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Women are underrepresented in strength and conditioning (S&C) coaching, arguably more so than women in sport coaching. They account for approximately 6-16% of strength and conditioning coaches at all levels, thus negatively affecting the gendered experiences of women working in S&C. Based on evidence from coaching research, this is likely because of longstanding patterns of structural bias and discrimination, which is inherent in sport, but it is important for future strength and conditioning coaches (SCCs), both men and women, that more equitable practices and opportunities are implemented. In this article, we present 3 sociological perspectives as tools for those working in S&C, including individual coaches, educators, governing bodies, and organizations, to critically examine their gendered practices and environments. We hope that by doing sociology within their day-today practice, those working in S&C can develop a better awareness of structural bias and forms of discrimination that affect women SCCs' experiences and then, where possible, make positive changes for women working in the field.

Those with physical disabilities are at increased risk of poor physical, mental and social health. Despite widely reported physiological and psychosocial benefits of sport for disabled people’s hea...

A plethora of work has identified forms and sources of gender inequality in sport coaching. Quantitative studies with psychological framings dominate the literature. However, a smaller and more rec...

Children with a visual impairment are less active than their sighted peers. Yet, they are born with the potential to match their sighted peers’ motor skill competency and levels of physical fitness. Environmental barriers are one of the main causes of inequities. This article provides insight on these issues, drawing upon a physical activity intervention called ‘First Steps’, a British Blind Sport initiative that aimed to get more children with a visual impairment more active. Physical activity packs were delivered to 53 children, aged 5–15 years, with a visual impairment. Of these participants, 62% had additional impairments or medical conditions. A mixed-methods approach was used to gather participants’ experiences of physical activity prior to receiving this pack and canvas opinion on how the pack changed their activity levels. The findings revealed inequitable experiences of physical activity. The First Steps pack made considerable progress in developing children’s physical activity levels. Participants’ motor skills, social interactions, and confidence improved. Organisations working with this population might look to adopt a similar concept. Recommendations for those wishing to do so are provided.

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to review the effectiveness of telephone interviewing for capturing data and to consider in particular the challenges faced by telephone interviewers when capturing information about market segments. Design/methodology/approach The platform for this methodological critique was a market segment analysis commissioned by Sport Wales which involved a series of 85 telephone interviews completed during 2010. Two focus groups involving the six interviewers involved in the study were convened to reflect on the researchers’ experiences and the implications for business and management research. Findings There are three principal sets of findings. First, although telephone interviewing is generally a cost-effective data collection method, it is important to consider both the actual costs (i.e. time spent planning and conducting interviews) as well as the opportunity costs (i.e. missed appointments, “chasing participants”). Second, researchers need to be sensitised to and sensitive to the demographic characteristics of telephone interviewees (insofar as these are knowable) because responses are influenced by them. Third, the anonymity of telephone interviews may be more conducive for discussing sensitive issues than face-to-face interactions. Originality/value The present study adds to this modest body of literature on the implementation of telephone interviewing as a research technique of business and management. It provides valuable methodological background detail about the intricate, personal experiences of researchers undertaking this method “at a distance” and without visual cues, and makes explicit the challenges of telephone interviewing for the purposes of data capture.

The Late Permian coal measures in the Bowen Basin, Australia, are extensively mineralized with calcite as cleat infilling and veins. This study utilised strontium and samarium‑neodymium isotope analyses as well as rare earth element and yttrium (REY) composition of vein calcites, from two boreholes in a faulted and intruded area within the Jellinbah Thrust Zone, to investigate the origin and timing of calcite precipitation. All samples showed low Sr isotopic ratios that overlapped the range typical of mantle materials, suggesting that fluids were derived from the mantle. The calcite veins in core from Dingonose 14, with two exceptions, exhibit very similar Sr isotopic ratios yet have large variations in REY patterns and a wide range in Sm–Nd ratios. These samples defined an isochron corresponding to an age of 174 ± 11 Ma, which may record the timing of fluid mobilization from the deeply buried part of the foreland basin during the Early and Middle Jurassic, prior to subsequent extension and uplift in the Late Cretaceous. This fluid event may be a response to the Gondwana supercontinent break-up during the Early-Middle Jurassic. Various thermal and chemical conditions resulted in the different REY patterns of calcite in Dingonose 14 core. Calcite veins in Summit 3 core showed extremely similar REY patterns and Sr isotopic ratios but different Sm–Nd isotopic compositions relative to Dingonose 14 core, with no Sm–Nd isochron able to be resolved. The structural geology of the Summit 3 locality is complex, having overturned beds and large veins of prismatic quartz present in addition to calcite, and potential for multiple periods of veining to have occurred. Hence the lack of Sm–Nd isotopic equilibrium for the Summit 3 samples is most likely due to multiple fluid events.

Although graduate employability is an increasingly important issue, job interview formats and techniques specific to sport students’ prospective careers are not explicitly taught, practiced or assessed. Yet, successful interviews are pivotal in transitioning from education to employment. We report on a teaching intervention with final year sport students who undertook mock job interviews as an assessment. Evaluative data suggests students initially felt underprepared for job interviews. The assessment allowed students to adapt and practice their skills in this context and receive feedforward-focused feedback. From this work, we provide recommendations on how this activity might be implemented in other higher education curricula.

Reflecting on an undergraduate dissertation, Rhiannon Lord became increasingly dissatisfied with the limitations on understanding and communication imposed by the conventional form of presentation usually expected of undergraduate students. Here we seek to transgress the boundaries of the author-evacuated realist tale form and offer a re-presentation of original data in the form of creative fiction, drawing extensively upon the work of Sparkes (2002). Renewed insights are generated into the lives of young women via two short stories, presented in an effort to further communicate their leisure experiences. Consideration is given to new ways of constructing and presenting understanding at the undergraduate dissertation level and the research process in general.