International Champions Research Articles

Global partnerships in nursing – A qualitative study in lessons for success

Global nursing partnerships can develop cultural competence and standardisation across international nurse education programmes. Issues of context, cultural awareness and modes of engagement can influence the success of international collaboration. The ‘Supporting Internationalisation of Traineeships in the Healthcare Sector’ project, funded from 2017, brought together nine international partners from Finland, Poland, Spain and the UK to develop a pan-European quality audit process for clinical learning environments. As part of the evaluation, eight project partners were interviewed about the project and their criteria for a successful global partnership. The interviews allowed insight into previously hidden aspects of implementation. The importance of a scoping period for nursing global partnerships was highlighted that built on cultural diversity to explore common understandings. Attention to the use of prior expertise in internationalisation, or project objectives, could accelerate a global partnership to achieve a greater potential in its outcomes and cultural sensitivity. Framed in a clear structure, it is possible for global partnerships to embed ownership, autonomy and individual voice in partner organisations. The research concludes that only by growing international champions through funded and well constituted projects, that a genuine impact on the global health and educational needs in nursing can be met.

Improving on Half-Lightweight Male Judokas' High Performance by the Application of the Analytic Network Process.

Judo is a multifactorial sport where many variables or key performance indicators (KPIs) such as force-velocity profile, bioenergetic capacity, technical and tactical skills, and cognitive and emotional competence play a role and influence the final result. While there have been many academic studies of these variables, usually in isolation, none have examined KPIs holistically or analyzed their impact on strategic performance. The main objective of the present study, therefore, is to apply a novel and easily replicable methodology to identify and prioritize the main KPIs affecting performance in professional judo. Such a methodology was applied to the High-Performance Judo Centre of Valencia, using a multi-criteria decision aid technique: the analytic network process (ANP). The ANP is used to identify and quantify cause and effect relationships not only between KPIs but also between KPIs and performance objectives. Further, the ANP offers effective results when there is a lack of historical KPI data, because it is based on experts' opinions and judgments. A judo expert group (JEG) comprising elite judo coaches and half-lightweight (under 66 kg) male judokas applied the methodology to discriminate between the characteristics required when aiming to reach high-level strategic objectives (such as participating in the Olympic Games or winning a medal in a Grand Slam/Gran Prix). The JEG, which consisted of five elite judokas, national and international champions, and three Olympic coaches—including a former European champion and silver medalist in a world championship—provided high added value to the study. The main findings were that the KPIs that made the most difference were mostly psychological, specifically motivation, stress, and team cohesion. Of these, motivation was by far the most important KPI for success in our case study, so judokas should make sure that they analyze it properly. Motivation is usually intrinsic to the competitor and should be maintained at a high level, not only during tournaments but also during daily training and lifestyle activities. Physical and other specific forms of training, as well as lifestyle KPIs, are very important for the elite competitor but are not sufficient to reach high-level objectives. The most important of these KPIs were Kumi-Kata (grip work), dual career, focus and concentration level, scouting, nutrition, and basic technique. Power and strength were the most important physical KPIs. In general, these are essential for meeting strategic objectives, but they do not make the crucial difference. This suggests that professional psychological support should be provided in daily training and that international team composition and internships should be fostered.

Book review of artificial intelligence in medicine Edited by LeiXing, MaryellenGiger, and JamesMin

Book review of artificial intelligence in medicine Edited by LeiXing, MaryellenGiger, and JamesMin

