Athlete burnout and motivational dynamics: a multiple case follow-up study among elite BMX riders

Aim of the study: The objective of the current study was to identify the motivational dynamics and the changes in the levels of burnout experienced among elite BMX riders during a competitive season. Methods: Data were collected each week during 32 weeks, among three BMX riders from an elite training structure. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare the means of each training phase two by two for each rider. Cohen’s d effect sizes were calculated to determine if changes noted between phases were meaningful for the data. Findings: The results of the current study reinforced the hypothesis that burnout is (a) a process that develops over time (Dale & Weinberg, 1990), (b) a multidimensional syndrome (Raedeke & Smith, 2001) and (c) a process with inter-individual differences (Dale & Weinberg, 1990)

Mental training program in racket sports: A systematic review

The mental aspect is largely acknowledged by athletes and coaches as a salient factor explaining performance variability. The mental component of performance holds a special place in racket sports considering the inherent demands in such intense and emotional activities. The importance of mental skills in racket sports has been examined within the literature through a bulk of studies highlighting associations between mental skills and a wide range of positive outcomes. Access to the programs which aim to improve the mental skills of the athletes represents a major issue for researchers and the different stakeholders (coaches, athletes, parents). The main objectives of this study were to (a) Collect the studies that incorporate mental training programs used in racket sports, (b) Organize the current knowledge on mental training programs and provide a synthesis of the characteristics of these studies, and (c) Identify the gaps in the literature on this topic and propose potential further investigations and practical implications. The present systematic review included 27 studies which involved 715 participants. Most of the studies used a quantitative approach and were conducted on tennis. The mental skills developed varied across the studies with domination of imagery and relaxation techniques. Overall, the programs led to positive outcomes on performance indicators (e.g. improvement of service efficacy and stroke quality) and permitted the development of the targeted mental skills (e.g. concentration, motivation). This review highlighted the weak representation of females and novice players within the studies’ participants. Moreover, the unequal representation of the techniques and outcomes in the examined studies encourages the development of further mental programs specifically applied to the demands of racket sports and a focus on different mental skills (e.g. emotional intelligence, coach education)

Can high-intensity exercise be more pleasant?: Attentional dissociation using music and video

Theories suggest that external stimuli (e.g., auditory and visual) may be rendered ineffective in modulating attention when exercise intensity is high. We examined the effects of music and parkland video footage on psychological measures during and after stationary cycling at two intensities: 10% of maximal capacity below ventilatory threshold and 5% above. Participants (N = 34) were exposed to four conditions at each intensity: music only, video only, music and video, and control. Analyses revealed main effects of condition and exercise intensity for affective valence and perceived activation (p < .001), state attention (p < .05), and exercise enjoyment (p < .001). The music-only and music-and-video conditions led to the highest valence and enjoyment scores during and after exercise regardless of intensity. Findings indicate that attentional manipulations can exert a salient influence on affect and enjoyment even at intensities slightly above ventilatory threshold

Application of the TDMA Technique Toward the Size and Charge Distribution Measurement of Graphite, Gold, Palladium, and Silver Aerosols

The knowledge of charge distributions among aerosol particles has been an important topic for many years because of the strong electrostatic interactions which can greatly influence aerosol transport and evolution. Theoretical models have been developed although experimental verification has been limited because of the difficulty in measuring charged aerosols. Recently a method utilizing a tandem differential mobility analyzer (TDMA) has been shown to be applicable toward measuring both the size and charge distributions of nanosized combustion aerosols. The goal of this work is on further exploration of this method toward the measurement of non-combustion aerosols and in particular those associated with very high temperature reactors (VHTRs). The complete bipolar charge and size distributions of spark generated graphite, gold, silver, and palladium aerosol have been measured with a TDMA apparatus assembled and calibrated during this study. In addition, an electrostatic precipitator has been designed and constructed for measuring the size distributions of neutrally charged particles associated with these aerosols. The results show charge asymmetry in all measured aerosols with higher concentrations of positively charged particles than negative at the same charge level. These results differ from equilibrium charge distributions of both Boltzmann and Fuchs showing that charge equilibrium may not always be an appropriate assumption. The TDMA technique should find applications in characterizing VHTR aerosols and rate processes such as coagulation, deposition, and resuspension which will be important for both reactor design, and accident modeling and simulation

Les conditions d’une qualité d’engagement, d’un état mental optimal chez le sportif et en particulier le « flow »

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Les conditions d’une qualité d’engagement, d’un état mental optimal chez le sportif et en particulier le « flow »

International audienc

« Ils ne se réinscrivent pas ! » Variables et processus de l’abandon sportif

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Relations entre orientations motivationnelles et burnout : une étude chez des adolescents du pôle espoir handball

International audienceIntroductionThe aim of this study was to examine the links between the goal orientation and the burnout. Participants were 248 boys’ players and 213 girls’ players aged 15,68 years.Synthesis of the factsThe results showed that the ego and task oriented adolescents are more self-determined, are less anxious, more self-confidence, and perceive a more important achievement in comparison to other groups of athletes.ConclusionA high level athlete oriented at the same time on ego and task goals has more favourable psychological characteristics that can reduce the risk of burnout.IntroductionL’objectif de cette étude était d’appréhender les relations existantes entre les profils d’orientation motivationnelle et le phénomène de burnout chez 461 adolescents(es) de pôles espoir en handball.Synthèse des faitsLes résultats ont révélé que les adolescents de haut niveau orientés à la fois vers des buts d’approche de maîtrise et de performance sont les plus autodéterminés, sont moins anxieux, ont plus confiance en eux et perçoivent un accomplissement plus important en comparaison des autres groupes d’athlètes.ConclusionUn athlète de haut niveau orienté à la fois vers des buts d’approche de maîtrise et de performance possède davantage de caractéristiques psychologiques favorables pouvant réduire le risque de burnout

