Professionalism versus amateurism in grass-roots sport: associated funding needs

Considerations of professionalization within sport are typically limited to the commercialization processes that generate the funding regimes and impact the expenditure patterns of professional sports teams. By contrast, using historical data, this article analyses how professionalism and the professionalization of elite rugby has impacted the amateur game, in general, and challenged the core values of amateurism and the associated funding needed for the amateur/grass-roots game, in particular. It compares funding and expenditure patterns in amateur sports clubs for a particular sport – rugby football union, aka rugby. This article utilizes a case study analysis of amateur clubs in the Wellington Rugby Football Union, a provincial union of the New Zealand Rugby Union. It finds that professionalism is exhibited in the amateur game both as a top-down phenomenon and a bottom-up phenomenon as new actors have entered the institutional field. The study also notes that whilst such changes have been gradual, the costs of these changes are now outpacing clubs’ ability to fund them

Safeguarding children across services: messages from research

The book begins by defining the different forms of abuse and their effects, and examining the effectiveness of universal preventative measures such as education programmes

Reporting Standards and Evaluation Framework for Social Prescribing: A Delphi Study

Social prescribing is ‘a way of connecting people, whatever their age or background, with their community to better manage their health and wellbeing’ (WG, 2023, p.1). A complex intervention, social prescribing involves multiple stakeholders, models, user types, varying aims, and a range of outcomes that may result from the intervention. Given this complexity, there are challenges to evaluating social prescribing and evaluations have faced criticism e.g., a lack of quality and limited reporting regarding their approach, methodology, data collection and analysis.Issues regarding rigour and transparency of reporting within social prescribing evaluations have created difficulties to assess the quality of evidence. Policy makers, commissioners, practitioners, and researchers acknowledge the need to develop the social prescribing evidence base, yet no evaluation framework to undertake robust social prescribing evaluations currently exists.Aim:This study builds on the work of ACCORD – a multi-phase programme of research comprising a realist review2 and two consensus studies. The aim is to produce a quality social prescribing evaluation framework and reporting standards for social prescribing evaluation. Both the framework and reporting standards are intended to build research capacity amongst academics and non-academics (e.g., third sector, public sector) to develop and deliver rigorous evaluations, increasing the quality of the evidence base and credibility of social prescribing evaluations, benefitting users, professionals, researchers, organisations, decision-makers, and commissioners.Report: The following report presents the findings of an international online Delphi study which sought consensus on the items for inclusion within a quality social prescribing evaluation framework and reporting standards for social prescribing evaluation

Spatial multilevel modelling of cancer mortality in Europe

Abstract available: p. i-ii

The Effects of Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage on the Human Response to Dynamic Exercise

Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is a commonly experienced phenomenon, yet its effect on the human response to dynamic exercise is poorly understood. Therefore the intention of this thesis was to provide empirical evidence to advance the scientific knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon of EIMD; principally by investigating the physiological, perceived exertion and metabolic responses to the performance of dynamic exercise with EIMD. The eccentric, muscle-damaging exercise protocol employed for all four studies involved participants completing 100 squats performed as 10 sets of 10 repetitions with the load on the bar corresponding to 70% of the individual’s body mass. Measures of markers of muscle damage were taken before and after the eccentric exercise protocol in each of the four studies. The markers used were plasma creatine kinase activity, isokinetic peak torque and perceived muscle soreness. Cycling rather than running was used as the dynamic exercise mode in studies 1, 2 and 4 in order to avoid the confounding influence of alterations in gait subsequent to EIMD. The dynamic exercise in study 3 was performed inside a whole body scanner and was therefore limited to knee extension and flexion. These four studies have provided novel insights into the influence of eccentric, muscle-damaging exercise on the human response to the performance of dynamic exercise. We have demonstrated for the first time that following EIMD, the enhanced ventilatory response to dynamic exercise is provoked by stimuli unrelated to the blood lactate response, and that this enhanced ventilation may provide an important cue to inform the perception of effort. Furthermore, we have shown that the reduced time to exhaustion observed following EIMD is associated with an elevated perception of exertion and increases in [Pi] during dynamic exercise. Finally, we have demonstrated that the kinetic response is unaltered during the transition to high intensity dynamic exercise. Changes in [HHb] kinetics indicate that compensatory mechanisms act to preserve blood-myocyte O2 flux in the face of microvascular dysfunction, resulting in the unaltered observed across the rest-to-exercise transition

Training in health coaching skills for health professionals who work with people with progressive neurological conditions: A realist evaluation

Background Supporting people to self‐manage their long‐term conditions is a UK policy priority. Health coaching is one approach health professionals can use to provide such support. There has been little research done on how to train clinicians in health coaching or how to target training to settings where it may be most effective. Objective To develop theories to describe how training health professionals in health coaching works, for whom and in what circumstances, with a focus on those working with people with progressive neurological conditions. Design Realist evaluation using mixed methods (participant observation, pre‐ and post‐training questionnaires, and telephone interviews with participants and trainers). Realist data analysis used to develop and refine theories. Intervention Two 1‐day face‐to‐face training sessions in health coaching with 11 weeks between first and second days. Setting and participants Twenty health‐care professionals who work with people with neurological conditions in the UK, two training facilitators. Results Four theories were developed using context‐mechanism‐outcome configurations to describe how training triggers critical reflection; builds knowledge, skills and confidence; how participants evaluate the relevance of the training; and their experiences of implementing the training. Some participants reported a major shift in practice, and others implemented the training in more limited ways. Discussion Fully embracing the role of coach is difficult for health professionals working in positions and settings where their clinical expertise appears most highly valued. Conclusions Training should address the practicality of using coaching approaches within existing roles, while organizations should consider their role in facilitating implementation