Development of Perfectionism in Junior Athletes: Examination of Actual and Perceived Parental Perfectionism

Initial research suggests that parental perfectionism is central to the development of athlete perfectionism. However, it is unclear whether perceived or actual parental perfectionism is most important. The present study aimed to address this issue in two ways. First, we re-examined the predictive ability of actual versus perceived parental perfectionism on athlete perfectionism. Second, for the first time, we tested whether perceived parental perfectionism mediated the relationship between actual parental perfectionism and athlete perfectionism. A sample of 150 junior athletes and their parents completed measures of perfectionism (perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns). Junior athletes completed two measures, one of their own perfectionism and one of perceptions of their parents’ perfectionism. Parents completed one measure of their own perfectionism. Regression analyses showed that perceived parental perfectionism predicted athlete perfectionism over and above actual parental perfectionism. Mediation analyses provided support for our proposed model. Overall, the findings suggest that both actual and perceived parental perfectionism are important in the development of perfectionism in junior athletes

Sauropod dinosaur tracks from the Purbeck Group (Early Cretaceous) of Spyway Quarry, Dorset, UK

Dinosaur tracks have a long history of discovery and study in the UK, but track sites for sauropodomorph dinosaurs—the group that included the giant, graviportal herbivorous sauropods—are comparatively rare. Here, we provide a description of a sauropod dinosaur track site at Spyway Quarry in Dorset, southern England. The tracks at Spyway were discovered in the late 1990s and occur in the Stair Hole Member of the Durlston Formation in the Purbeck Limestone Group, of earliest Cretaceous age. More than 130 individual tracks of large sauropod dinosaurs are present at the site, but they are generally poorly preserved and do not form clear trackways, although it is likely that they represent multiple individuals. They provide further evidence for sauropods living in or passing through coastal lagoonal environments. Although poorly preserved, Spyway represents the largest in situ dinosaur track site currently accessible within the Purbeck Group, with considerable potential for further discoveries through ongoing quarrying in the surrounding area

Athlete Burnout Symptoms are Increasing: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of Average Levels from 1997 to 2019

With the increasing prevalence of mental health difficulties in sport, athletes may be at greater risk of burnout than ever before. In the present study, we tested this possibility by examining whether average athlete burnout levels have changed over the past two decades, from 1997 to 2019. A literature search returned 91 studies (N = 21,012) and 396 effect sizes. Findings from cross-temporal meta-analysis suggested that burnout symptoms have increased over the past two decades. Specifically, we found that athletes’ mean levels of reduced sense of athletic accomplishment and sport devaluation have increased. As burnout symptoms are now typically higher among athletes than in the past, we can expect more athletes to be prone to the negative effects of burnout. Sport is therefore in urgent need of prevention and intervention strategies to stop and reverse this trend

Perfectionism, School Burnout, and School Engagement in Gifted Students: The Role of Stress

There is evidence that many gifted students set unrealistically high personal standards and that such perfectionistic tendencies may lead to higher stress. To build on this evidence, we examined whether performance perfectionism and school stress influence school burnout and school engagement in gifted students. A sample of 342 gifted students (Mage = 16.27, SD = 0.49) completed the study measures. Using structural equation modelling, we found that dimensions of performance perfectionism indirectly predicted school burnout and engagement via school stress. When gifted students reported that they expected themselves to perform perfectly at school, or that others expected them to perform perfectly at school, they reported more school stress. In turn, higher levels of school stress were related to increased school burnout and decreased school engagement. The management of performance perfectionism and school stress is therefore important when it comes to supporting and safeguarding gifted students

Do Athlete and Coach Performance Perfectionism Predict Athlete Burnout?

