Motorsport Valley revisited:Cluster evolution, strategic cluster coupling and resilience

Over 20 years ago a series of papers identified a strikingly dominant economic cluster – the UK’s Motorsport Valley (MSV) – which led to MSV becoming an international exemplar of concepts such as agglomeration, clusters and knowledge-driven systems of regional development. Utilising an evolutionary perspective on cluster development, this paper asks ‘whatever happened to MSV?’. Drawing on the framework of strategic cluster coupling, four cluster development episodes are conceptualised that each depict the dynamic evolution of the cluster’s multi-scalar institutional environment, strategic coupling trajectories and economic development outcomes. Reflecting the emerging synthesis between evolutionary economic geography and geographical political economy, the paper describes an extended case study of cluster development, an evolutionary process of strategic cluster coupling and, ultimately, an example of cluster resilience. Through a focus on strategic cluster coupling, the paper provides further understanding of cluster evolution and path development mechanisms at key moments of cluster reconfiguration – and an empirical update and continuation of the economic story and cluster lifecycle of MSV

Cross-cultural differences and similarities underlying other-race effects for facial identity and expression

Perceptual advantages for own-race compared to other-race faces have been demonstrated for the recognition of facial identity and expression. However, these effects have not been investigated in the same study with measures that can determine the extent of cross-cultural agreement as well as differences. To address this issue, we used a photo sorting task in which Chinese and Caucasian participants were asked to sort photographs of Chinese or Caucasian faces by identity or by expression. This paradigm matched the task demands of identity and expression recognition and avoided constrained forced-choice or verbal labelling requirements. Other-race effects of comparable magnitude were found across the identity and expression tasks. Caucasian participants made more confusion errors for the identities and expressions of Chinese than Caucasian faces, while Chinese participants made more confusion errors for the identities and expressions of Caucasian than Chinese faces. However, analyses of the patterns of responses across groups of participants revealed a considerable amount of underlying cross-cultural agreement. These findings suggest that widely repeated claims that members of other cultures “all look the same” overstate the cultural differences. </jats:p

Influence of playing standard and physical fitness on activity profiles and post-match fatigue during intensified junior rugby league competition

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine whether the fatigue responses to the same intensified rugby league competition differed depending on playing standard and physical fitness. METHODS: Players from a high-standard (n = 15) and a low-standard (n = 16) junior rugby league team had lower body neuromuscular fatigue, perceptual wellbeing, and blood creatine kinase (CK) assessed over an intensified competition. Global positioning system units measured match activity profiles and rating of perceived exertion-assessed internal loads. Players were divided into high- and low-fitness groups across the two standards based on Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test performance. RESULTS: Playing intensity increased with playing standard and fitness levels (high-standard = 92 +/- 6 m.min(-1) vs. 88 +/- 6 m.min(-1); low-standard = 88 +/- 2 m.min(-1) vs. 83 +/- 6 m.min(-1)). Despite greater internal and external loads, high-fitness players showed smaller reductions in lower body power (high-standard effect size [ES] = -0.74; low-standard ES = -0.41). High-standard players had smaller increases in blood CK (77% +/- 94% vs. 113% +/- 81%; ES = -0.41), primarily due to very small increases in the high-fitness group (50% +/- 45%). CONCLUSIONS: Increased fitness leads to greater internal and external workloads during intensified competition, smaller increases in blood CK, and less neuromuscular fatigue. Maximising player fitness should be a primary goal of coaches in order to increase match workloads and reduce post-match fatigue during intensified competition. KEY POINTS: Increased physical fitness results in greater relative and absolute match workloads.Increased physical fitness results in less fatigue and muscle damage during an intensified competition.Coaching staff should aim to maximise physical fitness in order to optimise match performance and reduce player fatigue

