The impact of Indigenous Community sports programs: The case of surfing

The objective of this research project was to consider the social impact of sport and physical activity on the lives of Indigenous Australians and their communities. There has been strong research interest in the links between sport and recreation programs and various health and social outcomes and a well-established body of literature exists on the use of sport to address social issues in mainstream society (A Thomson, Darcy and Pearce 2010). The consensus is that physical activity is an important contributor to health for all people (Nelson, Abbott and Macdonald 2010). While there is strong research interest, what remains unclear is the value and impact of sport and physical activity on Indigenous communities (Cairnduff 2001). Nelson (2009) drawing on the work of Jonas and Langton (1994) indicates that an ‘Aboriginal person is a descendant of an Indigenous inhabitant of Australia, identifi es as an Aboriginal, and is recognised as Aboriginal by members of the community in which he or she lives’ (p. 97). Even this defi nition has the potential to be politically charged. At a general level, the collective terms ‘Indigenous’ (capitalised) and ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ people (title capitalised) appear to be broadly acceptable terms. Indigenous groups cannot be considered to be homogenous as there is much diversity between and within groups (Nelson et al. 2010; Parker et al. 2006). It is therefore important this report is not viewed as taking an essentialist view of who Indigenous people are and how they develop. Rather, this paper attempts to describe and discuss the experiences of some individuals and their communities in site-specifi c surfi ng programs.

Bayesian estimation of small effects in exercise and sports science

The aim of this paper is to provide a Bayesian formulation of the so-called magnitude-based inference approach to quantifying and interpreting effects, and in a case study example provide accurate probabilistic statements that correspond to the intended magnitude-based inferences. The model is described in the context of a published small-scale athlete study which employed a magnitude-based inference approach to compare the effect of two altitude training regimens (live high-train low (LHTL), and intermittent hypoxic exposure (IHE)) on running performance and blood measurements of elite triathletes. The posterior distributions, and corresponding point and interval estimates, for the parameters and associated effects and comparisons of interest, were estimated using Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations. The Bayesian analysis was shown to provide more direct probabilistic comparisons of treatments and able to identify small effects of interest. The approach avoided asymptotic assumptions and overcame issues such as multiple testing. Bayesian analysis of unscaled effects showed a probability of 0.96 that LHTL yields a substantially greater increase in hemoglobin mass than IHE, a 0.93 probability of a substantially greater improvement in running economy and a greater than 0.96 probability that both IHE and LHTL yield a substantially greater improvement in maximum blood lactate concentration compared to a Placebo. The conclusions are consistent with those obtained using a ‘magnitude-based inference’ approach that has been promoted in the field. The paper demonstrates that a fully Bayesian analysis is a simple and effective way of analysing small effects, providing a rich set of results that are straightforward to interpret in terms of probabilistic statements.

The prankster’s passion: Using theatrical terms to unpack players motivations in popular social performance

Amongst social players, the prank, as a social performance form, holds a lot of potential to impact on personal, relational and social status within a group or between one group and another group. More than simply showing off, a prank in the strictest definition of the term, is a social performance in which one player, a prankster, deploys mischief, trickery or deceit, to cause a moment of anxiety, fear or anger about a happening for another spectator-become-collaborating-player, a prankee – to enhance social bonds, entertain, or comment on a social, cultural or political phenomenon. During a prank, the prankster’s ability to be creative, clever or culturally astute, and the prankee’s ability to be duped, be a good sport, play along, or even play/pay the prankster back, both become fodder for other spectators and society to scrutinize. In Australia, pranking traditions are popular with many social groups, from the community-building pranks of footballers, bucks parties and ‘drop bear’ tales told to tourists, to the more controversial pranks of radio shock jocks, activists and artists. In this paper, I consider whether theatrical terms – theoretical terms from the stage such as actor, acting, objective, arc, performance, audience and emotion, such as those offered by Joseph Roach – are useful in understanding the passion some social players show for pranksterism. Are theatrical terms such as Roach’s as useful as analysts of social self-performance such as Erving Goffman suggest they are? Do they assist in understanding the personal actions, reactions and emotions of prankster and prankee? Do they assist in understanding the power relations between prankster and prankee? Do they assist in understanding the relation between the prank – be it an everyday prank amongst families, friends and coworkers, an entertainment program prank of the sort seen on Prank Patrol, Punked or Scare Tactics, or an activist pranks perpetrated by a guerrilla artist, ‘jammers’ or ‘hackers’ intent on turning dominant social systems back on themselves – the social players, and the public sphere in which the prank takes place? I reflect on how reading pranks as performances, by players, for highly participatory audiences, helps understand why they are so prevalent, and so recurrent across times, cultures and contexts, and also so controversial when not performed well enough – or when performed too well – prompting outrage from the prankster, prankee or society as passionate as any debate about a performance by players in a theatre.

