The ‘whole-club capacity’ approach to athlete wellbeing & education : analysing competing logics within elite sporting organisations

With the aim of better understanding and supporting athlete’s experiences of wellbeing, this research project established two key research goals: 1) inquiry: to investigate and understand athlete-specific risk and protective factors, and 2) impact: to support the development of effective wellbeing supports in response to those factors. This research project, investigating a professional Australian rugby league football club, used one-on-one interviews, workshopbased interventions, and surveys, to evaluate athlete’s experiences of the Athlete Wellbeing & Education (AW&E) Framework employed by the Australian Rugby League (ARL). Guided by organisational logic theory, it explores the relationship between structure and agency at the individual, organisational, and institutional levels of analysis, and measures patterns of compatibility and centrality between wellbeing, performance, and commercial logics. The analysis demonstrates the need to embed a more transdisciplinary approach to holistic wellbeing within high performance (HP) systems and recognise the important protective role that HP members have within the athlete’s psychosocial support network. This thesis, informed by the ‘Whole-Club Capacity’ (WCC) Approach to AW&E, presents a philosophy of care that connects the full ecology of elite sporting organisations to the athlete’s experience of wellbeing, and articulates the reciprocal gains that effective wellbeing support systems can have on athletes’ performance, elite sporting organisations’ commercial interests, and on their duty of care/social responsibilities. It presents a number of pragmatic recommendations which could be implemented under the WCC Approach to AW&E, and includes two interventions (mental health literacy training and connection workshops) developed and evaluated within this project’s action research methodology. At its conclusion, this thesis presents a rationale for the need to de-stigmatise help-seeking within HP environments and strengthen athletes’ psychosocial supportive resources, and provides a range of subsequent strategies that elite sporting organisations can use to do so

What next for local government climate emergency declarations? The gap between rhetoric and action

The UK, like other countries, has seen a proliferation of declarations of local climate emergencies. While these declarations have been interpreted as a demonstration of ambition, little is known about how and why they actually came about when they did and the implications this will have for what happens next. Focusing on London, UK, we present evidence collected via semi-structured interviews with experts and practitioners involved in the propagation of climate emergency declarations to critically explore how and why these declarations emerged, and the various different roles they are perceived to play for different local actors. Our findings reveal four journeys to local government declaration of a climate emergency (made actively from above, passively from above, actively from below, and passively from across) and three interwoven purposes (statements of intent, acting as a political gesture, and stimulating local action). We argue that these three purposes combine and coalesce to correlate the declaration of climate emergency with a local responsibility for emissions reduction, leaving little analytical space to question the scalar disconnect between the immediacy of the narrative at local scales and the slow-burning (and) global nature of the threat in question. If these emergency declarations are to be an opportunity for change in the governance of climate change, then the question of ‘what next?’ requires more in-depth, thorough and constructive engagement with the type of climate action the declarations are expected to induce while considering how this aligns with existing responsibilities and resource bases of local government

Types, Sources, and Debilitating Factors of Sport-Confidence in Elite Early Adolescent Academy Soccer Players

This study provided an original contribution to the literature by examining elite early adolescent academy soccer players sport-confidence needs. Pre-interview booklets and individual semi-structured interviews were used as multiple sources of qualitative data to identify the types, sources, and debilitating factors of sport-confidence in a large sample (n = 28) of players within the youth development phase of the Elite Player Performance Plan (The Premier League, 2011). An abductive approach to hierarchical content analysis found three types of sport-confidence: Skill execution, physical factors, and psychological factors. These types were generated from five sources of sport-confidence: Accomplishments, social support, preparation, vicarious experience, and innate factors. Five confidence debilitating factors: Lack of social support, poor performances, poor preparation, pressure and expectations, and injury/illness were also identified. Practitioners are advised to widen the sport-confidence types experienced by elite adolescent performers and broaden the sources of sport-confidence such performers use to gain belief. This study examined elite academy soccer players sport-confidence. Players were confident about: Skill execution, physical and psychological factors. Players gained confidence from: Accomplishments, social support, preparation, vicarious experience, and innate factors. Players confidence was reduced by: A lack of social support, poor performances, poor preparation, pressure and expectations, and injury/illness

