Manchester Metropolitan University

About: Manchester Metropolitan University is a education organization based out in Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 5435 authors who have published 16202 publications receiving 442561 citations. The organization is also known as: Manchester Polytechnic & MMU.

Identity and Discursive Practice: Doing Gender on the Football Pitch

Abstract: Sport is a highly potent site for the construction of masculine identity and, as the dominant sport in many countries, it is football that is especially linked to masculinity, national and local identities. Consequently, the increasing number of women entering the field of football comprises a direct threat to masculine identity, creating a significant site of gender conflict. Based upon the proposition that identity is constructed and enacted in talk, this article presents an analysis of an `everyday' discursive practice within football: the routine refusal of appeals to the referee. Using recordings of male referees during both men's and women's matches, the discursive function of this routine practice, its gendered deployment in the collaborative construction and non-collaborative undermining of salient identity categorizations, and the deployment of alternative categories is explored.

Myotendinous plasticity to ageing and resistance exercise in humans

Abstract: The age-related loss of muscle mass known as senile sarcopenia is one of the main determinants of frailty in old age. Molecular, cellular, nutritional and hormonal mechanisms are at the basis of sarcopenia and are responsible for a progressive deterioration in skeletal muscle size and function. Both at single-fibre and at whole-muscle level, the loss of force exceeds that predicted by the decrease in muscle size. For single fibres, the loss of intrinsic force is mostly due to a loss in myofibrillar protein content. For whole muscle, in addition to changes in neural drive, alterations in muscle architecture and in tendon mechanical properties, exemplified by a reduction in tendon stiffness, have recently been shown to contribute to this phenomenon. Resistance training can, however, cause substantial gains in muscle mass and strength and provides a protective effect against several of the cellular and molecular changes associated with muscle wasting and weakness. In old age, not only muscles but also tendons are highly responsive to training, since an increase in tendon stiffness has been observed after a period of increased loading. Many of the myotendinous factors characterizing ageing can be at least partly reversed by resistance training.

A cartesian cut cell method for compressible flows Part A: Static body problems

Abstract: A cartesian cut cell method for static body problems was presented in Part A (pp 47-56). Here, we extend the method to unsteady compressible flows involving arbitrarily moving bodies. The moving bodies are allowed to cross a stationary background cartesian mesh. So problems such as mesh distortion and/or restrictions on body motion which may affect other mesh approaches do not occur. A MUSCL-Hancock finite volume scheme has been modified for moving boundary problems. The upwind fluxes on the interfaces of static cells are updated using an HLLC approximate Riemann solver and an exact Riemann solution for a moving piston is used to update moving solid boundaries (faces). A cell merging technique has been developed to maintain numerical stability in the presence of arbitrarily small cut cells and to retain strict conservation at moving boundaries. The method has been validated against some well-known two dimensional test problems and applied to practical examples involving an exploding pressure vessel and a store release into a Mach 1.5 stream.

Distribution and Numbers of Pygmies in Central African Forests

Abstract: Pygmy populations occupy a vast territory extending west-to-east along the central African belt from the Congo Basin to Lake Victoria. However, their numbers and actual distribution is not known precisely. Here, we undertake this task by using locational data and population sizes for an unprecedented number of known Pygmy camps and settlements (n = 654) in five of the nine countries where currently distributed. With these data we develop spatial distribution models based on the favourability function, which distinguish areas with favourable environmental conditions from those less suitable for Pygmy presence. Highly favourable areas were significantly explained by presence of tropical forests, and by lower human pressure variables. For documented Pygmy settlements, we use the relationship between observed population sizes and predicted favourability values to estimate the total Pygmy population throughout Central Africa. We estimate that around 920,000 Pygmies (over 60% in DRC) is possible within favourable forest areas in Central Africa. We argue that fragmentation of the existing Pygmy populations, alongside pressure from extractive industries and sometimes conflict with conservation areas, endanger their future. There is an urgent need to inform policies that can mitigate against future external threats to these indigenous peoples’ culture and lifestyles.