Unraveling the “passion orchestra” in academia

This paper disentangles how organization members' “passion orchestra” is related to their entrepreneurial intentions in the particularly relevant context of academia. Drawing on passion literature and identity theory, we propose and test a model linking two central parts of researchers' “passion orchestra”, namely entrepreneurial and obsessive scientific passion, directly and indirectly, to spin-off and start-up intentions. While spin-off intentions refer to intentions to found a firm based upon research results, start-up intentions denote intentions to start any type of company. Using a sample of 2308 researchers from 24 European universities, our findings reveal that higher levels of entrepreneurial passion are associated with both stronger spin-off and start-up intentions. Further, obsessive scientific passion is positively associated with researchers' intentions to create a spin-off, and negatively with their propensity to establish a start-up. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and affective organizational commitment mediate these effects. Finally, the two types of passion show characteristic interactions. Obsessive scientific passion moderates the entrepreneurial passion–intentions relationship such that it strengthens spin-off intentions. Our results highlight that recasting the individual driven by a singular passion to one with a “passion orchestra” provides a more holistic understanding of the new venture creation process. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Väkivalta, antisemitismi ja konflikti Mel Gibsonin elokuvassa The Passion of The Christ

Tutkielman tarkoituksena on tutkia Mel Gibsonin elokuvaa The Passion of the Christ. Tarkastelussa mukana on myös Gibsonin muu tuotanto. Tutkielma edustaa poikkitieteellistä lähestymistapaa käyttäen eksegetiikan apuvälineitä kuten lähdekritiikkiä, mutta myös elokuvatutkimuksen välineitä. Tutkimuskysymyksiä nousee lähinnä kaksi, joista seuraa kolmas kysymys: 1. Onko elokuva juutalaisvastainen? Tarkastelen lähdekritiikin avulla mitä evankeliumeja Gibson on käyttänyt elokuvassaan. Mitä muita lähteitä hän on käyttänyt? Mikä on Gibsonin omaa ilmaisua? 2. Miksi elokuva on väkivaltainen? Mitä väkivalta palvelee elokuvassa? 3. Millainen on elokuvamaailman konflikti? Pohdin elokuvamaailman sisälle rakennettua konfliktia, mutta viittaan sillä myös konfliktiin, jonka elokuva itsessään synnytti. Kysymysten ratkaisu vaatii elokuvassa käytettyjen lähteiden tutkimista, mutta myös kysymysten tarkastelua osana laajempaa kokonaisuutta, jossa on mukana koko Gibsonin elokuvatuotanto. On myös selvää, ettei Gibson ole yhtä kuin hänen elokuvansa, mutta toisaalta hänen elokuviaan ei voi tarkastella irrotettuna ohjaajasta itsestään. Ensimmäisessä luvussa tarkastelen elokuvaa ilmiönä ja elokuvasta käytyä ennakkokeskustelua. Luvussa kaksi tarkastelen Gibsonin taustaa. Millaisista lähtökohdista Gibson lähti tekemään elokuvaa? Luvussa kolme esittelen käsikirjoituksesta alkavan elokuvan yleisen tuotantoprosessin. Tutkielman päälähteenä olen käyttänyt Brentanon kirjaa The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Kirja pohjautuu 1800-luvulla eläneen katolisen nunnan, Anne Catherine Emmerichin näkyihin. Luvussa neljä tarkastelen Gibsonin muuta tuotantoa, ja tuon keskusteluun mukaan Scorsesen elokuvan Jeesuksesta. Gibsonin muu tuotanto on jäänyt tutkijoilta liian vähälle huomiolle. Elokuva The Passion of the Christ on nähtävä osana Gibsonin muuta tuotantoa. Näin ollen elokuvaa The Passion of the Christ voidaan ymmärtää paremmin. Luvussa viisi käyn elokuvan The Passion of the Christ läpi kappale kerrallaan tutkimalla, mitä lähteitä Gibson on käyttänyt elokuvassaan. Mitä hän on ottanut evankeliumeista, mitä