Central to this research are the interactions that take place between cyclists and pedestrians on shared-use paths and the impact of these on journey experiences. This research proposes that as active travel is promoted and as walking and cycling targets are set in the UK, there is a potential for levels of active travel to increase; putting pressure on shared-use paths, and potentially degrading journey experiences. Previous research on shared-use paths focuses on the observable aspects of shared path relations, such as visible collisions and conflict. However, this thesis suggests that it is necessary to investigate shared-path interactions in more depth, not only focusing on the visible signs of conflict but also examining the non-visible experiential interactions. Thus, this research addresses the following questions: - What are the different kinds of interactions that occur on shared-use paths? - How do path users experience and share the path? - What are the respondents’ expectations and attitudes towards the path? - What are the practice and policy options in relation to enhancing shared-path experiences? - Are video recordings a useful aid to in-depth interviews? The Bristol-Bath railway path (Bristol, UK) was chosen as a case study site and a two phased data collection strategy was implemented. Phase I included on-site intercept surveys with cyclists and pedestrians along the path. Phase II involved a novel mobile method; using video recordings of the participants’ shared-use path journeys as a discussion tool during in-depth interviews. Phase II enabled a more detailed exploration of the path users’ experiences from a personal point of view. By implementing these methods and applying a novel theoretical framework (combining mobilities and social psychology theory), this research has uncovered findings relevant to practice and theory. Exploring path user interactions revealed the types of coping strategies used by the respondents to share space. The findings also highlighted that different sensory aspects are prominent for cyclists and pedestrians. Processes associated with path-user identities and path-identity were also uncovered as important aspects of shared-path experiences. The usefulness of video mobile methods in accessing the experiential aspects of walking and cycling interactions has also been highlighted. The conclusion considers these findings and sets out recommendations including a code of conduct and an identity-influencing strategy for the path, along with ideas for future research.

Organizational stressors are prevalent within competitive sport participation and can elicit a number of undesirable consequences for sport performers who encounter them if they are not sufficiently addressed. It is, therefore, imperative that psychologists have evidence-based research that can inform their understanding of the organizational stressors that sport performers encounter, so that psychologists can, ultimately, help sport performers to address such stressors. To provide such research, the purpose of this thesis was to assess and examine the organizational stressors that sport performers encounter via a series of seven related studies. Following an introduction to the thesis, Chapter Two provides a literature review of the concepts, definitions, and theories of stress, and the psychometric issues evident in organizational stressor research. Chapter Three (Study One) reports a meta-interpretation of the studies that have identified the organizational stressors encountered by sport performers, and presents the findings as a taxonomic classification. This synthesis with taxonomy illustrates the large number and wide range of organizational stressors that sport performers encounter and provides the most accurate, comprehensive, and parsimonious classification of organizational stressors to date. In addition, the findings are valid, generalizable, and applicable to a large number of sport performers of various ages, genders, nationalities, sports, and standards. In the context of the thesis, Chapter Three is of primary importance in shaping and informing the research in the later chapters. For example, Chapter Four (Studies Two to Five) describes the development and validation of an Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers (OSI-SP), which is conceptually underpinned by the findings of Study One. In Chapter Four, Study Two reports the development of the indicator via the recruitment of an expert and usability panel to assess the content validity and applicability of an initial item pool. Study Three analyses the subsequent 96 items forwarded from Study Two with exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) and the results illustrate a five-factor structure (viz. Goals and Development, Logistics and Operations, Team and Culture, Coaching, Selection) and 33 items. Using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), Studies Four and Five provide support for this five-factor structure. Study Five also provides evidence for the concurrent validity of the indicator and its invariance across different groups. A main conclusion of Chapter Four is that the OSI-SP is a valid and reliable measure of a comprehensive range of organizational stressors that sport performers encounter. Using this indicator, a series of multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) were conducted in Study Six to examine sport performer's individual demographic differences in organizational stressors. This study is reported in Chapter Five and reveals that individual demographic differences do affect the dimensions of goals and development, logistics and operations, team and culture, coaching, and selection organizational stressors. Specifically, significant differences are evident between males and females; team, individual, and team and individual based sport performers; and individuals competing at national or international, regional or university, and county or club levels. Expanding the focus from stressors to the wider stress process, Chapter Six (Study Seven) reports an investigation of the moderating effect of coping on the relationship between organizational stressors encountered in competitive sport and the outcomes that individuals experience. Multiple regression in this study indicated the following main effects: the dimensions of many organizational stressors had a main effect on negative affect; problem-focused coping had a main effect on positive and negative affect; emotion-focused coping had a main effect on negative affect; and avoidance coping had an inverse main effect on positive affect. The moderated hierarchical regression analyses conducted in this study revealed one significant interaction between emotion-focused coping and the frequency and duration of stressors on intensity of stressors; and three significant interactions between avoidance coping and the frequency and duration of stressors on positive affect. These findings provide an insight into which coping styles buffer the impact of organizational stressors at different stages of the stress process. Following this final study, Chapter Eight provides a summary of the studies presented in this thesis; a discussion of the theoretical contributions, practical implications, strengths and limitations, and future research directions; and a conclusion. Overall, this programme of research provides a greater understanding of organizational stressors and their relationships with other constructs and further components of the stress process; therefore, advancing theoretical and scientific knowledge in this area. Practically, the findings presented in this thesis can be incorporated into stress management interventions to, ultimately, address the heightened prevalence of organizational stressors in competitive sport and, in doing so, negate the undesirable consequences that they can create.

