Stress Resources and Responses of Student-Athlete Counseling Services Clients, Non-Student-Athlete Clients and Non-Athlete Clients

It is widely believed that because of the unique demands of their lifestyles, college student-athletes often experience greater levels of life-stress than do non-athlete students. For the purpose of this study stress was considered a complex process characterized by the presence of various stress sources, perceptions of threat or danger to self, and cognitive, affective and/or behavioral, and physical reactions to these phenomena (Spielberger, 1989). Accordingly, stress response may be manifested cognitively (e.g., worry), behaviorally (e.g., avoidance behaviors), emotionally (e.g., depression), or somatically (e.g., muscle aches). Limited research on this topic has provided inconsistent support for this notion. Quick Stress Questionnaire (QSQ) responses of student-athlete counseling service clients, non-athlete student counseling service clients, and a non-client sample were compared to examine differences in the frequency and severity of life-stress and life-stress responses. Quick Stress Questionnaire (QSQ) (Otani, 1985) of student clients were obtained from the counseling service closed files at a medium sized, land grant institution. The QSQ is a problem checklist completed by clients, as a routine part of all intake assessments and becomes a part a each student's permanent, confidential file. Clients did not provide consent to access their QSQs. The QSQs of 91 athlete clients (i.e., those student-athletes who had sought counseling) were examined, although a random sample of 207 QSQs was obtained from the non-athlete client population over a three-year period. These two sets of QSQ data were compared with non-athlete, non-client QSQ student norms (N=218) developed from the general student population over the same period of time. All groups reported moderate to moderately high stress levels, but student-athletes reported fewer sources of distress and fewer serve stress-related symptoms than non-athlete clients or non-clients. Interestingly, student athlete clients reported lower financial related distress than non athlete clients and non clients. Findings were discussed in the context of the student-athlete lifestyle and recommendations for further study were provided

Career Counseling and Student-Athletes: A Needs Assessment

The self-reported personal/social needs of a random sample of 170 college student-athletes and a general student sample (n=300) at a Division I institution were compared. The authors used a needs assessment survey with 54 Likert items modified from an instrument by Talley (1985) and 14 additional items about athletic competition and counseling services. Usable surveys returned were 201 total from both groups. Survey data revelated that both groups shared many needs. Respondents indicated that career-related concerns and various sources of stress associated with participation in athletics were of primary concern. Findings provide suggestions for the planning and delivery of helping services to student-athletes and non-athletes

Student-Athletes’ Experiences with Racial Microaggressions in Sport: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis

Despite growing research on racial microaggressions as a subtle but prevalent form of racial discrimination, research on microaggressions in sport and their effects on the psychosocial wellbeing of athletes is scarce. Moreover, some researchers question the legitimacy of microaggressions due to their subtle nature and inconsistency in how they are experienced (Lilienfeld, 2017). The purpose of this study was to examine U.S. collegiate student-athletes-of-color experiences with racial microaggressions in sport through a new theoretical lens, Foucauldian poststructuralist theory. We theorized microaggressions as an example of the daily panoptic gaze that leads to self-surveillance and the production of normalized individuals (Foucault, 1995). Eight student-athletes-of-color participated in two interviews: a two-person focus group interview followed by an individual interview. The interviews were analyzed deductively using Sue’s (2010) microaggression typology followed by a Foucauldian discourse analysis (Willig, 2013). The results illustrated how student-athletes-of-color experiences and subjectivities were racialized. Within sport, the sport as transcending race discourse was widely circulated and legitimized through various sporting practices, which limited athletes’ ability to perceive and acknowledge race and microaggressions. This study sheds light on how racial microaggressions manifest in the lives of student-athletes and how the discourses and practices we take for granted constitute racial subjectivities

Absolute properties of the low-mass eclipsing binary CM Draconis

Spectroscopic and eclipsing binary systems offer the best means for determining accurate physical properties of stars, including their masses and radii. The data available for low-mass stars have yielded firm evidence that stellar structure models predict smaller radii and higher effective temperatures than observed, but the number of systems with detailed analyses is still small. In this paper we present a complete reanalysis of one of such eclipsing systems, CM Dra, composed of two dM4.5 stars. New and existing light curves as well as a radial velocity curve are modeled to measure the physical properties of both components. The masses and radii determined for the components of CM Dra are M1=0.2310+/-0.0009 Msun, M2=0.2141+/-0.0010 Msun, R1=0.2534+/-0.0019 Rsun, and R2=0.2396+/-0.0015 Rsun. With relative uncertainties well below the 1% level, these values constitute the most accurate properties to date for fully convective stars. This makes CM Dra a valuable benchmark for testing theoretical models. In comparing our measurements with theory, we confirm the discrepancies reported previously for other low-mass eclipsing binaries. These discrepancies seem likely to be due to the effects of magnetic activity. We find that the orbit of this system is slightly eccentric, and we have made use of eclipse timings spanning three decades to infer the apsidal motion and other related properties.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

