Cultivating a Community of Practice to Enable Coach Development in Alpine Ski Coaches

PurposeMany university students in the UK experience mental health problems and little is known about their overall mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain levels of mental health literacy in UK university students and to examine whether mental health literacy is associated with better mental health outcomes and intentions to seek professional care.Design/methodology/approachA total of 380 university students at a university in the south of England completed online surveys measuring multiple dimensions of mental health literacy, help-seeking behaviour, distress, and well-being.FindingsMental health literacy in the students sampled was lower than seen in previous research. Women exhibited higher levels of mental health literacy than men and postgraduate students scored higher than undergraduate students. Participants with previous mental health problems had higher levels of mental health literacy than those with no history of mental health problems. Individuals were most likely to want to seek support from a partner or family member and most participants indicated they would be able to access mental health information online. Mental health literacy was significantly positively correlated with help-seeking behaviour, but not significantly correlated with distress or well-being.Practical implicationsStrategies, such as anonymous online resources, should be designed to help UK university students become more knowledgeable about mental health and comfortable with seeking appropriate support.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine multiple dimensions of mental health literacy in UK university students and compare it to help-seeking behaviour, distress, and well-being

The psychological characteristics of performance under pressure in professional Rugby Union referees

This study used qualitative methods to explore the stressors, appraisal mechanism, emotional response, and effective/ineffective coping strategies experienced by elite rugby union referees during pressurized performances. Participants included seven male rugby union referees from the United Kingdom (Mage = 27.85, SD = 4.56) who had been officiating as full-time professionals for between 1 and 16 years (M = 4.85, SD = 5.42). Data revealed that the referees encountered a number of stressors, which were appraised initially as a ‘threat’, and elicited negatively-toned emotions. The referees were able to maintain performance standards under pressure by adopting proactive, problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies which managed effectively the stressors and their emotions. However, the use of avoidance-coping, reactive control, and informal impression management were perceived as ineffective coping strategies, and associated with poor performance and choking. Recommendations are offered to inform the psychological skills training of rugby union referees

The Consequences of Choking in Sport: A Constructive or Destructive Experience?

Through an empirical phenomenological methodology, the study examined the short- and long-term consequences of choking in sport. Eleven intermediate golfers (10 male, 1 female; age 23–50 years, M = 34.6, SD = 8.9) with handicaps of 6–18 (M = 10.91, SD = 3.98) completed phenomenological interviews that explored the perceived psychological impact of their choking episode(s). While the reported short-term consequences were negative (i.e., collapse in performance standards, limited attention/emotional control, and negative affect), most participants thought the long-term impact of choking was constructive, for it encouraged adversity-related growth. However, a small number of golfers identified the long-term consequences as highly destructive, including a loss of self-confidence, withdrawal from the sport, and, in 1 case, lowered self-worth. The findings of the study extend the choking literature by informing strategies that can be used to encourage constructive, rather than destructive, consequences from any choking episode that athletes may experience

Exploring choking experiences in elite sport: The role of self- presentation

Objectives The aims of this study were twofold: first, to examine the role of self-presentation within the lived-experience of choking in sport; and second, to explore whether the 2 × 2 framework of self-presentation (Howle, Jackson, Conroy, & Dimmock, 2015) holds the potential to further our understanding of acute sporting failure under pressurized conditions. Design and Method An empirical phenomenological research design was adopted to address the research aims. Purposefully selected participants completed phenomenological interviews, which explored in detail their experiences of choking and clutch performance under pressure. The sample consisted of 9 elite athletes (6 male and 3 female) (Mage = 27.14; SD = 5.27) from a range of sports (netball, rugby union, golf, tennis, and cricket). Results Participants reported a tendency to hold protective-agentic self-presentation motives, low self-presentation efficacy, and self-presentational concerns prior to, and during the choke. Conversely, acquisitive-agentic self-presentation motives, and self-presentation efficacy were experienced before and during clutch performances. However, alongside self-presentation, other psychological constructs also preceded and accompanied the choking experience (e.g., unfamiliarity and perceived control). Conclusion This exploratory study is the first to identify the value of examining choking in sport through the lens of the 2 × 2 self-presentation framework, with self-presentation motives appearing to influence the choking experience. Yet, it is also evident that self-presentation may not explain all choking episodes

Revs and Psychos: Role, Impact and Interaction of Sport Chaplains and Sport Psychologists within English Premiership Soccer

