Case study of the Dundee Academy of Sport secondary, further and higher education work (2013-17)

Widening access to Higher Education has been a priority globally in recent years. This has helped shape projects that work with educational establishments in more deprived communities to remove barriers to continued education. One such barrier is often the difficulty that students face in transitioning between educational environments. In Scotland, the Government have made widening access a key initiative and have supported projects that work towards this aim. The Dundee Academy of Sport (DAoS) project was established as a venture between Abertay University and Dundee and Angus College. The project works with schools from an SIMD20 (deprived) background and attempts to remove barriers to Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE). The project works throughout the educational continuum and supports students at each stage of transition. This study focused specifically on the work within secondary schools, FE, HE, as well as the role of DAoS in supporting transition across sectors. Six practitioners from three partner schools, two partner colleges and one lecturer at the university were interviewed to give their evaluation on how DAoS worked with their institution. At secondary level, work with senior pupils was highlighted as being useful in preparing students for FE and HE. Changes in attitude and mind-set for the pupils were noted among those who previously may not have considered continued education. Financial support and skills of DAoS staff were identified as being beneficial to schools. This suggests that a contextualised approach in schools can be useful for engaging pupils. This also suggests that by offering access to FE and HE establishments can make pupils consider these as viable options moving forward. Areas for improvement identified included further embedding of the project into FE and HE courses, further integration of staff, as well as the project being focussed more towards the senior phases of secondary schools

Kako učitelji-trenerji vplivajo na pomembne spremembe v vedenju športnih trenerjev?

This article provides an overview of how coach educators influence meaningful behavior change in sports coaches. Drawing upon the extant research, we outline gaps in the literature before reviewing key factors that influence behavior change in sport coaches. The framework for this article provides examples of five specific hypotheses, including: H1: Ensure coach education programs are structured and sequenced; H2: Coach characteristics drive behaviors: H3: Behavior change is more likely to occur when coaches understand the impact of their behavior: H4: The learning environment must align with needs of coaches; and H5: Delivering and receiving feedback appropriately informs coach education practice. We include evidence of how an experienced coach educator influences meaningful behavior change in sports coaches. We conclude with recommendations for sport coach development programs and future researchers.//Prispevek obsega pregled, kako učitelji-trenerji vplivajo na pomembne spremembe v vedenju športnih trenerjev. Na podlagi obstoječih raziskav smo prikazali vrzeli v literaturi, nato pa smo pregledali glavne dejavnike, ki vplivajo na spremembo vedenja športnih trenerjev. Okvir tega prispevka so primeri petih specifičnih hipotez, in sicer H1: zagotovitev, da so programi izobraževanja trenerjev strukturirani in izvedeni zaporedno; H2: značilnosti trenerjev pogojujejo njihovo vedenje; H3: sprememba vedenja se bolj verjetno pojavi, kadar trenerji razumejo vpliv svojega vedenja; H4: učno okolje je treba uskladiti s potrebami trenerjev in H5: ustrezno dajanje in prejemanje povratnih informacij izpopolnjuje prakso izobraževanja trenerjev. Predstavljamo tudi dokaze, kako izkušen učitelj-trener vpliva na pomembne spremembe vedenja športnih trenerjev. Prispevek se zaključi s priporočili za programe razvoja športnih trenerjev in bodočih raziskovalcev

An investigation into sleep patterns and the effect of time of day on performance in youth swimmers

The purpose of this study was to investigate sleep patterns in competitive youth swimmers and to establish any time-of-day effect on physiological and psychological variables linked to swimming performance. Twelve swimmers (14.8 ± 2.1 years) underwent physiological and psychological tests in morning and evening and completed sleep diaries over a 2-week period. There was a non-significant effect between morning and evening swimming performance for 800 m (p = 0.068) and 50 m (p = 0.306). Handgrip strength was significantly greater in evening (p = 0.007), back and leg strength were significantly greater in morning (p = 0.013). There was no time-of-day effect for jump height (p = 0.756). The profile of mood states indicated significantly higher anger (p = 0.012) and vigour (p = 0.000) in the morning. Swimming performance was not significantly affected by time of day; however, physiological variables showed varied results. Multiple factors could be influencing results including training time and mood state so should be monitored closely by coaches

Problems and prospects of non-motorized public transport integration in developing cities