Research has illustrated that athlete perfectionism predicts athlete burnout. The present study sought to build on existing research in two ways. First, we provide the first test of the relationship between performance perfectionism and athlete burnout. That is, whether the degree to which athlete’s expect their own or others’ sport performances to be perfect, predicts burnout. Second, we broaden the examination of the perfectionism-burnout relationship to include coaches by testing the incremental predictive ability of perceptions of coach other-oriented performance perfectionism (the degree to which coaches were perceived to expect perfect performances from others). A sample of 190 competitive adult athletes (M age = 20.54) completed measures of their own performance perfectionism (self-oriented, socially prescribed, and other-oriented performance perfectionism), perceived coach other-oriented performance perfectionism, and burnout symptoms. Regression analyses indicated that both athlete self-oriented and socially prescribed performance perfectionism positively predicted athlete burnout. In addition, after controlling for all dimensions of athlete performance perfectionism, perceived coach other-oriented performance perfectionism positively predicted athlete burnout. The findings suggest that, in addition to their own perfectionism, when athletes perceive their coaches to be more perfectionistic towards others, they are more likely to experience burnout

Evaluating a new generation of wearable high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) technology via retinotopic mapping in the adult brain

We investigated the performance of a novel HD-DOT system by replicating a series of classic visual stimulation paradigms. Haemodynamic response functions and cortical activation maps replicated the results obtained with larger fibre-based systems

Universal behavior in the scattering of heavy, weakly interacting dark matter on nuclear targets

Particles that are heavy compared to the electroweak scale ($M \gg m_W$), and that are charged under electroweak SU(2) gauge interactions display universal properties such as a characteristic fine structure in the mass spectrum induced by electroweak symmetry breaking, and an approximately universal cross section for scattering on nuclear targets. The heavy particle effective theory framework is developed to compute these properties. As illustration, the spin independent cross section for low-velocity scattering on a nucleon is evaluated in the limit $M \gg m_W$, including complete leading-order matching onto quark and gluon operators, renormalization analysis, and systematic treatment of perturbative and hadronic-input uncertainties.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures. v2: minor changes, version to appear in Phys. Lett.

On Power Suppressed Operators and Gauge Invariance in SCET

The form of collinear gauge invariance for power suppressed operators in the soft-collinear effective theory is discussed. Using a field redefinition we show that it is possible to make any power suppressed ultrasoft-collinear operators invariant under the original leading order gauge transformations. Our manipulations avoid gauge fixing. The Lagrangians to O(lambda^2) are given in terms of these new fields. We then give a simple procedure for constructing power suppressed soft-collinear operators in SCET_II by using an intermediate theory SCET_I.Comment: 15 pages, journal versio

Novel CP-violating Effects in B decays from Charged-Higgs in a Two-Higgs Doublet Model for the Top Quark

We explore charged-Higgs cp-violating effects in a specific type III two-Higgs doublet model which is theoretically attractive as it accommodates the large mass of the top quark in a natural fashion. Two new CP-violating phases arise from the right-handed up quark sector. We consider CP violation in both neutral and charged B decays. Some of the important findings are as follows. 1) Large direct-CP asymmetry is found to be possible for B+- to psi/J K+-. 2) Sizable D-anti-D mixing effect at the percent level is found to be admissible despite the stringent constraints from the data on K-anti-K mixing, b to s gamma and B to tau nu decays. 3) A simple but distinctive CP asymmetry pattern emerges in decays of B_d and B_s mesons, including B_d to psi/J K_S, D+ D-, and B_s to D_s+ D_s-, psi eta/eta^prime, psi/J K_S. 4) The effect of D-anti-D mixing on the CP asymmetry in B+- to D/anti-D K+- and on the extraction of the angle gamma of the unitarity triangle from such decays can be significant.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figures, section V.A revised, version to appear in PR

Single Top Quark Production via FCNC Couplings at Hadron Colliders

We calculate single top-quark production at hadron colliders via the chromo-magnetic flavor-changing neutral current couplings $\bar tcg$ and $\bar tug$. We find that the strength for the anomalous $\bar tcg$ ($\bar tug$) coupling may be probed to $\kappa_c / \Lambda = 0.092 {TeV}^{-1}$ ($\kappa_u / \Lambda = 0.026 {TeV}^{-1}$) at the Tevatron with $2 {fb}^{-1}$ of data and $\kappa_c / \Lambda = 0.013 {TeV}^{-1}$ ($\kappa_u / \Lambda = 0.0061 {TeV}^{-1}$) at the LHC with $10 {fb}^{-1}$ of data. The two couplings may be distinguished by a comparision of the single top signal with the direct top and top decay signals for these couplings.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 3 table