A qualitative investigation into the individual injury burden of amateur rugby players

This study was mainly designed to contrast the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) emotion model and the performance profiling approach in predicting performance of rugby players based on normative, individualized, situational, and relatively stable characteristics. Pregame assessments were accomplished in 33 male Italian rugby players of a top-level team over a whole championship, and individual interviews were conducted at the end of the season. Performance differentiation and discrimination between athletes were reached on relatively stable qualities (i.e., constructs), according to predictions within the performance profile framework. Study findings also revealed that emotions modify widely during the game because of external events (e.g., behaviors of teammates or opponents) or individual behaviors (e.g., individual faults). In conclusion, findings add support to the contention that extending the IZOF model to other physical or performance related components would require situational rather than relatively stable qualities. On the other hand, the concept of zones extended to constructs seems beneficial for practical purposes.

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A Qualitative Investigation into Experiences of the Role Episode in Soccer

The Sport Psychologist ◽

10.1123/tsp.20.4.399 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 399-418 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Stephen D. Mellalieu ◽

Scott W. Juniper

Keyword(s):

Collective Efficacy ◽

Explicit Instruction ◽

Team Building ◽

Sport Performance ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Role Clarity ◽

Qualitative Investigation ◽

Improve Performance ◽

Positive Role ◽

The Individual

This study explored the phenomenon of the role episode in sport. Performance profiles and interviews were conducted with 11 male collegiate soccer players to identify the factors that contributed to the formation of positive perceptions of role states and the consequences for the individual and team. Role clarity developed via a combination of learning through implicit experiences in the sport and explicit instruction from role senders. Role acceptance formed through the focal person’s perceptions of the assigned performance role and the role sender. Positive perceptions of role states were suggested to improve performance by enhancing individual and group-related variables, including role satisfaction, group cohesion, and collective efficacy. The findings highlight the significance of understanding the factors that contribute to a positive role episode in sport and present implications for future team-building interventions.

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Caffeine-containing energy drink improves physical performance of elite rugby players during a simulated match

Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism ◽

10.1139/apnm-2012-0339 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 38 (4) ◽

pp. 368-374 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Juan Del Coso ◽

Juan A. Ramírez ◽

Gloria Muñoz ◽

Javier Portillo ◽

Cristina Gonzalez-Millán ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Performance ◽

Body Mass ◽

Global Positioning System ◽

Energy Drink ◽

Dose Equivalent ◽

Caffeine Concentration ◽

Global Positioning ◽

The Individual ◽

Rugby Players ◽

Simulated Match

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a caffeine-containing energy drink in enhancing rugby players' physical performance during a simulated match. A second purpose was to determine the urinary caffeine excretion derived from the energy drink intake. In a randomized and counterbalanced order, 26 elite rugby players (mean ± SD for age and body mass, 25 ± 2 y and 93 ± 15 kg) played 2 simulated rugby games (2 × 30 min) 60 min after ingesting (i) 3 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body mass in the form of an energy drink (Fure, ProEnergetics) or (ii) the same drink without caffeine (placebo). During the matches, the individual running distance and the instantaneous speed were measured, and the number of running actions above 20 km·h−1 (i.e., sprints) were determined, using global positioning system devices. The number of impacts above 5 g during the matches was determined by accelerometry. The ingestion of the energy drink, compared with the placebo, increased the total distance covered during the match (4749 ± 589 vs 5139 ± 475 m, p < 0.05), the running distance covered at more than 20 km·h−1 (184 ± 38 vs 208 ± 38 m, p < 0.05), and the number of sprints (10 ± 7 vs 12 ± 7, p < 0.05). The ingestion of the energy drink also resulted in a greater overall number of impacts (481 ± 352 vs 641 ± 366, p < 0.05) and a higher postexercise urine caffeine concentration (0.1 ± 0.1 vs 2.4 ± 0.9 μg·mL−1, p < 0.05). The use of an energy drink with a caffeine dose equivalent to 3 mg·kg−1 considerably enhanced the movement patterns of rugby players during a simulated match.

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Criterion Validity of a Field-Based Assessment of Aerobic Capacity in Wheelchair Rugby Athletes

International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance ◽

10.1123/ijspp.2020-0517 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Vicky L. Goosey-Tolfrey ◽

Sonja de Groot ◽

Keith Tolfrey ◽

Tom A.W. Paulson

Keyword(s):

