Performance analysis practice within Olympic and Paralympic sports: a comparison of coach and analyst experiences

Concordance between 18 coaches (mean performance analysis experience: 8.3 ± 4.8 years) and 23 performance analysts (mean: 6.4 ± 4.1 years) regarding their performance analysis delivery within applied Olympic and Paralympic environments was investigated using survey-based methods. There was clear agreement on the provision, importance and need for full video. The majority of analysts (73.9%) provided profiling often or all of the time, whereas only one third of coaches felt that this was the required amount. Coaches not only agreed that coaching philosophy was the main factor directing analysis but also emphasised that training goals, level or age of athlete and discussions with athletes were influencers, far more than the analysts realised. A potential barrier for better communication was time, highlighted by all analysts as a major factor impacting their role. The majority of analysts (87%) attempted to provide feedback to athletes within one hour of performance, often or all the time. Coaches expressed a similar philosophy but were far more likely to want to provide feedback at later times. These findings should be utilised by analysts and coaches to review practice, identify gaps within practice and highlight areas for development

Recommendations for evaluation of computational methods

The field of computational chemistry, particularly as applied to drug design, has become increasingly important in terms of the practical application of predictive modeling to pharmaceutical research and development. Tools for exploiting protein structures or sets of ligands known to bind particular targets can be used for binding-mode prediction, virtual screening, and prediction of activity. A serious weakness within the field is a lack of standards with respect to quantitative evaluation of methods, data set preparation, and data set sharing. Our goal should be to report new methods or comparative evaluations of methods in a manner that supports decision making for practical applications. Here we propose a modest beginning, with recommendations for requirements on statistical reporting, requirements for data sharing, and best practices for benchmark preparation and usage

The implementation of performance analysis and feedback within Olympic sport: the performance analyst’s perspective

The study considered performance analysis and feedback from the perspective of the performance analyst through the investigation of the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘when’ of practice within a selection of Olympic sports. Twenty-three performance analysts (experience 6.4 ± 4.1 years) engaged in a structured interview (85 ± 15 minutes) regarding their processes within applied practice. Likert scales (All the time, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never) were used to facilitate cross sport and environment comparison. The performance analysts highlighted the experience of their coaches as the most prominent feature influencing analysis direction and time had the greatest impact upon feedback provision. The main analysis techniques used were video, profiling and performance reports. Feedback was delivered primarily either, 1) < 1-hour post-performance within sessions lasting < 10-minutes or 2) the following day within sessions lasting 25+ minutes. Video feedback was usually coach led, however data delivery was more evenly distributed between coach and analyst. Very similar processes across the participants were identified, despite a wide variety of sports and participant experience levels. The findings have begun to illustrate practice within elite sport whilst highlighting the importance and need for further practitioner-based investigation regarding the use of performance analysis and feedback within applied context

Elite coaches’ use and engagement with performance analysis within Olympic and Paralympic sport

The use and implementation of performance analysis and feedback by 18 elite Olympic/Paralympic coaches (coaching experience 16.1 ± 7.4; experience using performance analysis 8.3 ± 4.8 years) was explored via an online questionnaire (mean time to complete = 29 minutes). Likert scales were used to facilitate cross-sport comparison. Comment boxes were included to enable additional information to be provided if deemed necessary. Training goals, athlete discussion and coaching philosophy were the most prominent features influencing analysis direction. Time available had the greatest impact upon feedback provision. The main analysis techniques used were video, performance reports, and trend analysis. Coaches with greater experience delivered significantly more feedback sessions within 1-hour of performance. Feedback sessions were < 20-minutes in duration and delivered in a balanced (experienced) or mostly positive (inexperienced) approach. Feedback was delivered consistently according to a preferred schedule, face-to-face, and within an individual format. Sessions were usually coach led, however considerable value in a combined or analyst led approach was demonstrated. The findings have begun to illustrate practice within elite sport from the perspective of a key user of performance analysis, i.e. the coach, and have clear implications for practitioners by identifying the key areas coaches’ value from performance analysis