Energy balance is important for weight maintenance with exercise having documented physiological, behavioural, and appetite effects. Exercise is known to acutely influence appetite but evidence for an independent effect of intensity is lacking. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the role of exercise intensity on appetite and energy intake (EI), energy expenditure (EE), and the metabolic effects of exercise intensity per se in lean and overweight individuals and to determine whether there was influence of gender or differences between groups. Forty healthy volunteers (30 lean and 10 overweight) undertook 2 periods of exercise matched for energy cost, (i) 8 repeated 60 second bouts of cycling at 95% VO2 max; high intensity exercise (HI) and (ii) 30 minutes of continuous cycling, at a fixed cadence, at 50% VO2 max; low intensity exercise (LI) in a randomised cross-over design. Satiety to a standard meal was assessed subjectively using visual analogue scales. Ad libitum intake was measured 3-h post-breakfast and for 2 days post-exercise. EE and fat oxidation were measured every 30 mins post-exercise. The results showed that in the lean group relative to LI, HI suppressed prospective food consumption, increased EE (P=0.001), fatty acid (NEFA) utilisation (P=0.004) and fat oxidation (P<0.001), but did not affect appetite, EI, plasma glucose, insulin, GLP-1 or lipid levels post-exercise. There was a differential effect of gender on prospective food consumption and NEFA response post-exercise. HI increased EE and fat oxidation post-exercise for men. In the overweight individuals, HI did not differ from LI in terms of appetite, GLP-1, glucose, insulin, lipid or NEFA levels, with no difference in EI, EE and fat oxidation post-exercise. In conclusion, there are different consequences of exercise intensity in short-term control of energy balance depending on BMI and gender; our results support the need for longer term intervention to test these mechanisms.

Exercise tolerance is a key determinant of mortality risk and quality of life. While the public health impact of poor exercise tolerance is now well known, the mechanisms which underpin intolerance are largely uncertain. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the cascade of events that bring about systems limits during high-intensity work. During constant work rate exercise above the lactate threshold (LT), the kinetics of oxygen uptake (V02) are supplemented by a VO2 slow component (202 ) which reduces work efficiency. It has been postulated that this reduction in efficiency is due to progressive fatigue and motor unit recruitment. We, therefore, characterised changes in the power-velocity relationship during sub- and supra-LT cycle ergometry in concert with VO2 kinetics. Velocity-specific peak power was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) by 3 min of heavy (-103 ± 46 W) and very-heavy exercise (-216 ± 60 W), with no further change by 8 min. These results suggested that muscle fatigue is requisite for the VO2sc. However, the maintenance of velocity-specific peak power between 3 and 8 min suggests that progressive muscle recruitment is not obligatory.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the physiological (Booth et o1.,2000; Warburton et al.,2006), psychological (Department of Health,2004a) and social (Carter,2005) benefits to be gained from regular physical activity participation, levels of engagement remain less than satisfactory (Department of Health, 2004; Welsh Assembly Govemment, [WAG] 2005; WAG, 2009). As a consequence, current health trends and the burden placed upon health care and associated services are considered unsustainable. In 2003/04, in an attempt to increase levels of activity amongst children and older people, the Welsh Assembly Government introduced the Free Swimming Initiative, the largest physical activity public health intervention in Wales. The rationale for free swimming for the 60+ age group was to improve the quality of life of older adults, to maintain independence and to provide impetus for the delivery of additional sport and physical activity opportunities for older people (WAG, 2005b). The current research focussed upon free swimming for older people and involved two separate studies. The first study involved a Wales-wide user survey (n:404) that intended to gain an understanding of opinions of the scheme and motivations for participation. It revealed that for the majority of individuals engagement in free swimming comprised only one small part of a generally healthy lifestyle and that the majority of participants had swum regularly prior to the inception of the scheme. The results of this initial study informed the development of the second study, qualitative research with non-users of the scheme in Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent. A single case study approach was developed which included a desk based study, six key stakeholder semi-structured interviews and twenty two interviews with non-users of the initiative. The sample of non-users revealed that antecedent constraints, for example a perception that they were too old to swim, precluded their participation in both physical activity per se and in swimming as an activity. The findings also highlight the difficulties associated with engaging individuals in the pre-contemplation and contemplation stages of change and the specially tailored and collaborative approach which is required to attract and engage hard to reach sectors of society.

