Poland's 2011 Online Election Campaign: New Tools, New Professionalism, New Ways to Win Votes

This article analyzes the use of the online environment within the context of the Polish parliamentary election of 2011. Using traditional methods of content analysis, we find that parties tend to adhere to a professionalized model of campaigning, and adapting online tools to suit the objectives of the campaign. There also appears to be a recognition that their most likely visitors to these online presences would be converts, and so they attempt to mobilize supporters rather than convert browsers. New parties and candidates are more likely to target browsers, with the latter offering a more personalized experience to online visitors. Importantly, when analyzing the outcome of the contest, we find that being online matters for candidates when controlling for all other variables. Equally, the reach the candidate has, which may well influence their vote share, is dependent on offering a more personalized, representational image and having a frequently updated online presence that should encourage repeat visits. Cumulatively, we suggest the future of online campaigning must not only focus on having a presence, but on using it in a way that appeals to a range of visitors, encouraging repeat visits, and that this strategy could have a positive impact on election outcomes. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Ground reaction force differences in the countermovement jump in girls with different levels of performance

Purpose: The aim of this study was to ascertain the biomechanical differences between better and poorer performers of the vertical jump in a homogeneous group of children. Method: Twenty-four girls were divided into low-scoring (LOW; M age = 6.3 ± 0.8 years) and high-scoring (HIGH; M age = 6.6 ± 0.8 years) groups based on their performance on the vertical jump. The force-, velocity-, displacement-, and rate of force development (RFD)-time curves of vertical jumps were analyzed to determine the differences between groups. Results: The analysis of the data showed differences in the pattern of the ensemble mean curves of the HIGH and LOW groups, although the majority of the differences occurred during the eccentric contraction phase of the jump. The differences in the HIGH group with respect to the LOW group were: lower force at the beginning of the movement, higher speed and RFD during the eccentric phase, high force at the beginning of the concentric phase, higher velocity during the concentric phase, and a higher position at takeoff. Conclusion: The results showed that the HIGH group achieved a higher jump height than did the LOW group by increasing the effectiveness of the countermovement and achieving a more advantageous position at takeoff.Centro de Investigación en Rendimiento Físico y Deportiv

Living beyond the binary: experiences of shame and violence within the genderqueer community

The aim of this chapter is to contribute to the debate on deconstructing the gender binary, toexplore notions of experiencing shame and violence, and also to identify key points of self-concept ingenderqueer people, by running a survey in three different countries: Greece, the UK and the Netherlands.The survey is the first to explore the impact of this gender- binary discourse and the experience of shameand violence within this frame, within the genderaqueer community in a comparative perspective. Thechapter contributes to the debate on perceptions of masculinity and femininity in association with shameand violence, while reconnoitring the role of culture as a driver of these perceptions and how that role leadsto the re-evaluation of the self along with the sense and impact of shame as a relational process with the self and the society. The survey approaches shame and violence, not only in terms of how they are perceived by the genderqueer community, but also of how they are expressed, e.g. in a passive way (directed violence against a person) or active way (person as actor engaging in violent behaviour) in everyday life. The application of different perspectives on confronting the binary, power and shame provides a critical take on the gender-based debate and on the crux of self-concept and identifies breaks with existing thinking and practice that are essential to any reform of gender recognition policy.</p