245 research outputs found

    From theorising radicalisation to surveillance practices:Muslims in the cross hairs of scrutiny

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    This research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the Scottish Institute of Policing Research.There are several psychological analyses of the processes of radicalisation resulting in terrorism. However, we know little about how those in authority (e.g., the police) conceptualise the psychological dynamics to radicalisation. Accordingly, we present a detailed account of an official UK counter-terrorism intervention, the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent, designed to enlist front-line professionals in identifying and referring those at risk of radicalisation. Specifically, we report data gathered during an observation of this intervention delivered by the police in Scotland. This provides insight into the psychological model of radicalisation being disseminated in the UK and we evaluate the merits of this model in the light of current psychological theory. First, we consider how this model may overlook certain social dynamics relevant to understanding radicalisation. Second, we discuss how this neglect limits consideration of how the surveillance warranted by the official model may lead Muslims to disengage from majority group members. Our analysis points to how political psychology’s analysis of social identities and citizenship can inform public policy and practice.PostprintPeer reviewe

    'Hail England old England my country & home': Englishness and the Local in John Clare’s Writings

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    This article rethinks John Clare's connection to place, as well as the concepts of ‘place’ and ‘the local’ themselves. It argues that the localism of his work was enabled by potential alienation and displacement and was connected to a sense of wider national community. Clare's writings attempt to think of England in two related ways: as a political community brought together at times of threat, and as a community of taste brought together by a way of apprehending the natural world. His early patriotic verse is often strained and unconvincing, but poems such as ‘The Flitting’ present an idea of ‘native poesy’ that embodies the local and the national through careful description of the natural world. However, this idea was itself mediated through metropolitan attempts to reclaim the customs and literature of ‘merry England’. Thus Clare's localism and nationalism are shown to be ambivalent and uncanny

    A New Direction to Athletic Performance: Understanding the Acute and Longitudinal Responses to Backward Running

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    Backward running (BR) is a form of locomotion that occurs in short bursts during many overground field and court sports. It has also traditionally been used in clinical settings as a method to rehabilitate lower body injuries. Comparisons between BR and forward running (FR) have led to the discovery that both may be generated by the same neural circuitry. Comparisons of the acute responses to FR reveal that BR is characterised by a smaller ratio of braking to propulsive forces, increased step frequency, decreased step length, increased muscle activity and reliance on isometric and concentric muscle actions. These biomechanical differences have been critical in informing recent scientific explorations which have discovered that BR can be used as a method for reducing injury and improving a variety of physical attributes deemed advantageous to sports performance. This includes improved lower body strength and power, decreased injury prevalence and improvements in change of direction performance following BR training. The current findings from research help improve our understanding of BR biomechanics and provide evidence which supports BR as a useful method to improve athlete performance. However, further acute and longitudinal research is needed to better understand the utility of BR in athletic performance programs

    Professional Male Soccer Players' Perspectives of the Nutrition Culture Within an English Premier League Football Club: A Qualitative Exploration Using Bourdieu's Concepts of Habitus, Capital and Field

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    BACKGROUND AND AIM: Professional soccer players' self-reported dietary intakes often do not meet recommended sport nutrition guidelines. Although behaviour change models have previously explored barriers and enablers to nutritional adherence, the cultural factors influencing players' nutritional habits also warrant investigation. Accordingly, we aimed to explore players' perceptions of the nutrition culture within the professional soccer environment. METHODS: An interpretivist paradigm, which emphasises that reality is subjectively and socially constructed, underpins this study. Qualitative, face-to-face semi-structured interviews (comprising open-ended questions) were conducted with purposively sampled male soccer players from the English Premier League (EPL) (five British, five migrant; mean age: 26 ± 6 years; mean EPL appearances: 106 ± 129). Data were abductively analysed using thematic analysis according to Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, capital, field and doxa practices. RESULTS: This study revealed five key themes: (1) players' habitus, as shaped by familial, ethnic and religious backgrounds, influences their dietary habits; (2) social capital, via managers (head coaches), teammates and online influences, impact players' dietary practices; (3) the increase in both soccer clubs' and players' economic capitals has advanced nutrition provision; (4) an unequal distribution of economic capitals has led to hierarchical practice in the performance nutrition field with personalised nutrition being somewhat enacted at the higher levels; and (5) body composition measurement is a 'doxic' practice in professional soccer that warrants challenge. CONCLUSIONS: Soccer players' habitual nutritional practices are influenced by personal upbringing and the club context, including economic resources and social capital from managers. The performance nutrition field within professional soccer is also shaped by stakeholders' doxic beliefs surrounding the perceived optimal body composition of players, with managers exerting social capital

    Perceptions of Current Issues in Female Sport Nutrition From Elite Athletes, Practitioners, and Researchers

