The development of talent is a complex process mediated by a host of psychology, social, physical, and environmental variables. Unfortunately, the multiple processes involved in talent development (Gagne, 2004; Simonton, 2001) are frequently ignored by the systems and protocols employed in sport. Modem approaches to talent development are beginning to stress the initial possession, then subsequent development, of Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence (PCDEs; MacNamara, Button, & Collins, 2010) as the best way to realize latent potential. Accordingly, the aim of this thesis was to acknowledge this complexity by identifying the psycho-behavioural factors that co-act with physical potential and practice regimes to enhance the efficacy of TID models in sport. The main objectives of this thesis were: 1. To identify the challenges faced along the pathway to excellence and the PCDEs that facilitate the successful negotiation of the pathway to excellence across different performance domains. 2. To identify whether PCDEs are operationalised differentially depending, on an individual's age, stage, and context. 3. To confirm these differential roles through quasi-longitudinal examinations of longterm employment (in musicians) and across a key transition (in athletics, the transitions to university at 18 years of age). 4. To develop a questionnaire to bridge the theory-practice divide in TO processes and enable formative evaluation of PCDEs by practitioners. 5. To provide preliminary validation of the questionnaire by evaluating its discriminant function between good and poor development athletes. The development of talent is a complex process mediated by a host of psychology, social, physical, and environmental variables. Unfortunately, the multiple processes involved in talent development (Gagne, 2004; Simonton, 2001) are frequently ignored by the systems and protocols employed in sport. Modem approaches to talent development are beginning to stress the initial possession, then subsequent development, of Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence (PCDEs; MacNamara, Button, & Collins, 2010) as the best way to realize latent potential. Accordingly, the aim of this thesis was to acknowledge this complexity by identifying the psycho-behavioural factors that co-act with physical potential and practice regimes to enhance the efficacy of TID models in sport. The main objectives of this thesis were: 1. To identify the challenges faced along the pathway to excellence and the PCDEs that facilitate the successful negotiation of the pathway to excellence across different performance domains. 2. To identify whether PCDEs are operationalised differentially depending, on an individual's age, stage, and context. 3. To confirm these differential roles through quasi-longitudinal examinations of longterm employment (in musicians) and across a key transition (in athletics, the transitions to university at 18 years of age). 4. To develop a questionnaire to bridge the theory-practice divide in TO processes and enable formative evaluation of PCDEs by practitioners. 5. To provide preliminary validation of the questionnaire by evaluating its discriminant function between good and poor development athletes. The development of talent is a complex process mediated by a host of psychology, social, physical, and environmental variables. Unfortunately, the multiple processes involved in talent development (Gagne, 2004; Simonton, 2001) are frequently ignored by the systems and protocols employed in sport. Modem approaches to talent development are beginning to stress the initial possession, then subsequent development, of Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence (PCDEs; MacNamara, Button, & Collins, 2010) as the best way to realize latent potential. Accordingly, the aim of this thesis was to acknowledge this complexity by identifying the psycho-behavioural factors that co-act with physical potential and practice regimes to enhance the efficacy of TID models in sport. The main objectives of this thesis were: 1. To identify the challenges faced along the pathway to excellence and the PCDEs that facilitate the successful negotiation of the pathway to excellence across different performance domains. 2. To identify whether PCDEs are operationalised differentially depending, on an individual's age, stage, and context. 3. To confirm these differential roles through quasi-longitudinal examinations of longterm employment (in musicians) and across a key transition (in athletics, the transitions to university at 18 years of age). 4. To develop a questionnaire to bridge the theory-practice divide in TO processes and enable formative evaluation of PCDEs by practitioners. 5. To provide preliminary validation of the questionnaire by evaluating its discriminant function between good and poor development athletes. To address the first and second objective, Chapter 3 describes a retrospective, qualitative study of the careers of elite performers. The findings of this study suggest that the pathway to excellence is complicated by the specific challenges faced within different performance domains. However, a similar set of PCDEs, albeit differentially deployed, were reported by all participants as facilitators of development. Chapters 4 and 5 employed a quasi-longitudinal research design to address Objective 3 - the differential deployment of PCDEs in particular contexts. Using a sliding populations methodology, young classical musicians were tracked over a 2-year period to explore the PCDEs employed during the macro and micro stages they encountered as they progressed. A similar research design was employed in Chapter 4 to examine the use of PCDEs during a critical transitional period for track and field athletes. Although the results point to the generality of PCDEs at both elite and developmental levels, and across performance domains, there appeared to be an understandable and necessary shift in responsibility from significant others promoting and reinforcing PCDEs in the early years towards self-initiated and autonomous behaviours in the later years; in essence, a shift in the source of regulation (Cleary & Zimmerman, 2001). The studies in Chapters 3, 4, and 5 generated a list of PCDEs that facilitated development, along with an understanding of how PCDEs were deployed differentially along the pathway to excellence. These findings were used to develop the Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence Questionnaire (PCDEQ); a questionnaire designed to assess the possession and strategic deployment of the PCDEs. Chapter 6 reported the systematic generation of questionnaire items and an exploratory factor analysis that resulted in a 59- item, 6 factor stnicture PCDEQ. The PCDEQ displayed good psychometric properties and should provide coaches with a theoretically and empirically supported tool to assess, monitor, and develop these key developmental skills. To address the final objective, Chapter 7 presents a discriminant function analysis which revealed that the PCDEQ had very good discriminant function and was able to classify between 67 per cent and 75 per cent of athletes correctly on the basis of their self-reported behaviour in sport. In conclusion, the studies reported in this thesis provide a significant contribution to current knowledge by shifting the fopus away from TID methods based on prediction and correlation towards a consideration of progress and behaviour during development. Future recommendations include the need for further validation of the PCDEQ as well as longitudinal and action-based research assessing the role of PCDEs in talent development.