Systematic Error ◽

Aerobic Capacity ◽

Peak Oxygen Uptake ◽

Group Level ◽

Altman Plot ◽

Mean Values ◽

Bland Altman Plot ◽

Wheelchair Rugby ◽

The Individual ◽

Rugby Players

Purpose: To confirm whether peak aerobic capacity determined during laboratory testing could be replicated during an on-court field-based test in wheelchair rugby players. Methods: Sixteen wheelchair rugby players performed an incremental speed-based peak oxygen uptake () test on a motorized treadmill (TM) and completed a multistage fitness test (MFT) on a basketball court in a counterbalanced order, while spirometric data were recorded. A paired t test was performed to check for systematic error between tests. A Bland–Altman plot for illustrated the agreement between the TM and MFT results and how this related to the boundaries of practical equivalence. Results: No significant differences between mean were reported (TM: 1.85 [0.63] vs MFT: 1.81 [0.63] L·min−1; P = .33). Bland–Altman plot for suggests that the mean values are in good agreement at the group level; that is, the exact 95% confidence limits for the ratio systematic error (0.95–1.02) are within the boundaries of practical equivalence (0.88–1.13) showing that the group average TM and MFT values are interchangeable. However, consideration of the data at the level of the individual athlete suggests that the TM and MFT results were not interchangeable because the 95% ratio limits of agreement either coincide with the boundaries of practical equivalence (upper limit) or fall outside (lower limit). Conclusions: Results suggest that the MFT provides a suitable test at a group level with this cohort of wheelchair rugby players for the assessment of (range 0.97–3.64 L·min–1), yet caution is noted for interchangeable use of values between tests for individual players.

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Engaging Comparative Urbanism

10.1332/policypress/9781529207057.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Julie Ren

Keyword(s):

Urban Studies ◽

Urban Landscape ◽

Qualitative Investigation ◽

Non Profit ◽

Material Space ◽

The Individual ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship ◽

Comparative Urbanism ◽

Do So

The concepts employed to understand cities around the world are sourced form a limited set of urban experiences. Comparative urbanism seeks to address this problem, but has yet to offer concrete tools to do so. This book engages with comparative urbanisms as one of the most critical debates facing urban studies. Rather than corrective inclusion, an analysis of the premises behind comparative urbanism suggests that the focus should be on how cities and cases are compared. An epistemic inversion is necessary to redraw the relationship of models and cases. Employing an empirical study of art spaces in Beijing and Berlin to engage with this experiment, the qualitative investigation delves into their motivations and practices, discovering how non-profit art spaces claim and sustain their space in a competitive urban landscape. The nature of these art spaces as temporary is considered in the context of precarity and nomadism, but also challenged as the durability of many art spaces transcend the material space. The spaces of possibility that are exposed in a context of perceived inevitabilities reveal the function of aspiration. Aspiration, as a navigational capacity, is not only a function of the individual but also about the presence of elsewhere. This was significant for the imagination of the possible, and for their attainment.

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METAMOTIVATIONAL STATE REVERSALS IN COMPETITIVE SPORT

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.2002.30.6.613 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 30 (6) ◽

pp. 613-623 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Emma Bellew ◽

Joanne Thatcher

Keyword(s):

Future Orientation ◽

Competitive Sport ◽

Reversal Theory ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Time Period ◽

State Measure ◽

State Of Mind ◽

The Individual ◽

Rugby Players ◽

Extended Time Period

In a sporting context, this study examined metamotivational reversals between the telic and paratelic states and the factors affecting them. Twenty male rugby players took part. After competitive matches they completed the State of Mind Indicator For Athletes (SOMIFA: Kerr & Apter, 1999) and attended interviews incorporating the Telic State Measure (TSM: Svebak & Murgatroyd, 1985) and a modified Metamotivational State Interview and Coding Schedule (Potocky, Cook, & O'Connell, 1993). Data were deductively analyzed using existing reversal theory definitions of the telic (a serious-minded and future orientation) and paratelic (a spontaneous, playful orientation) states and the factors proposed to induce reversals between these states. Reversals in state were observed and these were caused mainly by contingent events (factors external to the individual). None was attributed to satiation (a change in state caused by experiencing only one state for an extended time period) and a limited number were attributed to frustration, which also combined with contingent events to induce some reversals. Although further evidence is presented for metamotivational state reversals during sport, future longitudinal studies are needed that address all reversal theory states.

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Sub-elite sprinters and rugby players possess different morphological characteristics of the individual hamstrings and quadriceps muscles

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0259039 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. e0259039

Author(s):

Raki Kawama ◽

Masamichi Okudaira ◽

Tatsuya Shimasaki ◽

Hirohiko Maemura ◽

Satoru Tanigawa

Keyword(s):

Vastus Lateralis ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Rectus Femoris ◽

Biceps Femoris ◽

Quadriceps Femoris ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Vastus Intermedius ◽

Morphological Differences ◽

The Individual ◽

Rugby Players

Numerous studies have clarified that sprinters possess unique morphological characteristics of the thigh muscles compared with non-athletes. However, little evidence is available regarding the morphological differences between sprinters and rugby players. This study aimed to examine the morphological differences in the individual hamstrings and quadriceps femoris muscles between sub-elite sprinters and rugby players. Ultrasound images were acquired from the proximal, middle, and distal regions of the thigh. From the images, the anatomical cross-sectional areas were calculated for 14 sub-elite sprinters, 14 rugby players, and 14 non-athletes. The calculated anatomical cross-sectional areas were normalized to two-thirds power of the body mass, and the normalized values of all regions were averaged as those of the individual muscles. In the hamstrings, the sizes of the biceps femoris short head and semitendinosus were greater in the sprinters than in the rugby players and/or non-athletes (all p < 0.05). In contrast, in the quadriceps femoris, the sizes of the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and vastus intermedius were the greatest in the rugby players (all p < 0.05). In the middle region of the biceps femoris short head and the proximal-middle regions of the semitendinosus, the muscle sizes were greater in the sprinters than in the rugby players (all p < 0.05), and vice versa in the middle-distal regions of the rectus femoris (all p < 0.05). These results suggest that 1) sub-elite sprinters possess larger sizes of the biceps femoris short head and semitendinosus, whereas rugby players have larger sizes of the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and vastus intermedius, and 2) each of the athletes has different size distributions, especially along the lengths of BFsh, ST, and RF. The findings of the present study would be helpful for rugby players in designing training regimens aimed at enhancing sprint performance.

