53 research outputs found

    Private Military and Security Labour Migration: the Case of Fiji

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    Private military and security companies (PMSCs) are a fast-growing global industry. While the rise of PMSCs and their activities have attracted much media coverage and growing scholarly attention, little is known about their sourcing of masses of military labour from the global South. This exploratory study examines the case of Fiji, whose thousands of ex/current disciplinary force personnel and unemployed men have been contracted by PMSCs to provide security work in Iraq and other high-conflict areas. The article shows this to be an instance of unequal core-periphery military labour trade, outlining its scale, processes and impacts on the migrants. It also illuminates how the migrants’ collective agency is demonstrated even under powerful structural constraints

    Double-trouble: Negotiating Gender and Sexuality in Post-colonial Women’s Rugby in Fiji

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    Although women’s exclusion in sport has attracted significant attention in the western context, similar issues in relation to post-colonial societies have remained in the margins of the sociology of sport. By analysing primary, interview-based evidence, in this article we explore the challenges female rugby players face regarding gender and sexuality in Fiji; a male dominated post-colonial society. In particular, we focus on participants’ resistance to dominant cultural practices and ways in which they (re)negotiate gender norms and sexuality in a double-bind struggle against both traditional and sporting male hegemonies. We argue that the case of Fijian women rugby players illustrates an interplay between a multiplicity of power relations in sport in a post-colonial society and the resilience with which the athletes negotiate and respond to them, as well as the dynamic nature and the transformative potential of their everyday practices

    ‘Representing’ the Voices of Fijian Women Rugby Players: Limits and Potentials of Research as a Transformative Act

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    The politics of research practice has been discussed extensively in ethnographic and methodological literature, and increasingly in sport research literature. In this article we intend to contribute to the growing body of transformative research in the sociology of sport with reflections on our experience as dominant group researchers in a post-colonial, sub-cultural sporting environment; women’s rugby union in Fiji. We first examine the dilemmas and uncertainties engendered by our gendered/sexual positionalities and how we have sought to negotiate them. We also place our research in the context of Pacific islanders’ continuous effort for knowledge decolonisation and examine the ways in which our research replicates colonial silencing of local voices, however inadvertently. Finally, we explore the broader transformative potentials researchers may contribute to by situating their work as a collective and dialogic project within and beyond academic exercises, between researchers, athletes and others

    The effect of acute fatigue on countermovement jump performance in rugby union players during preseason training

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    This study aims to capture and explore my personal experiences of trust whilst working as a performance analyst. I began working as a PhD research student and a high performance Paralympic sport performance analyst in April 2014. To critically analyse my role within the team as the sole sports performance analyst, an autoethnographic approach was adopted. Following ethical approval, I maintained a self-reflective diary drawing on my thoughts, opinions and experiences during a fifteen-month period between April 2014 and June 2015. I conducted an inductive thematic content analysis on the recorded reflections whereby the phenomenon of trust emerged as a key theme. To explore the importance of trust, I engage with key theoretical concepts (Hoy and Tschannen-Moran, 1999, Journal of School Leadership, 9, 184-208; Day, 2009, Journal of Educational Administration, 47 (6), 719-730; Sztompka, 2000, Trust: A sociological theory, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; Hardin, 2002, Trust and Trustworthiness, New York: Russell Sage Foundation) and draw upon the key personality traits and characteristics identified for effective sport science practitioner to excel within their respected discipline (Partington and Orlick, 1987, The Sport Psychologist, 1, 309-317; Lubker et al., 2008, Journal of Sport Behaviour, 31 (2), 147-165). Four essential components for establishing trust between myself, and the athletes and staff were identified: appearance and visibility, confidence, honesty and integrity, and self-care. Stronger athlete-coach-analyst relationships were established once each team member articulated the four components. Athletes and coaches became attuned to the importance of performance analysis and a greater utilisation of the discipline was observed within the team’s practice. Trust therefore must be established by a performance analyst between athletes and coaches in order to advance the provision of performance analysis within a high performance sport system

    Radical right populist politics in Hungary: Reinventing the Magyars through sport

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    Given the contemporary growth of ‘populist’ political parties and movements in a number of highly-developed democratic states in Europe and North America, there has been a resurgence in academic interest around the various causes for the groundswell of support for political populism. Given this broader political context, this paper explores the interconnection between sport and populist politics in Hungary, with a particular emphasis on the appropriation of sport by ‘right-wing’ populist political actors. In particular, this paper will examine the politics – sport interconnection by discussing Victor Orbán’s, Hungary’s Prime Minister, use of football, and sport more broadly, and the ways in which the Hungarian government have attempted to reinvent a strong nation and national identity through sport and related political populism. These attempts have been influenced by the interaction between forces of Westernisation and the country’s continuing post-communist transition, with the view to (re)inventing the Hungarian nation

    Women’s Barriers to Becoming and Being a Strength and Conditioning (S&C) Coach

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    Background: Strength and conditioning (S&C) is a key part of athletic development. This has led to an increase in the number of people who seek employment in the field. Sports Coach UK (2013) data reveal that approximately 69% of all coaches are men with the remaining 31% being women, only 18% of which are qualified coaches. Evidently, female coaches are under-represented in S&C, especially at the elite-level. Lack of experience, family conflicts, high expectations and discrimination have been identified as reasons for lack of women in coaching and S&C positions. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been an increase of women in S&C during the last two decades. Despite this upsurge in numbers, there is still a paucity of evidence in regard to women’s experiences of/barriers in advancing in S&C. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore perceptions & attitudes towards becoming a female S&C coach in predominantly male dominated sports and to identify the reasons why female coaches are marginalised in the sector. Methods: To explore this lacuna, we have carried out an exploratory study using one-on-one semi-structured interviews conducted with female S&C coaches in key positions, working in elite sports. A snowball sampling method was used to recruit participants. All participants have had significant S&C experience and have worked with both male and female athletes. Voice data was analysed through thematic coding and key themes identified which form the spine of the discussion. Findings: Participants noted three main challenges that they, as S&C coaches, have faced. Those include: institutional politics, marginalisation and impression management of gender identity. All of these acted as barriers to reaching higher positions of leadership or to secure S&C positions in other sports. Discussion: This study advances knowledge by increasing our understanding of the socio-cultural challenges women in S&C positions encounter and have to overcome to prove to be as competent and effective as their male counterparts

