Comparing bioenergetic models for the optimisation of pacing strategy in road cycling

Road cycling performance is dependent on race tactics and pacing strategy. To optimise the pacing strategy for any race performed with no drafting, a numerical model was introduced, one that solves equations of motion while minimising the finishing time by varying the power output along the course. The power output was constrained by two different hydraulic models: the simpler critical power model for intermittent exercise (CPIE) and the more sophisticated Margaria–Morton model (M–M). These were compared with a constant power strategy (CPS). The simulation of the three different models was carried out on a fictional 75 kg cyclist, riding a 2,000 m course. This resulted in finishing times of 162.4, 155.8 and 159.3 s and speed variances of 0.58, 0.26 and 0.29 % for the CPS, CPIE and M–M simulations, respectively. Furthermore, the average power output was 469.7, 469.7 and 469.1 W for the CPS, CPIE and M–M simulations, respectively. The M–M model takes more physiological phenomena into consideration compared to the CPIE model and, therefore, contributes to an optimised pacing strategy that is more realistic. Therefore, the M–M model might be more suitable for future studies on optimal pacing strategy, despite the relatively slower finishing time.     

“Sometimes you go into competitions with little or no expectations”: England,Euro 2012 in the context of austerity

This paper analyses media coverage of the England football team in the run up to Euro 2012. The study also describes the dominant discourse of ‘low expectations’ underpinning media representations of England and considers various reasons for this. Short-term factors are considered, including the resignation of the England manager, the intra-team tensions arising from racism, along with longer-term factors, including the perceived constraints placed on the England national team’s development by the English Premier League. While these factors are important, they cannot alone, or even in combination, sufficiently explain why the discourse of ‘low expectations took such a hold over media representations of the England national team. One missing factor is the broader problems facing the economy and society, particularly the preoccupation with ‘austerity’, which has created an aura of low expectations; particularly, the tendency to represent ‘austerity’ as ‘growth’ in a ‘low expectations’ culture. Previous research has demonstrated the links between the fortunes of the wider economy and sentiments surrounding the fate of the English national team. This article takes the opportunity to reconsider these wider links in terms of an elective affinity, arguing that the discourse of ‘low expectations’ haunting the England team in the present period is the manifestation and transference of a more pervasive general lowering of expectations among the media and the political elite, concerning the present and future political economic prospects of economic growth and social prosperity.     

The Controversial Cec Pepper and the Australian Services Cricket Team: The Test Career That Never Was

The Australian Services cricket teams of both WWI and WWII played an important role in the immediate post-war period. A number of the players involved went on to forge successful Test cricket careers. This paper mentions the exploits of some of the players involved in these matches with particular focus on Cecil (Cec) Pepper. Cec Pepper represented the WWII Australian Services Team with distinction during the exhausting schedule of matches played in England, India and Australia from June 1945. However, in the match between the Australian Services Team and South Australia played at the Adelaide Oval over the Christmas–New Year period of 1945/1946, Pepper was involved in a controversial incident with the South Australian captain Donald Bradman and umpire Jack Scott. The incident and its subsequent ramifications were to have a huge impact on Pepper's cricket career. Pepper should have been in contention as a future Australian Test player. Instead, his career took another direction completely. This paper discusses Pepper's career and traces further links between the three Adelaide protagonists, Bradman, Scott and Pepper. A comparison is also made between Cec Pepper and other Australian spin bowlers of the era.     

Equal Treatment and Cultural Difference in Multi‐ethnic Schools: a critique of the teacher ethnocentrism theory

ABSTRACT

This paper considers claims that students from minority ethnic backgrounds are treated less favourably than their white peers in schools because their teachers make negative, ethnocentric judgements of their behaviour. The paper challenges the empirical basis of these claims and the implicit model of good practice on which they are based. It goes on to examine some of the implications for teacher practice of this discussion. The aim is to try to clarify the meaning of equality of treatment in schools, a right we expect all citizens to enjoy, and to examine the way this principle should be operationalised by teachers in multi‐ethnic schools.     

Experiencing the workplace: shaping worker identities through assessment,work and learning

This article reports on the findings of research seeking to understand the informal dimensions of online learning in the labour movement. It draws on analysis of online learning workshop participation in specially initiated sessions amongst labour activists/educators from across Canada. Findings are based on the analysis of original interview data and survey data as well as content and interaction analysis of online postings. Barriers to effective participation are discussed, as are possible functions of online learning/communication in the labour movement. I argue that there is strong evidence to suggest that online learning can be a valuable addition to the education capacity of the labour movement, and that an important part of this contribution revolves around a recognition of informal learning, the linkages between the online and the offline world, and the unique goals of the labour movement.