'Leave your ego at the door’: A narrative investigation into effective wingsuit flying

In recent years there has been a rapid growth in interest in extreme sports. For the most part research has focused on understanding motivations for participation in extreme sports and very little research has attempted to investigate the psychological structure of effective performance. Those few studies that have attempted to explore this issue have tested models designed for traditional sport on adventure sports. However, extreme sports are not the same as adventure sports or traditional sports. This study employed a narrative approach to investigate experiences of effective performance in the extreme sport of proximity wingsuit flying. An overarching theme we labelled ‘leave your ego at the door’, emerged based on four sub-themes: (1) know thy self, (2) know thy skills, (3) know the environment now, and (4) tame the ‘inner animal’. These themes are presented and discussed in relation to performance and discovery narratives identified within elite sport, thereby shedding light on how participants’ experiences of the extreme sport of proximity wingsuit flying differ from dominant stories within traditional sports

Understanding Action and Adventure Sports Participation-An Ecological Dynamics Perspective.

Previous research has considered action and adventure sports using a variety of associated terms and definitions which has led to confusing discourse and contradictory research findings. Traditional narratives have typically considered participation exclusively as the pastime of young people with abnormal characteristics or personalities having unhealthy and pathological tendencies to take risks because of the need for thrill, excitement or an adrenaline 'rush'. Conversely, recent research has linked even the most extreme forms of action and adventure sports to positive physical and psychological health and well-being outcomes. Here, we argue that traditional frameworks have led to definitions, which, as currently used by researchers, ignore key elements constituting the essential merit of these sports. In this paper, we suggest that this lack of conceptual clarity in understanding cognitions, perception and action in action and adventure sports requires a comprehensive explanatory framework, ecological dynamics which considers person-environment interactions from a multidisciplinary perspective. Action and adventure sports can be fundamentally conceptualized as activities which flourish through creative exploration of novel movement experiences, continuously expanding and evolving beyond predetermined environmental, physical, psychological or sociocultural boundaries. The outcome is the emergence of a rich variety of participation styles and philosophical differences within and across activities. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (a) to point out some limitations of existing research on action and adventure sports; (b) based on key ideas from emerging research and an ecological dynamics approach, to propose a holistic multidisciplinary model for defining and understanding action and adventure sports that may better guide future research and practical implications

Preliminary Experience with Digital Subtraction Angiography in Cardiac Evaluation

iVe report our initial experience using digital subtraction angiography (DSA) techniques for cardiac evaluation. DSA of the heart may be performed with intravenous or right atrial injection of contrast medium (IVDSA) and with left ventricular or aortic root contrast injection (lADSA). The right ventricle and the atria are best demonstrated by IVDSA, while the left ventricle and coronary arteries are best demonstrated by lADSA. The advantages and disadvantages of DSA ofthe bean are discussed. Present equipment limitations restrict the routine use of cardiac DSA, but these should be overcome with advances in technology

Pipelines and Their Portfolios: A More Holistic View of Human Capital Heterogeneity Via Firm-Wide Employee Sourcing

Scholars use the term pipelines to encapsulate many ways that firms target talent sources. Yet pipeline scholarship is fragmented to date, so we have few answers for several salient questions: Why do pipelines exist? What are their attributes? And what are their implications for firms? In this paper, we explore these questions. Based on an extensive literature review, we first distill the commonalities and core attributes of pipelines and then develop a theory-driven typology to ensure a consistency in understanding. Next, we suggest that a common theoretical justification runs through the uses of pipelines: Pipelines address labor market imperfections confronted by firms when they staff positions, counterbalancing the seemingly detrimental reduction in candidates that pipelines engender. We use this insight to theoretically delineate why different types of pipelines exist. Finally, we discuss how firms develop unique combinations, or portfolios, of pipelines to ameliorate the range of imperfections that they face to manage talent sourcing across the enterprise. In total, our paper describes how firms strategically manage pipeline portfolios, why firms turn to them to accumulate talent, and how they create between-firm heterogeneity of human capital resources

Adventurous Physical Activity Environments: A Mainstream Intervention for Mental Health