    Key Determinants of Team Success in Elite Men’s Wheelchair Basketball

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    Performance Analysis has become an integral part of the coaching process within elite wheelchair basketball, assisting staff with the delivery of augmented feedback (Fliess-Douer et al. 2016). Whilst previous attempts to explore the key determinants of success within wheelchair basketball have identified that stronger teams accumulate a greater number of assists, turnovers, free-throw and field goal shooting attempts (Gómez et al. 2015; Molik et al. 2009), the use of secondary box score data in such studies has been questioned for both its validity and reliability (Ziv et al. 2010). The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore the key determinants of team success within elite men’s wheelchair basketball using a valid and reliable wheelchair basketball data collection system using primary data collected from match notation (see Francis et al., 2015). Following University ethical approval, footage from 31 men’s games at the 2015 European Wheelchair Basketball Championships was coded using a developed template in SportsCode (V10, SportsTec Inc.) that included 108 action variables grouped into 19 categorical variables: Time, Home Team, Away Team, Offensive Unit (3.0/3.5), Offensive Unit (4.0/4.5), Defensive Unit (3.0/3.5), Defensive Unit (4.0/4.5), Match Status, Start of Possession, Man Out Offence, Shot Taken, Shot Point, Shot Outcome, Shot Location, Shot Clock Remaining, End of Possession, Defensive System, Defensive Outcome and Possession. The template’s reliability had been assessed by Francis et al. (2015) (inter-observer reliability: 0-5% error; intra-observer reliability 0-5% error). The data was subjected to a two-stage statistical analysis procedure in R (R Core Team 2015). Stage 1: Chi-squared tests highlighted 15 categorical variables that were significantly (p<0.05) associated with final game outcome (winning versus losing). The category with the highest level of statistical significance was Match Status (p<0.001). Stage 2: The multicollinearity between explanatory categories were explored. Categories that demonstrated perfect collinearity were removed. Using a 70% sample of the data (4,288 possessions), a forward and backwards stepwise elimination approach was used to build a final model, which included seven categories comprising of 37 action variables: Match Status, Defensive Unit (3.0/3.5), Offensive Unit (3.0/3.5), Offensive Unit (4.0/4.5), Stage, Defensive System and Start of Possession. When tested against the remaining 30% data set an area under the curve value of 0.749 was achieved which suggests the model has ‘fair’ predictive qualities. The final model indicates the importance of maintaining a winning state throughout the game, selecting a unit which predominately comprises of three point players and countering when the defence are pressing. Coaches, players and support staff can utilise the findings from the study to assist with the planning of offensive and defensive game strategies by identifying areas for development within training sessions, supporting selection and line-up combinations and informing the decision-making process of coaches and players during performances

    The realities of utilising participatory research and creative methods to explore the experiences of non-heterosexual coaches

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    Participatory research is “with”, “for” and “by” participants, rather than “on” or “to” them, thereby moving away from a traditional subject-researcher relationship towards a cooperative approach. Participatory research seeks empowering and equitable ways to conduct research with participants, which is pertinent with marginalised groups that have historically been side-lined by traditional methods. This article explores the value of participatory research with non-heterosexual coaches, and the importance of centralising participants’ lived experience and knowledge in research. Given the limited use of creative methods within coaching research, attention will be focused on the realities of deploying such methods. We argue that coaches in research should have the opportunity to authentically express their experiences, and insights through methods of their choosing. In doing so, diverse, intersectional knowledge may be shared, and opportunities created to support the exploration of sensitive, complex topics that exist within coaching practice

    Perceived Social Pressures and the Internalization of the Mesomorphic Ideal: the Role of Drive for Muscularity and Autonomy in Physically Active Men

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    BACKGROUND: Researchers have tested the beliefs of sportspeople and sports medicine specialists that cognitive strategies influence strength performance. Few investigators have synthesised the literature. OBJECTIVES: The specific objectives were to review evidence regarding (a) the cognitive strategy-strength performance relationship; (b) participant skill level as a moderator; and (c) cognitive, motivational, biomechanical/physiological, and emotional mediators. METHOD: Studies were sourced via electronic databases, reference lists of retrieved articles, and manual searches of relevant journals. Studies had to be randomised or counterbalanced experiments with a control group or condition, repeated measures, and a quality control score above 0.5 (out of 1). Cognitive strategies included goal setting, imagery, self-talk, preparatory arousal, and free choice. Dependent variables included maximal strength, local muscular endurance, or muscular power. RESULTS: Globally, cognitive strategies were reliability associated with increased strength performance (results ranged from 61 to 65 %). Results were mixed when examining the effects of specific strategies on particular dependent variables, although no intervention had an overall negative influence. Indeterminate relationships emerged regarding hypothesised mediators (except cognitive variables) and participant skill level as a moderator. CONCLUSIONS: Although cognitive strategies influence strength performance, there are knowledge gaps regarding specific types of strength, especially muscular power. Cognitive variables, such as concentration, show promise as possible mediators
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