THE IMPORTANCE OF CORNERS IN THE TACTICAL PREPARATION OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS

Corners are a segment of the game from which goals are not often scored, but they may be a decisive factor in the outcome of the match between the two teams. The aim of this research is to determine the characteristics of performing a corner kick and to examine whether there are differences between different competitions of professional football players. The sample of respondents represents the matches of the International Champions Cup in the 2018 season and the matches of the Spanish league (La Liga) in the 2017/2018 season. A total of 23 matches (13 matches of the International Champions Cup and 10 matches of the Spanish league) were analyzed. To describe the tactics of corner kicks, variables were observed that indicate the way the kicks are performed from the corner. The methodology of observing several teams, monitoring all matches and monitoring both teams in each match with the analysis of given variables was used. Corner kicks that had more than three passes, which means starting a new, organized attack, were excluded from the analysis. A total of 209 of the 253 corners were included. The results show that there is no statistically significant difference in most of the observed parameters, but in the type of defense that the teams apply, play and lateral performance, there are statistically significant differences. Zone defense (.012) is used more by teams that competed in the International Champions Cup and combined (.036) by teams in the Spanish league. There are also differences in the playoffs (.047) in favor of the International Champions Cup. Corners from the same side (.031) were used more in the International Champions Cup than in the Spanish league. These results show that the teams do not differ much in the way they set up in the defensive phase and the attack phase, but that there are certain common criteria. Article visualizations:

All-Time Best Norwegian Track and Field Athletes: to What Extent Did They Achieve Outstanding Results at the Ages of 15 and 18 Years?

The aim of the study was to determine how many Norwegian athletes who, during all the times they had achieved the European Athletics Championship 2020—Entry Standards (EAC20ES), were also ranked among the 20 all-time-best athletes at the ages of 15 and 18 years. The number of athletes who achieved the EAC20ES during their career, and the percentage of those who were among top 20 in the age groups 15 and 18 years, were determined from the Norwegian all-time-best results lists. A total of 202 athletes achieved the EAC20ES in the studied time period. Of these, 14.4% and 42.1% were ranked among the top 20 all-time best in one or more events at the ages of 15 and 18 years, respectively. However, among those who had won an international gold medal, these percentages were much higher. Eight out of 12 champions (66.7%) were ranked among the top 20 all-time best in one or more event at 15 years of age, and 11 of 12 champions (91.6%) were ranked among the top 20 all-time best at 18 years of age. Athletes that went on to win international championships typically performed better as adolescents compared to other athletes who also reach an international level as seniors. However, due to the low number of international champions, the date should be interpreted with caution.

BACHATA AS A DANCE FORM: PERFORMANCE AND PECULIARITIES OF ARTISTIC IMAGE

The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the bachata social dance as a popular modern dance form; to analyse the stylistic features and the specifics of the technique of performance. Through the research, the historical method is to study the origin and popularisation of the dance; the typological approach is to identify the factors of dance formation and evolution, the features of transformative processes. In order to provide the background to the leading recent trends in social dance forms, the method of artistic and stylistic analysis is used; the method of artistic analysis is aimed at identifying the specific stylistic elements of bachata as a social and competitive dance. In Ukrainian art studies, the bachata dance is studied as a social, cultural and artistic phenomenon for the first time ever; the process of formation and development of this dance form in retrospect is considered; the stylistic features of Dominican bachata, Western “traditional” bachata, modern bachata, sensual bachata and the specifics of its performance technique in the world-class competitions (“Sobre Todo 2019”, “BachataStars Italy 2019”, “Paris Bachata Festival Contest 2019”, Bachatastars International Champions, etc.) are defined. Specific features of bachata as a social dance form are shown in the specifics of the dance symbolism, the extreme flexibility and plasticity of performance. The study revealed the characteristic features of modern bachata styles: the quick tempos of performance, number of footwork, lack of lifts and rotations (authentic style); closed position, a close tie between dance couple, soft hip movements, wise set of turns and figures, borrowing movements and elements of ballroom dance styling (Western style); a combination of elements of Western bachata, salsa, tango and ballroom dancing, the dominance of body and hip movements (modern style); improvisation, a large variety of figures, the presence of lifts and elements of the show, elegant dress (sensual style).

U.S. Soils Team International Champions

U.S. Soils Team International Champions

Empowering The Social Capital in The Religion-Based Character Education for The Elementary School Children in The Al-Irsyad 02 Elementary School Purwokerto