Influência da proporção entre as vazões de oxigênio e gás natural do sistema de injeção na eficiência energética de um forno elétrico a arco

Independentemente do nível de verticalização ou da sua escala de produção, a redução de custos e o aumento de produtividade têm sido os principais focos internos das empresas da indústria do aço. Dois fatores controlam fundamentalmente o custo de produção do aço: o preço e o consumo dos insumos e matérias-primas. O primeiro depende fortemente do poder de barganha da empresa e das condições de mercado e, muitas vezes, não é possível exercer grande controle sobre ele. Sendo assim, é através da diminuição do consumo específico dos insumos e matérias-primas que a empresa pode obter sucesso na sua missão, internamente, de maximizar seu lucro. Em aciarias elétricas, o consumo dos insumos tem impacto importante na composição do custo final do aço, dos quais se destaca o consumo de energéticos utilizados no forno elétrico a arco, que pode representar até 30% do custo operacional desse tipo de aciaria. Para quantificar o aporte desses diferentes tipos de energia no forno, normalmente é utilizado o indicador de consumo de energia total, que utiliza o poder calorífico de cada tipo de energético na transformação para a unidade de kWh/t. O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar o impacto na eficiência energética do forno, medida através do consumo de energia total, da redução da vazão de gás natural nos modos lança e da modificação da proporção entre oxigênio e gás natural (O2/GN) em um dos modos queimador do sistema de injeção de um forno elétrico a arco. Para tanto, foi realizado um teste estatístico dividido em quatro cenários no formato de projeto de experimentos (DOE). O cenário em que as modificações no modo queimador e nos modos lança foram aplicadas conjuntamente apresentou a maior redução no consumo de energia total (2,50%), impulsionada principalmente pelas reduções no consumo de gás natural (16,94%) e no consumo de energia elétrica de forno e forno-panela (-1,90%). Através da análise do carbono de vazamento de todas as corridas não foi possível afirmar que os ganhos em consumo de energia elétrica foram provenientes de uma maior oxidação de ferro da carga nas corridas.Companies have been extensively focusing on cost reduction and productivity optimization in the last few years, independently of their levels of production or verticalization. The cost of production is basically controlled by two factors: the price and the consumption of raw and input materials. The price depends on the current conditions of the market and the capacity of the company to deal with its suppliers about the price to be paid. Due to that, it is very difficult to control this factor and for this reason, through the reduction in raw material and inputs consumption that companies can achieve their mission of becoming more profitable. In electric steelmaking, consumption of inputs plays an important role on the final billet cost, with particular emphasis to the energy consumption in the electric arc furnace, which can represent up to 30% of the operational cost in a melt shop. To quantify the contribution of different types of energy in the furnace, it is used the performance indicator of total energy consumption, which associates the heat of combustion of each type of energetic in order to use the unit kWh/t. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact on the energy efficiency of the furnace, measured by the total energy consumption, reducing the flow of natural gas in lance modes and modifying the ratio between oxygen and natural gas (O2/NG) in one of the burner modes of the injection system in an electric arc furnace. Thus, a statistical test divided into four scenarios in the format of design of experiments (DOE) was conducted. The scenario in which the burner mode and lance mode modifications were applied together resulted in the greatest reduction in total energy (2,50%), driven especially by reductions in natural gas consumption (16,94%) and electrical energy consumption of furnace and ladle furnace (1,90%). Through the analysis of tapping carbon of all heats it was not possible to assert that gains in electrical energy were due to a higher oxidation of iron contained in the blend charged

BURN-OUT ET ENGAGEMENT CHEZ LES ENSEIGNANTS DU SECONDAIRE: Une comparaison femmes/hommes selon le contexte d'enseignement

International audienceLe phénomène d'épuisement professionnel, ou de burnout , concerne un nombre important de professions et notamment celle d'enseignant. De nombreuses recherches confirment la pénibilité du métier d'enseignant, augmentant ainsi les risques de burnout. Au regard des études antérieures, il apparaît que la variable « sexe » est à prendre en considération dans le phénomène d'épuisement, d'engagement et, plus globalement, de la qualité de vie professionnelle. Des différences entre les femmes et les hommes ont déjà été mises en évidence sur les trois symptômes du burnout , cependant les études antérieures sont peu nombreuses et les résultats contradictoires. L'objectif de cette étude a été d'étudier les différences existantes sur le vécu de l'épuisement, de l'engagement et de la motivation des enseignants et enseignantes du secondaire en modérant ces différences avec la prise en compte de la discipline enseignée (EPS et les autres disciplines) et du contexte d'enseignement (France-Suisse). Les résultats ont mis en évidence une vulnérabilité plus grande chez les femmes françaises en comparaison des enseignants suisses et des enseignants hommes français. De plus, le risque d'épuisement semble moins important chez les enseignants hommes d'EPS comparé aux autres enseignants des autres disciplines, et notamment chez les femmes. Les risques d'épuisement professionnel semblent se différencier selon des facteurs individuels tels que le sexe et la motivation, risques qui semblent accentuer ou diminuer selon les contextes d'enseignement