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Memorabilities: enduring relationships, memories and abilities in dementia

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x07005971 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 533-554 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

RAEWYN BASSETT ◽

JANICE E. GRAHAM

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Activities Of Daily Living ◽

Daily Living ◽

Qualitative Investigation ◽

The Past ◽

The Everyday ◽

Everyday World ◽

One Year ◽

The Individual

ABSTRACTThis paper reports the findings of a one-year qualitative investigation of the memories and activities of people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's. We observed and interviewed 58 patient-carer dyads during home visits. The progression of the dementia symptoms was documented, and information was collected on social-relational events, as well as accounts of awareness, attention and anticipation, which are often neglected in research that focuses on the activities of daily living. The participants identified problems that were important to them; those with Alzheimer's disease were aware that they were not as attentive as they once had been, that they could no longer rely upon the memory of, or consciously recollect and relive, a past experience, and that the future was more difficult to anticipate. The participants' accounts describe relationships, memories and abilities – or ‘memor-abilities’ – of a past and their effects on their present and future. Our findings differ from clinical representations of memory located solely in the individual. Instead, memories are regarded as a synergistic package of both social and individual meanings that ‘leak’ between the two. What experimental psychologists interpret as systems and processes are played out in the everyday world of people with Alzheimer's disease as contextual, bounded and interdependent states of awareness, attention and anticipation. We maintain that memory is simultaneously individual and social, and that memorabilities are shared, co-constructed events and experiences in the past, present and future.

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...the idea of perfection is ridiculous but somehow there is the ideology of perfect skin... A qualitative investigation of the meaning of perfect skin for those with and without a visible difference

10.31237/osf.io/nmxpu ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Amy Lloyd-Houldey

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Sampling Methods ◽

Primary Data ◽

Future Research ◽

Qualitative Investigation ◽

Ethical Approval ◽

Skin Conditions ◽

The Individual ◽

The Impact ◽

Level Of Agreement

This qualitative study explored the meaning of perfect skin for those with and without a visible difference. Facebook focus groups were used to collect primary data, using snowballing and opportunistic sampling methods. A heterogeneous sample of participants were recruited to ensure maximum variation (Patton, 2015), allowing the researcher to identify the most important themes across a diverse group. Participants were divided into a visible difference group (participants with skin conditions; aged 21-54; 9 women, 3 men) and a non-visible difference group (those without skin conditions; aged 18- 33; 9 women, 3 men). Once ethical approval was granted, the data was collected, and analysed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Four superordinate themes were identified for discussion; The importance of blending in not standing out; The appearance of the skin is the responsibility of the individual; The ideology of perfect skin; The changing importance of the skin across the lifespan. Most interesting, was the level of agreement across both groups. Future research should aim to further explore the lived experience, and stigma surrounding the skin, by including participants with an invisible difference. As well as the impact social media has on the perception of the skin.

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Relationships between Resisted Sprint Performance and Different Strength and Power Measures in Rugby Players

Sports ◽

10.3390/sports8030034 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 34

Author(s):

Santiago Zabaloy ◽

Jorge Carlos-Vivas ◽

Tomás T. Freitas ◽

Fernando Pareja-Blanco ◽

Lucas Pereira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Maximum Velocity ◽

Sprint Performance ◽

Individual Response ◽

Sprint Training ◽

Performance Variables ◽

Back Squat ◽

The Individual ◽

The Relationship ◽

Rugby Players ◽

Joint Assessment

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between a specific isometric-strength sprint test (SIST) and unresisted maximum velocity (Vmax), sprint times across different loading conditions, and the velocity loss (Vloss) loads required to achieve each intended Vloss condition during resisted sprint training (RST) in rugby players. Additionally, the investigation examined the relationship between strength in the back-squat one-repetition maximum (1RM-SQ) as well as isometric squat (ISQT), jumps, and sprint performance variables. Twenty (n = 20) male amateur rugby players performed, on two separate occasions, a structural multiple-joint assessment of jumps, strength, and sprint performance. Interestingly, SIST revealed moderate correlations (r = 0.453 to 0.681; p < 0.05) between 1RM-SQ and ISQT. The SISTrel (relative to body mass), but not SIST, used in the present study showed moderate correlations (r = 0.508 to 0.675; p < 0.05) with the loads needed to reach 10%, 30%, and 50% of Vloss during RST. The SISTrel that measures resultant force application in a more sprint-related position explains much of the individual response of each athlete during sprinting towing a sled and can also be used to prescribe and quantify loads in the RST in a more objective and individual manner.

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