The benefits and costs of the paid category of non-motorized public transport (NMPT) –especially three wheeler cycle rickshaws – have long been a major transport planning problem in many developing cities. Policy measures to restrict or eliminate non-motorized vehicles, especially NMPTs, from urban arterials and other feeder networks have already been implemented in developing cities as diverse as Delhi, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Surabaya, Beijing and Bogotá. Over the last few years, the government of Bangladesh has implemented policies to phase out non-motorized transport, particularly rickshaws, from the major traffic spines of Dhaka City. The acceptability, rationality and implication of such ‘solutions’ are widely argued in Bangladesh, as well as internationally. The argument is severe in Dhaka, the case study of this research, considering social acceptability, economic response, fuel free eco-friendly characteristics and magnitude of role of rickshaw in sustaining the traffic and mobility needs of citizens. Therefore, rather than simply pursuing policies to eliminate NMPT, a better approach may be to integrate motorized and non-motorized vehicles as complementary rather than competitive forces in meeting the comprehensive demand of Dhaka’s transport. With the backdrop and given the international significance of the problem, this paper will delineate a preliminary framework for the future place of the NMPT-rickshaw and explore the problems as well as opportunities for its sustainable co-existence in a mixed mode transport stream that best meets the network performance needs of Dhaka

A reflective view of pedagogical teaching framework focused on experiential learning:achieving university teaching and learning enhancement strategy and graduate attributes

Within teacher education reflection has been shown to be of beneficial use for improving practice across all stages of education. This article is reflective of individual teaching practice within Higher Education at Abertay University, specifically to the field of Sport and Exercise Science. Efforts to reflect on current practice in comparison to experiential learning are made. These are then compared to the ‘Abertay Attributes’ in order to determine the validity of including experiential learning within this field at the University. There are also comparisons made between classes where experiential learning is encouraged and the ‘traditional’ academic style of delivery, the lecture. It is strongly suggested that experiential learning enhances the learning experience of the student. There are also direct links with the aims of the teaching and learning enhancement strategy as well as the ‘Abertay Attributes’, most significantly the ‘Intellectual’, ‘Professional’ and ‘Active Citizen’ attributes.Keywords: Experiential Learning, Teaching, University, Sport, Reflection. <br/

1,2-Dimethyl-4,5-diphenylbenzene determined on a Bruker SMART X2S benchtop crystallographic system

The title compound, C(20)H(18), has two crystallographically independent molecules in the asymmetric unit. The phenyl substituents of molecule A are twisted away from the plane defined by the central benzene ring by 131.8 (2) and -52.7 (3)degrees. The phenyl substituents of molecule B are twisted by -133.3 (2) and 50.9 (3)degrees. Each molecule is stabilized by a pair of intraMolecular C(aryl, sp(2))-H center dot center dot center dot pi interactions, as well as by several interMolecular C(methyl, sp(3))-H center dot center dot center dot pi interactions

Design of Novel Pini Inhibitors Incorporating a p-Phospho-Glutamate Analogue

Pin1 is an enzyme essential to cell cycle regulation and has a key role in cancer proliferation. This thesis reports ongoing efforts to obtain a Pin1 inhibitor exhibiting an inhibition constant in the nanomolar range. It was previously found that Pin 1 activity could be inhibited using a short proline containing peptide sequence which also contains a stereospecific (3- substituted a-amino acid. Several proline analogues were tested for greater inhibition against Pin1 than previously synthesized Cbz-/_-Glu((3-phos)-Pro-NH2. It was found that using full length Pin1 in the chymotrypsin-coupled photometric assay rendered different values than using only the catalytic PPIase domain for Cbz-Z_-Glu((3-phos)-Pro-NH2, Kj = 54.1+1.8 pM and 20 ± 0.9 pM respectively. The potential effectiveness of the synthesized inhibitors against Pin1 was assessed using the same convenient chymotrypsin-coupled photometric assay against full length Pin1. This thesis describes the synthesis of two novel compounds which exhibited an increase in inhibition relative to Cbz-/_-Glu((3-phos)-Pro-NH2(Kj = 54.1+1.8 pM) with results in the micromolar range; Cbz-Z_-Glu(f3-phos)-Pip-NH2 (Kj = 45.4+1.1 pM) and Cbz-/_-Glu(p-phos)-Methylpiperazine (Kj = 22.7+1.4 pM

Investigating coaching behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic:a case study within a case study

The purpose of this case study is to offer reflections for both applied researchers and practitioners on our experiences of investigating coaching behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case is based on the delivery of remote, online tennis coaching sessions to children over a period of 3 weeks. Questionnaire, observation, and focus group data were collected from tennis players, coaches, and parents/guardians. Analyses revealed similarities and differences with previous investigations measuring coaching behaviors, as well as the perceived effectiveness of sports coaching in an online environment. Novel insights and recommendations for applied researchers and practitioners in sport and exercise psychology are highlighted, including the importance of staying connected during the pandemic, keeping players and parents motivated, and creativity. The authors consider the context of conducting a case study into coaching behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic itself, and conclude by providing reflections on our case study within the case study of COVID-19. These include enhanced communication (as it was easier to connect with each other), the nature of the online delivery improving presession preparation, and the research process being relatively more straightforward to implement, all due to barriers being removed as a direct result of COVID-19 quarantine, stay-at-home restrictions

Conjuring ethics from words

No abstract available