Burpee interval training is associated with a more favorable affective valence and psychological response than traditional high intensity exercise

Acute psychological responses to physical activity may help explain long-term adherence to it. Thus, we compared acute psychological responses to different exercise protocols with identical durations. Eighteen moderately active young adults [Mage = 23, SD = 3 years; MVO2max (maximum oxygen consumption) = 42.8, SD = 4.3 mL kg1 min1 ; MBMI (body mass index) = 24, SD = 2 kg m2 ] completed three low-volume exercise sessions in a crossover research design: (a) sprint interval training (SIT), (b) burpee interval training (BIT) requiring 10 × 5 second efforts with 35 seconds of passive recovery, and (c) a single bout of vigorous intensity continuous training (VICT) requiring 6 minutes and 5 seconds of running at ∼85% of peak heart rate (HRpeak). We assessed participants’ ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), affective valence, enjoyment, intention, preference, and self-reported recovery and wellness before, during, and after each session. BIT was associated with significantly greater enjoyment, preference, and exercise intention (at 5 × week) than VICT (p ≤ .05). SIT elicited greater RPE (M = 5.38, SD = 2.00) than both BIT (M = 2.88, SD = 1.23) and VICT (M = 3.55, SD = 1.38) (p ≤ .05), and we observed a higher increase in RPE over time with SIT versus BIT (p = .019). For affective valence, SIT (M = 0.55, SD = 2.12) elicited a more aversive response than both BIT (M = 2.55, SD = 1.09) and VICT (M = 1.94, SD = 1.51) (p ≤ .05), and there was a higher increase in this aversive response to SIT over time (p < .05). Forty-eight-hour postexercise session muscle soreness was significantly lower with VICT than with BIT (p = .03). Overall, BIT was associated with more positive psychological responses than SIT and VICT

Variability of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in patients with atrial fibrillation and determination of exercise responders to high-intensity interval training and moderate-to-vigorous intensity continuous training.

Disabling atrial fibrillation (AF)-related symptoms and different testing settings may influence day-to-day cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) measurements, which can affect exercise prescription for high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-to-vigorous intensity continuous training (M-VICT) and their outcomes. This study examined the reliability of CPET in patients with AF and assessed the proportion of participants achieving minimal detectable changes (MDC) in peak oxygen consumption (V̇O2peak) following HIIT and M-VICT. Participants were randomized into HIIT or M-VICT after completing two baseline CPETs: one with cardiac stress technologists (CPETdiag) and the other with a research team of exercise specialists (CPETresearch). Additional CPET was completed following 12 weeks of twice-weekly training. Reliability of CPETdiag and CPETresearch was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and dependent t-tests. The MDC score was calculated for V̇O2peak using a reliable change index. The proportion of participants achieving MDC was compared between HIIT and M-VICT using chi-square analysis. Eighteen participants (69±7 years, 33% females) completed two baseline CPETs. ICC was significant for all measured variables. However, peak power output (POpeak: 124±40 vs. 148±40 watts, p&lt;0.001) and HR (HRpeak: 136±22 vs. 148±30 bpm, p=0.023) were significantly greater in CPETresearch than CPETdiag. Few participants achieved MDC in V̇O2peak (5.6 mL/kg/min) with no difference between HIIT (0%) and M-VICT (10.0%, p=0.244). POpeak and HRpeak differed significantly in patients with AF when CPETs were repeated under different settings. Caution must be practiced when prescribing exercise intensity based on these measures as under-prescription may increase the number of exercise non-responders

Indirect Victims of Child Sexual Abuse: Preliminary findings from research on the needs of and support for families of child sexual abuse

