One leading researcher into the training of dancers and safe dance practice accurately characterised traditional, authoritarian, dance teaching methods as `teaching by terror’. This project considered evidence for the widely-voiced claim that dance teaching, and particularly the private dance teaching sector, has rejected these methods and moved towards more ethical teaching practices.

Intermittent-sprint performance is reduced in hot environments and the impairment occurs without significant difference in metabolic responses to exercise. Reductions in cerebral blood flow and voluntary activation occur with hyperthermia and neuromuscular impairment has been posited to explain decreased performance in the heat. Heat acclimation is used to minimise heat mediated performance impairment, yet traditional protocols may limit adaptation. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the efficacy of a novel progressive heat acclimation model for games players performing intermittent-sprint exercise in the heat and to examine if this method can ameliorate neuromuscular fatigue following exercise of this type.

The aim of this thesis was to understand the physiological mechanisms which regulate exercise at the Maximal Lactate Steady State (MLSS) and contribute to fatigue when exercise exceeds this intensity.

Cecil John Rhodes is on record as saying he had only met two creators in South Africa, one being himself and the other James Douglas Logan. The orchestrator of the 190I South African cricket tour to England, J.D. Logan was born in Reston, Scotland on November 26, 1857. The son of a Borders Railwayman, Logan had emigrated to South Africa where, with an entrepreneurial mind, he quickly made his fortune within South Africa's burgeoning colonial society. Affectionately referred to by the South African press as the 'Laird of Matjiesfontein', after the small Karoo town he had developed, Logan's deep affection for cricket undoubtedly helped to popularise the game in South Africa. An important figure culturally as well as politically, Logan's life and contribution to the game is the focus ofthis socio-historical study. In order to explore the processes and events that shaped South African cricket between 1888 and 1910, a wealth of original data was collected from archives in the United Kingdom and South Africa predominantly. A range of secondary sources were also used. The study examines the links between the development of the 'empire game' in South Africa and the social and political environment of the time, with particular reference to the role of James Logan. In many respects, Logan's involvement in politics and the early cricket tours reflected wider processes at work in South Africa's colonial society. This pugnacious Scotsman epitomised the process of cultural imperialism forged between Britain and Her far-flung colonies. His is a story of sport, politics and opportunity and is a distinctive contribution to any history of cricket and colonialism in late nineteenth century South Africa.

Elite athletes have to contend with potential conflicts between the demands of their sport and other aspects of their lives. However, the impact of such conflicts has been under-investigated. This thesis adopts concepts from organisational research into life domain conflicts and applies them to elite sport. The thesis comprises a general introduction, four empirical chapters, and a general discussion. The main goals were to: extend life-sport conflicts research by developing sound measures for both directions of conflict (i.e., life to sport and sport to life); examine a self-determination theory-based model where life-sport conflicts are conceptualised as social contexts that influence motivation towards sport, and how perfectionism moderates this relationship; and explore prospectively whether life domain conflicts and perfectionism predict the extent to which international athletes’ remain within the elite level of sport across a two year period. Advanced statistical procedures (e.g., Bayesian structural equation modelling) are deployed to rigorously achieve these goals. Findings from the studies provide evidence that: life-sport conflicts and sport-life conflicts can be problematic for elite athletes; life domain conflicts are bi-directional and distinct, so only by examining conflicts in both directions can they be adequately represented; life-sport conflicts can be conceptualised as antecedents to self-determined motivation; adaptive perfectionism can attenuate, whereas maladaptive perfectionism can amplify the negative motivational impact of life-sport conflicts; and that sport-free time conflict, a combination of family-sport conflict and adaptive perfectionism, and maladaptive perfectionism prospectively predict international standing at two years. The focus of the thesis is innovative, being the first research to demonstrate that conflicts between life domains exist in elite sports. It contributes to motivation research by showing that life-sport conflicts are negatively associated with self-determined motivation. Findings also highlight that perfectionism plays an important role in the relationship between life-sport conflicts and athlete motivation and maintaining elite performance levels.