'Cycling is one of the toughest sports and one of the most complex to analyse in scientific terms.' - Mr Hein Verbruggen,P residentU nion Cycliste International 1991-2005. Despite extensive research into sagittal plane lower limb cycling kinematics there is little scientific literature available investigating the three-dimensional joint kinematics of the cyclist, and especially so regarding the kinematics of the pelvis, trunk, and arms, and how these are affected by workload, upper body posture, and saddle setback. This Thesis developed a comprehensive full-body three dimensional kinematic model and then determined the effects of workload, Upper Body Posture, and Saddle Setback on the leg, trunk, and arm kinematics of the cyclist. Competitive cycling has an extremely high aerobic component, and yet ironically there have been few studies investigating how workload or riding position affect lower limb blood flow haemodynamics. By using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy a cycling specific technique was developed to enable tissue oxygenation status of the lower limbs to be determined during cycling, which was then used to assess the effects of workload, trunk and hip angle, and saddle set-back on lower limb blood flow haemodynamics. It is unclear to what extent saddle setback affects lower limb and trunk muscle activity and cycling performance, and yet the sub-disciplines of cycling use markedly different bicycle set-ups. By using a custom cycle ergometer developed by the author this Thesis systematically assessed the effects of saddle setback on muscle recruitment and activation magnitude. When investigating the effects of bicycle set-up on cycling performance it is important to consider all the physiological and biomechanical determinants of success in unison, and how they inter-relate. To date there are no studies that have comprehensively studied the kinematic, haemodynamic, electromyographic, and associated crank kinetics simultaneously. As such this Thesis developed a methodology to evaluate the effects of changing workload, upper body posture, and saddle setback on fullbody three-dimensionalk inematics, lower limb blood flow haemodynamicsl,e g and trunk electromyography, and crank torque profiles, in order to arrive at the optimum riding position and highlight the compromises required when aiming to maximise cycling performance. The effects of workload were assessed by undertaking a 25W. min" graded maximal exercise test to exhaustion. In order to assess the kinematic, haemodynamic, and electromyographic effects of altering riding position a custom independently adjustable cycle ergometer was developed to permit precise accurate adjustment of the four main macro settings (saddle height and setback, and saddle to handlebar reach and drop) while maintaining the spatial coordinates of the other parameters. Three Upper Body Postures (Hoods,D rops and a Time Trial position), and six SaddleS etbacksw ere used (100,50, and Omm behind the bottom bracket, and 50,100, and 150mm in front of the bottom bracket). For all three studies three-dimensional full body kinematics were recorded using a stereophotogrammetricin fra-red motion capture system. Leg and trunk muscle activity were recorded using an 8-lead surface electromyographic system, and tissue oxygenation levels were recorded using Near Infrared Spectroscopy on the Vastus Lateralis. Corresponding crank torque profiles were measured simultaneously using a crank dynamometer. Increasesi n workload produced progressived ecreasesin Oxyhaemoglobina nd pedalling smoothnessin dex, and continual increasesin total haemoglobinc ontenta nd muscle activity in the majority of muscle groups, but produced little change in full-body kinematics until 80% maximal aerobic power was surpassedC. hanging from the Hoods to the Drops and into a Time Trial position had little effect on lower and upper limb kinematics, but produced significant increases in all lower limb muscle activity except the gluteus maximus, as well as considerable reductions in tissue oxygenation status, and resulted in cyclists pedalling with greater peak torque values. Moving the saddle forwards significantly affected joint kinematics, muscle activity, tissue oxygenation status, and the crank torques profiles. A saddle positioned with the nose directly over the bottom bracket minimised angular rotations of the ankle, knee, hip, and trunk as well as global muscle activation. Tissue oxygenation status was also significantly higher using this setting, suggesting that although an aerodynamic cycling position must take priority, setting the saddle with the nose directly over the bottom bracket and maintaining the operating range of motion at the hip and knee appears to maximise cycling performance, and that the spinal kinematics appear to act as a torque-induced engine by means of increases in axial rotation magnitude in the lumbar, mid-thoracic and thoracic spinal segments.

