Researcher self‐care and caring in the research community

This paper seeks to begin a discussion on researcher self‐care in response to the state of contemporary academia, which sees increasing issues of academic stress and anxiety, and the growing use of facile metrics. Specifically, we wish to explore the potential a critical engagement with self‐care poses for ourselves as academics and the communities of which we are a part – what kinpaisby (2008) refers to as the “communiversity.” Our central argument is that self‐care may be regarded as a radical act that can push against the interests of the neoliberal university. We illustrate how researcher self‐care can be engaged as a reflexive process that operates to create and inform change within our communities through recognising ourselves as networked actors, rather than self‐contained individuals as the neoliberal ideology would have us believe. This paper is intended as an opening towards a much larger discussion regarding academia – of the communities, work environments, and “impacts” we wish to be a part of and how to begin working towards realising these

fMRI BOLD signal changes in elite swimmers while viewing videos of personal failure

Athletes who fail are susceptible to negative affect (NA) and impaired future performance. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have identified prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and limbic activations following negative mood provocation. Little is known about the neural correlates of negative self-reference (SR), especially in athletes. Even less is known about the neural correlates of the effects of cognitive intervention (CI) in modifying negative SR and NA in this population. In an fMRI study, 13 athletes watched a video of their own career-threatening defeat in two controlled blocks. Between fMRI blocks, they received a 20-min CI designed to assist in event reappraisal and planning for future performance. Relative increases post-CI were seen in premotor (BA6) and sensorimotor (BA4/1) cortices. Correlated with mood ratings, relatively higher pre-CI levels were seen in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (PFC; BA10), the right dorsolateral PFC (BA45), the anterior cingulate, and the right parahippocampus. CI may counteract the detrimental effects of NA and negative SR on premotor and motor activity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83878/1/fMRI-BOLD-signal-changes-in-elite-swimmers-while-viewing-videos-of-personal-failure.pd

Science friction: The chair of the Commons science and technology committee is robust in his support of researchers and his scrutiny of how they are managed, but not everyone is happy with the way he goes about it

Article about Ian Gibson, chair of the UK House of Commons science and technology committee (1 page)

Lancashire folklore

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:7090.1(LLHS-Pub--19) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The effect of an ultra-endurance running race on heart rate variability

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an ultra-marathon on heart rate variability (HRV) and psychometric indices in endurance runners. In addition, we aimed to determine the magnitude of change and subsequent recovery for 7 days following the race. Methods: Recreationally trained runners (n = 13 (8M); age = 36.6 ± 7.6 years; height = 174 ± 9 cm; weight = 70.5 ± 9.3 kg) completed measures of HRV upon waking in the morning for 1 week prior to and 1 week following a 64-km running race. Profile of mood states, wellbeing, and muscular soreness were also measured throughout the study period to further contextualise recovery. Results: An increase in heart rate accompanied by decreased LnSDNN, LnRMSSD, LnLF, LnHF, and LnLF/HF from baseline were observed 1 day post-race (p < 0.05). Indices of HRV had returned to baseline on day 2 of recovery. Perceptual fatigue and muscle soreness increased post-race (immediately following and on day 1 of recovery) (p < 0.05) and took until day 5 of recovery to return to baseline. Conclusion: The results indicate that cardiac autonomic control is significantly altered in response to a 64 km ultra-marathon. Specifically, parasympathetic activity is suppressed. The change in autonomic control was relatively short-lived, and parasympathetic-related indices had returned to baseline 2 days after the event. Subjective measures of fatigue and wellbeing suggest that athletes were not completely recovered until day 5 post-event, with muscular soreness remaining prominent during this period. A combination of physiological and psychological parameters is important to contextualise recovery in ultra-endurance runners

The influence of absent crowds on National Rugby League match player statistics and running metrics

Many elite sporting codes have imposed severe restrictions on crowd attendance at games to minimise COVID-19 infection risk, which created a rare opportunity to examine the influence of absent crowds on elite sporting performance. This study used a retrospective observational design to investigate the influence of the crowd in the National Rugby League (NRL) by comparing player statistics and Global Positioning System (GPS) metrics between Round 1 (crowds) and Round 2 (no crowd). Data were obtained for 203 professional NRL players. A linear mixed model with a random intercept (Player ID) was used to assess the relationship between crowd removal and match location on performance indicators and GPS metrics. Effect sizes (ES) were also calculated to determine the magnitude of change. The effect of a crowd and match location were trivial to small (ES range: 0.213 to 0.224). Without crowds, performance indicators relating to decoys (p = 0.022), post-contact metres (p = 0.020), tackle breaks (p = 0.035) and missed tackles increased (p = 0.018), whereas supports decreased (p = 0.005). Without crowds, GPS metrics maximal velocity increased (p = 0.027), and acceleration load decreased (p < 0.001). In away games, relative high-speed running increased (p = 0.020). However, it is possible that margin, opponent tactics, and weather could have influenced changes. The findings suggest that NRL players’ performance appears unlikely to be affected by the presence or absence of a crowd.</p