Initial evidence for the criterion-related and structural validity of the long versions of the direct and meta-perspectives of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2010 Taylor & Francis.The aim of the present study was to develop and initially validate a longer version of the direct (Jowett & Ntoumanis, 2004) and meta-perspectives (Jowett, 2009a, 2009b) of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q). In Study 1, instruments (e.g. questionnaires, scales, and inventories) that have been used to assess relationship quality in the broader psychological literature were examined and items potentially relevant to the coach-athlete relationship were identified. The content validity of the identified items was then assessed using expert panels. A final questionnaire was subsequently prepared and administered to 693 participants (310 coaches and 383 athletes). Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to assess the multidimensional nature of the questionnaire based on the 3Cs (i.e. closeness, commitment, and complementarity) model of the coach-athlete relationship. The findings indicated that the direct and meta-perspective items of the long versions of the CART-Q approached an adequate data fit. Moreover, evidence for the internal consistency and criterion validity of the new instruments was also obtained. In Study 2, the newly developed measure was administered to an independent sample of 251 individuals (145 athletes and 106 coaches). Further statistical support was gained for the factorial validity and reliability of the longer version of the CART-Q

Damping rings for CLIC

The Compact Linear Colider (CLIC) is designed to operate at 3 TeV centre-of-mass energy with a total luminosity of 10^35 cm^-2 s^-1. The overall system design leads to extremely demanding requirements on the bunch trains injected into the main libac at frequency of 100 Hz. In particular, the emittances of the intense bunches have to be about an order of magnitude smaller than presently achieved. We describe our approach to finding a damping ring design capable of meeting these requirements. Besides lattice design, emittance and damping rate considerations, a number of scattering and instability effects have to be incorporated into the optimisation of parameters. Among these, intra-bem scattering and the electron cloud effect are two of the most significant

Beam Loss Monitors for Heavy Ion Operation

The performance of the LHC as a heavy-ion collider is expected to be limited by a variety of beam loss mechanisms that are non-existent, or substantially different, in the case of protons. Among these are ultra-peripheral interactions of the colliding beams and the collimation inefficiency. Loss patterns are different and require additional installations of beam loss monitors. Further, the relation between energy deposition in superconducting magnet coils and the loss monitor signals has to be reassessed for heavy ions in order to determine the thresholds for dumping beams

Monitoring heavy-ion beam losses in the LHC

The LHC beam loss monitor (BLM) system, primarily designed for proton operation, will survey particle losses and dump the beam if the loss rate exceeds a threshold expected to induce magnet quenches. Simulations of beam losses in the full magnet geometry allow us to compare the response of the BLMs to ion and proton losses and establish preliminary loss thresholds for quenches. Further simulations of beam losses caused by collimation and electromagnetic interactions peculiar to heavy ion collisions determine the positions of extra BLMs needed for ion operation in the LHC

Assessing the efficiency of countries in making progress towards universal health coverage: a data envelopment analysis of 172 countries

Introduction: Maximising efficiency of resources is critical to progressing towards universal health coverage (UHC) and the sustainable development goal (SDG) for health. This study estimates the technical efficiency of national health spending in progressing towards UHC, and the environmental factors associated with efficient UHC service provision. Methods: A two-stage efficiency analysis using Simar and Wilson’s double bootstrap data envelopment analysis investigates how efficiently countries convert health spending into UHC outputs (measured by service coverage and financial risk protection) for 172 countries. We use World Bank and WHO data from 2015. Thereafter, the environmental factors associated with efficient progress towards UHC goals are identified. Results: The mean bias-corrected technical efficiency score across 172 countries is 85.7% (68.9% for low-income and 95.5% for high-income countries). High-achieving middleincome and low-income countries such as El Salvador, Colombia, Rwanda and Malawi demonstrate that peer-relative efficiency can be attained at all incomes. Governance capacity, income and education are significantly associated with efficiency. Sensitivity analysis suggests that results are robust to changes. Conclusion: We provide a 2015 baseline for cross-country UHC technical efficiency scores. If countries wish to improve their UHC outputs within existing budgets, they should identify their current efficiency and try to emulate more efficient peers. Policy-makers should focus on strengthening institutions and implementing known best practices to replicate efficient systems. Using resources more efficiently is likely to positively impact UHC coverage goals and health outcomes, and without addressing gaps in efficiency progress towards achieving the SDGs will be impeded

