Ethnicity and the Mental Health Act 1983

Background Black and minority ethnic (BME) patients are disproportionately detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. There has been no systematic exploration of differences within and between ethnic groups, nor of the explanations put forward for this excess. Aims To systematically review detention and ethnicity, with meta-analyses of detention rates for BME groups, and to explore the explanations offered for ethnic differences in detention rates. Method Literature search and meta-analysis. Explanations offered were categorised, supporting literature was accessed and the strength of the evidence evaluated. Results In all, 49 studies met inclusion criteria; of these, 19 were included in the meta-analyses. Compared with White patients, Black patients were 3.83 times, BME patients 3.35 times and Asian patients 2.06 times more likely to be detained. The most common explanations related to misdiagnosis and discrimination against BME patients, higher incidence of psychosis and differences in illness expression. Many explanations, including that of racism within mental health services, were not supported by clear evidence. Conclusions Although BME status predicts psychiatric detention in the UK, most explanations offered for the excess detention of BME patients are largely unsupported

Bend sprinting performance : new insights into the effect of running lane

Athletes in inner lanes may be disadvantaged during athletic sprint races containing a bend portion because of the tightness of the bend. We empirically investigated the veracity of modelled estimates of this disadvantage and the effect of running lane on selected kinematic variables. Three-dimensional video analysis was conducted on nine male athletes in lanes 8, 5 and 2 of the bend of an outdoor track (radii: 45.10, 41.41 and 37.72 m, respectively). There was over 2% (p < 0.05) reduction in mean race velocity from lane 8 (left step 9.56 ± 0.43 m/s, right step: 9.49 ± 0.41 m/s) to lane 5 (left step: 9.36 ± 0.51 m/s, right step: 9.30 ± 0.51 m/s), with only slight further reductions from lane 5 to lane 2 (left step: 9.34 ± 0.61 m/s, right step: 9.30 ± 0.63 m/s). Race velocity decreased mainly because of reductions in step frequency as radius decreased. These unique data demonstrate the extent of the disadvantage of inner lane allocation during competition may be greater than previously suspected. Variations in race velocity changes might indicate some athletes are better able to accommodate running at tighter radii than others, which should have implications for athletes' training

Bullies in the Block Area: The Early Childhood Origins of Mean Behavior

Bullying can pose a serious threat to children's immediate and long-term health and well-being, and can have profound impacts on all children involved in bullying behaviors, whether as the one bullying others, the one being bullied, or the one witnessing bullying. At least some of the roots of bullying behaviors, and conversely the roots of positive pro-social skills, can likely be found in adverse and positive experiences during early childhood, yet the research literature on these connections is limited. The early childhood field lacks a coherent, theoretical model that identifies the factors contributing to "mean" or aggressive behavior in young children, and establishes the developmental link between this early behavior and later bullying behavior. This white paper summarizes the literature on seven key hypotheses about the roots of bullying behavior in early childhood experiences

Biomechanical investigations of bend running technique in athletic sprint events

For sprint events longer than 100 m, more than half the race is run on the bend, yet bend sprinting has received little attention in biomechanics literature. The aim of this thesis was to understand the effect of the bend on maximal effort sprint performance and technique, using bend radii and surfaces typical of outdoor competition. Three empirical studies were undertaken with experienced bend sprinters. Initial 3D kinematics investigations revealed an approximately 5% velocity decrease on the bend compared to the straight. However, step characteristic changes contributing to this reduction were different for the left and right steps. For the left step there were significant decreases in step frequency (p < 0.05), due to increased ground contact time, which agreed with previously proposed theoretical models. For the right step, however, a significantly reduced flight time resulted in a significant reduction in step length (p < 0.05). Maintaining step length and an ‘active touchdown’ were closely related to an athlete’s ability to better maintain straight line velocity on the bend. Generally, velocity decreased as bend radius decreased, with mean differences of up to 2.3% between lanes 8 and 2. However, changes to athletes’ technique due to different lanes were not conclusive. Ground reaction forces revealed between-limb differences during bend sprinting. Furthermore, frontal plane forces were up to 2.6 times larger on the bend than on the straight. Overall, asymmetries were identified between left and right steps for several performance, technique and force variables, suggesting that bend sprinting induces different functional roles between left and right legs, with the left step contributing more to turning to remain on the bend trajectory. The differences in kinematic and kinetic characteristics between the bend and straight, and between-limb asymmetries mean that athletes should apply the principle of specificity to bend sprinting training and conditioning, without sacrificing straight line technique.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Effect of the 'Crouch, Bind, Set' engagement routine on scrum performance in English Premiership Rugby

The effect of the new scrum engagement sequence introduced at the start of the 2013/2014 season on scrum performance has not been evaluated. This study compared scrum performance indicators pre- (2012/2013 season) and post-law change (2013/2014). Several performance indicators at the scrum were identified in 20 games from each season of the English domestic Premiership. These included the number of penalties, free kicks and resets awarded. A Mann Whitney U test showed a significant increase in the number of scrums per game, from 17.50 to 23.85 (p = 0.003, ES = 0.47). This was contributed to by a 112% increase in the number of reset scrums (p < 0.0005). Of the resets, there was a significant increase in the number of scrums reset due to collapsing, which is of concern for player welfare. However, resets for collapsing accounted for a similar proportion of the total resets pre and post law change at 52% and 53%, respectively, and may be due to the relative novelty of the technique and stringent law enforcement increasing resets. In contrast, there was a decrease in the number of early engagements from 1.65 to 0.40 per match following the law change which is likely beneficial for player welfare

THE EFFECT OF THE BEND ON TECHNIQUE AND PERFORMANCE DURING MAXIMAL SPEED SPRINTING

For 200 and 400 m races half of the race is run around the bend. This study aimed to understand the changes in kinematics that occur during maximal effort bend sprinting. Velocity reduction (5%) on the bend compared to the straight was, for the left step, mainly due to increased (20%) touchdown distance and some angular kinematics changes which led to increased contact time and reduced step frequency. During the right step, performance dropped mainly due to a reduction in step length. It is likely that changes caused by inward lean, to counteract moments caused by centripetal forces, on the bend contributed to detrimental changes in sagittal plane kinematics (e.g. knee flexion at touchdown) normally associated with superior performance in sprinting. Similar to straight sprinting, reduced touchdown distance could hold the key to improve bend performance