title: ‘It’s not about disability, I want to win as many medals as possible’: The social construction of disability in high-performance coaching

authors: Townsend, Robert C.

abstract: This article draws on the theoretical concepts of Pierre Bourdieu to provide a critical analysis of the social construction of disability in high-performance sport coaching. Data were generated using a qualitative cross-case comparative methodology, comprising 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in high-performance disability sport, and interviews with coaches and athletes from a cross-section of Paralympic sports. We discuss how in both cases ‘disability’ was assimilated into the ‘performance logic’ of the sporting field as a means of maximising symbolic capital. Furthermore, coaches were socialised into a prevailing legitimate culture in elite disability sport that was reflective of ableist, performance-focused and normative ideologies about disability. In this article we unpack the assumptions that underpin coaching in disability sport, and by extension use sport as a lens to problematise the construction of disability in specific social formations across coaching cultures. In so doing, we raise critical questions about the interrelation of disability and sport.

text: ‘It’s not about disability, I want to win as many medals as possible’: The social construction of disability in high-performance coaching This article draws on the theoretical concepts of Pierre Bourdieu to provide a critical analysis of the social construction of disability in high-performance sport coaching. Data were generated using a qualitative cross-case comparative methodology, comprising 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in high-performance disability sport, and interviews with coaches and athletes from a cross-section of Paralympic sports. We discuss how in both cases ‘disability’ was assimilated into the ‘performance logic’ of the sporting field as a means of maximising symbolic capital. Furthermore, coaches were socialised into a prevailing legitimate culture in elite disability sport that was reflective of ableist, performance-focused and normative ideologies about disability. In this article we unpack the assumptions that underpin coaching in disability sport, and by extension use sport as a lens to problematise the construction of disability in specific social formations across coaching cultures. In so doing, we raise critical questions about the interrelation of disability and sport.

year: 2018

title: The use of compression garments for recovery following team-sport exercise

authors: Atkins, Rebecca Leith

subjects: fatigue

abstract: Recovery interventions are constantly being sought after and investigated to determine which method is the most beneficial for exercise recovery. Some athletes (e.g. basketball) must prepare for events such as 3-5 day tournaments; during these types of tournaments, there is a short turn around between games, often having to play multiple games within a 24h period (e.g. two games on the same day or one at night and one in the morning). The short turn around presents a limited time for recovery, which means interventions are often implemented to assist in expediting the recovery rate. The use of compression garments following exercise has been said to increase the rate of recovery by increasing blood flow, reducing space for swelling and reducing levels of muscle damage and inflammatory markers. Research has been performed in different sports and for different time frames when wearing compression garments following exercise. This thesis will firstly review the current literature on compression garments used for recovery in the sport setting and identify the gaps in the literature. The thesis then includes an experimental study in chapter 2, which investigates the effects of compression garments (full length, lower-limb) worn overnight (approx. 15 hours) on markers of recovery, in an attempt to fill some of the gaps highlighted in the literature review. 
The experimental study in this thesis included a parallel-group design, where 30 male basketball athletes (mean ± SD age: 23 ± 4 years) were allocated to either a control group (participants wore loose-fitted clothing following exercise) or an experimental group (participants wore lower-limb compression garments following exercise). An exercise session including basketball specific movements was used to induce physical fatigue. Physical tests (countermovement jump, 20m repeated sprints and 5-0-5 agility tests) and perceptual measures (fatigue and muscle soreness) were conducted pre-exercise, post-exercise and the following morning 15h post-exercise. Perceived and actual sleep measures were recorded during the overnight stay in the laboratory. The main result found in the original study was the perceptual ratings of muscle soreness and fatigue. The results were in favour of the compression garments group with large differences (d = -1.27 and d = -1.61 respectively) and significant improvement (p = 0.04) compared to a control group. This thesis adds knowledge to the existing literature on compression garment use for recovery in a team sport, reporting the limitations, practical implications and future research directions for compression garment in recovery.

