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Personal Academic Tutors and student continuation: the importance of establishing relationshipsStudents studying in higher education (HE) in the UK are reported to be increasingly facing challenges concerning their studies. Personal Academic Tutoring (PAT) systems are widely used in the UK HE sector since research has shown the importance of having an academic mentor to guide students throughout their learning journey. This study contributes to the literature by establishing the relationship between the PAT system, at an English university with a diverse student body, and continuation rates. As such, it responds to the requirement that HE institutions investigate factors that affect student continuation in contexts where there is increasing scrutiny from regulatory bodies. Conducted in 2023, this study explores PAT practices in low and highcontinuation courses using a mixed-method approach. Data was collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with 47 academics and 18 students, triangulated with additional sources. The analysis includes descriptive and comparative assessments of quantitative data and thematic analysis of qualitative data. Findings indicate that academics and students recognised that effective support is contingent on good personal relationships. PATs acknowledged their limitations in addressing both academic and personal difficulties that students face, as well as the implications of safeguarding and data protection. Comparisons between low and high-continuation courses revealed significant differences in student allocation numbers and clarity about the PAT role and notable differences in strategies adopted to enhance support. The study concludes with an acknowledgment of its limitations, points to recommendations that have been taken forward by the University and the relevance for other universities.
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Stiffness a coaches guide (Part 2): recommendations for testing and trainingAbstract: High levels of vertical, leg and joint stiffness are generally advantageous for short time span performance actions, with stiffness changes sensitive to training. Consequently it is vital to monitor stiffness changes in any training intervention designed to enhance stiffness. Measures of stiffness are often seen as too complex to be carried out as part of a training intervention, but this approach misses key adaptations which drive performance. Part 2 of this narrative review focuses on measurement methods that are accessable to coaches and how subsets of stiffness can be trained. To measure a structures stiffness there is a requirement for the force applied to and the corresponding change in length of a given structure (Hookes law). Vertical stiffness focuses on centre of mass (COM) displacement, rather then compression of the leg-spring seen in leg stiffness measurements. This makes leg stiffness a preferable measure, compared to vertical stiffness, if more horizontal movements are explored. However, leg stiffness will miss torso deviations in vertical actions and should not be used to replace COM deviation seen in vertical stiffness measures. Joint stiffness measures individual joint actions giving valuable insight into how joints impact system stiffness. Measures of stiffness require high technical knowledge and complex equipment, often beyond the scope of coaches. However, practical monitoring of stiffness can be relatively easly accumplished by tracking temporal and performance outcomes interactions reliably via readly available high sampling frequency phone apps. Enhancing stiffness has been achieved with isometric, eccentric, isotonic and plyometric training, frequently linked to higher intensity interventions, whether acute or chronic stiffness increases are required. Interventions must maximise force output without increasing ground contact or contraction time, while it is recommended to sequence structural, neural and coordinative-based objectives in any training intervention.
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Stiffness, a coaches guide (Part 1): underlying biomechanical conceptsAbstract: The general concept of the stretch and recoil of elastic tissue during ground contact, storing and releasing energy to enhance the propulsive phase of an action is well understood. However different stiffness measures are frequently used incorrectly and interchangably, leading to ineffective monitoring of stiffness changes, limiting the impact of training designed to enhance stiffness. The aim of this narrative review is to discuss how different structures react to ground contacts, how this behaviour can be modeled and how stiffness impacts performance. Hill’s three-compartment model highlights the need for tendon compliance and muscle stiffness in efficient force generation. However, this does not really explain slow stretch shortening cycle (SSC) actions, were both muscle and tendon stretch and recoil. Different models are used to describe a bodies ground impact behaviour, including the spring-mass model which describes centre of mass movement, the torsional spring model which describes leg fuction, with three torsional springs representing the ankle, knee and hip. These models generally link an increase in stiffness to an increase in performance in high intensity action, with vertical stiffness a predictor of high intensity sporting actions independent of sex, age or maturation. Leg stiffness initially increases with running velocity, before remaining constant at high running velocities. When joint function is reviewed ankle stiffness is linked to fast SSC actions, with knee stiffness linked to slow SSC actions. It is concluded that different measures of stiffness should not be used interchangably as different aspects of stiffness impact performance independantly.
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'A challenging but rewarding path': working with disability populationsThis chapter discusses the different aspects that we feel need to be considered. It starts by exploring the practical considerations which are often neglected when starting out working with disabled populations and then looks at both the physiological and psychosocial considerations which need to be made to make support provision more effective. Whilst, like all members of society, each individual will have different motivations, aspirations, and requirements it is perhaps not surprising that disabled populations may have more specific and challenging needs than their able-bodied counterparts. Therefore, there is a clear need for sport and exercise practitioners to, not only have the required knowledge and skills to be an effective support provider, but also gain a better understanding of the complex and highly individual needs of disabled populations in order to provide the best support possible. The aim being to provide real-life considerations that we feel are key to help practitioners when providing support to disabled populations.
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Complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic position of Nurudea zhengii Ren (Insecta, Hemiptera, Aphididae)Nurudea zhengii Ren was identified by aphid morphological characteristics as well as the gall shape and host plant species, and placed in the tribe Fordini (Hemiptera, Aphididae, Eriosomatinae). Here, its whole genome was firstly sequenced by a genome-skimming method and its mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) was assembled to examine its genetic variation and phylogenetic position. The complete mitogenome of Nurudea zhengii is 15,392 bp in length, and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, two rRNAs and one D-loop region. The gene order follows the mitogenomes of the other Rhus gall aphids, and similarly has an AT bias with the content of 83.9%. The majority strand is A-skewed and C-skewed, and shows opposite skewness for G-skewed in the minority strands. The ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitution rates of protein-coding genes are lower than one except for ATP8, which indicated that ATP8 was undergoing positive selection. Phylogenetic analysis among the Rhus gall aphids based on 13 protein-coding genes and two rRNA genes showed that N. zhengii was sister to N. shiraii, and then clustered with N. yanoniella as a group with high support value. The two species, N. shiraii and N. yanoniella, share the same host plant Rhus chinensis, while the host of N. zhengii is R. hypoleuca. However, the phylogenetic relationship indicated that the taxa sharing the same host plant were not absolutely clustered as the closest taxa at least at species level.