Adventurous physical activity has traditionally been considered the pastime of a small minority of people with deviant personalities or characteristics that compel them to voluntarily take great risks purely for the sake of thrills and excitement. An unintended consequence of these traditional narratives is the relative absence of adventure activities in mainstream health and well-being discourses and in large-scale governmental health initiatives. However, recent research has demonstrated that even the most extreme adventurous physical activities are linked to enhanced psychological health and well-being outcomes. These benefits go beyond traditional ‘character building’ concepts and emphasize more positive frameworks that rely on the development of effective environmental design. Based on emerging research, this paper demonstrates why adventurous physical activity should be considered a mainstream intervention for positive mental health. Furthermore, the authors argue that understanding how to design environments that effectively encourage appropriate adventure should be considered a serious addition to mainstream health and well-being discourse

Health and Wellbeing in an Outdoor and Adventure Sports Context

Outdoor and adventure sports (OAS) have been linked to positive health and wellbeing outcomes. This Special Edition brings together cutting-edge research and thought on the implications of this link. An analysis of the papers in this Special Edition reveals important insights into (i) the diverse and powerful outcomes derived from adventure experiences, (ii) how adventure experiences facilitate these outcomes, (iii) how best to design outdoor and adventure experiences. The evidence in this edition indicates a need for a more systematic approach to the inclusion of OAS as important to good health and wellbeing. OAS should be included as part of education, health, policy and planning. Keywords: wellbeing; outdoor and adventure sport

Designing Affordances for Health-Enhancing Physical Activity and Exercise in Sedentary Individuals.

Ideas in ecological dynamics have profound implications for designing environments that offer opportunities for physical activity (PA), exercise and play in sedentary individuals. They imply how exercise scientists, health professionals, planners, designers, engineers and psychologists can collaborate in co-designing environments and playscapes that facilitate PA and exercise behaviours in different population subgroups. Here, we discuss how concepts in ecological dynamics emphasise the person-environment scale of analysis, indicating how PA environments might be (re)designed into qualitative regions of functional significance (affordances) that invite health-enhancing behaviours according to individuals' capacities and skills (effectivities)

Decision making and risk management in adventure sports coaching

Adventure sport coaches practice in environments that are dynamic and high in risk, both perceived and actual. The inherent risks associated with these activities, individuals’ responses and the optimal exploitation of both combine to make the processes of risk management more complex and hazardous than the traditional sports where risk management is focused almost exclusively on minimization. Pivotal to this process is the adventure sports coaches’ ability to make effective judgments regarding levels of risk, potential benefits and possible consequences. The exact nature of this decision making process should form the basis of coaching practice and coach education in this complex and dynamic field. This positional paper examines decision making by the adventure sports coach in these complex, challenging environments and seeks to stimulate debate whilst offering a basis for future research into this topic

Nature-Based Interventions for Improving Health and Wellbeing : The Purpose, the People and the Outcomes

Engagement with nature is an important part of many people's lives, and the health and wellbeing benefits of nature-based activities are becoming increasingly recognised across disciplines from city planning to medicine. Despite this, urbanisation, challenges of modern life and environmental degradation are leading to a reduction in both the quantity and the quality of nature experiences. Nature-based health interventions (NBIs) can facilitate behavioural change through a somewhat structured promotion of nature-based experiences and, in doing so, promote improved physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. We conducted a Delphi expert elicitation process with 19 experts from seven countries (all named authors on this paper) to identify the different forms that such interventions take, the potential health outcomes and the target beneficiaries. In total, 27 NBIs were identified, aiming to prevent illness, promote wellbeing and treat specific physical, mental or social health and wellbeing conditions. These interventions were broadly categorized into those that change the environment in which people live, work, learn, recreate or heal (for example, the provision of gardens in hospitals or parks in cities) and those that change behaviour (for example, engaging people through organized programmes or other activities). We also noted the range of factors (such as socioeconomic variation) that will inevitably influence the extent to which these interventions succeed. We conclude with a call for research to identify the drivers influencing the effectiveness of NBIs in enhancing health and wellbeing.Peer reviewe