Despite the importance of physical activity (PA) promotion among older adults, they remain an underesearched age group within the PA domain, particularly from a theoretical perspective. The current research aimed to gain a better understanding of how to promote and maintain PA among the elderly by employing psychological theory, including Self- Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985), Self-Efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1997) and the Theory of Physical Activity Maintenance (TP AM; Nigg, Borrelli, Maddock, & Dishman, 2008). This thesis firstly presents a qualitative study exploring motives and barriers to PA among older adults employing SDT and Self-Efficacy Theory (Study 1). Secondly, a SDT randomised control trial to promote PA and indices of fitness and wellbeing is presented. Next, a randomised control trial integrating TP AM and motivational interviewing to promote PA maintenance is presented. Emanating from the findings of Study 2, Study 4 presents a qualitative investigation of PA compensation, whereas Study 5 aimed to develop a scale to measure compensatory barriers to PA. Findings from Study 1 suggested that identified and integrated regulations, and to a lesser extent intrinsic motives were primary influences on older adults PA, and that barriers differ according to socio-economic status. Findings of Study 2 showed that supplementing structured PA programmes with SDT based counselling and pedometers proved efficacious at promoting older adults’ PA, aerobic fitness, and wellbeing. Motivational interviewing integrating TP AM proved ineffective at maintaining older adults PA in Study 3, however increased perceptions of self-determination and self- efficacy. In regard to PA compensation, several mechanisms were identified in Study 4 including fatigue, “a drive to be inactive”, fear of overexertion, time constraints, and deficient motivation. Finally, a scale to assess compensatory barriers to PA was developed but not validated in Study 5. The implications of these findings for policy, research, practice, and older adults’ health and wellbeing is discussed.

No description available.

Soccer has been categorised as an intermittent sport, where periods of intense exercise are interspersed with periods of active and passive recovery. Performance relies on several factors including the ability to sprint repeatedly, termed as repeated-sprint ability. It is imperative that a scheduled fitness testing programme includes an assessment of this component to ensure maximal performance during match-play. Although there is a plethora of tests available, the aim of this thesis was to develop, validate and evaluate a reactive repeated-sprint test (RRST), and to investigate its use with a variety of age groups and different performance levels. Data was collected during elite soccer matches and high-intensity running distance in the most intense 5- min period was quantified during match-play. The findings led to the development of a soccer-specific RRST, whereby a detailed evaluation was carried out; the validation, reliability and sensitivity was investigated, as well as utilising the RRST to examine maturation trends and correlates with other physical performance tests. The data demonstrate that the RRST is a reliable and valid test that distinguishes between performance across standard, position and seasonal period. It is also suggested that it is sensitive to monitor maturation trends as well as a large correlation with agility. In summary, the present thesis provides new insight into the most intense period and how players can be monitored throughout a season and at different phases of development. It proposes a new fitness test of best practice for soccer clubs; one that can be used as a multi-tool to assess more than one component of fitness (a practical asset due to the busy day-to-day training week of soccer clubs).

The health consequences of physical inactivity have been described as a “global pandemic", as approximately 31% of the world’s population fails to achieve minimum recommended levels. This has huge social and economic implications for society. The Connswater Community Greenway (CCG) and the Physical Activity Loyalty (PAL) card scheme are two local interventions, which aim to improve physical activity levels. The CCG is a major urban rejuvenation scheme set in East Belfast, which through the creation of a 9km linear park should improve opportunities for exercise. The PAL scheme is a multi-component intervention, targeted at sedentary office-based workers, which attempts to mimic the high-street loyalty card. Subjects can gain points and rewards (financial incentives) contingent upon them achieving targeted physical activity levels. By applying traditional techniques of cost-effectiveness analysis, I found that the CCG could be cost-effective at increasing physical activity levels. Furthermore, after performing a Return-on-Investment analysis, to capture the potential wider benefits of the CCG beyond health, I found that the CCG should pay for itself between two to six times over its lifetime. Finally, by evaluating the PAL scheme from both a healthcare and employer’s perspective, I found it could be a cost-effective way to increase activity levels and productivity, in predominantly sedentary office-based workers.

No description available.