Modeling Kepler transit light curves as false positives: Rejection of blend scenarios for Kepler-9, and validation of Kepler-9d, a super-Earth-size planet in a multiple system

Light curves from the Kepler Mission contain valuable information on the nature of the phenomena producing the transit-like signals. To assist in exploring the possibility that they are due to an astrophysical false positive, we describe a procedure (BLENDER) to model the photometry in terms of a "blend" rather than a planet orbiting a star. A blend may consist of a background or foreground eclipsing binary (or star-planet pair) whose eclipses are attenuated by the light of the candidate and possibly other stars within the photometric aperture. We apply BLENDER to the case of Kepler-9, a target harboring two previously confirmed Saturn-size planets (Kepler-9b and Kepler-9c) showing transit timing variations, and an additional shallower signal with a 1.59-day period suggesting the presence of a super-Earth-size planet. Using BLENDER together with constraints from other follow-up observations we are able to rule out all blends for the two deeper signals, and provide independent validation of their planetary nature. For the shallower signal we rule out a large fraction of the false positives that might mimic the transits. The false alarm rate for remaining blends depends in part (and inversely) on the unknown frequency of small-size planets. Based on several realistic estimates of this frequency we conclude with very high confidence that this small signal is due to a super-Earth-size planet (Kepler-9d) in a multiple system, rather than a false positive. The radius is determined to be 1.64 (+0.19/-0.14) R(Earth), and current spectroscopic observations are as yet insufficient to establish its mass.Comment: 20 pages in emulateapj format, including 8 tables and 16 figures. To appear in ApJ, 1 January 2010. Accepted versio

Upper limits on the strength of periodic gravitational waves from PSR J1939+2134

The first science run of the LIGO and GEO gravitational wave detectors presented the opportunity to test methods of searching for gravitational waves from known pulsars. Here we present new direct upper limits on the strength of waves from the pulsar PSR J1939+2134 using two independent analysis methods, one in the frequency domain using frequentist statistics and one in the time domain using Bayesian inference. Both methods show that the strain amplitude at Earth from this pulsar is less than a few times $10^{-22}$.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the Proceedings of the 5th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves, Tirrenia, Pisa, Italy, 6-11 July 200

Improving the sensitivity to gravitational-wave sources by modifying the input-output optics of advanced interferometers

We study frequency dependent (FD) input-output schemes for signal-recycling interferometers, the baseline design of Advanced LIGO and the current configuration of GEO 600. Complementary to a recent proposal by Harms et al. to use FD input squeezing and ordinary homodyne detection, we explore a scheme which uses ordinary squeezed vacuum, but FD readout. Both schemes, which are sub-optimal among all possible input-output schemes, provide a global noise suppression by the power squeeze factor, while being realizable by using detuned Fabry-Perot cavities as input/output filters. At high frequencies, the two schemes are shown to be equivalent, while at low frequencies our scheme gives better performance than that of Harms et al., and is nearly fully optimal. We then study the sensitivity improvement achievable by these schemes in Advanced LIGO era (with 30-m filter cavities and current estimates of filter-mirror losses and thermal noise), for neutron star binary inspirals, and for narrowband GW sources such as low-mass X-ray binaries and known radio pulsars. Optical losses are shown to be a major obstacle for the actual implementation of these techniques in Advanced LIGO. On time scales of third-generation interferometers, like EURO/LIGO-III (~2012), with kilometer-scale filter cavities, a signal-recycling interferometer with the FD readout scheme explored in this paper can have performances comparable to existing proposals. [abridged]Comment: Figs. 9 and 12 corrected; Appendix added for narrowband data analysi

Ethical Issues in Sport, Exercise, and Perfomance Psychology/ Edit.: Edward F. Etzel

vii, 232 hal. : 25 cm

Ethical Issues in Sport, Exercise, and Perfomance Psychology/ Edit.: Edward F. Etzel

vii, 232 hal. : 25 cm

What Do We Know about the Career Maturity of College Student-Athletes? A Brief Review and Practical Suggestions for Career Development Work with Student-Athletes

The purpose of this article was to provide useful information concerning career maturity and college student-athletes. An overview of developmental tasks college students face and how they relate to career maturity will initially be presented. Next, the construct of career maturity will be discussed as it relates to two career development theories associated with the construct (i.e., Super and Crites). Practical suggestions on how to enhance student-athlete career maturity based on theory, research and the author's experiences will follow