The study discussed the use of social capital in the religion-based character education for the elementary school children in the Al-Irsyad 02 Elementary School Purwokerto. The objectives of the study were to: (1) study the use of social capital in the religion-based character education within the learning process by means intracurricular and extracurricular activities and of school culture; (2) view the religion-based character education based on the aspect of cohesiveness and cooperation; and (3) view the religion-based character education based on the aspect of tolerance-solidarity within the learning process. For the data collection, the researcher performed the observation, the interview and the documentation. Then, in conducting the study the researcher selected the descriptive technique as the data analysis technique because the researcher would like to describe the data in order to solve the problem. Based on the results of the study, the researcher would like to draw the following conclusions. First, the social capital in the religion-based character education by means of teaching-learning process (intracurricular activities) has positive and important role for developing the character values of the students in the Al-Irsyad 02 Elementary School Purwokerto. The social capital in the religion-based character education becomes one of the school agendas in building the students’ potentials and competencies. The extracurricular activities also have positive role in supporting the process of internalizing the character values into the school community since the extracurricular activities, along with the intracurricular activities, have been related to the social and the religious aspects. Next, the culture of Al-Irsyad 02 Elementary School Purwokerto might be summarized into eight aspects. Second, the use of social capital, according to the perspective of cohesiveness and cooperation, within the daily learning process has been based on the religious values. The students of the elementary school always pray, do the dzikir and read the Koran every morning. The cohesiveness has enhanced the students’ discipline and solidarity and has created the students’ religious characteristics. Third, the use of social capital, according to the perspective of the aspects of solidarity and tolerance, within the religion-based character education has taken the form of social activities. For example, Al-Irsyad 02 Elementary School Purwokerto always holds the Open House event every second semester for each year and the objective of the event is to perform the syiar and the promotion. The event has been introduced by the elementary school since Al-Irsyad 02 Elementary School Purwokerto has the following slogan: “The Champion School.” The meaning of the slogan is that the elementary school becomes the place that gives birth to the national and the international champions. The elementary school, in other words, has been teaching their students to have good social characteristics.

Openness, international champions, and the internationalization of Multilatinas

In the 1990s Latin American countries abandoned their policies of import-substituting industrialization carried out through fully-owned state enterprises (SOEs). They opened their economies to international competition and privatized their SOEs. We argue that this pragmatic adaptation did not necessarily constitute a fundamental change in policies, long followed by some Latin American countries, of state intervention in the pursuit of nationalistic objectives, but is instead a continuation of these policies by other means. Specifically, to safeguard their autonomy, some Latin American states have selected and nurtured domestic firms to become multinational enterprises (MNEs). They have kept – and obtained – equity stakes in these national MNEs to influence them and to keep them out of the hands of foreigners. These policies explain the timing of the rise of Multilatinas and their, usually partial, state ownership.

Barriers and Facilitators to Scaling Up the Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment for Treating Obstetric Hemorrhage: A Qualitative Study.

BackgroundObstetric hemorrhage (OH), which includes hemorrhage from multiple etiologies during pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum, is the leading cause of maternal mortality and accounts for one-quarter of global maternal deaths. The Non-pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG) is a first-aid device for obstetric hemorrhage that can be applied for post-partum/post miscarriage and for ectopic pregnancies to buy time for a woman to reach a health care facility for definitive treatment. Despite successful field trials, and endorsement by safe motherhood organizations and the World Health Organization (WHO), scale-up has been slow in some countries. This qualitative study explores contextual factors affecting uptake.MethodsFrom March 2013 to April 2013, we conducted 13 key informant interviews across four countries with a large burden of maternal mortality that had achieved varying success in scaling up the NASG: Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. These key informants were health providers or program specialists working with the NASG. We applied a health policy analysis framework to organize the results. The framework has five domains: attributes of the intervention, attributes of the implementers, delivery strategy, attributes of the adopting community, the socio-political context, and the research context.ResultsThe interviews from our study found that relevant facilitators for scale-up are the simplicity of the device, local and international champions, well-developed training sessions, recommendations by WHO and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and dissemination of NASG clinical trial results. Barriers to scaling up the NASG included limited health infrastructure, relatively high upfront cost of the NASG, initial resistance by providers and policy makers, lack of in-country champions or policy makers advocating for NASG implementation, inadequate return and exchange programs, and lack of political will.ConclusionsThere was a continuum of uptake ranging in both speed and scale. Ethiopia while not the first country to use the NASG has the most rapid scale-up, followed by Nigeria, then India, and finally Zimbabwe. Increasing the coverage of the NASG will require collaboration with local NASG champions, greater NASG awareness among clinicians and policymakers, as well as stronger political will and advocacy.

