Exploring taboo issues in professional sport through a fictional approach

While the need to consider life course issues in elite sport research and practice is increasingly recognised, some experiences still seem to be considered too dangerous to explore. Consequently, stories of these experiences are silenced and the ethical and moral questions they pose fail to be acknowledged, understood or debated. This paper presents an ethnographic fiction through which we explore a sensitive set of experiences that were uncovered during our research with professional sportspeople. Through a multi‐layered reconstruction, the story reveals the complex, but significant, relationships that exist between identity, cultural narratives and embodied experiences. After the telling we consider how the story has stimulated reflective practice among students, researchers and practitioners. While there are risks involved in writing and sharing taboo stories, the feedback we have received suggests that storytelling can be an effective pedagogical tool in education and professional development

Applications of Hilbert Module Approach to Multivariable Operator Theory

A commuting $n$-tuple $(T_1, \ldots, T_n)$ of bounded linear operators on a Hilbert space \clh associate a Hilbert module $\mathcal{H}$ over $\mathbb{C}[z_1, \ldots, z_n]$ in the following sense: $$\mathbb{C}[z_1, \ldots, z_n] \times \mathcal{H} \rightarrow \mathcal{H}, \quad \quad (p, h) \mapsto p(T_1, \ldots, T_n)h,$$where $p \in \mathbb{C}[z_1, \ldots, z_n]$ and $h \in \mathcal{H}$. A companion survey provides an introduction to the theory of Hilbert modules and some (Hilbert) module point of view to multivariable operator theory. The purpose of this survey is to emphasize algebraic and geometric aspects of Hilbert module approach to operator theory and to survey several applications of the theory of Hilbert modules in multivariable operator theory. The topics which are studied include: generalized canonical models and Cowen-Douglas class, dilations and factorization of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, a class of simple submodules and quotient modules of the Hardy modules over polydisc, commutant lifting theorem, similarity and free Hilbert modules, left invertible multipliers, inner resolutions, essentially normal Hilbert modules, localizations of free resolutions and rigidity phenomenon. This article is a companion paper to "An Introduction to Hilbert Module Approach to Multivariable Operator Theory".Comment: 46 pages. This is a companion paper to arXiv:1308.6103. To appear in Handbook of Operator Theory, Springe

Stories of success: Cultural narratives and personal stories of elite and professional athletes

Using a narrative methodology to explore the stories Olympic and elite athletes tell about success, we identified three alternatives to the dominant conception of success as the achievement of performance outcomes. In these alternatives, success is storied as: (1) ‘I did the best that I could’ – a controllable and sustainable story of effort and application; (2) ‘It’s the closest thing you can get to flying’ – a story where success relates to embodied experience and discovery; (3) ‘People I made the journey with’ – which prioritises relationships and connection between people. We reflect on three key insights: (1) success is a multidimensional concept, broader than the singular conception encapsulated within the dominant performance narrative; (2) through various narrative strategies, experienced athletes resist cultural pressures towards a singular conception of success; (3) for long-term performance and well-being, it is necessary to work towards multiple forms of success over time and across contexts

We haven't got a seat on the bus for you or All the seats are mine: Narratives and career transitions in professional golf

In this article we explore how the stories an athlete tells throughout life in sport affect her career transition experiences. We base our enquiry on a social constructionist conception of narrative theory which holds that storytelling is integral to the creation and maintenance of identity and sense of self. Life stories were gathered through interviews with two professional women golfers (Christiana and Kandy) over a six‐year period. Through a narrative analysis of structure and form we explored each participant’s stories of living in and withdrawing from professional golf. We suggest Christiana told monological performance‐oriented stories which, while aligning with the culture of elite sport, resulted in an exclusive athletic identity and foreclosure of alternative selves and roles. On withdrawal, Christiana experienced narrative wreckage, identity collapse, mental health difficulties and considerable psychological trauma. In contrast, Kandy told dialogical discovery‐oriented stories which, while being in tension with the dominant performance narrative, created and sustained a multidimensional identity and self. Her stories and identity remained intact, authentic and continuous on withdrawal from tournament golf and she experienced few psychological problems

NASTRAN general purpose interface requirements document

This NASTRAN (NASA STRuctural ANalysis) General Purpose Interface Requirements Document (IRD) defines standards for deliverables required of New Capability Contractors (NCCs) and relates these deliverables to the software development cycle. It also defines standards to be followed by NCCs for adding to and modifying the code in the NASTRAN software system and for adding to and modifying the four official NASTRAN manuals: The NASTRAN Theoretical Manual, the NASTRAN User's Manual, The NASTRAN Programmer's Manual, and The NASTRAN Demonstration Problem Manual. It is intended that this General Purpose IRD shall be incorporated by reference in all contracts for a new NASTRAN capability

Post-Oligarchic Evolution of Protoplanetary Embryos and the Stability of Planetary Systems

We investigate the orbit-crossing time (T_c) of protoplanet systems both with and without a gas-disk background. The protoplanets are initially with equal masses and separation (EMS systems) scaled by their mutual Hill's radii. In a gas-free environment, we find log (T_c/yr) = A+B \log (k_0/2.3). Through a simple analytical approach, we demonstrate that the evolution of the velocity dispersion in an EMS system follows a random walk. The stochastic nature of random-walk diffusion leads to (i) an increasing average eccentricity ~ t^1/2, where t is the time; (ii) Rayleigh-distributed eccentricities (P(e,t)=e/\sigma^2 \exp(-e^2/(2\sigma^2)) of the protoplanets; (iii) a power-law dependence of T_c on planetary separation. As evidence for the chaotic diffusion, the observed eccentricities of known extra solar planets can be approximated by a Rayleigh distribution. We evaluate the isolation masses of the embryos, which determine the probability of gas giant formation, as a function of the dust and gas surface densities.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures (2 color ones), accepted for publication in Ap

The effect of crystal orientation on the cryogenic strength of hydroxide catalysis bonded sapphire

Hydroxide catalysis bonding has been used in gravitational wave detectors to precisely and securely join components of quasi-monolithic silica suspensions. Plans to operate future detectors at cryogenic temperatures has created the need for a change in the test mass and suspension material. Mono-crystalline sapphire is one candidate material for use at cryogenic temperatures and is being investigated for use in the KAGRA detector. The crystalline structure of sapphire may influence the properties of the hydroxide catalysis bond formed. Here, results are presented of studies of the potential influence of the crystal orientation of sapphire on the shear strength of the hydroxide catalysis bonds formed between sapphire samples. The strength was tested at approximately 8 K; this is the first measurement of the strength of such bonds between sapphire at such reduced temperatures. Our results suggest that all orientation combinations investigated produce bonds of sufficient strength for use in typical mirror suspension designs, with average strengths >23 MPa