notes and interview data were transcribed and thematically analysed using axial coding. Findings from the study demonstrated many participants started off in ‘boys’ teams, and several participants reproduced the notion of male superiority in football by adopting ‘masculine ‘practices and describing how early mixed-gender experiences had made them more ‘physical’ players. Several participants described how they had felt empowered through these experiences, for example by winning awards. Conversely, a number of participants described abuse and resistance to their participation, suggesting that the gendered football habitus was contested and problematic for others in the field of football. The study highlights important issues regarding women’s early socialisation into football. Further research is required to examine how early experiences influence present perceptions of the gendering of women’s football

X-ray studies of molecular structure during the crystallisation of organic salts

Increasing numbers of pharmaceutical drugs are being produced in salt form to improve bioavailability, and handling and processing properties. Effective control of organic salt crystallisation from solution requires an improved understanding of the molecular-level interactions present in the solution before and during crystallisation. State-of-the-art X-ray techniques probe solution-phase systems at the short time- and length-scales required to reveal information about the chemical environment and local molecular structure of the solution. Core-level X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, combined with computational analysis, have been used to characterise an organic salt in solution and the phase from which an organic salt crystallises. The near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra of the C and N K-edges of aqueous imidazole (Imid) and imidazolium (ImidH+) are acquired using a novel combination of X-ray Raman scattering (XRS), near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations. C and N 1s core-level binding energies (from NAP-XPS) were used to assign relative ionisation potential energies. N-atom pseudoequivalence in ImidH+, defined by the single 1s to 1π* transition peak, contrasts with the two N moieties observed in Imid. TDDFT calculations revealed 1s to 3π* resonances in the ImidH+ C K-edge spectrum that are not present in the Imid spectrum. X-ray Pair Distribution Function (XPDF) patterns collected during the in situ cooling crystallisation of an aqueous solution of guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) indicate three distinct solution phases prior to crystallisation. For the first time, Empirical Potential Structure Refinement (EPSR) structural models, refined to experimental data, have been used to suggest the possible structural motifs that may dominate in the pre-crystallisation phases. The combined XPDF/EPSR approach was applied to the structures of 2, 4 and 6 M aqueous GuHCl solutions and suggested medium-range structural differences in Gdm+-Gdm+ interactions due to a critical solvation change between the 2 M solution, and higher-concentration solutions

Synthetic factors affecting the stability of methylammonium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals.

Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) have emerged as promising candidates for use in optoelectronic devices. Significant focus has been directed towards optimising synthetic conditions to obtain PNCs with tunable emission properties. However, the reproducible production of stable PNC dispersions is also crucial for fabrication and scale-up of these devices using liquid deposition methods. Here, the stability of methylammonium lead halide (MAPbX3 where X = Br, I) PNCs produced via the ligand-assisted reprecipitation process is explored. We have focussed on understanding how different combinations of specific synthetic factors - dilution, halide source and ratio as well as capping-ligand concentration - affect the stability of the resultant PNC dispersion. Photoluminescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering studies revealed that subtle changes in the reaction conditions lead to significant changes in the particle morphology and associated optical properties, often with catastrophic consequences on stability. This study highlights the importance of designing PNC dispersions in order to make more efficient and reliable optoelectronic devices.This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 818762 - SPECTRACON)

Raising awareness of Asperger’s Syndrome amongst coaches and athletes: the power of virtual support networks

The Virtual Alliance for sport technology (V.A.S.T) is an online tool utilised by a community of experts and practitioners to facilitate the generation and sharing of knowledge in order to promote inclusion in sport. The principal aim of the present study was to utilise this platform to create and evaluate an online teaching resource to provide support for coaches working with athletes with Asperger’s Syndrome. At present little information is provided by National governing bodies about Asperger’s, and as a consequence many athletes can be marginalised in sports provision. A methods-driven evaluative framework was adopted in order to assess the impact of the web-tool. Gantt timelines and a programme theory were produced prior to the project, and programme processes were evaluated throughout. Website impact was assessed via triangulation of statistical analysis regarding website usage with interviews conducted with network users. Results were interpreted using a figurational framework to investigate how information about the web-tool was disseminated and transformed through virtual networks of interdependencies which linked participants diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, their coaches and the online community. Results gained from this project are expected to highlight how web-based platforms have the capability to bring together otherwise marginalised groups with virtual networks of sports experts, athletes and practitioners. The implications of these results will increase awareness of participants with Asperger’s syndrome within sport and provide coaches, athletes and policy makers with information that will enable them to effectively teach and support sports participants with Asperger’s syndrome in an athlete-centric manner

Navigating entry into higher education: The transition to independent learning and living

Student transition into higher education can set the foundation for success at university. However, some students, perhaps in increasing numbers, find this transition difficult. This study explores contemporary students’ experiences when transitioning into Higher Education (HE) to gain an up to date picture of the multiple, potential sources of distress. Focus groups and interviews were held with a total of 10 participants. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The data suggests that students find a number of things difficult about their transition into HE. Overall, our findings suggest that some find challenges adapting to living independently, while some are also unprepared for independent study at university. These challenges and feelings of lack of preparedness can be experienced as particularly distressing for students who can feel that even their early academic performances are directly tied to their future opportunities for both success at university and later life. One of the main sources of support students seem to have are their new social networks. However, even establishing these networks can become an additional challenge. In the discussion, we explore how the existing literature generally supports these findings. The discussion also considers both if and why the challenges of learning and living independently–a consistent and longstanding part of university life–appears to be causing more problems now than previously. We provisionally introduce a new concept and focus for work in this area SAILL (Struggles Around Independent Learning and Living) and consider whether such a focus might help us conceptualise future work in this area

Exposure to maternal obesity during suckling outweighs in utero exposure in programming for post-weaning adiposity and insulin resistance in rats

Exposure to maternal obesity during early development programmes adverse metabolic health in rodent offspring. We assessed the relative contributions of obesity during pregnancy and suckling on metabolic health post-weaning. Wistar rat offspring exposed to control (C) or cafeteria diet (O) during pregnancy were cross-fostered to dams on the same (CC, OO) or alternate diet during suckling (CO, OC) and weaned onto standard chow. Measures of offspring metabolic health included growth, adipose tissue mass, and 12-week glucose and insulin concentrations during an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (ipGTT). Exposure to maternal obesity during lactation was a driver for reduced offspring weight post-weaning, higher fasting blood glucose concentrations and greater gonadal adiposity (in females). Males displayed insulin resistance, through slower glucose clearance despite normal circulating insulin and lower mRNA expression of PIK3R1 and PIK3CB in gonadal fat and liver respectively. In contrast, maternal obesity during pregnancy up-regulated the insulin signalling genes IRS2, PIK3CB and SREBP1-c in skeletal muscle and perirenal fat, favouring insulin sensitivity. In conclusion exposure to maternal obesity during lactation programmes offspring adiposity and insulin resistance, overriding exposure to an optimal nutritional environment in utero, which cannot be alleviated by a nutritionally balanced post-weaning diet