Despite an increased focus on spirituality and athlete well-being in sport (Watson, 2011), there is limited research regarding those who provide support to the athlete in these areas. The aim of this study was to explore the practice of sport psychologists and sport chaplains within professional soccer, and identify potential for working partnerships. By interviewing three psychologists and four chaplains who are employed currently within English Premiership soccer, it was revealed that significant overlap in their roles existed. The psychologists and chaplains identified barriers that restricted support offered to players, which may be addressed by working cooperatively in the future

Effect of room temperature transport vials on DNA quality and phylogenetic composition of faecal microbiota of elderly adults and infants

Background: Alterations in intestinal microbiota have been correlated with a growing number of diseases. Investigating the faecal microbiota is widely used as a non-invasive and ethically simple proxy for intestinal biopsies. There is an urgent need for collection and transport media that would allow faecal sampling at distance from the processing laboratory, obviating the need for same-day DNA extraction recommended by previous studies of freezing and processing methods for stool. We compared the faecal bacterial DNA quality and apparent phylogenetic composition derived using a commercial kit for stool storage and transport (DNA Genotek OMNIgene GUT) with that of freshly extracted samples, 22 from infants and 20 from older adults. Results: Use of the storage vials increased the quality of extracted bacterial DNA by reduction of DNA shearing. When infant and elderly datasets were examined separately, no differences in microbiota composition were observed due to storage. When the two datasets were combined, there was a difference according to a Wilcoxon test in the relative proportions of Faecalibacterium, Sporobacter, Clostridium XVIII, and Clostridium XlVa after 1 week's storage compared to immediately extracted samples. After 2 weeks' storage, Bacteroides abundance was also significantly different, showing an apparent increase from week 1 to week 2. The microbiota composition of infant samples was more affected than that of elderly samples by storage, with significantly higher Spearman distances between paired freshly extracted and stored samples (

Using a Robust and Sensitive GFP-Based cGMP Sensor for Real-Time Imaging in Intact Caenorhabditis elegans.

cGMP plays a role in sensory signaling and plasticity by regulating ion channels, phosphodiesterases, and kinases. Studies that primarily used genetic and biochemical tools suggest that cGMP is spatiotemporally regulated in multiple sensory modalities. FRET- and GFP-based cGMP sensors were developed to visualize cGMP in primary cell culture and Caenorhabditis elegans to corroborate these findings. While a FRET-based sensor has been used in an intact animal to visualize cGMP, the requirement of a multiple emission system limits its ability to be used on its own as well as with other fluorophores. Here, we demonstrate that a C. elegans codon-optimized version of the cpEGFP-based cGMP sensor FlincG3 can be used to visualize rapidly changing cGMP levels in living, behaving C. elegans We coexpressed FlincG3 with the blue-light-activated guanylyl cyclases BeCyclOp and bPGC in body wall muscles, and found that the rate of change in FlincG3 fluorescence correlated with the rate of cGMP production by each cyclase. Furthermore, we show that FlincG3 responds to cultivation temperature, NaCl concentration changes, and sodium dodecyl sulfate in the sensory neurons AFD, ASEL/R, and PHB, respectively. Intriguingly, FlincG3 fluorescence in ASEL and ASER decreased in response to a NaCl concentration upstep and downstep, respectively, which is opposite in sign to the coexpressed calcium sensor jRGECO1a and previously published calcium recordings. These results illustrate that FlincG3 can be used to report rapidly changing cGMP levels in an intact animal, and that the reporter can potentially reveal unexpected spatiotemporal landscapes of cGMP in response to stimuli

UIT Astro-2 Observations of NGC 4449

The bright Magellanic irregular galaxy NGC 4449 was observed by the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) during the Astro-2 Spacelab mission in March, 1995. Far ultraviolet (FUV) images at a spatial resolution of ~3 arcsec show bright star-forming knots that are consistent with the general optical morphology of the galaxy and are often coincident with bright H II regions. Comparison of FUV with H-alpha shows that in a few regions, sequential star formation may have occurred over the last few Myr. The bright star forming complexes in NGC 4449 are superposed on a smooth, diffuse FUV background that may be associated with the H-alpha "froth."Comment: 4 pages, Latex with AIP proceedings macros, 2 EPS figures. To appear in proceedings of U. Maryland October Astrophysics Conf., 1996, AIP pu