Rio-bound researcher to deliver two papers at world conference
Tue, 08 Jul 2014 14:32:00 BST
Luke looks at sport and exercise and its beneficial effects on mental health and wellbeing
UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield research student Luke Pickard is a serious football fan. So he is delighted to be in Rio de Janeiro for the World Cup Final on July 13, although he journeys to Brazil for academic purposes. He has been selected to deliver two papers at a prestigious conference that will involve experts from around the globe.
But there are sporting dimensions to Luke’s areas of research and to the event he is attending – the Fifth International Conference on Sport and Society, taking place at Rio’s Universidade Salgado de Oliveira, Niterói Campus.
After he made an impressive application, organisers granted Luke a Graduate Scholar Award, which waives his attendance fees. In return, he will chair some of the conference’s academic sessions and help with the running of the event. He also presents the two papers that he has written, supervised by University of Huddersfield tutors Dr Alison Rodriguez, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology, and Kiara Lewis, Head of the University’s Division of Health and Wellbeing.
The therapeutic value of sport is the thread that runs through Luke’s research, which he hopes to take on to PhD level. “There are a lot of reasons that sport can be beneficial, including the escape it offers from everyday life and the structure that sport-based exercise brings. These are in addition to the actual physiological benefits of sport,” he explained.
Physical Activity: Escapism and Identity
In this video Luke talks about the benefits of the Let's Do This programme in which he has been actively been involved in as part of his postgraduate research.
One of Luke’s Rio papers – entitled The Influence of Physical Activity on the Lifeworld of Its Participants: Escapism and Identity – is based on a dissertation that helped him to achieve coveted First Class Honours in his BSc(Hons) Psychology degree. He was then awarded a £5,000 Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship, enabling him to move on to a Master’s by Research Degree, which he will complete in September.
For this, Luke has extended his research into the field of mental health and his second paper at the international conference is entitled Service Users Experience of Sport and Exercise and Its Effects on Mental Health and Wellbeing. Luke has been carrying out work at the Becklin Centre in Leeds, and has been actively involved in a programme named Let’s Do This. People who have suffered mental health problems are offered the chance to take part in a series of ten sessions offering a wide range of sports and exercises, from football and badminton to yoga.
“Once participants have completed the ten sessions, they feel more comfortable about using the local facilities. This is a use of exercise that not only benefits them in a physiological way but also to helps them integrate back into society,” said Luke.
World Cup fever
His participation in projects such as Let’s Do This has helped provide him with the data he needs to complete his MRes, and for his contributions to the International Conference on Sport and Society. He flies out to Rio before the start of the conference and aims to be at the Copacabana fan zone while the World Cup Final is played.
Aged 29, Luke is from Featherstone, although soccer, not rugby league, is his favourite sport. He is a keen Manchester United fan. After working in bar management for some years, he decided to return to education at the University of Huddersfield, and his career goal now is to continue with academic research and move into teaching.
As well as being a diligent sports psychology researcher, Luke is also a keen participant – but he’s out of action at the moment, thanks to cruciate ligament surgery, following a football injury.