text: The use of compression garments for recovery following team-sport exercise Recovery interventions are constantly being sought after and investigated to determine which method is the most beneficial for exercise recovery. Some athletes (e.g. basketball) must prepare for events such as 3-5 day tournaments; during these types of tournaments, there is a short turn around between games, often having to play multiple games within a 24h period (e.g. two games on the same day or one at night and one in the morning). The short turn around presents a limited time for recovery, which means interventions are often implemented to assist in expediting the recovery rate. The use of compression garments following exercise has been said to increase the rate of recovery by increasing blood flow, reducing space for swelling and reducing levels of muscle damage and inflammatory markers. Research has been performed in different sports and for different time frames when wearing compression garments following exercise. This thesis will firstly review the current literature on compression garments used for recovery in the sport setting and identify the gaps in the literature. The thesis then includes an experimental study in chapter 2, which investigates the effects of compression garments (full length, lower-limb) worn overnight (approx. 15 hours) on markers of recovery, in an attempt to fill some of the gaps highlighted in the literature review. 
The experimental study in this thesis included a parallel-group design, where 30 male basketball athletes (mean ± SD age: 23 ± 4 years) were allocated to either a control group (participants wore loose-fitted clothing following exercise) or an experimental group (participants wore lower-limb compression garments following exercise). An exercise session including basketball specific movements was used to induce physical fatigue. Physical tests (countermovement jump, 20m repeated sprints and 5-0-5 agility tests) and perceptual measures (fatigue and muscle soreness) were conducted pre-exercise, post-exercise and the following morning 15h post-exercise. Perceived and actual sleep measures were recorded during the overnight stay in the laboratory. The main result found in the original study was the perceptual ratings of muscle soreness and fatigue. The results were in favour of the compression garments group with large differences (d = -1.27 and d = -1.61 respectively) and significant improvement (p = 0.04) compared to a control group. This thesis adds knowledge to the existing literature on compression garment use for recovery in a team sport, reporting the limitations, practical implications and future research directions for compression garment in recovery.

year: 2019

title: Iwi, institutes, societies & community led initiatives

authors: Whaanga, Hēmi

abstract: With the rapid evolution, innovation and incredible growth of ICT, the avenues to exchange, access, manage, create, disseminate, display and research Indigenous data and Mātauranga Māori have increased at astounding rates. This generation, often referred to as ‘digital natives', ‘homo zappiëns’, ‘Net generation’, ‘millennials’, ‘i-generation’ (see, for example Akçayır, Dündar, & Akçayır, 2016; Kirschner & De Bruyckere, 2017; Prensky, 2001; Yong & Gates, 2014), have been raised, immersed and exposed to a myriad of digital technologies, video games, computers, digital music players and cellular phones during their brief lifetimes. Technologies have dramatically transformed how each generation access, communicate, share knowledge, distribute and view information. Social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, Tumblr and social networking apps such as Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, QQ Chat, QZone, Viber, LINE, and Snapchat, with billons of active users per month, are as familiar to this generation as was the radio, television and landline telephones to the Baby Boomers who grew up with pre-cellphone mobile technology.

text: Iwi, institutes, societies & community led initiatives With the rapid evolution, innovation and incredible growth of ICT, the avenues to exchange, access, manage, create, disseminate, display and research Indigenous data and Mātauranga Māori have increased at astounding rates. This generation, often referred to as ‘digital natives', ‘homo zappiëns’, ‘Net generation’, ‘millennials’, ‘i-generation’ (see, for example Akçayır, Dündar, & Akçayır, 2016; Kirschner & De Bruyckere, 2017; Prensky, 2001; Yong & Gates, 2014), have been raised, immersed and exposed to a myriad of digital technologies, video games, computers, digital music players and cellular phones during their brief lifetimes. Technologies have dramatically transformed how each generation access, communicate, share knowledge, distribute and view information. Social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, Tumblr and social networking apps such as Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, QQ Chat, QZone, Viber, LINE, and Snapchat, with billons of active users per month, are as familiar to this generation as was the radio, television and landline telephones to the Baby Boomers who grew up with pre-cellphone mobile technology.

year: 2017