Child sexual abuse is a complex and highly emotive subject. This research focuses on what victimologists sometimes called ‘indirect’, tertiary’ or even ‘secondary’, ‘victims’. These people are those non-abusers who are close to the ‘primary’ or ‘direct’ victim/s – the abused child/children. Indirect victims might be parents, carers, guardians, siblings, grandparents or friends. The experiences and needs of these people have rarely been the subject of research; yet the small number of (mostly US-based) studies of families of children subjected to sexual assault point to the profound impacts such offences can have, particularly on mothers. This poster reports on some preliminary findings from my ongoing research on the needs of and support for families of child sexual abuse. Findings derive from discussions with key contacts and from semi-structured interviews with key professional staff working in agencies involved in such cases. It reports in general terms on their perceptions of the ‘ripple effect’ emanating from child sexual abuse. Specifically it reports on their perceptions of who is affected, how people are affected, what their needs are and what services/support is available. Ultimately the research examines the scope and adequacy of extant support structures with a view to minimising risk and reducing harm in families

How does proximity to crime influence people's perception of safety?

Individuals may put themselves at risk of criminal victimisation through a misguided sense of safety born from the optimistic notion that crime happens “elsewhere”. Despite the analogous nature of fear and perceived safety, the latter has received far less research attention within the criminological literature. As perceptions of safety are guided by cognitive appraisals of the threat a danger poses, the present study aimed to investigate whether crimes that occur in nearby locations affect perceptions of safety more so than those that occur further away, due to the proximity of the danger or threat thereof. Respondents were given a number of fictitious scenarios within which a crime was presented as having occurred at one of four locations, ranging in distance from the respondents’ hometown (i.e. the independent variable). The respondents rated each scenario in terms of its seriousness, how safe they would perceive themselves to be following the news of the crimes and how likely they would be to engage in precautionary measures following the crimes (i.e. the dependent variables). The relationship between crime seriousness, perceived safety and a numberof prominent sociodemographic factors that have emerged from the fear of crime literature were also examined. Proximate crimes were found to produce lower perceptions of safety; higher crime seriousness ratings; and greater likelihood of engaging in reactive behaviours than distant crimes, as hypothesised. It was found that young people, females and those who get most of their crime information from local news sources tended to report lower safety perceptions, although several findings were inconsistent with previous research. Possible explanations and implications of the findings are discussed and an argument is made for the importance of increasing individuals’ knowledge and awareness of victimisation risks, rather than attempting to reduce fear of crime as has been a major research focus to date

On the origins of consorting laws

AbstractConsorting laws have piqued the attention of Australian legislatures. In the last year alone, two states have re-enacted these offences, which criminalise repeated association with criminals. Such measures, though, have a pedigree stretching over seven centuries. This article offers an historical analysis of consorting offences, placing them in the context of a long line of statutes that criminalised the act of associating with undesirable classes of people. It traces their emergence from the beginnings of English vagrancy legislation in the late-mediaeval period, to early attempts in the Australasian colonies to suppress inchoate criminality, and then to 20th century efforts to tackle organised criminal activities. What emerges is that consorting offences are neither a modern phenomenon nor one restricted to the antipodes

Criminal Trial Juries in Australia: From Penal Colonies to a Federal Democracy

The recent history of juries in Australia reveals an interesting clash between the endeavours of state and territory governments to reduce the costs associated with jury trial by various means and the determination of the High Court of Australia to reassert the traditional values and features of jury trial

Does charity begin and end at home for tax exemptions?

Charitable organisations have remained exempt from income tax in Australia since the first comprehensive state income tax legislation in 18841 through to the current Income Tax Assessment Act 1977. The charitable exemption was also part of the English income tax legislation from its inception in 1799. The Federal Treasurer has released exposure draft legislation which seeks to remove taxation exemptions from some tax exempt organisations that perform any of their activities outside Australia or make trust distributions overseas. The proposed legislation is in response to alleged tax avoidance arrangements which involve tax exempt organisations and charitable trusts. The paper begins by describing the current charity tax exemption provisions under the Income Tax Assessment Act (ITAA). It then turns to tracing the background policy history of the amendments which appear to be at odds with the form and intent of the proposed provisions. The proposed amendments and their practical consequences are then closely scrutinised and found wanting in a number of respects. Alternative strategies are suggested to arrive at an equitable solution to the avoidance mischief