Howzat? The Financial Health of English Cricket: Not Out, Yet

In 1997 a review of the financial health of English county cricket highlighted strategic weaknesses within the professional game, principally an over-reliance by clubs on the annual grants provided to them by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Without such grants the teams, in general terms, would be insolvent. Using the financial statements of the First Class Cricket Counties, this paper explores how the financial position and performance of the county game has changed, 20 years on from the seminal study. A series of structural changes to the game had been made, yet financial problems are still evident. Counties are as reliant on central grant income as they were in 1997, although there are cases where clubs have made strategic enhancements and are becoming self-sustainable as going concerns. Rather than the ECB directly funding county revenue it should be working in collaboration with individual clubs to achieve developments in the game from the grassroots upwards, in order to help clubs grow their own revenue streams.</jats:p

Office workers, business elites and the disappearance of the 'ladder of success' in Edwardian Glasgow

Examines the transformation of office work at the turn of the 20th century by showing how a change in the demographics of the British business class in Glasgow, Scotland. Aspirations of men entering clerical work at the end of the 19th century; Relationship between successful careers and starts in clerical work at the turn of the century; Rewards of independent business

Effect of ontogenetic increases in body size on burst swimming performance in tadpoles of the striped marsh frog, Limnodynastes peronii

The effect of ontogenetic increases in total length on burst swimming performance was investigated in tadpoles of the striped marsh frog (Limnodynastes peronii) over the total-length range of 1.5-4 cm and Gosner developmental stages 25-38. The burst swimming performance of tadpoles at 10 degrees and 24 degrees C was determined by videotaping startle responses with a highspeed video camera at 200 Hz and analysing the sequences frame by frame. Maximum swimming velocity (U-max) and acceleration (A(max)) increased with total length (L) at a rate that was proportionally greater than the increase in total length (i.e., positive allometry; exponents >1) and was described by the allometric equations U-max = 0.061L(1.34) and A(max) =1.15L(1.11) at 10 degrees C and U-max = 0.114L(1.34) and A(max) = 1.54L(1.11) at 24 degrees C. Stride length increased with a total-length exponent of approximately 1 bur was unaffected by temperature. Tail-beat frequency was not affected by total length and increased from 7.8 +/- 0.2 Hz at 10 degrees C to 21.7 +/- 0.7 Hz at 24 degrees C. Developmental stage did not significantly influence the relationship between total length and U-max or A(max). Furthermore, temperature and the associated changes in water viscosity did not affect the relationship between total length and burst swimming performance. At their U-max, Reynolds numbers ranged from approximately 1,500 in the smaller tadpoles up to 50,000 for the larger animals at 24 degrees C We suggest the positive allometry of U-max in larval L. peronii was due in part to the increases in tail width (TW) with total length (TW= -1.36(1.66)), possibly reflecting the increasing importance of burst swimming performance to survival during larval development

The Longer-Term Effects of Management-Led Buy-Outs

There is now extensive evidence on short-term performance improvements in buy-outs, but little relating to the longer-term. This paper examines the relatively neglected area of the longevity and longer-term effects of smaller buy-outs. In terms of longevity, the evidence presented shows that the majority remain as independent buy-outs for at least eight years after the transaction, and that entrepreneurial actions concerning both restructuring and product innovation are important parts of entrepreneurs\u27 strategies over a ten year period or more. For the first time, the paper also provides an analysis of the financial performance and productivity of a large sample of buy-outs and non-buyouts. It shows that on a variety of financial ratios buy-outs significantly outperform a matched sample of non-buy-outs, especially from year 3 onwards. Analysis of post buyout efficiency of survivor buy-outs, using regression analysis to estimate augmented Cobb-Douglas production functions, shows that buy-outs are superior to matched nonbuy-outs with a productivity differential of the order of 9% on average from year t+2 onwards. The evidence of superior longer term performance suggests that venture capitalists may need to consider their investment perspectives carefully, particularly in respect of exit versus second round investment. For financiers it is clear that the buy-out concept can be successfully applied to growth as well as restructuring cases

Towards a Ludic Ecology: Popular Participatory Peripatetic Performance

This practice-as-research project investigates the interrelations between performance, playfulness, and ecology, highlighting these as constituting an important nexus of study in the current ecological context. I explore ways of performatively facilitating ludic interactions between people and their environments, investigate what benefits might accrue from doing so, examine the structure and significance of these interactions, and consider the role of performance training in their facilitation. Conducting practice-as-research ‘in the wild’ (cf. Hutchins, 1995) provides a unique and valuable perspective from which to interrogate current and historical thinking regarding play. The rigorous supporting rationale provided suggests potential areas of impact and value for the practice beyond the performances themselves. The qualitative evidence presented supports my argument that ludic (playful) performance can positively recalibrate participants’ environmental attitudes and relations. In order to conduct this practical inquiry, I reflexively develop an original methodology: Popular Participatory Peripatetic Performance, or 4P for short. I fully integrate playfulness into three replicable models of practice, derived from 4P, each employing a different modality of peripatetic performance. They are: Perplexpedition – an intervention in public space; Wandercast – an audio-walk podcast; and Spinstallation – a performance workshop. Each of these forms a dynamic and responsive live artwork, enacted and documented in numerous iterations, which allows for reflexive development of the models themselves as well as the overarching 4P methodology; each constitutes research process and outcome. My aim in devising this tripartite approach has been to achieve significant comprehensiveness and also to render the project accessible and attractive to as wide a variety of participants as possible, thereby maximising its validity and the generalisability of its findings. Ecology is formulated here in line with Gregory Bateson’s “ecology of mind” ([1972] 2000: xxiii), which seeks a holistic understanding of living systems through the recognition of far-reaching patterns and formal regularities. This project builds upon Bateson’s notion that play constitutes one such pattern to develop the conceptual framework and practical approach that I term ludic ecology. I also employ James J. Gibson’s (1979) concept of affordance and draw on Baz Kershaw’s (2007) ecological approach to performance studies, using them interdependently to structure and support this project from both practical and theoretical perspectives. This project contributes primarily to three fields: ecological performance, through an original methodology and modes of practice; practice-as-research, through a novel theoretical stance and documentation techniques; and play-studies, by refining a distinction between play and playfulness and elucidating their philosophical status. This writing aims to clarify these contributions and thus position the project as “praxis” not only as “theory imbricated within practice” (Nelson, 2013: 5), but also practice imbricated within theory

