Showing papers by "Brett Smith published in 2015"

The Effects of Surfing and the Natural Environment on the Well-Being of Combat Veterans:

Abstract: Although researchers have identified the benefits of physical activity on well-being, there is little evidence concerning the effects of nature-based physical activity. We investigated the effect of one nature-based activity-surfing-on the well-being of combat veterans experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We conducted interviews and participant observations with a group of combat veterans belonging to a United Kingdom-based veterans' surfing charity. Our primary analytical approach was dialogical narrative analysis. Based on our rigorous analysis and findings, we suggest that surfing facilitated a sense of respite from PTSD. Respite was a fully embodied feeling of release from suffering that was cultivated through surfing and shaped by the stories veterans told of their experiences. We significantly extend previous knowledge on physical activity, combat veterans, and PTSD by highlighting how nature-based physical activity, encapsulated in the conceptual notion of the "blue gym," can promote well-being among combat veterans.

Narrative as a knowledge translation tool for facilitating impact: translating physical activity knowledge to disabled people and health professionals

Abstract: Objective Theoretically informed by narrative inquiry, this article examines the utility of stories as a possible tool for disseminating synthesized physical activity knowledge to adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) and health care professionals (HCPs) working with this population. It is the first research to systematically examine in this context the use of narratives as a knowledge translation tool. Method Forty-three participants (15 adults with SCI; 13 peer mentors with SCI; and 15 HCPs) individually listened to an evidence-based story set in a rehabilitation hospital about the process of becoming physically active following SCI. Individual telephone interviews were conducted to examine participants' perceptions of the story. Qualitative data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Results Five themes were inductively identified: (a) effective communication, (b) narrative authenticity, (c) credible messengers, (d) narrative format, and (e) narrative as a form of action. Together, the themes reveal that the story had utility, the various attributes that help explain why this is case, how the utility might be maximized, what the stories could do on and for people, and how the narratives can be used to support behavior change. Conclusions The article advances knowledge by revealing the value of narrative as a means for disseminating evidence-based information to people with SCI and to HCPs. It also reveals that stories can be used to facilitate dialogue, teach, remind, reassure, and reinvigorate people. This article is a resource for enabling knowledge to be more effectively shared to different audiences and applying what we know in practice to help people live meaningful lives.

Disability sports coaching: towards a critical understanding

Abstract: The growing work that addresses coaching disabled athletes has thus far failed to engage with the field of disability studies, and as a result misses a crucial opportunity to develop a critical understanding of coach learning and practice in disability sport. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to bridge the gap between coaching and disability studies and to review critically the current literature in coaching, in order to problematise some of the assumptions that underpin disability coaching research. Disability studies, and in particular the models of disability, are an important first step in a critical understanding in disability sport coaching. The models of disability provide a lens through which researchers, coach educators and coaches can question how they learn to coach disabled athletes, interrogate knowledge about impairment and disability, and critically evaluate coaching practice. In connecting with disability studies, we hope to help coaches and researchers make sense of how they pos...

Male combat veterans' narratives of PTSD, masculinity, and health.

Abstract: This article uniquely examines the ways a group of male combat veterans talk about masculinity and how, following post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they performed masculinities in the context of a surfing group, and what effects this had upon their health and wellbeing. Participant observations and life history interviews were conducted with a group of combat veterans who belonged to a surfing charity for veterans experiencing PTSD. Data were rigorously explored via narrative analysis. Our findings revealed the ways in which veterans enacted masculinities in accordance with the values that were cultivated during military service. These masculine performances in the surfing group had important effects both on and for the veterans' wellbeing. Significantly, the study highlights how masculine performances can be seen alternately as a danger and as a resource for health and wellbeing in relation to PTSD. The article advances knowledge on combat veterans and mental health with critical implications for the promotion of male veterans' mental health. These include the original suggestion that health-promoting masculine performances might be recognised and supported in PTSD treatment settings. Rather than automatically viewing masculinity as problematic, this article moves the field forward by highlighting how hegemonic masculinities can be reconstructed in positive ways which might improve veterans' health and wellbeing. A video abstract of this article can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaYzaOP1kAY.

