#RLNewEra: An exploratory study into the marketing planning activities of rugby league clubs in the UK. European Association of Sport Management Conference, September 9-12, 2015. Dublin, Ireland: EASM.

#RLNEWERA: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY INTO THE MARKETING PLANNING ACTIVITIES OF RUGBY LEAGUE CLUBS IN THE UK Mackreth, K ¹, Bond, A¹, O’Keeffe, L¹ ¹ Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK. [email protected] AIM: The sport of rugby league in the UK has embraced a new ‘whole game’ philosophy following the 2013 Policy Review that restored promotion and relegation (RFL, 2015). The resulting 2015 season competition format included a 12 team elite Super League, a 12 team Championship, and a new 14 team League One. In its 2015-2021 strategic plan, the Rugby Football League (RFL) outlined its vision to increase the visibility and profile of the sport in the UK, through an integrated marketing and communication plan (RFL, 2015). The integration of all league competitions through promotion and relegation facilitates an opportunity to increase the the visibility and profile of Championship teams. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the marketing activities that Championship teams have implemented to take advantage of the RFL’s new era. LITERATURE REVIEW: The sport marketplace in the UK is currently saturated, with consumers having a wide choice of sport and leisure offerings to engage with. This competitive environment requires sport industry managers to realise the contribution that marketing in general, and strategic marketing in particular, can make to the success of their organisation (Brooksbank, Garland & Werder, 2012). Strategic marketing planning has been stated as an appropriate policy for a wide range of organisations, from large multi-nationals to not-for-profit and small to medium sized enterprises (Harris & Jenkins, 2001). Regardless of size, many sporting organisations now employ marketing specialists to manage the contribution of marketing in the planning process. Despite this, it has been suggested that the sports industry is guilty of complacency in relation to marketing and promotion of their product (Shilbury, Westerbeek, Quick & Funk, 2009). Unfortunately there is currently a limited understanding of the marketing activities that have been utilised within rugby football league. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative research design was employed to investigate the RFL’s marketing strategy and the marketing planning activities of Championship RFL clubs. A purposive sampling technique was used, with semi-structured interviews carried out between July 2014 and January 2015 with appropriate representatives who had responsibility for marketing activity within their organisation. The sample included 12 participants, comprising of 1 RFL Executive Officer, ten Championship Club representatives, and 1 League One club representative, who had been relegated from the Championship. An interview guide was developed in line with a strategic sport marketing planning framework (Shilbury et al, 2009). The interview guide facilitated the data collection of key areas including: identification of marketing opportunities, strategy determination, strategy implementation, evaluation, and the exploration of barriers and facilitators to planning activities. All interviews lasted between 35 minutes to 65 minutes and were recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were then analysed using MAXQDA11 qualitative software package. RESULTS/DISCUSSION: The RFL had a marketing strategy with clear objectives of how to grow interest in the sport. Despite this, results indicate that 7 out of 11 Championship League clubs did not have a formalised strategic marketing plan in place. Instead, there was a reliance on a range of reactive and short-term marketing tactics to engage fans and increase attendances. Primary barriers recognised as impacting a club’s ability to develop and execute a coordinated strategic marketing plan were organisational structure, limited staffing resource, limited expertise and limited finance. All 11 clubs welcomed the restructuring of the league as they believe promotion and relegation would reinvigorate interest amongst their supporters and present an opportunity to broaden their fan base. Clubs felt they would benefit from a more formalised approach to strategic marketing planning to maximise engagement and take advantage of the change in league structure. IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: Due to the limited staffing resource, finance and expertise acknowledged within clubs, it is essential to develop shared expertise and resource across the sport. Without the development of shared resource there will continue to be a gap between the leagues and clubs off field performance. The findings support that greater commercial development is needed in Championship clubs to address the aforementioned barriers in the strategic marketing planning process. This will allow clubs to efficiently and effectively allocate marketing resources to engage supporters and generate a new fan base, especially within the restructured league format. REFERENCES: Brooksbank, R., Garland, R., & Werder, W. (2012). Strategic marketing practices as drivers of successful business performance in British, Australian and New Zealand golf clubs. European Sport Management Quarterly, 12(5), 457-475. Harris, L.C. & Jenkins, H, (2001) Planning the future of rugby union: a study of the planning activities of UK rugby clubs, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 19 Iss: 2, pp.112 – 124. RFL. (2015). Strategic and Operational Plans 2015 – 2021. Retrieved from http://www.therfl.co.uk/the-rfl/about_the_rfl/annual_report__governance. Shilbury, D.,Westerbeek, H., Quick, S. & Funk, D. (2009). Strategic sport marketing,3rd ed. Crows Nest, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin

Psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and adolescents: an updated narrative review of the evidence-base

While the evidence base for psychodynamic therapy with adults is now quite substantial, there is still a lack of research evaluating the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapies with children and young people. Those studies that have been carried out are also not widely known in the field. To help address the second point, in 2011, we carried out a review of the evidence base for psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and adolescents, which identified 35 studies which together provided some preliminary evidence for this treatment for a range of childhood disorders. The present study is an updated review, focusing on research published between March 2011 and November 2016. During this period, 23 additional studies were published, of which 5 were reports on randomised controlled trials, 3 were quasi-experimental controlled studies and 15 were observational studies. Although most studies covered children with mixed diagnoses, there were a number of studies examining specific diagnostic groups, including children with depression, anxiety and disruptive disorders. whilst the quality of studies was mixed, some were well-designed and reported, and overall indicated promising findings. Nevertheless, further high-quality research is needed in order to better understand the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy across a range of different disorders, and to ensure that services can provide a range of evidence-based treatments for children and young people

Maternal distress in late pregnancy alters obstetric outcomes and the expression of genes important for placental glucocorticoid signalling

The experience of maternal distress in pregnancy is often linked with poorer obstetric outcomes for women as well as adverse outcomes for offspring. Alterations in placental glucocorticoid signalling and subsequent increased fetal exposure to cortisol have been suggested to underlie this relationship. In the current study, 121 pregnant women completed the Perceived Stress Scale, State Trait Anxiety Inventory and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in the third trimester of pregnancy. Placental samples were collected after delivery. Maternal history of psychiatric illness and miscarriage were significant predictors of poorer mental health in pregnancy. Higher anxiety was associated with an increase in women delivering via elective Caesarean Section, and an increase in bottle-feeding. Birth temperature was mildly reduced among infants of women with high levels of depressive symptomology. Babies of mothers who scored high in all stress (cumulative distress) measures had reduced 5-min Apgar scores. High cumulative distress reduced the expression of placental HSD11B2 mRNA and increased the expression of placental NR3C1 mRNA. These data support a role for prenatal distress as a risk factor for altered obstetric outcomes. The alterations in placental gene expression support a role for altered placental glucocorticoid signalling in the relationship between maternal prenatal distress and adverse outcomes

Secondary building units, nets and bonding in the chemistry of metal–organic frameworks

This critical review presents a comprehensive study of transition-metal carboxylate clusters which may serve as secondary building units (SBUs) towards construction and synthesis of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). We describe the geometries of 131 SBUs, their connectivity and composition. This contribution presents a comprehensive list of the wide variety of transition-metal carboxylate clusters which may serve as secondary building units (SBUs) in the construction and synthesis of metal–organic frameworks. The SBUs discussed here were obtained from a search of molecules and extended structures archived in the Cambridge Structure Database (CSD, version 5.28, January 2007) which included only crystals containing metal carboxylate linkages (241 references)

