Athletes’ and coaches’ perspectives of performance analysis in women’s sports in Singapore

To date, little consideration has been given to the context in which performance analysis (PA) is used by female athletes, in women’s sports and in an Asian context. Through the use of an online questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews, the perspectives towards the use of PA and feedback by athletes and coaches in two female’s sports in Singapore (water polo: one coach and 13 athletes; netball: one coach and eight athletes) were explored. Four key themes emerged from the inductive analysis of the data: (1) learning environment in teams, (2) considerations onthe use of PA to aid development and learning, (3) application of game-related learning into practice through PA and (4) organisation of PA sessions: duration and design. The results indicated female athletes from Asian cultures welcomed group discussions, viewed information around areas for development in a positive light and were receptive to longer video reviews. Coaches and analysts should acknowledge the culture of the learner or group in addition to the session format when planning and delivering PA provisions to best meet the learners’ needs

Energy and Climate Implications for Agricultural Nutrient Use Efficiency

Energy and climate change are beginning to dominate the global political agenda and will drive policy formation that will shape the future of agriculture. Energy issues threaten national security and economic stability, as well as access to low-cost nutrient inputs for agriculture. Climate change has the potential to cause serious disruption to agricultural productivity. Paradoxically, nutrient use in agriculture to increase crop yields has the potential to negatively impact climate. This chapter will discuss recent and future energy and climate trends, the relationships between agricultural nutrient use efficiency and biofuels, and how global land limitations will shape agriculture in the future. Comparative gross energy yield and nitrogen use efficiency for ethanol production from crop residue, switchgrass, grain sorghum, sweet sorghum, and corn grain is presented, showing small differences in nitrogen use efficiency, but large differences in gross energy yields. In addition to considering the need to increase crop productivity to meet the demands of a growing population and bioenergy, agricultural nutrient use efficiency must be reconsidered with respect to the important energy and climate challenges shaping agriculture today