Journeys of Portuguese athletes to sporting success: the peaks and troughs

This research examined the experiences of eight Portuguese (former) elite athletes from a social scientific perspective. In so doing it attempted to move away from the tentacles of achievement sport and, in particular, the performance efficiency model that dominates elite sport. Rather, it focused on the subjective and qualitative experiences of sportspeople themselves and gave them a forum to reflect upon the primary socializing agents that played a key role in their sporting success, and on the peaks and troughs on their journeys to sporting success, nationally and internationally. The research design included semi-structured interviews with athletes that excelled in athletics, handball, gymnastics, korfball and swimming. All eight had achieved outstanding results nationally and internationally. A qualitative approach was adopted for data collection and analysis. Giving voice to the former athletes themselves revealed much about: the primary socializing agents for sport in their lives, as young, teenage and adult athletes; those role models and mentors that influenced their initial and ongoing involvement and specialization in sport, these being the family (usually parents), physical education teachers and peers; and, finally, the peaks and troughs in their careers which usually hinged around sporting success or defeat, failure to achieve expected results, and the onset and impact of injury. Taken together, these findings reverberate with those of other researchers beyond the Lusophone world. They also indicate the emergence and development of a sports ethic in Portugal despite the comparatively late entry of that country into the global sporting arms race.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Journeys of portuguese athletes to sporting success: the peaks and troughs

This research examined the experiences of eight Portuguese (former) elite athletes from a social scientific perspective. In so doing it attempted to move away from the tentacles of achievement sport and, in particular, the performance efficiency model that dominates elite sport. Rather, it focused on the subjective and qualitative experiences of sportspeople themselves and gave them a forum to reflect upon the primary socializing agents that played a key role in their sporting success, and on the peaks and troughs on their journeys to sporting success, nationally and internationally. The research design included semi-structured interviews with athletes that excelled in athletics, handball, gymnastics, korfball and swimming. All eight had achieved outstanding results nationally and internationally. A qualitative approach was adopted for data collection and analysis. Giving voice to the former athletes themselves revealed much about: the primary socializing agents for sport in their lives, as young, teenage and adult athletes; those role models and mentors that influenced their initial and ongoing involvement and specialization in sport, these being the family (usually parents), physical education teachers and peers; and, finally, the peaks and troughs in their careers which usually hinged around sporting success or defeat, failure to achieve expected results, and the onset and impact of injury. Taken together, these findings reverberate with those of other researchers beyond the Lusophone world. They also indicate the emergence and development of a sports ethic in Portugal despite the comparatively late entry of that country into the global sporting arms race.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implante coclear: a complexidade envolvida no processo de tomada de decisão pela família

OBJECTIVE: to understand the meanings the family attributes to the phases of the decision-making process on a cochlear implant for their child. METHOD: qualitative research, using Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory as the theoretical and methodological frameworks, respectively. Data collection instrument: semistructured interview. Nine families participated in the study (32 participants). RESULTS: knowledge deficit, difficulties to contextualize benefits and risks and fear are some factors that make this process difficult. Experiences deriving from interactions with health professionals, other cochlear implant users and their relatives strengthen decision making in favor of the implant. CONCLUSION: deciding on whether or not to have the implant involves a complex process, in which the family needs to weigh gains and losses, experience feelings of accountability and guilt, besides overcoming the risk aversion. Hence, this demands cautious preparation and knowledge from the professionals involved in this intervention.OBJETIVO: comprender los significados atribuidos por la familia a las etapas del proceso de la toma de decisiones para el implante coclear en el hijo. MÉTODO: investigación cualitativa, teniendo el Interaccionismo Simbólico y la Teoría Fundamentada en los Datos como los referenciales teórico y metodológico, respectivamente. El instrumento de recolección de datos fue la entrevista semiestructurada. Participaron del estudio nueve familias (32 participantes). RESULTADOS: déficit de conocimiento, dificultades en contextualizar beneficios y riesgos, y miedo, son algunos de los dificultadores de este proceso. Las experiencias provenientes de las interacciones establecidas con profesionales de salud, de otros usuarios de implante coclear y de sus familiares, fortalecen la toma de decisiones para el implante. CONCLUSIÓN: decidirse o no por el implante constituye en un proceso complejo, en que la familia necesita evaçiar las ganancias y pérdidas, experimentar sentimientos de responsabilidad y de culpa, además de superar la aversión a riesgos. Así, exige una cautelosa preparación y conocimiento de los profesionales que participan en esta intervención.OBJETIVO: compreender os significados atribuídos pela família às etapas do processo de tomada decisão para o implante coclear no filho. MÉTODO: pesquisa qualitativa, tendo o Interacionismo Simbólico e a Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados como referenciais teórico e metodológico, respectivamente. Instrumento de coleta de dados: entrevista semiestruturada. Participaram do estudo nove famílias (32 participantes). RESULTADOS: déficit de conhecimento, dificuldades em contextualizar benefícios e riscos, e medo são alguns dificultadores desse processo. Experiências advindas das interações estabelecidas com profissionais de saúde, outros usuários de implante coclear e seus familiares fortalecem a tomada de decisão para o implante. CONCLUSÃO: decidir ou não pelo implante envolve um processo complexo, em que a família precisa pesar ganhos e perdas, vivenciar sentimentos de responsabilização e culpabilidade, além de superar a aversão aos riscos. Assim, demanda cauteloso preparo e conhecimento dos profissionais envolvidos nessa intervenção