Smoking as a risk factor for lung cancer in women and men: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Published by BMJ. Objectives To investigate the sex-specific association between smoking and lung cancer. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources We searched PubMed and EMBASE from 1 January 1999 to 15 April 2016 for cohort studies. Cohort studies before 1 January 1999 were retrieved from a previous meta-analysis. Individual participant data from three sources were also available to supplement analyses of published literature. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Cohort studies reporting the sex-specific relative risk (RR) of lung cancer associated with smoking. Results Data from 29 studies representing 99 cohort studies, 7 million individuals and >50 000 incident lung cancer cases were included. The sex-specific RRs and their ratio comparing women with men were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis with inverse-variance weighting. The pooled multiple-adjusted lung cancer RR was 6.99 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 5.09 to 9.59) in women and 7.33 (95% CI 4.90 to 10.96) in men. The pooled ratio of the RRs was 0.92 (95% CI 0.72 to 1.16; I 2 =89%; p<0.001), with no evidence of publication bias or differences across major pre-defined participant and study subtypes. The women-to-men ratio of RRs was 0.99 (95% CI 0.65 to 1.52), 1.11 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.64) and 0.94 (95% CI 0.69 to 1.30), for light, moderate and heavy smoking, respectively. Conclusions Smoking yields similar risks of lung cancer in women compared with men. However, these data may underestimate the true risks of lung cancer among women, as the smoking epidemic has not yet reached full maturity in women. Continued efforts to measure the sex-specific association of smoking and lung cancer are required

Event-by-Event Direction Reconstruction of Solar Neutrinos in a High Light-Yield Liquid Scintillator

The direction of individual $^8$B solar neutrinos has been reconstructed using the SNO+ liquid scintillator detector. Prompt, directional Cherenkov light was separated from the slower, isotropic scintillation light using time information, and a maximum likelihood method was used to reconstruct the direction of individual scattered electrons. A clear directional signal was observed, correlated with the solar angle. The observation was aided by a period of low primary fluor concentration that resulted in a slower scintillator decay time. This is the first time that event-by-event direction reconstruction in high light-yield liquid scintillator has been demonstrated in a large-scale detector

Trust, professionalism and regulation: a critical comparison of Medicine and Law

Background & Aims: Trust, professionalism and regulation are complex social phenomena, which are contextually dependent and dynamic. This project aims to explore the concept of ‘trust’ in Law and Medicine - questioning what it means to be a ‘trustworthy’ professional and how these understandings relate to ideas of professionalism and regulation. Methods: This study draws on a comprehensive review of the literature and interviews with thirty participants from within, or related to, the UK legal and medical professions. Participants included practitioners, those creating and implementing policy, and public representatives. Data was analysed using the ‘logics approach’ from Political Discourse Theory (PDT). This helped us draw out taken-for-granted ideas and beliefs about trust, professionalism and regulation and expose these to critique. Results: Participants highly valued patient/client trust, seeing it as fundamental to the functioning of their professional ‘service’. Trust was seen as attributed primarily to the individual practitioner and maintained through demonstrating measurable ‘professionalism’. Practitioners were understood to be individually responsible for preserving their image as a ‘good professional’, via evidencing their ‘professionalism’ to the patient/client and the regulator. Discussion: Current ways-of-thinking about trust permitted trust in individuals to be maintained, even when trust in the professions as a whole was challenged. However, for medical professionals particularly, this was predicated on a need to ‘evidence’ that one was a ‘good professional’ through intensive and continual regulation. This created an increased dependency on a ‘trust-industry’ of regulatory bodies and systems. This project critically questions how regulation shapes and impacts trust in the professions. It is a problem-driven approach, which seeks to break with current patterns of thinking and question: ‘what might be possible instead?’ This opens up an ideological space and new viewpoints, whereby audiences are encouraged to consider future change

The impact of service change on doctors' training (GMC 822)

The aim of this research is to gain a deeper understanding about the direct and indirect impacts of service change on doctors’ training: to understand if specific types of service change pose a risk to the training experience, and to gain insights into the contextual influences that undermine or enhance the education of doctors during service change