Mental health experiences of National Rugby League (NRL) athletes : a phenomenological study

This article explores the mental health lived experiences of fifty-five Australian National Rugby League (NRL) contracted top 30 players. It focuses on the risk and protective factors that impact on athletes’ experiences of mental health, patterns of help-seeking behavior, prevalence of self-reported mental illness, and an evaluation of common supports available to athletes within high-performance systems. Through a phenomenological survey of quantitative and qualitative means, this study provided athletes with a platform to critically reflect and share their mental health experiences within the academic domain, making a unique contribution to the literature as one of the few studies giving voice to NRL athletes’ own perceptions of the stressors and pressures of elite sport. Key findings emerging from the study highlight athletes’ overrepresentation in self-reported mental illness (35% of participants self-reported living with a mental health issue), the encouragingly high help-seeking rates of those athletes (56% had sought support for their mental health issue; 78% indicated that they accessed support internally within their club; 22% had accessed support externally from their club), the need for culturally responsive well-being support practices, the impact of contract duration on the mental health experiences of athletes during the latter stages of their careers, and athletes’ view of the relationship shared between well-being and performance

A Professional Development Program to Improve Math Skills Among Preschool Children in Head Start

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of providing early educators professional development experiences and activities to improve the mathematical skills of preschool children in Head Start around four domains of mathematics. Because of the need to provide necessary mathematical experiences to young children to improve their early understanding and skills and provide the foundation for future success in mathematics, we provided the treatment group of early educators with professional development and center-based activities to promote four critical areas in mathematics. By randomly selecting Head Start centers to participate as the treatment group or control group, we were able to examine the effects of the professional development and set of activities on preschool children’s knowledge over a six-month period. We found children in the treatment group were more fluent and flexible with number concepts, were better at solving contextual problems, and had better measurement and spatial abilities than children in the control group

MFA 2018

This catalog displays the work of the MFA Class of 2018 from the Sam Fox School at Washington University in St. Louis.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_cat/1000/thumbnail.jp

Protein kinase C and rho activated coiled coil protein kinase 2 (ROCK2) modulate Alzheimer's APP metabolism and phosphorylation of the Vps10-domain protein, SorL1

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Generation of the amyloid β (Aβ) peptide of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is differentially regulated through the intracellular trafficking of the amyloid β precursor protein (APP) within the secretory and endocytic pathways. Protein kinase C (PKC) and rho-activated coiled-coil kinases (ROCKs) are two "third messenger" signaling molecules that control the relative utilization of these two pathways. Several members of the Vps family of receptors (Vps35, SorL1, SorCS1) play important roles in post-<it>trans</it>-Golgi network (<it>TGN</it>) sorting and generation of APP derivatives, including Aβ at the TGN, endosome and the plasma membrane. We now report that Vps10-domain proteins are candidate substrates for PKC and/or ROCK2 and act as phospho-state-sensitive physiological effectors for post-<it>TGN </it>sorting of APP and its derivatives.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Analysis of the SorL1 cytoplasmic tail revealed multiple consensus sites for phosphorylation by protein kinases. SorL1 was subsequently identified as a phosphoprotein, based on sensitivity of its electrophoretic migration pattern to calf intestine alkaline phosphatase and on its reaction with anti-phospho-serine antibodies. Activation of PKC resulted in increased shedding of the ectodomains of both APP and SorL1, and this was paralleled by an apparent increase in the level of the phosphorylated form of SorL1. ROCK2, the neuronal isoform of another protein kinase, was found to form complexes with SorL1, and both ROCK2 inhibition and ROCK2 knockdown enhanced generation of both soluble APP and Aβ.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results highlight the potential importance of SorL1 in elucidating phospho-state sensitive mechanisms in the regulation of metabolism of APP and Aβ by PKC and ROCK2.</p