Understanding physical activity participation in spinal cord injured populations: Three narrative types for consideration

Abstract: The aim of this study was to identity the types of physical activity narratives drawn upon by active spinal injured people. More than 50 h of semi-structured life-story interview data, collected as part of larger interdisciplinary program of disability lifestyle research, was analysed for 30 physically active male and female spinal cord injury (SCI) participants. A structural narrative analysis of data identified three narrative types which people with SCI draw on: (1) exercise is restitution, (2) exercise is medicine, and (3) exercise is progressive redemption. These insights contribute new knowledge by adding a unique narrative perspective to existing cognitive understanding of physical activity behaviour in the spinal cord injured population. The implications of this narrative typology for developing effective positive behavioural change interventions are critically discussed. It is concluded that the identified narratives types may be constitutive, as well as reflective, of physical activity experiences and therefore may be a useful tool on which to base physical activity promotion initiatives.

Collective stories and well-being: Using a dialogical narrative approach to understand peer relationships among combat veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder:

Abstract: Using a dialogical narrative approach, this original research explored how combat veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder made sense of peer relationships with other veterans and what effects these relationships had on their well-being. Interviews and participant observations were conducted with 15 male combat veterans (aged 27-60 years) and one member of the civilian emergency services, the majority of whom were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following traumatic exposure in a range of armed conflicts. All participants were part of a surfing charity for veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. Data were rigorously analysed using a dialogical narrative analysis (DNA). Findings revealed the collective story that veterans used to make sense of peer relationships within the group. This collective story worked for the veterans to shape their experiences of well-being by fostering camaraderie, stimulating deeper connections and countering the negative effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. Potential therapeutic effects of the collective story were also identified. This article extends previous knowledge on combat veterans and social relationships and advances the field of narrative health psychology through the empirical application of a sophisticated dialogical narrative approach.

Business leaders’ views on the importance of strategic and dynamic capabilities for successful financial and non-financial business performance

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on research that identifies the relationships that senior managers believe exist between capabilities and business success. In doing so, it addresses the need for more empirical research about the role of strategic and dynamic capabilities in organisational performance. It also highlights the critical strategic and dynamic capabilities that are most valuable for practising managers. Design/methodology/approach – A multi-method study was conducted. Eight types of strategic capability and ten types of dynamic capability commonly found in organisations were identified through consecutive literature review, web site content analysis and interviews with senior executives. A questionnaire survey was then used to ask senior officers of publicly listed Australian firms about the importance of each capability and financial and non-financial performance indicators. The relationship between capabilities and performance was measured by regression modelling. Findings – ...

Family experiences of living with an eating disorder: A narrative analysis:

Abstract: Families are considered important in the management and treatment of eating disorders. Yet, rarely has research focused on family experiences of living with an eating disorder. Addressing this gap, this study explores the experiences of an elite 21-year-old triathlete with an eating disorder in conjunction with the experiences of her parents. Family members attended interviews individually on three separate occasions over the course of a year. In line with the narrative approach adopted, whereby stories are considered the primary means to construct experience, interviews encouraged storytelling through an open-ended, participant-led structure. Narrative analysis involved repeated readings of the transcripts, sensitising towards issues of narrative content (key themes) and structure (overarching plot). Family difficulties arose when personal experiences strayed from culturally dominant narrative forms and when family members held contrasting narrative preferences. Suggestions are forwarded as to how an appreciation of eating disorder illness narratives might inform treatment and support.

The Impact of Living in a Care Home on the Health and Wellbeing of Spinal Cord Injured People

Abstract: In the UK, 20% of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) are discharged from rehabilitation into an elderly care home. Despite this, and knowledge that the home is central to health and wellbeing, little research has examined the impact of being in care homes on the health and wellbeing of people with SCI. The purpose of this study was to address this gap. Twenty adults who lived in care homes or had done so recently for over two years were interviewed in-depth. Qualitative data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Analyses revealed that living in a care home environment severely damages quality of life, physical health and psychological wellbeing in the short and long-term. Reasons why quality of life, health, and wellbeing were damaged are identified. These included a lack of freedom, control, and flexibility, inability to participate in community life, inability to sustain relationships, safety problems, restricted participation in work and leisure time physical activity, lack of meaning, self-expression, and a future, loneliness, difficulties with the re-housing process, depression, and suicidal thoughts and actions. It is concluded that for people with SCI, the care home environment violates social dignity, is oppressive, and denies human rights. Implications for housing and health care policies are also offered.