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    In response to the ongoing sex data gap, the present study provides a qualitative exploration of females’ nutritional experiences in elite sporting environments. Semistructured interviews were conducted with multiple participant groups (n = 18), including athletes (n = 7), practitioners (n = 6), and researchers (n = 5) across differing disciplines within professional sporting organiza-tions and/or national governing bodies. Combined content and thematic analysis provided an insight into the specific factors influencing current sport nutrition practices. A common theme highlighted among all participant groups was the paradoxical struggle between adequate fueling for training and competition demands, and the fear this may impact body mass and body composition goals. This tension was identified as being rooted within athletes’ perceptions of body image and driven by other participant groups and wider societal ideals. Each participant group also highlighted influences on cravings and approaches to food and dietary supplementation, centered around individual perceptions and challenges driven by symptomology associated with the female menstrual cycle and contraceptive use. To address these challenges, all participant groups called for more research to inform future change and continuing education pathways. In summary, this study contributes to providing a more complete understanding of elite female athlete sport nutrition experiences than currently exists. Multiple perspectives highlight the complexity of providing sport nutrition support to elite female athlete populations and directs future research, and practice, to reconsider one-size-fits-all approaches and acknowledge unique individual contexts which may influence these areas

    From Early Explorers to Restricted Practitioners: A Qualitative Analysis of Coaches’ Development, Context, and Practices Within U.K. Mixed Martial Arts

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    Despite its growing popularity and participation rates, mixed martial arts (MMA) coaching has not been the subject of much critical scholarly analysis. Accordingly, knowledge of this activity is limited, and inadequate, as a means of understanding this MMA context, and supporting those coaches who practice in it. To begin to address this gap, we report an initial exploration based upon three interviews with four experienced U.K.-based MMA coaches (12 interviews in total). Via a reflexive thematic analysis we generated four themes: (1) MMA coaches developed their practice via experiential and peer learning; (2) MMA coaches have dual aims of producing competitive athletes while appealing to paying, recreational participants; (3) private event promoters dictate competition dates, meaning preparation time may be suboptimal; and (4) MMA coaches rely on “coach’s eye” and subjective feedback to enact practices in relation to training load, fatigue, and skill development. Coupled with theoretical sensemaking, this novel exploration reveals MMA practices that are grounded in “folk pedagogies,” and shaped by economic imperatives and powerful actors. These findings provide an original and significant analysis of an increasingly prevalent coaching. This approach supplements existing quantitative training studies, thus enabling a pragmatic understanding of the U.K. MMA coaching, while also providing direction for future in-depth studies

    Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

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    [This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

    Perceptions of Current Issues in Female Sport Nutrition From Elite Athletes, Practitioners, and Researchers

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    In response to the ongoing sex data gap, the present study provides a qualitative exploration of females’ nutritional experiences in elite sporting environments. Semistructured interviews were conducted with multiple participant groups (n = 18), including athletes (n = 7), practitioners (n = 6), and researchers (n = 5) across differing disciplines within professional sporting organiza-tions and/or national governing bodies. Combined content and thematic analysis provided an insight into the specific factors influencing current sport nutrition practices. A common theme highlighted among all participant groups was the paradoxical struggle between adequate fueling for training and competition demands, and the fear this may impact body mass and body composition goals. This tension was identified as being rooted within athletes’ perceptions of body image and driven by other participant groups and wider societal ideals. Each participant group also highlighted influences on cravings and approaches to food and dietary supplementation, centered around individual perceptions and challenges driven by symptomology associated with the female menstrual cycle and contraceptive use. To address these challenges, all participant groups called for more research to inform future change and continuing education pathways. In summary, this study contributes to providing a more complete understanding of elite female athlete sport nutrition experiences than currently exists. Multiple perspectives highlight the complexity of providing sport nutrition support to elite female athlete populations and directs future research, and practice, to reconsider one-size-fits-all approaches and acknowledge unique individual contexts which may influence these areas

    Coastal lagoons and rising sea level: a review

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    Sea-level rise (SLR) poses a particularly ominous threat to human habitations and infrastructure in the coastal zone because 10% of the world's population lives in low-lying coastal regions within 10 m elevation of present sea level. There has been much discussion about projected (and the sources of projection) vs. measured SLR rates. Which rates should coastal scientists and managers apply in their studies, and what is the degree of confi- dence of such forecasts, are still open questions. This paper reviews the patterns and effects of relative SLR (RSLR) in coastal lagoons. Three main components are presented in the review: (a) a summary of the main approaches used in predicting medium- to long-term trends in RSLR, (b) a summary of the main evolutionary trends of coastal lagoons and the tools used to examine such trends, and (c) an identification of future research needs. The review reveals that the major source of uncertainty is how and when RSLR will manifest itself at different spatio-temporal scales in coastal lagoon systems, and how its effects can be mitigated. Most of the studies reviewed herein articulate a natural ‘defence’ mechanism of barriers in coastal lagoons by landward barrier retreat through continuous migration, and a gradual change in basin hypsometry during the retreat process. So far, only a relatively small number of detailed studies have integrated and quantified human impacts and coastal lagoon evolution induced by RSLR. We conclude that much more research about adaptation measures is needed, taking into consideration not only the physical and ecological systems but also social, cultural, and economic impacts. Future challenges include a downscaling of SLR approaches from the global level to regional and local levels, with a detailed application of coastal evolution prediction to individual coastal lagoon systemsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    The Physics of the B Factories

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    This work is on the Physics of the B Factories. Part A of this book contains a brief description of the SLAC and KEK B Factories as well as their detectors, BaBar and Belle, and data taking related issues. Part B discusses tools and methods used by the experiments in order to obtain results. The results themselves can be found in Part C
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