Coach to learn and learn to coach: synergising performance and development in the athlete-coach-environment learning system

While high-performance sport traditionally highlights a dualist perspective on distinct pathways of development and performance coaching, an ecological dynamics rationale recognises the deeply entwined relations between development and performance. Acknowledging an athlete-environment-centred approach, an increasingly relevant topic concerns “coach learning”, supporting the idea that theories of athlete development present useful insights for understanding coach development. In this position paper, it is argued that athlete and coach learning are not independent from one another, thus forming part of an athlete-coach-environment learning system. This first of two insights papers discusses the contiguity between athlete development and performance and coach learning. It seeks to highlight a dual coach learning pathway towards “coaching to learn” (infused by knowledge of the environment) and “learning to coach” (supported by knowledge about the environment). To underline the interconnectedness of athlete/coach learning, two examples are discussed from: I) the 2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup; and II), high-performance workshops for Olympic sport coaches

Football, Culture, Skill Development and Sport Coaching: Extending Ecological Approaches in Athlete Development Using the Skilled Intentionality Framework

In this manuscript, we extend ecological approaches and suggest ideas for enhancing athlete development by utilizing the Skilled Intentionality Framework. A broad aim is to illustrate the extent to which social, cultural and historical aspects of life are embodied in the way football is played and the skills young footballers develop during learning. Here, we contend that certain aspects of the world (i.e., environmental properties) are “weighted” with social and cultural significance, “standing out” to be more readily perceived and simultaneously acted upon when playing football. To comprehend how patterns of team coordination and athletic skill embody aspects of culture and context we outline the value-directedness of player-environment intentionality. We demonstrate that the values an individual can express are constrained by the character of the social institutions (i.e., football clubs) and the social order (i.e., form of life) in which people live. In particular, we illuminate the extent to which value-directedness can act as a constraint on the skill development of football players “for good or ill.” We achieve this goal by outlining key ecological and relational concepts that help illustrate the extent to which affordances are value-realizing and intentionality is value-directed (exemplified, by footballers performing in a rondo). To enhance coaching practice, we offer: (a) insights into markers of skilled intentionality, and (b), the language of skilled intentions, as well as highlighting (c), an additional principle of Non-linear Pedagogy: Shaping skilled intentions, or more precisely shaping the value-directedness of player-environment intentionality. We contend that, if sport practitioners do not skilfully attend to sociocultural constraints and shape the intentions of players within training environments and games, the social, cultural, and historic constraints of their environment will do so: constantly soliciting some affordances over others and directing skill development

Beyond words: Aesthetic knowledge and knowing in design

Aesthetic knowledge comes from practitioners understanding the look, feel, smell, taste and sound of things. It is vital to work in many organizational contexts. In this paper, we explore aesthetic knowledge and knowing in organizations through detailed observation of design work in the architectural practice Edward Cullinan Architects. Through our research, we explore aesthetic knowledge in the context of architectural work, we unpack what it is, how it is generated, and how it is applied in design projects, shared between practitioners and developed at the level of the organization. Our analysis suggests that aesthetic knowledge plays an important part in organizational practice, not only as the symbolic context for work, but as an integral part of the work that people do. It suggests that aesthetic reflexivity, which involves an opening up and questioning of what is known, is experienced as part of practice as well as a `time out' from practice

X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources

We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30 kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101 sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

The Astropy Problem

The Astropy Project (http://astropy.org) is, in its own words, "a community effort to develop a single core package for Astronomy in Python and foster interoperability between Python astronomy packages." For five years this project has been managed, written, and operated as a grassroots, self-organized, almost entirely volunteer effort while the software is used by the majority of the astronomical community. Despite this, the project has always been and remains to this day effectively unfunded. Further, contributors receive little or no formal recognition for creating and supporting what is now critical software. This paper explores the problem in detail, outlines possible solutions to correct this, and presents a few suggestions on how to address the sustainability of general purpose astronomical software

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented

Approximate entropy detects the effect of a secondary cognitive task on postural control in healthy young adults: a methodological report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Biomechanical measures of postural stability, while generally useful in neuroscience and physical rehabilitation research, may be limited in their ability to detect more subtle influences of attention on postural control. Approximate entropy (ApEn), a regularity statistic from nonlinear dynamics, recently has demonstrated relatively good measurement precision and shown promise for detecting subtle change in postural control after cerebral concussion. Our purpose was to further explore the responsiveness of ApEn by using it to evaluate the immediate, short-term effect of secondary cognitive task performance on postural control in healthy, young adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty healthy, young adults performed a modified version of the Sensory Organization Test featuring single (posture only) and dual (posture plus cognitive) task trials. ApEn values, root mean square (RMS) displacement, and equilibrium scores (ES) were calculated from anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) center of pressure (COP) component time series. For each sensory condition, we compared the ability of the postural control parameters to detect an effect of cognitive task performance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>COP AP time series generally became more random (higher ApEn value) during dual task performance, resulting in a main effect of cognitive task (p = 0.004). In contrast, there was no significant effect of cognitive task for ApEn values of COP ML time series, RMS displacement (AP or ML) or ES.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>During dual task performance, ApEn revealed a change in the randomness of COP oscillations that occurred in a variety of sensory conditions, independent of changes in the amplitude of COP oscillations. The finding expands current support for the potential of ApEn to detect subtle changes in postural control. Implications for future studies of attention in neuroscience and physical rehabilitation are discussed.</p