MFA14 (MFA 2014)

Catalogue of a culminating student exhibition held at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, May 9-August 3, 2014. Contents include Introduction / Buzz Spector and Patricia Olynyk -- David Baker / Katie McGinnis -- Amber bloom ; Mop cask ; Sullen fluff ; Frothy Shiraz ; Aquatic jaws ; Smoking trumpets ; Lake feigned goose flap / Steve Byrnes -- Nathan Childs : the affliction a strange weight, the weight a plume of pain, the pain a shrill desire / Aaron Coleman -- Christopher Chrome / Marianne Rosa Laury -- Shayna Cohn / Cassie Jones -- Alyse Cole / Nicholas Tamarkin -- Joshua Cornelis -- Evan Crankshaw -- Seth Czaplewski / Emily J. Hanson -- Kathryn Douglas / Addoley Dzegede -- SkyMark mourning / Sean Fitzgibbons -- Raleigh Gardiner -- Liz Guilmet / Benjamin Meiners -- Adam Hogan / Cole Lu -- Cassie Jones : repetitive motion imageries / Jessica A. Hutchins -- Christy Kirk : birthright / Phillip B. Williams -- Marianne Rosa Laury / Christopher Chrome -- Cole Lu / Gillian Tobin -- Chris Lujan / Emily J. Hanson -- Ashley Milow / Nhu Nguyen -- Whitney Polich -- Jessie Shinn -- The chronotope / Rosalynn Stovall -- Tried to be everything ; Crazy little telephone ; Room to breathe / Daniel Stumeier -- Gillian Tobin -- Sopearb Touch / Gabriel Feldman -- Contributors -- About the Sam Fox School.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/books/1011/thumbnail.jp

Retrieval of the Alzheimer's amyloid precursor protein from the endosome to the TGN is S655 phosphorylation state-dependent and retromer-mediated

Background: Retrograde transport of several transmembrane proteins from endosomes to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) occurs via Rab 5-containing endosomes, mediated by clathrin and the recently characterized retromer complex. This complex and one of its putative sorting receptor components, SorLA, were reported to be associated to late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). The pathogenesis of this neurodegenerative disorder is still elusive, although accumulation of amyloidogenic Abeta is a hallmark. This peptide is generated from the sucessive β- and γ- secretase proteolysis of the Alzheimer's amyloid precursor protein (APP), events which are associated with endocytic pathway compartments. Therefore, APP targeting and time of residence in endosomes would be predicted to modulate Abeta levels. However, the formation of an APP- and retromer-containing protein complex with potential functions in retrieval of APP from the endosome to the TGN had, to date, not been demonstrated directly. Further, the motif(s) in APP that regulate its sorting to the TGN have not been characterized. Results: Through the use of APP-GFP constructs, we show that APP containing endocytic vesicles targeted for the TGN, are also immunoreactive for clathrin-, Rab 5- and VPS35. Further, they frequently generate protruding tubules near the TGN, supporting an association with a retromer-mediated pathway. Importantly, we show for the first time, that mimicking APP phosphorylation at S655, within the APP 653YTSI656 basolateral motif, enhances APP retrieval via a retromer-mediated process. The phosphomimetic APP S655E displays decreased APP lysosomal targeting, enhanced mature half-life, and decreased tendency towards Abeta production. VPS35 downregulation impairs the phosphorylation dependent APP retrieval to the TGN, and decreases APP half-life. Conclusions: We reported for the first time the importance of APP phosphorylation on S655 in regulating its retromer-mediated sorting to the TGN or lysosomes. Significantly, the data are consistent with known interactions involving the retromer, SorLA and APP. Further, these findings add to our understanding of APP targeting and potentially contribute to our knowledge of sporadic AD pathogenesis representing putative new targets for AD therapeutic strategies