How should we measure psychological resilience in sport performers?

Psychological resilience is important in sport because athletes must constantly withstand a wide range of pressures to attain and sustain high performance. To advance psychologists’ understanding of this area, there exists an urgent need to develop a sport-specific measure of resilience. The purpose of this paper is to review psychometric issues in resilience research and to discuss the implications for sport psychology. Drawing on the wider general psychology literature to inform the discussion, the narrative is divided into three main sections relating to resilience and its assessment: adversity, positive adaptation, and protective factors. The first section reviews the different ways that adversity has been measured and considers the potential problems of using items with varying degrees of controllability and risk. The second section discusses the different approaches to assessing positive adaptation and examines the issue of circularity pervasive in resilience research. The final section explores the various issues related to the assessment of protective factors drawing directly from current measures of resilience in other psychology sub-disciplines. The commentary concludes with key recommendations for sport psychology researchers seeking to develop a measure of psychological resilience in athletes

The Experiences of Patients in the Synchrony Group Music Therapy Trial for Long-term Depression

Music therapy may be particularly well placed to address features of depression. The Synchrony study used group songwriting in a feasibility trial of group music therapy for longterm depression. The current study explored the lived experiences of the participants in these groups. Ten individuals participated in semi-structured interviews. These were analysed by a music therapist, research psychologist and lived experience researcher, using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes were identified: „the group as a happy and safe place‟, „music stimulates new feelings and songwriting aids expression into words‟ and „uncertainty, unmet needs and the ending were challenging‟. Findings underscore the importance of early group cohesion and the role of music and song-writing in promoting enjoyment, exploration and a sense of achievement. Group setup requires careful consideration of expectation setting, levels of musicianship and readiness for songwriting and preparation for ending, so as not to reinforce hopelessness, disappointment and loss

Bio-mythographies : a study of textual reflexivity in Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Paul de Man, Louis Althusser and Jacques Derrida.

Re-reading Rousseau, using cognate works by de Man, Althusser and Derrida, this thesis hopes to destabilise the convention of reading 'confessional' texts in terms of authorial intention. Chapter One undermines critical responses to Rousseau's work, tracing a tradition of reading which rejects his oeuvre, not due to a rigorous reading of his texts, but through an ad hominem attack. We establish de Man, Althusser and Derrida as writers who lie outside this tradition. Chapter Two examines the intellectual debate surrounding the revelation of Paul de Man's wartime journalism, concentrating on this journalism's power to contaminate his oeuvre. We unsettle the terms of this debate, revealing its reliance upon a cryptobiographical reading of the author irito the text. We account for the problematic nature of de Man's deconstructive stance differently when we read de Man's texts as a conscious type or copy of Rousseau's texts. Chapter Three studies the anti-Althusserian polemic which attacked"his 'theoretical' Marxism with reference to insanity and murder. Again, a reading which might have located a resistance to theory within theory itself instead favours a reductive, biographical reading. We trace a reading of Rousseau in Althusser's work in order to destabilise this debate. Chapter Four looks at the concepts of scandal and slander and their current usage in both legal and literary contexts. Our aim here is to unite our authors in the shared aim of re-synonimising the two terms so as to reveal biography as necessarily fictional. Rousseau's Confessions is re-read as an instance where the concepts of slander and scandal are equated. Chapter Five upsets a traditional theory of the archive when it reads Althusser's autobiography as a deliberate copy of Rousseau's Confessions. Finally, Chapter Six unites all our writers in a discussion of the necessarily fictive nature of a re-iterable autobiography

Using art for public engagement: reflections on the Dementia and Imagination project

Creative outputs engage the public and can be used to share research. This paper reports on public engagement activities that were part of the research project Dementia and Imagination (D&I). We found that artwork and creative activities effectively engaged a range of audiences and challenged negative ideas about dementia. For the project team, public engagement developed relationships with collaborators and connected the research to different community settings, influencing future programmes of work. Further work could explore public engagement in diverse settings to assess which approaches are effective in maximising research value and wider community benefit