Human and Organisational Factors as a Risk Management Strategy in an Aviation Maintenance Company

Aviation has for many years been one of the leading industries in addressing human and organisational factors (HOF) within its different sectors – flight operations, air traffic control, ground operations, maintenance, etc. In particular aviation has led the way in mandating a range of measures that address HOF issues – reporting systems, shift-handover procedures, etc (e.g. UK CAA, 2003). A key element of the regulation has been the mandating of initial and continuation training in HOF for virtually all personnel working in aviation maintenance. By contrast the development of practice and regulation of risk and safety management in aviation has lagged behind process (Gambetti et al., 2012) and power (Leva et al., 2012). industries ICAO published its requirements for Safety Management in 2009 (ICAO, 2009) and these are still being translated into regulations by local aviation authorities. For example the EASA regulations require implementation of Safety Management Systems (SMS) in airlines by 2013. As a consequence of this historical sequence – the development of HOF regulations prior to safety management regulations – organisations are facing the challenge of integrating two programmes with related objectives developed to meet the requirements of different regulations. HOF training in aviation maintenance, in the European context, normally comprises of a two day initial training classroom based workshop supplemented by a one-day continuation training workshop every 2 years. The continuation training typically comprises a refresher of key HOF concepts and information about company specific challenges. E-learning and blended learning are sometimes used for continuation training, but their acceptance by the local aviation authorities is variable. This paper reports an initiative to integrate HOF continuation training within a risk management context in an aviation maintenance company

Caracterização do apoio social percebido pela família do doente adulto com câncer

Study design: descriptive, exploratory. Objective: To characterize the social support perceived for family to patient with cancer in a city in the state of São Paulo. Methodology: A descriptive, exploratory and quantitaive approach was used. Data was collected in home patients enrolled in an institution that centralizes the monitoring of cancer patients by Unified Health System. The sample consisted of 69 families, a total of 161`s families members. It was using a Medical Outcomes Study Scale Social Support. Results: family perceived social support from their network, however, among the dimensions, there is a deficit in informational support and positive social interaction, that revealing needs for health professionals to provide information about the disease, treatment and community resources.Modelo de Estudo: exploratório descritivo. Objetivo do Estudo: caracterizar o apoio social percebido por famílias de doentes com câncer, residentes num município do interior de São Paulo. Metodologia: pesquisa exploratória-descritiva, realizada no domicílio de doentes cadastrados numa instituição que centraliza o seguimento de doentes oncólogicos pelo Sistema Único de Saúde. A população foi composta por 69 famílias, perfazendo um total de 161 famílias. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi a Escala de Apoio Social do Medical Outcomes Study, a forma de análise pela estatística descritiva do MicrosoftExcel 2003 e correlação de Pearson através do software BioEstat 5.0. Resultados:  Os apoios afetivo, emocional e material foram os mais reconhecidos pelas famílias, seguidos do apoio informacional e interação social positiva. Houve correlação estatisticamente significante (p<0,001) entre as cinco dimensões de apoio social. Conclusão: a família percebe apoio social de sua rede de relacionamentos, porém, dentre as dimensões, há um deficit quanto ao apoio informacional e de interação social positiva, revelando a necessidade da equipe oferecer informações sobre a doença, terapêutica e recursos disponíveis na comunidade.

