The glocalization of parkour: a New Zealand/Aotearoa case study

Abstract

Globalization has led to the increased sportization of parkour, one of the world’s newest lifestyle sports. This paper investigates the parkour scene in New Zealand, where attempts to develop and support parkour have resulted in the formation of a national governing body (NGB). Parkour NZ, formed in 2011 by local practitioners and the first NGB for parkour to be registered as a charity, is undergoing increased sportization in both traditional and unique ways. We examine the motivations that inspired its formation, registration as a charity and some of the ways it has negotiated the sportization process while accounting for New Zealand parkour community values. Our case study adds to understandings of glocalization and sportization of informal lifestyle sports, and highlights how parkour practitioner values are negotiated within new organizational spaces.     

Idea generation in biomedical engineering courses using Design Heuristics

ABSTRACT

With increasing demand for improved medical equipment and healthcare, next-generation biomedical engineers need strong design skills. Equipping biomedical engineering students with tools for idea generation and development can increase student design success. Design Heuristics are an ideation tool developed through empirical studies of product designs. While identified in the mechanical engineering space, Design Heuristics may be applicable in biomedical engineering design. In our study, we implemented a Design Heuristics session during upper-level undergraduate and first-year graduate biomedical engineering design courses. We examined the applicability of Design Heuristics within individual and team concept generation contexts. The findings demonstrated that biomedical engineering students were able to use Design Heuristics to generate multiple concepts, and that initial concepts produced using Design Heuristics were carried over into final team design. The results support the applicability of Design Heuristics to student idea generation in biomedical engineering design.