The focus of this project was to detect differences in running gait (at a fixed speed) induced by differences in shoes and surfaces. A review of the literature indicated that improvements in the measurement and analysis techniques were necessary to yield results accurate and reliable enough to. detect these differences. A pilot study was therefore performed to evaluate the magnitude of the measurement errors and the repeatibility of the results. One subject completed 98 trials (emcompassing 10 different shoe­surface conditions) at a fixed speed (approximately 4.46 m/sec) and the vertical (FZ) and horizontal (FY) ground reaction forces were measured. Parameters were developed ·to completely describe the characteristics of the ground reactions (FZ, FY). A statistical analysis performed using these parameters concluded that 10 trial repetitions were required for a reliable result. An X-ray study of one subject was also performed. This study evaluated the errors due to skin markers ( used for filming) moving with respect to the underlying bone. As a result of the X-ray study a new technique to reduce the marker motion errors was developed, tested and found to be potentially powerful. On the basis of the pilot study, the main experiment was designed to test five male subjects under four shoe-surface conditions. High speed films in conjunction with force platform data were collected. A two-dimensional model of the human leg was employed to yield resultant forces and moments at four joints (hip, knee, ankle and metatarsophalangeal). Parameters were developed to describe these resultants. The force parameters, joint resultant parameters and shoe /surface parameters (from friction, resilience and flexibility tests of the shoes) were correlated and discussed in relation to performance and injury potential. Methods of applying the conclusions to shoe and surface design were suggested.

This thesis aimed to investigate physical education, physical activity and sport (PEPAS) participation and the adoption of health behaviours in Scottish adolescents. To address this topic, I start with a general reflection on the current state of Scottish health, through the lens of the Scottish and nested Glasgow effects. Subsequently, building on this conceptual base, I outline a series of three studies to further investigate the linkages between PEPAS and accumulating life stress and health behaviours. Accordingly, the thesis narrative consists of 4 distinct research outputs (1 desktop study, followed by 3 studies involving the collection of primary data). These studies were arranged as follows: In Chapter 4 (research study 1), I suggest that a confluence of social, environmental, attitudinal and cultural stressors may combine to negatively influence biological health. The core conclusion of this conceptual paper was that PA may provide a highly efficient, and cost-effective means to remediating some of the issues underpinning the Scottish effect. Chapter 5 (research study 2) presents data comparing patterns of PA uptake in adolescents of low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds with more affluent age-matched peers. SES is a significant biopsychosocial stress-elevating consideration. These findings add to mounting evidence suggesting excessively accumulating life stress, not only diminishes health, but simultaneously reduces PA uptake in vulnerable populations. The outcomes of this study thus emphasise the negative relationship between excessive life stress and PA, and highlight that there may be a bidirectional relationship between these factors. Chapter 7 (research study 3) qualitatively investigates the barriers and facilitators of PEPAS and exercise in the broad general education (BGE) phase of CfE in Scotland. Focus groups were conducted with 39 secondary school pupils (S1-S2). This study adds context-specific information highlighting the role of self-image, perceived competence and social influence on PEPAS participation. Subsequent findings indicated that the delivery of traditional PE lessons, which prioritise sporting ability, act as a participation barrier to pupils who consider themselves 'non-sporty'. Chapter 8 (research study 4) builds on Chapter 7 by qualitatively investigating why young people in the post 16 phase of CfE discontinue participation in exercise, sport and PA, whilst analysing reasons for this post compulsory education decline in PA. Previous negative PE experiences were perceived as a major barrier to continued PA. Furthermore, this young cohort perceived that PE teachers focused primarily on physically capable students. Respondents also perceived that access to contemporary fitness activities would be a positive option both during PE lessons, and as a tool to promote lifelong PA. Key conclusions emanating from this thesis included: PA levels were significantly lower in those who had experienced greater accumulated life stress. Thereby suggesting that excessively accumulating life stress not only exerts a negative effect on health, but simultaneously reduces PA uptake in vulnerable populations. Activities where individuals felt singled out, such as fitness testing, present significant barriers to PEPAS. Similarly, an overly competitive, performance-based curriculum acted as a barrier for those who self-identified as 'non-sporty'. Many 16-18-year- olds see current cultural fitness trends as preferable to the range of activities traditionally promoted within PE. It was perceived that previous negative PE experiences acted as a barrier to continued PA into adulthood. A core finding arising from this thesis is the recommendation that promoting lifelong PA habits, particularly in those at risk of elevated life stress, should be a fundamental objective of educators. Furthermore, evidence uncovered during this thesis suggests that PE should be structured around pedagogical models promoting self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation. Also, it is suggested that, during the senior phase, PE should be repackaged into an attractive compulsory brand. Finally, the implementation of current fitness and exercise trends, may prove an effective strategy in promoting lifelong activity and health and wellbeing.