Beyond Kolpak: EU Law’s unforeseen contribution to the movement of African Cricketers

The movement of professional cricketers from South Africa to England to play in County Cricket has expanded since the late 1960s. It became more attractive during the period of South African isolation and some players saw English cricket as a route to play at Test match level through changing national allegiance. This paper explores the role of law in facilitating movement in two ways. First, in the case of Greig, the attempt to ban players who chose to participate in the new commercial venture, World Series Cricket, was overturned. Second, in the Kolpak case a decision of the European Court of Justice paved the way for South Africans and Zimbabweans to abandon their national side and play in England as domestic players without the usual constraints applied to overseas players. The opportunity was taken by numerous players because of the political upheaval in cricket that was contemporaneously taking place in both South Africa and Zimbabwe. The movement of players caused concern in both South Africa and England and led to a re-consideration of the financial relationships between governing bodies and players

An Exploration of the Data Collection Methods Utilised with Children, Teenagers and Young People (CTYPs)

Background: The impact of cancer upon children, teenagers and young people can be profound. Research has been undertaken to explore the impacts upon children, teenagers and young people with cancer, but little is known about how researchers can ‘best’ engage with this group to explore their experiences. This review paper provides an overview of the utility of data collection methods employed when undertaking research with children, teenagers and young people. A systematic review of relevant databases was undertaken utilising the search terms ‘young people’, ‘young adult’, ‘adolescent’ and ‘data collection methods’. The full-text of the papers that were deemed eligible from the title and abstract were accessed and following discussion within the research team, thirty papers were included. Findings: Due to the heterogeneity in terms of the scope of the papers identified the following data collections methods were included in the results section. Three of the papers identified provided an overview of data collection methods utilised with this population and the remaining twenty seven papers covered the following data collection methods: Digital technologies; art based research; comparing the use of ‘paper and pencil’ research with web-based technologies, the use of games; the use of a specific communication tool; questionnaires and interviews; focus groups and telephone interviews/questionnaires. The strengths and limitations of the range of data collection methods included are discussed drawing upon such issues as of the appropriateness of particular methods for particular age groups, or the most appropriate method to employ when exploring a particularly sensitive topic area. Conclusions: There are a number of data collection methods utilised to undertaken research with children, teenagers and young adults. This review provides a summary of the current available evidence and an overview of the strengths and limitations of data collection methods employed

The juridification of sport: A comparative analysis of children’s rugby and cricket in England and South Africa

This article takes as its point of departure the notion of juridification in sport and, in particular, the perspective that the term has previously often been used in sport and law literature in a too narrow and limiting sense. Using the work of Ken Foster as a platform, the article examines a more nuanced notion of juridification. It does this by first unpacking two levels of juridification – the more well-known notion of increased legal intervention is considered before moving on to a more sophisticated application of the idea in terms of its impact upon rules and practices in sport. Foster termed this juridification as domestication. The article then applies these ideas in a practical context by examining two applications of the two children’s sports (rugby and cricket) in England and South Africa. The article concludes as to the future developments that are likely to occur. Despite the economic and cultural differences it seems likely that South Africa will continue to follow England, as is the case with the first level of juridification, and that the rules and their enforcement will themselves become more domesticated. It is likely that coaches and educators will find themselves under increased pressure to conform from both a general fear of litigation and a changing internal regulatory regime of sport codes

Drug therapies for attentional disorders alter the signal-to-noise ratio in the superior colliculus

Despite high levels of use, the mechanism of action of effective pharmacotherapies in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is unknown. It has recently been hypothesized that one site of therapeutic action is the midbrain superior colliculus, a structure traditionally associated with visual processing, but also strongly implicated in distractibility, a core symptom of ADHD. We used male juvenile Wistar rats to examine the effects of therapeutically relevant doses of methylphenidate and d-amphetamine on collicular activity in vitro. Here we report a novel shared mechanism of the two drugs whereby they enhance the signal-to-noise ratio in the superior colliculus. The effects on the signal-to-noise ratio were mediated by serotonin (5-HT) via a pre-synaptic mechanism. This modulatory action would bias the system towards salient events and lead to an overall decrease in distractibility

Self-Monitoring of Blood Pressure in Hypertension: A UK Primary Care Survey

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Self-Monitoring Blood Pressure amongst people with hypertension using a cross-sectional survey. Of the 955 who replied (53%), 293 (31%) reported that they self-monitored blood pressure. Nearly 60% (198/331) self-monitored at least monthly. Diabetic patients monitoring their blood glucose were five times more likely than those not monitoring to monitor their blood pressure. Self-monitoring is less common in the UK than internationally, but is practiced by enough people to warrant greater integration into clinical practice