Crystal Structure of the ZrO Phase at Zirconium/Zirconium Oxide Interfaces

Zirconium-based alloys are used in water-cooled nuclear reactors for both nuclear fuel cladding and structural components. Under this harsh environment, the main factor limiting the service life of zirconium cladding, and hence fuel burn-up efficiency, is water corrosion. This oxidation process has recently been linked to the presence of a sub-oxide phase with well-defined composition but unknown structure at the metal–oxide interface. In this paper, the combination of first-principles materials modeling and high-resolution electron microscopy is used to identify the structure of this sub-oxide phase, bringing us a step closer to developing strategies to mitigate aqueous oxidation in Zr alloys and prolong the operational lifetime of commercial fuel cladding alloys

More evidence-based internet self-help depression websites now available

The aim of this research study is to evaluate the availability and classification of the types of currently available Internet self-help websites for depression. Its aim is to develop an understanding of what is available for people at risk of depression who would otherwise perhaps not seek help and to investigate whether such useful resources are on the increase. In Australia, depression is the top-ranked cause of nonfatal disability. Over 27% of young adults have a current mental disorder, with depression being the most prevalent (10.8%). This paper investigates the availability and type of self-help websites that are available for people suffering from mild to moderate depression, as a step towards providing avenues for care for this population of sufferers. The most important finding of this study was that not only were there an increased number of websites available as self-help resources, but that over the three year period, there has been a statistically significant increase in the proportion of websites that are evidence-based. This is an important factor for sufferers of mild to moderate depression who are looking for access to online self-help resources. © 2007 Universidad de Talca - Chile

Differences in colour learning between pollen- and sucrose-rewarded bees

Rapid Communication"This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Communicative & Integrative Biology on 08 August 2015, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/19420889.2015.1052921]."Open access articleWhat bees learn during pollen collection, and how they might discriminate between flowers on the basis of the quality of this reward, is not well understood. Recently we showed that bees learn to associate colours with differences in pollen rewards. Extending these findings, we present here additional evidence to suggest that the strength and time-course of memory formation may differ between pollen- and sucrose-rewarded bees. Colour-naïve honeybees, trained with pollen or sucrose rewards to discriminate coloured stimuli, were found to differ in their responses when recalling learnt information after reversal training. Such differences could affect the decision-making and foraging dynamics of individual bees when collecting different types of floral rewards

The importance of appearing trustworthy in the workplace: Performance analysts’ perspectives

The discipline of performance analysis is founded upon the collection and analysis of objective and reliable data to support the coaching process. While research has begun to identify the potential importance of trust in applied sporting environments, there remains a paucity of inquiry that seeks to explicitly investigate trustworthiness in the work of performance analysts. To redress this situation Jisc online survey data was collected from performance analysts (n = 88, age: 37 ± 11 years, experience: 8 ± 6 years) practising across sporting contexts and geographic areas. Findings showed that: (1) appearing trustworthy to a range of working others was an important goal for performance analysts, (2) trustworthiness was considered essential for building positive working relationships, respect and perceptions of role-related competence (3) being perceived as trustworthy can generate desirable as well as help to avoid undesirable working conditions, including career progression and employment security, (4) analysts often seek to influence others perceptions of their trustworthiness by demonstrating important characteristics such as technical and tactical knowledge, being friendly and approachable, being punctual and hardworking, and evidenced-based, (5) an important facet of this was, often in conjunction with the coaching staff, concealing known information, particularly to athletes regarding poor performance to avoid psychological damage or where the data did not fit the coach’s approach, and (6) most performance analysts suggested the professional preparation and development of performance analysts needs to place greater emphasis on facilitating social sensibilities that practitioners can use to enhance perceptions about their workplace trustworthiness. The findings of this study generate new knowledge regarding the social features of performance analysis work, thus contributing to a growing critical social analysis of sport work in performance environments, as well as raising important practical implications for those responsible for educating the performance analysis workforce