Lee Silverman voice treatment versus standard NHS speech and language therapy versus control in Parkinson's disease (PD COMM pilot):study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Parkinson’s disease is a common movement disorder affecting approximately 127,000 people in the UK, with an estimated two thirds having speech-related problems. Currently there is no preferred approach to speech and language therapy within the NHS and there is little evidence for the effectiveness of standard NHS therapy or Lee Silverman voice treatment. This trial aims to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of randomizing people with Parkinson’s disease-related speech or voice problems to Lee Silverman voice treatment or standard speech and language therapy compared to a no-intervention control. Methods/Design: The PD COMM pilot is a three arm, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Randomization will be computer-generated with participants randomized at a ratio of 1:1:1. Participants randomized to intervention arms will be immediately referred to the appropriate speech and language therapist. The target population are patients with a confirmed diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease who have problems with their speech or voice. The Lee Silverman voice treatment intervention group will receive the standard regime of 16 sessions between 50 and 60 minutes in length over four weeks, with extra home practice. The standard speech and language therapy intervention group will receive a dose determined by patients’ individual needs, but not exceeding eight weeks of treatment. The control group will receive standard care with no speech and language therapy input for at least six months post-randomization. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline (pre-randomization) and post- randomization at three, six, and 12 months. The outcome measures include patient-reported voice measures, quality of life, resource use, and assessor-rated speech recordings. The recruitment aim is at least 60 participants over 21 months from 11 sites, equating to at least 20 participants in each arm of the trial. This trial is ongoing and recruitment commenced in May 2012. Discussion: This study will provide information on the feasibility and acceptability of randomizing participants to different speech and language therapies or control/deferred treatment. The findings relating to recruitment, treatment compliance, outcome measures, and effect size will inform a future phase III randomized controlled trial

Measurements of heavy ion beam losses from collimation

The collimation efficiency for Pb ion beams in the LHC is predicted to be lower than requirements. Nuclear fragmentation and electromagnetic dissociation in the primary collimators create fragments with a wide range of Z/A ratios, which are not intercepted by the secondary collimators but lost where the dispersion has grown sufficiently large. In this article we present measurements and simulations of loss patterns generated by a prototype LHC collimator in the CERN SPS. Measurements were performed at two different energies and angles of the collimator. We also compare with proton loss maps and find a qualitative difference between Pb ions and protons, with the maximum loss rate observed at different places in the ring. This behavior was predicted by simulations and provides a valuable benchmark of our understanding of ion beam losses caused by collimation.Comment: 12 pages, 20 figure

Ion and proton loss paterns at the SPS and LHC

The collimation system of the LHC, primarily designed for proton operation, must function safely also with 208Pb82+ions. However, the particle-matter interaction in a collimator is different for heavy ions and protons. Heavy ions are subject to nuclear fragmentation, which creates a spectrum of secondary particles exiting the collimators with a Z/A ratio different from the nominal beam. These particles could be lost in a superconducting magnet and the induced heating might cause a quench. The program ICOSIM has previously been used to simulate these losses in the LHC. In this article, we present a benchmark of ICOSIM, using measured proton and ion loss maps in the SPS, and find a good qualitative agreement. We also make a quantitative comparison where the showers of the lost particles are simulated with the FLUKA code in the full magnet geometry. Here a discrepancy of a factor 3.8 is found. Estimation of expected uncertainties continues

The Relationships between Perfectionism, Angry Reactions, and Antisocial Behaviour in Team Sport

Perfectionism involves extreme requirements for perfection that may give rise to antisocial behaviour in team sport. To test this possibility, we first examined pathways linking self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism to antisocial behaviour. We then examined pathways linking other-oriented perfectionism to antisocial behaviour via angry reactions to poor teammate performance. A cross-sectional design was employed. Competitive team sport athletes (n = 257, Mage = 20.71 years, s = 4.10) completed measures of perfectionism, angry reactions to poor teammate performance, and antisocial behaviour. In testing the first aim, we found that self-oriented perfectionism shared no relationship with antisocial teammate behaviour and a negative relationship with antisocial opponent behaviour. By contrast, socially prescribed perfectionism shared positive relationships with antisocial behaviour toward teammates and opponents. In testing the second aim, we found that other-oriented perfectionism shared positive indirect relationships with antisocial behaviour toward teammates and opponents via angry reactions to poor teammate performance. In line with recent theoretical assertions, these findings suggest that there may be a darker side to perfectionism that is related with antisocial behaviour in team sport

Design of beam optics for the Future Circular Collider e+e- -collider rings

A beam optics scheme has been designed for the Future Circular Collider-e+e- (FCC-ee). The main characteristics of the design are: beam energy 45 to 175 GeV, 100 km circumference with two interaction points (IPs) per ring, horizontal crossing angle of 30 mrad at the IP and the crab-waist scheme [1] with local chromaticity correction. The crab-waist scheme is implemented within the local chromaticity correction system without additional sextupoles, by reducing the strength of one of the two sextupoles for vertical chromatic correction at each side of the IP. So-called "tapering" of the magnets is applied, which scales all fields of the magnets according to the local beam energy to compensate for the effect of synchrotron radiation (SR) loss along the ring. An asymmetric layout near the interaction region reduces the critical energy of SR photons on the incoming side of the IP to values below 100 keV, while matching the geometry to the beam line of the FCC proton collider (FCC-hh) [2] as closely as possible. Sufficient transverse/longitudinal dynamic aperture (DA) has been obtained, including major dynamical effects, to assure an adequate beam lifetime in the presence of beamstrahlung and top-up injection. In particular, a momentum acceptance larger than +/-2% has been obtained, which is better than the momentum acceptance of typical collider rings by about a factor of 2. The effects of the detector solenoids including their compensation elements are taken into account as well as synchrotron radiation in all magnets. The optics presented in this paper is a step toward a full conceptual design for the collider. A number of issues have been identified for further study