Nutritional Supplement Habits of Athletes With an Impairment and Their Sources of Information

Abstract: The consumption of nutritional supplements (NS) is common among able-bodied (AB) athletes yet little is known about NS use by athletes with an impairment. This study examined the: (i) prevalence of NS use by athletes with an impairment; (ii) reasons for use/ nonuse; (iii) sources of information regarding NS; and (iv) whether age, gender, impairment, performance level and sport category influence NS use. The questionnaire was completed by 399 elite (n = 255) and nonelite (n = 144) athletes (296 M, 103 F) online or at a sporting event/training camp. Data were evaluated using chi-square analyses. Fifty-eight percent (n = 232) of athletes used NS in the previous 6-month period and 41% (n = 102) of these followed the instructions on the label to determine dose. Adherence to these AB recommendations may partly explain why 9% (n = 37) experienced negative effects from NS use. As expected, the most popular NS were: protein, sports drinks, multivitamins and carbohydrate supplements, which were obtained from health food/sport shops, internet and supermarkets (top 3) where evidence-based, impairment-specific advice is limited. The nutritionist/dietitian was the most used and trusted source of information, which is a promising finding. The most prevalent reasons for use were to support exercise recovery, support the immune system and provide energy. Elite athletes were more likely to use NS, which may reflect greater training hours and/or access to nutritionists. Fifty-two percent of athletes (n = 209) requested more information/ education regarding NS. NS use is prevalent in this population. Education on dosage and appropriate sources of information is required.

Workshop Synthesis: Comparing and Combining Survey Modes☆

Abstract: This paper summarizes the discussions held during an in-depth six-hour workshop on the challenges of combining data from different survey modes with the anticipated aim of identifying current research needs. The main theme of the workshop was mixing survey modes as a way to meet the challenge of low response rates. However, the use of multi-mode surveys introduces new sources of bias: not all households have access to certain survey media (coverage bias); the response rate using one or another of the survey modes is correlated with social demographics (non-response bias); the sampling frame is dependent on the mode (sampling bias) or the instrument itself may affect the responses (measurement bias). The aim of this report is present the workshop's discussion on the identification of research needs with related to combining data from different survey modes.

Electric vehicles adoption: environmental enthusiast bias in discrete choice models

Abstract: The recent revival of electric vehicle (EV) technology is in its early days and in markets like Australia the number of EV’s on the road is very small. With limited real market data available for research, stated choice (SC) experiments have emerged as a popular tool to study the factors that influence the uptake of EVs. The assumption behind these experiments is that respondents make trade-offs on the attributes presented in the instrument. As part of the Western Australian Electric Vehicle Trial (WAEVT), a stated choice survey was administered to 440 households in Perth. It was noted that 48 (10.9%) respondents chose the EV option as their best across all six stated choice replications. We hypothesise that for most of these respondents their choices reflect their desire to present themselves in a favourable light. In this instance the social desirability biasness manifests in non-trading behaviour. There were also 24 respondents who chose EV as their least preffered option. We hypothesise that for these respondents lack of interest or confidence in the new technology and inertia may have driven their decisions. This paper offers a demographic and psychographic profile of the non-traders - made possible by items being added to the experiment. While there was little differences between the demographic profiles, there was some evidence from the attitudinal data that the nontrading was due to social desirability. Non-traders (Best) scored significantly higher on environmental concerns and subjective norms, were more likely to rate their intention to purchase and use an EV higher and chose EV in all choice sets, despite the experimentally controlled attributes. Conversely, non-traders (Worst) had the lowest environmental concerns and subjective norms. From a choice modelling perceptive, keeping non-traders in the estimation biases the taste parameters and therefore the willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures. However, the choice tasks asked respondents to indicate their least preferred option as well as their best. When indicating the worst alternative the ‘social desirability’ non-traders do appear to be making decisions based on the attributes, which is consistent with the rest of the sample.

A ‘healthy’ future? Supporters’ perceptions of the current state of English football

Abstract: Over the last few years, clear public policy support in favour of fan engagement in the governance of football has developed. This is based on the assumption that supporters are dissatisfied with the current governance structures within the sport. There is, however, no robust academic evidence of whether this is indeed the case. This article aims to contribute to the debate by presenting data from qualitative fieldwork with 21 football supporters during March–May 2013. Each participant created a photograph album over an eight-week period, and was then interviewed individually to elicit the meaning of their photographs and diaries. This group of fans used their photographs to express dissatisfaction with several aspects of current football governance, highlighting issues with the financial, physical and social health of the sport. We suggest a number of implications of this, both for the fans and for the future state of the game.