Geographic variation in thermal sensitivity of jumping performance in the frog Limnodynastes peronii

I compared the thermal sensitivity of jumping performance of five populations of the striped marsh frog (Limnodynastes peronii) over a wide geographic range extending from the cool-temperate south to the tropical north of Australia. Maximum jumping performance of adult E peronii was assessed for each population at eight temperatures between 5degreesC and 32degreesC using a custom-designed force platform. From force recordings for each individual jump, maximum jumping force (F-max) and acceleration (A(max)) and maximum power output (P-max), take-off velocity (U-max), jump distance (D-J) and contact time on the platform (T-C) were calculated. The body mass of adult E peronii varied over their geographic range, from approximately 5 g for the lowland tropical population to more than 22 g for the cool-temperate populations. The thermal sensitivity of jumping performance varied over their geographic range, with the populations from the cooler climates generally performing better than those from the warmer climate populations at the cooler temperatures, and vice versa at the higher temperatures. However, not all parameters of jumping performance underwent parallel changes in thermal sensitivity amongst the populations of L. peronii. Only minor differences in the shape of the thermal sensitivity curves for F-max and A(max) were detected amongst the populations, while the thermal sensitivities of U-max, D-J and P-max all displayed considerable variation amongst the populations. The optimal temperatures for U-max, D-J and P-max were generally lower in the cool-temperate populations than in the tropical populations of L. peronii. To determine whether this geographic variation was due to genetic variation, or merely reflected phenotypic plasticity, I also compared the thermal sensitivity of jumping performance between metamorph L. peronii from two different populations raised under identical conditions in the laboratory. The maximum jumping distance of the metamorph L. peronii was assessed at seven temperatures between 8degreesC and 35degreesC for the two latitudinally extreme populations (i.e. lowland tropical Proserpine and cool-temperate Gippsland populations). Like adult L. peronii, the metamorphs from the cool-temperate population jumped further than those from the lowland tropical population at the lower temperatures, although no differences were detected at the higher temperatures. Thus, geographic variation in thermal sensitivity of jumping performance in L. peronii probably has a genetic component, and the different populations appear to have undergone genetic adaptation of their thermal sensitivity to the varied thermal environments

Improving sneaky-sex in a low oxygen environment: reproductive and physiological responses of male mosquito fish to chronic hypoxia

Few studies have examined the adaptive significance of reversible acclimation responses. The aerobic performance and mating behaviour of the sexually coercive male eastern mosquito fish ( Gambusia holbrooki) offers an excellent model system for testing the benefits of reversible acclimation responses to mating success. We exposed male mosquito fish to normoxic or hypoxic conditions for 4 weeks and tested their maximum sustained swimming performance and their ability to obtain coercive matings under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. We predicted that hypoxia-acclimated males would possess greater swimming and mating performance in hypoxic conditions than normoxic-acclimated males, and vice versa when tested in normoxia. Supporting our predictions, we found the sustained swimming performance of male mosquito fish was greater in a hypoxic environment following long-term exposure to low partial pressures of oxygen. However, the benefits of acclimation responses to mating performance were dependent on whether they were tested in the presence or absence of male-male competition. In a non-competitive environment, male mosquito fish acclimated to hypoxic conditions spent a greater amount of time following females and obtained more copulations than normoxic-acclimated males when tested in low partial pressures of oxygen. When males were competed against each other for copulations, we found no influence of long-term exposure to different partial pressures of oxygen on mating behaviour. Thus, despite improvements in the aerobic capacity of male mosquito fish following long-term acclimation to hypoxic conditions, these benefits did not always manifest themselves in improved mating performance. This study represents one of the first experimental tests of the benefits of reversible acclimation responses, and indicates that the ecological significance of physiological plasticity may be more complicated than previously imagined

My favourite nematode – Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita

The terrestrial gastropod parasitic nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is the only nematode that evolved to infect and kill slugs and snails. Because of this ability it has been formulated into a biological control agent for gardeners. In this Forum article, the author outlines several reasons why P. hemaphrodita is a nematode that is worth studying, including its ability to control the behaviour and kill slug hosts. The author discusses how P. hemaphrodita is being developed as a model nematode to be used to study the genetic evolution of parasitism, as well as potential research ideas for the future