Psychological Factors Related to Exercise Behaviors Among College Students

With the prevalence of obesity steadily increasing throughout the United States, promotion of healthy behavior is as important as ever. Positive exercise and dietary habits promoted during the years an individual is in college can perpetuate a lifestyle change that ideally prolongs an entire lifespan. Researchers gathered data from 108 full time students, 18 years of age or older from the West Virginia University Student Recreation Center. Participants were recruited using convenient sampling and completed a 74-item questionnaire comprised of both qualitative and quantitative questions. The collected data, in collaboration with previous literature, has empowered the research team with suitable information to identify motives and barriers of exercise among the sample population. One significant finding suggests there is a moderate relationship between exerciser efficacy and how enjoyable exercise is perceived. These findings are in line with previous research, and propose that individuals will enjoy exercise more if they are more confident in their abilities to properly and effectively exercise

Effect of different repeated-high-intensity-effort bouts on subsequent running, skill performance, and neuromuscular function

Purpose: To assess the impact of different repeated-high-intensity-effort (RHIE) bouts on player activity profiles, skill involvements, and neuromuscular fatigue during small-sided games. Participants: 22 semiprofessional rugby league players (age 24.0 ± 1.8 y, body mass 95.6 ± 7.4 kg). Methods: During 4 testing sessions, they performed RHIE bouts that each differed in the combination of contact and running efforts, followed by a 5-min off-side small-sided game before performing a second bout of RHIE activity and another 5-min small-sided game. Global positioning system microtechnology and video recordings provided information on activity profiles and skill involvements. A countermovement jump and a plyometric push-up assessed changes in lower- And upper-body neuromuscular function after each session. Results: After running-dominant RHIE bouts, players maintained running intensities during both games. In the contact-dominant RHIE bouts, reductions in moderate-speed activity were observed from game 1 to game 2 (ES = -0.71 to -1.06). There was also moderately lower disposal efficiency across both games after contact-dominant RHIE activity compared with running-dominant activity (ES = 0.62-1.02). Greater reductions in lower-body fatigue occurred as RHIE bouts became more running dominant (ES = -0.01 to -1.36), whereas upper-body fatigue increased as RHIE bouts became more contact dominant (ES = -0.07 to -1.55). Conclusions: Physical contact causes reductions in running intensity and the quality of skill involvements during game-based activities. In addition, the neuromuscular fatigue experienced by players is specific to the activities performed

Support services for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse

Some of the content in this report may be distressing to readers.Aims The four broad research aims were to: ● understand more about victims and survivors’ reasons for not accessing support services and any barriers to access; ● learn about victims and survivors’ perceptions and experiences of support services; ● understand what support services victims and survivors think are available to them and how to access them; and ● explore whether there are unmet needs for support services which impact on whether victims and survivors access support. Methods The sample was drawn from 634 adults who self-identified as victims and survivors of child sexual abuse as part of the ‘Abuse during childhood’ module in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) year ending March 2019 (Office for National Statistics, 2020).3 A mixed-methods approach was used to explore the above research aims: ● A quantitative online survey4 of 181 victims and survivors from the CSEW recontact sample, including both those who had and had not accessed support. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. ● Twenty-four qualitative in-depth interviews with three groups: (A) eight who had not accessed support services; (B) eight who self-identified as having had positive experiences of support services; and (C) eight who had negative experiences of support services. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. These were supplemented with six pen portraits (two from each of the above groups), and a network map to aid understanding of the service landscape. The research participants The ages of the survey respondents ranged from 19 to 74 years, with an average of 47 years. Around four in five identified as female (82%), the majority identified as being of a White ethnic background (92%), and one in three reported having a disability (33%). All regions of England and Wales were represented, with one in four living in London or South East England (26%). Nearly nine in ten identified as heterosexual (89%) Respondents reported experiencing between one and eight types of child sexual abuse. The two most common forms were being kissed or groped on any part of the body in a sexual way (73%) and penetration (64%). The age at first victimisation spanned from infancy to 17 years old, with an average of 9 years old. Child sexual abuse was more likely to have occurred in a familial setting (41%) than an institutional one (11%). Two in five (43%) respondents identified a friend, acquaintance or neighbour as the perpetrator. Around one in four (27%) identified an immediate – typically male – family member as the perpetrator. A stranger was identified by one in five (20%) respondents. Just over one in five respondents had never previously disclosed their experiences of child sexual abuse (21%), while four in five had made a disclosure (79%). Respondents were more than twice as likely to report making a disclosure later in life (75%) than at the time of the abuse (28%). A quarter disclosed at both points (24%)