Football in the community schemes: Exploring the effectiveness of an intervention in promoting healthful behaviour change

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a Premier League football club’s Football in the Community (FitC) schemes intervention in promoting positive healthful behaviour change in children. Specifically, exploring the effectiveness of this intervention from the perspectives of the participants involved (i.e. the researcher, teachers, children and coaches). A range of data collection techniques were utilized including the principles of ethnography (i.e. immersion, engagement and observations), alongside conducting focus groups with the children. The results allude to the intervention merely ‘keeping active children active’ via (mostly) fun, football sessions. Results highlight the important contribution the ‘coach’ plays in the effectiveness of the intervention. Results relating to working practice (i.e. coaching practice and coach recruitment) are discussed and highlighted as areas to be addressed. FitC schemes appear to require a process of positive organizational change to increase their effectiveness in strategically attending to the health agenda

Focus groups as a qualitative method for crosscultural research in social gerontology

The focus group approach for collecting qualitative data can be usefully applied in social gerontological studies, both in a single setting and cross-culturally. The experiences of the research terms participating in the Comparative Study of Asian Elderly in employing focus groups are described, and their advantages and disadvantages as a general method for gathering basic qualitative data are discussed. While the method has promise, it also should be recognized that conducting focus group research within the context of a comparative study compounds the considerable time, effort, and funds that focus group research for basic social science already requires.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42971/1/10823_2004_Article_BF00972029.pd

Searching for Planets Orbiting Fomalhaut with JWST/NIRCam

We report observations with the JWST/NIRCam coronagraph of the Fomalhaut (α PsA) system. This nearby A star hosts a complex debris disk system discovered by the IRAS satellite. Observations in F444W and F356W filters using the round 430R mask achieve a contrast ratio of ∼4 × 10−7 at 1″ and ∼4 × 10−8 outside of 3″. These observations reach a sensitivity limit of 0.7 mag (Vega) color. Whether this object is a background galaxy, brown dwarf, or a Jovian-mass planet in the Fomalhaut system will be determined by an approved Cycle 2 follow-up program. Finally, we set upper limits to any scattered light from the outer ring, placing a weak limit on the dust albedo at F356W and F444W. © 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]