Professional Doctorate Portfolio

This portfolio provides an insight into the development of a trainee sport psychology practitioner’s journey through the Professional Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University. The portfolio provides evidence, through a combination of consultancy, research, and reflective practice, of how the trainee sport psychology practitioner successfully meets the competencies (professional standards, consultancy, research, and dissemination) of the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Stage Two training pathway. The three applied case studies and one applied teaching case study provide a critical and reflective insight into the work conducted with elite athletes and coaches from a variety of sports. These applied consultancy experiences allowed the trainee practitioner to develop a coherent and congruent philosophy of practice, which can now be confidently delivered across contexts and cultures. Throughout these applied experiences, the trainee practitioner was able to demonstrate diversity in their training by working with multiple sports (gymnastics, triathlon, wrestling, rugby-league, football, and golf). The reflective log highlights the critical moments experienced by the author throughout this journey, which support the development of a coherent personal and professional identity. The two empirical papers and systematic review attempt to bridge the gap between theory and practice by exploring topics such as; use of psychology within the coaching context, importance of reflective practice for optimal practitioner development, and the impact critical moments have on the practitioner individuation journey of applied sport psychology practitioners. The research, combined with the opportunities to disseminate at conferences and as a Lecturer of Sport Psychology, allowed the author to understand how his values and beliefs transferred across his consultancy, teaching, and research

Study to establish cost projections for production of Redox chemicals

A cost study of four proposed manufacturing processes for redox chemicals for the NASA REDOX Energy Storage System yielded favorable selling prices in the range $0.99 to$1.91/kg of chromic chloride, anhydrous basis, including ferrous chloride. The prices corresponded to specific energy storage costs from under $9 to$17/kWh. A refined and expanded cost analysis of the most favored process yielded a price estimate corresponding to a storage cost of $11/kWh. The findings supported the potential economic viability of the NASA REDOX system

Pressure to Provide a Solution: One-to-One Support With an Elite Junior Gymnast

This article presents a reflective case study, from the perspective of a trainee sport and exercise psychologist, of an applied consultancy experience with a 14-year-old gymnast. The case study highlights a number of applied challenges such as working with a client in an unfamiliar sport, questioning who the client is throughout the consultancy process, adopting a philosophy of practice different from the expectations of the parents, and further difficulties when including parents in the consultancy process. The case study also highlights how challenges to a practitioner’s philosophy of practice can be deeply uncomfortable and lead the practitioner to question his or her approach to service delivery. Although the intervention only lasted 3 sessions, there are a number of observations and lessons to be learned from an applied perspective, such as being aware of countertransference when building relationships with a client and understanding how the dynamics of the consultancy process might change when involving parents

Stories of Critical Moments Contributing to the Development of Applied Sport Psychology Practitioners

This study explored the stories of critical moments experienced by applied sport psychology practitioners. The 13 recruited practitioners (eight male and five female) were in different stages of their development (trainee, neophyte, and experienced) and were asked to tell one story about a critical moment that significantly contributed to their development as applied practitioners. Narrative analysis was used to explore the stories of critical moments. Four distinct narrative structures were evident; Re-birth, Rags to Riches, Tragedy, and The Quest. There was one consistent narrative feature that supported these plots: critical moments contribute towards an alignment between a practitioner’s beliefs and behaviour, which supports the development of a congruent philosophy of practice and the environment they choose to work within. We recommend future research, such as the use of narrative analysis to explore alternative narrative structures and the investigation of successful and unsuccessful consultancy experiences

A Case Report on Longitudinal Collection of Tumour Biopsies for Gene Expression-Based Tumour Microenvironment Analysis from Pancreatic Cancer Patients Treated with Endoscopic Ultrasound Guided Radiofrequency Ablation.

BACKGROUND: Most patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are metastatic at presentation with dismal prognosis warranting improved systemic therapy options. Longitudinal sampling for the assessment of treatment response poses a challenge for validating novel therapies. In this case study, we evaluate the feasibility of collecting endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided longitudinal fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) from two PDAC patients and conduct gene expression studies associated with tumour microenvironment changes associated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA). METHODS: EUS-guided serial/longitudinal FNABs of tumour were collected before and after treatment from two stage III inoperable gemcitabine-treated PDAC patients treated with targeted RFA three times. Biopsies were analysed using a custom NanoString panel (144 genes) consisting of cancer and cancer-associated fibroblast (CAFs) subtypes and immune changes. CAF culture was established from one FNAB and characterised by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting. RESULTS: Two-course RFA led to the upregulation of the CD1E gene (involved in antigen presentation) in both patients 1 and 2 (4.5 and 3.9-fold changes) compared to baseline. Patient 1 showed increased T cell genes (CD4-8.7-fold change, CD8-35.7-fold change), cytolytic function (6.4-fold change) and inflammatory response (8-fold change). A greater than 2-fold upregulation of immune checkpoint genes was observed post-second RFA in both patients. Further, two-course RFA led to increased PDGFRα (4.5-fold change) and CAF subtypes B and C genes in patient 1 and subtypes A, B and D genes in patient 2. Patient 2-derived CAFs post-first RFA showed expression of PDGFRα, POSTN and MYH11 proteins. Finally, RFA led to the downregulation of classical PDAC subtype-specific genes in both patients. CONCLUSIONS: This case study suggests longitudinal EUS-FNAB as a potential resource to study tumour and microenvironmental changes associated with RFA treatment. A large sample size is required in the future to assess the efficacy and safety of the treatment and perform comprehensive statistical analysis of EUS-RFA-based molecular changes in PDAC

Obsidian clasts as sintered remnants of agglutination processes in volcanic conduits, evidence from the Pepom tephras (Sete Cidades), São Miguel, Azores

The youngest explosive eruptions of the Sete Cidades volcano, São Miguel, Azores, are recorded by a series of relatively small-volume (<0.03 to 0.13 km3 DRE) trachytic pyroclastic deposits termed the Pepom tephra deposits. While dominated by crystal-poor to crystal-moderate (<10%) pumice clasts, these deposits also contain a suite of dense glassy clasts of broadly similar crystallinity. The obsidian clasts from a single deposit vary in texture from entirely dense to those that are moderately vesicular and typically single clasts will contain multiple textural domains. The majority (∼71%) of these dense clasts have compositions both from bulk rock and in-situ glass measurements that are identical to those of the pumice clasts within the same deposit. We interpret these dense clasts to reflect sintering of previously fragmented magma at shallow levels in the conduit prior to being re-entrained and erupted with the vesicular magma, in agreement with recent studies focussing on textural observations. Notably, across the exposed volcanic stratigraphy of São Miguel obsidian domes, flows/coulees are not preserved, arguing against the idea that the dense glass clasts within the Pepom tephras are sourced from existing surficial rocks. In contrast, the neighbouring island of Terceira exhibits domes and coulees with large obsidian bands that cut through the crystalline groundmass. Most silicic rocks of Santa Bárbara and Pico Alto volcanoes on Terceira are peralkaline, comenditic to pantelleritic in composition, and at similar conditions (e.g., temperature and water content) have lower viscosities than the trachytic Pepom obsidian clasts. However, the Santa Bárbara silicic lavas on Terceira (the less peralkaline suite) have more obsidian than the more peralkaline Pico Alto domes and coulees indicating that while peralkalinity, developed during magmatic evolution in the crust, may play a role, sintering occurring at shallow levels within the conduit likely is more important in producing obsidian