Descubrimiento de la discapacidad auditiva por la família: contemplando el colapso del futuro idealizado

OBJECTIVE: To portray the family experience when the discovery of hearing impairment in their child. METHODS: Qualitative research with Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory as theoretical and methodological frameworks. Data collection instrument: semi-structured interview. The study included nine families (32 participants). RESULTS: The theme, "Seeing an idealized future collapse", shows that for the family, discovered the possibility of having a child with hearing loss is a moment that involves many negative feelings. CONCLUSION: Discover the hearing loss has a meaning of the expected loss of the perfect child, frustrated expectations and uncertain future. The family has been inadequately approached and the diagnosis has been made late, which requires immediate changes to the practices of professionals

Multiple sclerosis risk variants alter expression of co-stimulatory genes in B cells.

The increasing evidence supporting a role for B cells in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis prompted us to investigate the influence of known susceptibility variants on the surface expression of co-stimulatory molecules in these cells. Using flow cytometry we measured surface expression of CD40 and CD86 in B cells from 68 patients and 162 healthy controls that were genotyped for the multiple sclerosis associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs4810485, which maps within the CD40 gene, and rs9282641, which maps within the CD86 gene. We found that carrying the risk allele rs4810485*T lowered the cell-surface expression of CD40 in all tested B cell subtypes (in total B cells P ≤ 5.10 × 10-5 in patients and ≤4.09 × 10-6 in controls), while carrying the risk allele rs9282641*G increased the expression of CD86, with this effect primarily seen in the naïve B cell subset (P = 0.048 in patients and 5.38 × 10-5 in controls). In concordance with these results, analysis of RNA expression demonstrated that the risk allele rs4810485*T resulted in lower total CD40 expression (P = 0.057) but with an increased proportion of alternative splice-forms leading to decoy receptors (P = 4.00 × 10-7). Finally, we also observed that the risk allele rs4810485*T was associated with decreased levels of interleukin-10 (P = 0.020), which is considered to have an immunoregulatory function downstream of CD40. Given the importance of these co-stimulatory molecules in determining the immune reaction that appears in response to antigen our data suggest that B cells might have an important antigen presentation and immunoregulatory role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

Cochlear Implant: the complexity involved in the decision making process by the family

El objetivo de esta investigación es comprender los significados atribuidos por la familia a las etapas del proceso de la toma de decisiones para el implante coclear en el hijo

Corticosteroids and regional variations in thickness of the human cerebral cortex across the lifespan

International audienceExposures to life stressors accumulate across the lifespan, with possible impact on brain health. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms mediating age-related changes in brain structure. We use a lifespan sample of participants (n = 21 251; 4–97 years) to investigate the relationship between the thickness of cerebral cortex and the expression of the glucocorticoid- and the mineralocorticoid-receptor genes (NR3C1 and NR3C2, respectively), obtained from the Allen Human Brain Atlas. In all participants, cortical thickness correlated negatively with the expression of both NR3C1 and NR3C2 across 34 cortical regions. The magnitude of this correlation varied across the lifespan. From childhood through early adulthood, the profile similarity (between NR3C1/NR3C2 expression and thickness) increased with age. Conversely, both profile similarities decreased with age in late life. These variations do not reflect age-related changes in NR3C1 and NR3C2 expression, as observed in 5 databases of gene expression in the human cerebral cortex (502 donors). Based on the co-expression of NR3C1 (and NR3C2) with genes specific to neural cell types, we determine the potential involvement of microglia, astrocytes, and CA1 pyramidal cells in mediating the relationship between corticosteroid exposure and cortical thickness. Therefore, corticosteroids may influence brain structure to a variable degree throughout life