Recommendations for recruiting and retaining adolescent girls in chronic exercise (training) research studies

Abstract: Extensive challenges are often encountered when recruiting participants to chronic exercise (training) studies. High participant burden during chronic exercise training programmes can result in low uptake to and/or poor compliance with the study. The aim of this qualitative study was to identify factors affecting adolescent girls’ recruitment and adherence to chronic exercise training research studies. Twenty-six adolescent girls (aged 12 to 15 years) participated in one of five focus groups discussing recruitment and retention to exercise physiology research involving a chronic exercise training programme. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and eight final themes were inductively identified. Seven evidence-based practical recommendations are suggested to improve the recruitment and retention of participants for prospective, chronic exercise training studies. Successful recruitment requires: (i) the defining of exercise-related terms; (ii) appropriate choice of recruitment material; and (iii) an understanding of participant motivations. Retention strategies include: (iv) regular monitoring of participant motives; and (v) small groups which foster peer and researcher support. Finally, (vi) friendship and ability groups were favoured in addition to (vii) a variety of activities to promote adherence to an exercise training programme.

Community based research in sport, exercise and health science

Abstract: 1. Expanding the sport and physical activity research landscape through community scholarship: introduction 2. An exploration of the meanings of sport to urban Aboriginal youth: a photovoice approach 3. Moving beyond words: exploring the use of an arts-based method in Aboriginal community sport research 4. Developing sport-based after-school programmes using a participatory action research approach 5. Challenging and transforming power relations within community-based participatory research: the promise of a Foucauldian analysis 6. Growing up in the Kayamandi Township: I. The role of sport in helping young people overcome challenges within their community 7. Media framing and the representation of marginalised groups: case studies from two major sporting events 8. 'It is fun, fitness and football really': a process evaluation of a football-based health intervention for men 9. Qualitative research in sport, exercise and health in the era of neoliberalism, audit and New Public Management: understanding the conditions for the (im)possibilities of a new paradigm dialogue 10. Pathways for community research in sport and physical activity: criteria for consideration

Derivation of Demand Elasticities from Travel Choice Elasticities

Abstract: We derive ordinary Marshallian demand elasticities from mode choice elasticities The fact that purely choice elasticities are conditional on a fixed number of trips is used to build the trip generation part of total travel demand The generation elasticity for all modes in the group is the difference between ordinary and choice elasticities Demand elasticities incorporate 'pure substitution' and 'money expenditure' effects, relating conditional demand to ordinary demand Choice elasticities replace conditional demand elasticities and a correction compensates for the choice estimation method The result obviates the error of treating choice elasticities as market demand elasticities © 2015 LSE and the University of Bath

Combining Stated And Revealed Preference Surveys In Strategic Transport Models

Abstract: Stated preference (SP) surveys are often undertaken to investigate behaviour to support a particular decision - e.g., implementing a bus-way - or as academic exercises to understand decision processes. It is less common for stated preference to be integrated into a citywide household travel survey, but that is what is being considered by the WA Department of Transport for the next Perth and Regions Travel Survey (PARTS-2016). This paper contains a number of detailed recommendations for integrating a stated preference component with a household travel survey.

Modelling Travellers’ Choice Between Park-and-Ride and Other Modes of Travel to Work in the Context of Risk and Uncertainty

Abstract: Park-and-ride (PnR) is seen as an attractive public transport alternative in low-density cities as it combines the efficiency of a mass transit system with the flexibility of the car (Holguin-Veras, Hart, Reilly, & Aros-Vera, 2012). Perth’s newest rail lines were developed with the expectation that PnR would play a major role. However, the system was under stress in its first year of operation with commuters having trouble securing a bay at the railway stations (Martinovich, 2008). This paper focuses on the choice to commute by PnR and the trade-off between departure time and the uncertainty of securing a parking bay. The paper also explores other sources of uncertainty in the mode choice setting: day-to-day travel time variations when travelling by car and crowding on public transport.