Antecedents of burnout among elite dancers: a longitudinal test of basic needs theory

Objectives: Little is known regarding the social-psychological predictors of burnout in the dance domain. Drawing from basic needs theory, a sub-theory in the self-determination theory framework (Deci & Ryan, 2000), this study examined whether changes in vocational dancers’ autonomy, competence and relatedness satisfaction mediated the relationships between changes in the dancers’ perceived autonomy support and burnout over a school year. \ud \ud Method: Dancers (N = 219) enrolled in vocational dance training, completed a questionnaire package tapping the variables of interest at three time points over a 36-week period. Results: SEM indicated that the observed decreases in the dancers’ perceptions of autonomy support positively predicted observed changes in reported basic need satisfaction that occurred over the school year. In turn, increases in the dancers’ global burnout were negatively predicted by changes in satisfaction of the three needs. The three basic needs fully mediated the ‘autonomy supporteglobal burnout’ relationship. When the sub-dimensions of burnout were examined independently, there were inconsistencies in the salience of each basic need. The increases in emotional and physical exhaustion experienced by the dancers over the school year were unrelated to changes in autonomy, competence and relatedness satisfaction. Changes in competence need satisfaction negatively predicted reduced accomplishment. Increases in the dancers’ dance devaluation were negatively predicted by changes in satisfaction of the three needs. \ud \ud Conclusions: Overall, the tenets of self-determination theory are supported. Findings point to the relevance of promoting and sustaining autonomy supportive training environments if burnout is to be avoided in elite dance settings

A study of factors related to over-achievers and under-achievers of average ability at the elementary level.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Beyond multiregional and simple out-of-Africa models of human evolution

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stress and depression among veterinary medical students

While existing literature suggests that professional students (e.g., medical, dental, law, nursing, etc.) experience high levels of stress and depression, the experiences of veterinary medical students have been less well examined. The purpose of this study was to explore the levels of stress and depression among veterinary medical students and to examine the relationship between these variables. Study participants were 1,245 veterinary medical students from North America. The findings provide support for the assertion that veterinary medical students experience high levels of stress and depression. Results also indicated that there is a correlation between stress and depression for veterinary medical students and that female students experience higher levels of stress and depression than their male counterparts.Accepted manuscrip

Hotspots of soil organic carbon storage revealed by laboratory hyperspectral imaging

Subsoil organic carbon (OC) is generally lower in content and more heterogeneous than topsoil OC, rendering it difficult to detect significant differences in subsoil OC storage. We tested the application of laboratory hyperspectral imaging with a variety of machine learning approaches to predict OC distribution in undisturbed soil cores. Using a bias-corrected random forest we were able to reproduce the OC distribution in the soil cores with very good to excellent model goodness-of-fit, enabling us to map the spatial distribution of OC in the soil cores at very high resolution (~53 × 53 µm). Despite a large increase in variance and reduction in OC content with increasing depth, the high resolution of the images enabled statistically powerful analysis in spatial distribution of OC in the soil cores. In contrast to the relatively homogeneous distribution of OC in the plough horizon, the subsoil was characterized by distinct regions of OC enrichment and depletion, including biopores which contained ~2–10 times higher SOC contents than the soil matrix in close proximity. Laboratory hyperspectral imaging enables powerful, fine-scale investigations of the vertical distribution of soil OC as well as hotspots of OC storage in undisturbed samples, overcoming limitations of traditional soil sampling campaigns

High School Math Curriculum, Student\u27s Course Selection and Education Outcomes

Twenty-one states are increasing the requirements for a high school diploma so that all students graduate college-ready. The new graduation requirements include completion of Algebra, Geometry and Algebra II. Before this recent set of reforms, states had graduation requirements related to the number of math credits, irrespective of math course content. To quantify the potential impact of requiring Algebra, Geometry and Algebra II for high school graduation on educational attainment and math knowledge, I develop a dynamic, discrete choice model of high school attendance, math course selection and educational attainment. I estimate the parameters of the model using data from NELS:88/2000 under the old policy and simulate behavior under the new graduation requirement. Model simulations show that educational attainment at age 18 is very responsive to the policy change, but college completion by age 25 is less so. The on-time high school graduation rate falls from 84 to 59 percent, and the proportion of students opting for a GED during the four years of high school increases from 2 to 20 percent. The overall proportion of individuals who earn an advanced degree remains roughly constant, moving from 37 to 36 percent