Enhancing communication between dementia care staff and their residents: an arts-inspired intervention

Objectives: The arts are increasingly recognised as important and beneficial activities for people living with dementia. However, there is little peer-reviewed published research exploring arts-based learning for dementia care staff. In response, this paper explores (a) how dementia care staff describe forms of communication in care settings, and (b) the impact on communication following four sessions of ‘Creative Conversations’, an arts-based intervention for skills development. Method: Fourteen care homes received the intervention, delivered as 4 × 2 hour sessions. The intervention uses a range of activities (e.g. poetry, film, music, art making). Twenty–eight care staff were opportunistically sampled (mean age = 42.29), and provided pre-post qualitative data, obtained through interviews. Transcripts were analysed thematically. Results: At baseline, the dominant ‘task-focussed’ nature of care work was described as a barrier to communication, challenging opportunities for developing meaningful relationships with residents. Post-intervention, three primary themes were identified regarding improving communication: (1) learning through the arts (secondary themes: simplicity and subtlety, innovation in communication, and strengthening the role of non-verbal communication), (2) Enhancing creative approaches to care (secondary themes: element of surprise, confidence to experiment and catalyst for communication) and (3) professional introspection (secondary themes: development of empathy, sharing knowledge and experiences and a new appreciation). Conclusions: The intervention validated staff skills and confidence, enabling meaningful interactions that could be creative, ‘in the moment’, spontaneous and improvised. This arts-based intervention, which departs from formal education and fact-based learning may be particularly useful for the development of the dementia care workforce

A systematic review and psychometric evaluation of resilience measurement scales for people living with dementia and their carers

Psychometrically sound resilience outcome measures are essential to establish how health and care services or interventions can enhance the resilience of people living with dementia (PLWD) and their carers. This paper systematically reviews the literature to identify studies that administered a resilience measurement scale with PLWD and/or their carers and examines the psychometric properties of these measures. Electronic abstract databases and the internet were searched, and an international network contacted to identify peer-reviewed journal articles. Two authors independently extracted data. They critically reviewed the measurement properties from the available psychometric data in the studies, using a standardised checklist adapted for purpose. Fifty-one studies were included in the final review, which applied nine different resilience measures, eight developed in other populations and one developed for dementia carers in Thailand. None of the measures were developed for use with people living with dementia. The majority of studies (N = 47) focussed on dementia carers, three studies focussed on people living with dementia and one study measured both carers and the person with dementia. All the studies had missing information regarding the psychometric properties of the measures as applied in these two populations. Nineteen studies presented internal consistency data, suggesting seven of the nine measures demonstrate acceptable reliability in these new populations. There was some evidence of construct validity, and twenty-eight studies hypothesised effects a priori (associations with other outcome measure/demographic data/differences in scores between relevant groups) which were partially supported. The other studies were either exploratory or did not specify hypotheses. This limited evidence does not necessarily mean the resilience measure is not suitable, and we encourage future users of resilience measures in these populations to report information to advance knowledge and inform further reviews. All the measures require further psychometric evaluation in both these populations. The conceptual adequacy of the measures as applied in these new populations was questionable. Further research to understand the experience of resilience for people living with dementia and carers could establish the extent current measures -which tend to measure personal strengths -are relevant and comprehensive, or whether further work is required to establish a new resilience outcome measure

Paclitaxel-Induced Apoptosis Is BAK-Dependent, but BAX and BIM-Independent in Breast Tumor