A Frame Analysis Approach to Examining Conflicting Constructions of Rights-Based Maternal Health Policy Agendas in India

United Nations Population Fund observes that maternal mortality is the single largest health inequity in the world, with 99 percent of deaths occurring in developing countries. The failure of traditional public health approaches to tackle the issue has led many health activists to consider alternative frameworks and re-frame the debate as a human rights issue to secure political priority. However, the growing literature on right to maternal health lacks empirical evidence to confirm this optimistic speculation by health activists and practitioners. Public policy theorists, particularly in the social constructivist tradition, caution us about the complexities (including unintended outcomes) involved in using framing as a strategy for mobilizing resources for progressive policy reform. Against this backdrop, this research evaluates the political resources and opportunities that a successful human right framing of maternal health can provide to those actors trying to improve access, distributional equity and quality of maternal health care for all women. It examines the historic and countrywide proclamation of maternal mortality as a human right violation (in a public interest litigation case) in a 2010 High Court verdict in India – claimed to be the first of its kind - using a qualitative case study method involving fifty key informant interviews with state and non-state actors. Preliminary findings indicate negligible impact of the new framing in provoking institutional change and no alteration in policy design, but suggest opportunities for smaller incremental changes that may improve technical efforts in the longer term and strengthen advocacy requiring activists to rely on research and evidence based approaches. However, a deeper inquiry, using frame analysis, reveals the existence of multiple and conflicting constructions of the problem definitions that fail to present the problem in its entirety and are selectively inclusive, leading to a potential policy stalemate. The incorporation of the language of rights by competing global and local forces – such as, international non-state champions of women’s reproductive rights, local feminist health activists reluctant to engage with a “maternal health” rights agenda, local women’s health activists pursuing competing political priorities, and an institutional policy approach dominated by overtly medicalized and technocratic methods – has led to a highly fragmented policy environment that is potentially inconducive to constructive deliberations over a rights-based policy reform. Ultimately, the framing efforts are limited in their ability to sensitize the health system to address the needs of women; in their efforts to counter the dominant and technocratic institutional approach, current advocacy efforts preserve, rather than adequately problematize the latter’s policy paradigm. The research helps public policy theorists understand how does framing, developed primarily in the Anglo-American context apply elsewhere – particularly in resource poor contexts that are equally susceptible to domestic and international political influences, even in the arena of social policy making. It also makes important empirical contributions to a number of fields on politics of women’s health and health care, human rights and international development.

International Field Hockey Players Perform More High-Speed Running Than National-Level Counterparts

This study compared the activity profile of national and international male field hockey athletes. Sixteen players (mean (±SD) age, stature, and body mass: 22 ± 4 y, 178 ± 8 cm, and 78 ± 9 kg, respectively) competing in the national-level Australian Hockey League (AHL) and 16 players [mean (±SD) age, stature, and body mass: 27 ± 4 y, 179 ± 5 cm, and 77 ± 5 kg, respectively] competing in the international Champions Trophy (CT) tournament participated in this study. Global positioning systems assessed total distance (TD), meters per minute (m·min(-1)), and high-speed running distance (HSR; >4.17 m·s(-1)). Differences in multistage fitness test performance, movement between competition, positions, and halves were assessed using effect size and percent difference ±90% confidence intervals. The CT players had a 10.1% greater multistage fitness test, 13.9% and 42.0% more TD and HSR, respectively, than AHL. During CT, strikers performed 10.1 ± 7.4% less HSR than midfielders and 26.6 ± 8.2% more HSR than defenders. The AHL defenders covered less TD and HSR distance compared with strikers and midfielders (8.1 ± 3.6% and 8.4 ± 2.6%; 36.1 ± 11.1% and 51.5 ± 12.1%, respectively). The AHL strikers, midfielders, and defenders (19.9 ± 8.8%, 32.1 ± 7.9%, and 30.3 ± 10.7%, respectively), all performed less HSR distance than their CT counterparts. Finally, TD decreased from the first to second halves across all positions (6.1-7.5%) in both competitions. International competition increases the running profile of hockey players, with greater HSR at the elite level and positional differences including decreased running during the second half in both competitions.