This thesis comprises three related studies. The first study is a qualitative examination of reasons for the lack of participation of Kuwaiti women in international track and field athletics. First-hand experience of the current situation in Kuwait has stimulated my desire to discover the reasons for Kuwaiti women’s lack of participation in international competitions, and to compare their experiences with Egyptian female track and field athletes. In addition to exploring the views of athletes themselves, the views of coaches, sport administrators and parents were investigated using a qualitative methodology. Research on Muslim women competing in international competitions is limited, especially concerning women from Kuwait, which has created a need to explore the reasons women from Kuwait are not given fair opportunities to take part in such competitions. This issue is of great importance to Kuwaiti females who are involved in track and field events, and is also relevant to other Muslim communities where women are not allowed the same opportunities offered to men with regard to attending international tournaments. In Study One the data revealed that there are regional differences between Kuwait and Egypt in the factors that affect female sporting participation. In Kuwait, society, culture and some members of athletes’ families generally do not appreciate female involvement in sport and do not support gender integration in sport. In Egypt, however, society, culture and athletes’ parents are supportive of female participation in sport and encourage gender equality. Both countries are similar in terms of a lack of the pro-women policies and institutions in athletics. In addition, both countries suffer from inefficient and outdated equipment and facilities. Even though Egyptian athletes share some similar challenges to participation in sport with Kuwaiti athletes, they are motivated and able to aspire to take part in international competitions. This leads to the question of how female athletes in Muslim countries like Kuwait can be motivated to engage in in optimal training behaviours that would potentially enable them to compete at higher levels. Therefore the second study tested the applicability of a contemporary theory of motivation that has been widely applied to sport contexts, to female sport engagement in Egypt, namely self-determination theory (SDT: Deci & Ryan, 1985). The aim was to gain insights into the motivational processes involved in female sport in a Muslim country that does encourage female participation that might then be applied in Kuwait. SDT proposes a motivational sequence whereby support from the social environment can enhance the satisfaction of psychological needs, which in turn facilitates more autonomous motivation and optimal behaviours. The sequence was tested by examining the influence of Egyptian female athlete’s perceptions of the support offered by coaches, parents and fellow athletes on perceptions of competence, autonomy and relatedness, the facilitation of autonomous motivation for sport engagement and athletes’ training behaviours. The model was subjected to partial least squares structural equation modelling. Results largely supported the SDT motivational sequence and this is the first study to do so in an Arabic or Muslim context. Given that the principles of SDT were upheld in this cultural context, the third study was designed to investigate whether a SDT-based intervention could be applied within the more culturally and socially constrained context of women’s sport in Kuwait. Specifically, the third study examined the extent to which an SDT intervention could encourage autonomy-supportive behaviours and reduce controlling behaviours among Kuwaiti coaches of female athletes. In a randomized control group design, coaches received either training in the application of SDT or engaged in general discussions about training. Results showed significant decreases in controlling behaviours among SDT-trained coaches but not among the control group coaches, as assessed by behavioural observations, although need-supportive behaviours increased in both groups. The framework produced in the third study could be further developed to enhance the promotion of autonomous motivation among Kuwaiti sporting women and help change the current situation of Kuwaiti female athletes in sport. Furthermore, contrary to some critiques of SDT that suggest that it is only relevant in Western cultural contexts, the findings of both Studies Two and Three add to a growing body of evidence that the theory has universal applicability.

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No description available.

Social support is a most powerful expression of human beings. It can make humans overcome barriers that seem impossible. Research shows that athletes, who are supported through being cheered on during events, perform better. However, up until recently, little could be done to cheer athletes during races unless supporters were physically present at the event. We investigate ways in which remote online spectators can support athletes in real-time. Is the support from remote spectators effective? How can we design systems for real-time support and what factors influence their effectiveness? To research this, we iteratively design online crowd interfaces, mobile applications, and devices that allow athletes to communicate with distributed spectators during sport activities. Athletes are able to broadcast their live performance to spectators through locative and biometric data sharing. Concurrently, remote spectators support the athletes by clicking a cheer button that instantly makes the athletes aware that a crowd is following their performance. We then conduct a series of investigations during multiple sport events, using different support modalities and diverse crowds. Results indicate that remote crowd support does motivate the athletes by making the athletes aware that they are being supported. More interestingly, if we categorise supporters into close relatives, acquaintances and unknown spectators, the most effective support seems to be that of acquaintances. This work also provides design guidelines for researchers and designers of remote crowd support systems.

This thesis addresses two areas of research relating to limited overs cricket using statistical analysis. First, we investigate the issue of resetting targets in interrupted matches and propose an alternative, new method to this end. Second, we address the problem of in-play forecasting match outcome