Paclitaxel (Taxol)-induced cell death requires the intrinsic cell death pathway, but the specific participants and the precise mechanisms are poorly understood. Previous studies indicate that a BH3-only protein BIM (BCL-2 Interacting Mediator of cell death) plays a role in paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. We show here that BIM is dispensable in apoptosis with paclitaxel treatment using bim−/− MEFs (mouse embryonic fibroblasts), the bim−/− mouse breast tumor model, and shRNA-mediated down-regulation of BIM in human breast cancer cells. In contrast, both bak−/− MEFs and human breast cancer cells in which BAK was down-regulated by shRNA were more resistant to paclitaxel. However, paclitaxel sensitivity was not affected in bax−/−MEFs or in human breast cancer cells in which BAX was down-regulated, suggesting that paclitaxel-induced apoptosis is BAK-dependent, but BAX-independent. In human breast cancer cells, paclitaxel treatment resulted in MCL-1 degradation which was prevented by a proteasome inhibitor, MG132. A Cdk inhibitor, roscovitine, blocked paclitaxel-induced MCL-1 degradation and apoptosis, suggesting that Cdk activation at mitotic arrest could induce subsequent MCL-1 degradation in a proteasome-dependent manner. BAK was associated with MCL-1 in untreated cells and became activated in concert with loss of MCL-1 expression and its release from the complex. Our data suggest that BAK is the mediator of paclitaxel-induced apoptosis and could be an alternative target for overcoming paclitaxel resistance

Covalent grafting of molecular catalysts on C₄NₓH_{y} as robust, efficient and well-defined photocatalysts for solar fuel synthesis

The covalent attachment of molecules to 2D materials is an emerging area as strong covalent chemistry offers new hybrid properties and greater mechanical stability compared with nanoparticles. A nickel bis-aminothiophenol catalyst was grafted onto a range of 2D carbon nitrides C₄NₓH_{y} to form noble metal-free photocatalysts for H2 production. The hybrids produce H_{2} beyond 8 days with turnover numbers reaching 1360 based on nickel, a more than 3 fold higher durability than reported molecular catalyst-carbon nitride mixtures, and under longer wavelengths (>475 nm). Time-resolved spectroscopy reveals sub-microsecond electron transfer to the grafted catalyst, six orders of magnitude faster compared with similar reports of non-grafted catalysts. The photoelectrons on the catalyst have a ca. 1000 times longer half-time (7 ms) compared with bare carbon nitride (10 μs). The grafting strategy operates across a range of molecular catalyst-carbon nitride combinations, thus paving the way for robust efficient photocatalysts based on low-cost tunable components

Improving the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO through immobilisation of a molecular Re catalyst on TiO2.

The photocatalytic activity of phosphonated Re complexes, [Re(2,2'-bipyridine-4,4'-bisphosphonic acid) (CO)3(L)] (ReP; L = 3-picoline or bromide) immobilised on TiO2 nanoparticles is reported. The heterogenised Re catalyst on the semiconductor, ReP-TiO2 hybrid, displays an improvement in CO2 reduction photocatalysis. A high turnover number (TON) of 48 molCO molRe(-1) is observed in DMF with the electron donor triethanolamine at λ>420 nm. ReP-TiO2 compares favourably to previously reported homogeneous systems and is the highest TON reported to date for a CO2-reducing Re photocatalyst under visible light irradiation. Photocatalytic CO2 reduction is even observed with ReP-TiO2 at wavelengths of λ>495 nm. Infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies confirm that an intact ReP catalyst is present on the TiO2 surface before and during catalysis. Transient absorption spectroscopy suggests that the high activity upon heterogenisation is due to an increase in the lifetime of the immobilised anionic Re intermediate (t50% >1 s for ReP-TiO2 compared with t50% = 60 ms for ReP in solution) and immobilisation might also reduce the formation of inactive Re dimers. This study demonstrates that the activity of a homogeneous photocatalyst can be improved through immobilisation on a metal oxide surface by favourably modifying its photochemical kinetics.Financial support from the EPSRC (EP/H00338X/2 to E.R.; studentship and Doctoral Prize to C.D.W.; DTP scholarship to E.P.), the Christian Doppler Research Association (Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and the 28 National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development) and the OMV Group (to E.R.), the ERC (project Intersolar to J.D.) and the European Commission Marie Curie CIG (PCIG10-GA-2011-303650 to A.R.) is gratefully acknowledged.This is the final published version. It first appeared in Chemistry - a European Journal, 2015, 21, 3746 – 3754, DOI: 10.1002/chem.20140504