_________________________________________________________________________
Research within the Division of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Abertay Dundee is informing professionals within the sporting industry and community, as well as providing insight into the wider debate on the use of sport and exercise for health improvement. The Sport, Performance, and Exercise Consortium aims to provide a central focus for members of a wide range of academic disciplines involved in the study of the use and impact of sport and exercise. As a group with an underpinning interdisciplinary perspective, SPEC crosses the traditional boundaries between the academic fields that make up Sport and Exercise Sciences, allowing for a broader perspective and better integration of specialist knowledge and skills for the improvement of all those involved, directly or indirectly, with sport and exercise.
Members
___________________________________________________________________________
Professor Ray Lloyd
___________________________________________________________________________
Professor Lloyd specialises in biomechanics and strength and conditioning. His interests include head load carriage in African women. Currently he is developing international partnerships to examine other traditional load carriage strategies with a view to identifying key features that may influence the design of modern load carriage systems. He also has interests in methods of strength and power development, lactate kinetics and the biomechanics of technical performance in cricket and other sports.
Dr John Babraj
__________________________________________________________________________
Dr Babraj is a molecular physiologist whose research area is in the metabolic response to exercise and nutrition. Current research focuses on high intensity training for both performance and health, centring on determining the minimum exercise amount to produce changes in performance and health. He also has an interest in nutritional recovery from exercise and the role of vitamin D in human health.
Dr Ross Lorimer
___________________________________________________________________________
Dr Lorimer is a social psychologist whose interests lie with interpersonal perception in sport; how coaches and athletes see the world in different ways and how this influences their ability to work together, and ultimately their performance. He also has interests in the areas of spontaneous goal setting and coach-athlete relationships. Dr Lorimer is also a qualified climbing instructor and has a keen interest in as climbing and 'adventure' sports.
Dr Stefan Koehn
___________________________________________________________________________
Dr Koehn, is a psychologist whose interests include sport psychology and mental health. His current research has covered the areas of ‘flow’ and peak mental experiences in sport and exercise, as well as the use of imagery interventions. He is also a B-level coach of the German Tennis Association and retains a key interest in this sport.
Dr Adam Hunter
___________________________________________________________________________
Dr Hunter specialises in biomechanics and performance analysis. His research interests lie in developing biomechanical and performance analysis measures to monitor and model performance in elite sport. Recent research has focussed on biomechanics and modelling of aquatic sports and modelling 3D kinematics and ball flight characteristics of footballers taking straight and curve kicks.
Dr Shaun Phillips
___________________________________________________________________________
Dr Phillips is a lecturer in sport and exercise science whose main research interests are in the area of nutrition and sports performance. Recent research areas have looked at the role of 6% carbohydrate drinks on prolonged intermittent, high-intensity exercise performance in adolescent team games players. He also has an interest in nutrient delivery systems during exercise.
Dr Ann-Marie Knowles
___________________________________________________________________________
Dr Knowles is a lecturer in sport and exercise psychology whose main research interests involve physical activity behaviour in adolescent girls and physical self-perceptions. Current research interests are focused on psychological influences on walking behaviour and the use of motivational interviewing as a method of behaviour change. Ann-Marie is also a BASES accredited sport scientist.
Mr David Holland-Smith
_____________________________________________________________________
Mr Holland-Smith is a social scientist whose interests include: participation in extreme sports; motivation and motivational climates; outdoor education; and the links between sport and social policy. He is particularly interested in risk socialisation and society’s perceptions of ‘risk-taking’ sports. Mr Holland-Smith is also a qualified Mountain Leader and a keen outdoor enthusiast.
Mr Daniel Parnell
___________________________________________________________________________
Mr Parnell’s is an action researcher whose research focuses on exploring the power of Sport and Football as a vehicle for Social Change. He has worked with top level football clubs and with the Football Foundation in both research and consultancy roles helping measure, articulate and improve strategic and operational effectiveness, and he is particularly keen to continue research into the role of sport in social change and the growing area of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Recent Publications
___________________________________________________________________________
Babraj, J. A., Vollaard, N. B., Keast, C, Guppy, F. M., Cottrell, G., & Timmons, J. A. (2009). Extremely short duration high intensity interval training substantially improves insulin action in young healthy males, BMC Endocr Disord, 9, 3.
Richard S Metcalfe, John A Babraj, Samantha G Fawkner, Niels BJ Vollaard. (in press). Towards the minimal amount of exercise for improving metabolic health: beneficial effects of reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training. European J Appl Physiol.
Hunter, A. (2009). Canoe slalom boat trajectory while negotiating an upstream gate. Sports Biomechanics, 8(2), 105-113.
Alcock, A., Gilleard, W., Baker, J., Brown, N., & Hunter, A. (2012). Curve and instep kick kinematics in elite female footballers. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(1), 1-8.
Knowles, A. M., Niven, A., & Fawkner, S. G. (2011). A qualitative examination of factors related to the decrease in physical activity behaviour in adolescent girls during the transition from primary to secondary school. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 8(8), 1084-1091.
Knowles, A. M., Niven, A., Fawkner, S. G., & Henretty, J. M. (2009). A longitudinal examination of the influence of maturation on physical self-perceptions and the relationship with physical activity in adolescent girls. Journal of Adolescence, 32(3), 555-566.
Koehn, S. (2008). Relationship between flow experience and performance in junior tennis: A pilot study. Journal of Medicine and Science in Tennis, 13, 28-31.
Koehn, S. (2010). Variation in flow state during junior tennis competition. Journal of Medicine and Science in Tennis, 15, 17-21.
Lloyd, R., Parr, B., Davies, S. & Cooke, C. (2011). A kinetic comparison of back-loading and head-loading in Xhosa women, Ergonomics, 54(4), 380-391
Lloyd, R., & Cooke, C. (2011). Kinematic changes associated with load carriage in single and double pack systems and their relationship to physiological consequences. Human Movement, 12(1), 66-75
Lorimer, R. (2011). The interdependence of coaches’ and athletes’ perceptions and satisfaction with performance. International Journal of Coaching Science, 5, 69-80.
Lorimer, R., & Jowett, S. (2011). Empathic accuracy, shared cognitive focus, and the assumptions of similarity made by coaches and athletes. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 42, 40-54.
Lorimer, R., & Holland-Smith, D. (2012). Why coach? A case study of the prominent influences on a top level UK outdoor adventure coach. The Sport Psychologist.
Parnell, D., Stratton, G., Drust, B. & Richardson, D. (In press). Football in the community: Exploring the effectiveness of an intervention in promoting positive healthful behaviour change, Soccer and Society, 4.