Emmerichiltä ja mikä on hänen omaa ilmaisuaan? Luvussa kuusi käyn läpi elokuvan vastaanottoa niin raamatuntutkijoiden kuin suuren yleisön parissa. Tutkielmassa todetaan, ettei Gibson ole antisemitisti, vaan ksenofobinen rasisti. Hänen elokuvansa ovat ksenofobisesti rasistisia. Gibsonin kaikista elokuvista on löydettävissä itseään toistavia piirteitä, joissa esiintyy muukalaiskammoa ja väkivaltaa. Gibsonin nimittäminen antisemitistiksi ei tekisi Gibsonille oikeutta. Juutalaiset ovat vain osa laajempaa kokonaisuutta. Väkivalta palvelee kaikissa elokuvissa uuden, Jumalan valtakunnan syntymistä. Konflikti syntyy uuden ja vanhan valtakunnan kansalaisten välillä. Uhrien veren kautta syntyy Jumalan valtakunta. Johtopäätöksillä on merkitystä niin Gibsonin kuin hänen elokuviensa ymmärtämiselle. Elokuvan The Passion of the Christ tulevissa tutkimuksissa on otettava huomioon, ei vain Gibsonin tausta ja lähteet, vaan myös Gibsonin muu elokuvatuotanto.

Design and selection tools for sports equipment

This report presents work from the first nine month of a project investigating design methodologies and selection tools to promote innovations in sports equipment. Particular consideration is given to product design improvements and new market adoption of advanced materials and processes. Our aim is to couple appropriately similar technologies so as to provide a method of transfer between sports equipment designs. We would like to make barriers between isolated sports equipment markets more transparent without releasing proprietary information. A brief history of sports equipment design is included; issues particularly relevant to material and process technologies are outlined for sports equipment. A start has been made on a software program to express most of this information in a concise and accessible format. The methodology is reviewed with some industrial case studies. There is a need for further research to extend and address the design issues raised in this document; a suggested research programme is attached.

The deliberate practice: the sports excellence versus the musical excellence

[ENG] If we look around us, we can observe that there is someone who is the best in each field of activity. We could think that they are exceptional individuals. This Final Project aims to increase knowledge of the effects of Deliberate Practice in the domains of music and sport. This will define you a concept of Deliberate Practice and then focus on the diversity of situations in which it shows us how it is presented in real life. From a questionnaire that has been designed for this study and distributed to the music students, I have expected to obtain a result that allow me to come to the conclusion that exists a relation between the hours of practice and the expertise in the execution. This reality has been linked to the regarding situation in the sport practice, whose information has been provided by the coordinators of the different sports. Taking into account the limited number of references available, this work has focused on a qualitative analysis of the data, interpreted from my point of view and my personal experience, which has been confirmed in the results obtained. The statistics managed allow me to conclude that, although the argument is not definitive, the guide effort through deliberate practice is essential to achieve the excellence.

Volunteer sports divers: a valuable resource in the management of Bahrain's fisheries

The Directorate of Fisheries (DOF) of Bahrain has a novel scheme in which the DOF workers cooperate with local sports divers in the management and conservation of their marine resources. This cooperation is mutually beneficial for both the DOF and the divers who are interested in environmental conservation.