Comparative Capitalisms, Ideational Political Economy and French Post-Dirigiste Responses to the Global Financial Crisis

This article advances the case for the more systematic incorporation of ideational factors into comparative capitalisms analysis as a corrective to the rational choice proclivities of the Varieties of Capitalism approach. It demonstrates the pay-off of such an ideationally attuned approach through analysis of French capitalist restructuring over the last 25 years, placing it in comparative context. A modus operandi for such ideational explanation is elaborated through delineating different national conceptions of the market, and setting out their impacts on practices of market-making. The claim made in this article is that understanding the evolution of French capitalism requires recognition of the ongoing market-making role of the French State, in combination with the French conception of the market and its embedding within a social context characterised by the inter-penetration of public and private elitist networks of France's ‘financial network economy’ which remains substantially intact. The ideational dimension is crucial because French understandings of the market and competition, the ideational building blocks of market-making, inform French state interventions and leave footprints on French institutions and market structures, and the evolutionary trajectory of French capitalism. In charting this trajectory, this article deploys the concept of post-dirigisme. We map out the parameters and causes of the post-dirigiste condition in France through examination of French bond market development, privatisation, the shift from a government- to a market- dominated financial system, and French capitalism's internationalisation. It then uses post-dirigisme to explain French state responses to the financial crisis and the banking bailout, noting how state actors, in concert with the banking elites, actively facilitated dominant market positions of French international champions.

INDANA - International Network for Diet And Nutrition in Allergy

Steering group and champions The steering group consist of 17 members with representation from the USA, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. INDANA has four prominent international champions, namely Prof. Susan Prescott (Australia), Prof Gideon Lack (UK), Prof Steve Taylor (USA) and Prof Hugh Sampson (USA), who are supporting INDANA activities in the wider community of international allergy practice,.

The heart of the senior oarsman: an echocardiographic evaluation.

We evaluated left ventricular mass and function in 15 oarsmen aged 78 (65-82) yr (median and range) and in 15 sedentary males aged 72 (65-81) yr by 2-D and M-mode echocardiography and cycle ergometry. The weekly time spent exercising among the oarsmen was 6 (2-18) h and two of the oarsmen were former national and international champions. The two groups of subjects had similar weight, height, and resting blood pressure. The oarsmen reached a maximal work rate of 142 (117-174) vs 113 (75-150) W for the sedentary group (P < 0.01). The internal diameters of the left ventricle were not significantly different, but the septum and posterior wall thicknesses were larger in the oarsmen (11 (8-20) vs 9 (7-11) mm, and 9 (8-13) vs 8 (7-19) mm, respectively, P < 0.023). Thus, the left ventricular mass index of the oarsmen was 19% larger (127 (101-284) vs 103 (74-134) g.m-2, P < 0.01). Also, the systolic function appeared to be superior in the oarsmen as the fractional shortening was 0.45 (0.28-0.55) vs 0.36 (0.18-0.49) in the controls (P < 0.05). In conclusion, we found that long-term rowing in the senior oarsman is associated with enlarged myocardial wall thickness, a normal systolic function, and a high work capacity.

An Attempt Defining the Influence of Selected Factors Exerted on Results in Sport and Gymnastics

The authors set themselves the goal to examine the interaction between five selected variables and to establish the hierarchy of significance of the influence of some of them on results in sport and gymnastics. (Social origin, age, practice as competitor, marital state and the age of starting to practice gymnastics). Forty-four top-class competitors, 40 competitors of the national champion category (NC) and 22 of the international champion category (IC) were subjected to an analysis. The method used was an analysis of multiple regressicn, based en the structure of mathematical models. The results obtained indicate a remarkable influence of the social origin, practice as competitor and marital state on results in sport and gymnastics. Competitors of working class origin at the beginning of their career (first class and national champion category) obtain worse results than competitors from intellectual circles. This thesis did not find confirmation as regards the category of international champions, where competitors of working class origin obtain better results than their peers from families of intellectuals. The practice as competitor exerts a positive influence, i.e. one year more of practice improves the results on an average by 1.102 points. The analysis also reveals that competitors who are single obtain better results than those who are married.