'The talent is out there' Talent development in Irish football: an examination of organizational structure and practice

Football is one of the most complex and competitive sports in which to reach elite levels (Haugaasen, Toering, & Jordet, 2014). Differences in sport systems, societal norms, cultural traditions, sociological and organisational issues may influence an athlete’s complex career development journey (Stambulova, 2009; Henriksen et al., 2010; Richardson, Relvas, & Littlewood, 2013). An ecological approach to development views child development within the context of a system of relationships that form his or her environment; therefore, to foster future positive behaviours and change developmental trajectories one must identify and understand direct and indirect influences on development (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Gabbard & Krebs, 2012). The aim of this thesis was to examine the football governance landscape in the Republic of Ireland in relation to its ability to develop youth footballers, whilst exploring the contextual and lived experiences of these youth players as they developed within their respective talent development environments. This study employed a mixed method approach which involved quantitative and qualitative research data in a collection of studies. Study One, analysed and presented the demographics of those involved in the Football Association of Ireland’s primary talent development mechanism (n=1936), the Emerging Talent Programme (ETP). This study found a significant Relative Age Effect (RAE) and inequity of access to the ETP in relation to place of birth within the cohort. It also identified clear patterns of internal migration, with footballers moving towards the ‘core’ footballing development centre of Ireland (Dublin District Schoolboy League, DDSL). Study Two assessed the talent development practices of all authoritative bodies within Irish youth football with respect to organisational, governance, athletic, psycho-social, cultural and environmental issues. This study identified tensions and incongruence between strategic apex organisations resulting from Governing Body leadership, board composition, political dominance and perceptions of a lack of organisational justice. Structural and resource inequalities were identified in relation to finance, scouting networks, quality of coaching, facilities and player volume. Such incongruence combined with inequalities, led to concerns regarding youth development. Study Three provided a lived experience insight into the talent development pathway encountered by Irish footballers. This study followed five footballers who were on the Republic of Ireland under 15 international team, for a period of four years. This journey provided an insight into the impact that macro factors (identified in Study One and Study Two) had on the experiences of a developing footballer. Overall the thesis has provided an original contribution to the study of talent development in Irish football, providing a holistic analysis of the development pathway, its governance structures and the resulting lived experience of the pathway, utilising a bio-ecological approach

Herschel photometric observations of the low metallicity dwarf galaxy NGC 1705

We present Herschel SPIRE and PACS photometeric observations of the low metallicity (Z ~ 0.35 Z_☉) nearby dwarf galaxy, NGC 1705, in six wavelength bands as part of the Dwarf Galaxy Survey guaranteed time Herschel key program. We confirm the presence of two dominant circumnuclear IR-bright regions surrounding the central super star cluster that had been previously noted at mid-IR wavelengths and in the sub-mm by LABOCA. On constructing a global spectral energy distribution using the SPIRE and PACS photometry, in conjunction with archival IR measurements, we note the presence of an excess at sub-mm wavelengths. This excess suggests the presence of a significant cold dust component within NGC 1705 and was modeled as an additional cold component in the SED. Although alternative explanations for the sub-mm excess beyond 350 μm, such as changes to the dust emissivity cannot be ruled out, the most likely explanation for the observed submillimetre excess is that of an additional cold dust component

Invariance Violation Extends the Cosmic Ray Horizon ?

We postulate in the present paper that the energy-momentum relation is modified for very high energy particles to violate Lorentz invariance and the speed of photon is changed from the light velocity c. The violation effect is amplified, in a sensitive way to detection, through the modified kinematical constraints on the conservation of energy and momentum, in the absorption process of gamma-rays colliding against photons of longer wavelengths and converting into an electron-positron pair. For gamma-rays of energies higher than 10 TeV, the minimum energy of the soft photons for the reaction and then the absorption mean free path of gamma-rays are altered by orders of magnitude from the ones conventionally estimated. Consideration is similarly applied to high energy cosmic ray protons. The consequences may require the standard assumptions on the maximum distance that very high energy radiation can travel from to be revised.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, to be published in Ap J Letter

Alternative Models of Dynamics in Binary Time-Series-Cross-Section Models: The Example of State Failure

This paper investigates a variety of dynamic probit models for time-series-cross-section data in the context of explaining state failure. It shows that ordinary probit, which ignores dynamics, is misleading. Alternatives that seem to produce sensible results are the transition model and a model which includes a lagged latent dependent variable. It is argued that the use of a lagged latent variable is often superior to the use of a lagged realized dependent variable. It is also shown that the latter is a special case of the transition model. The relationship between the transition model and event history methods is also considered: the transition model estimates an event history model for both values of the dependent variable, yielding estimates that are identical to those produced by the two event history models. Furthermore, one can incorporate the insights gleaned from the event history models into the transition analysis, so that researchers do not have to assume duration independence. The conclusion notes that investigations of the various models have been limited to data sets which contain long sequences of zeros; models may perform differently in data sets with shorter bursts of zeros and ones

Modeling and Simulation for Lifetime Predictions

NPS NRP Project PosterModeling and Simulation for Lifetime PredictionsNaval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC)This research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Modeling and Simulation for Lifetime Predictions

NPS NRP Executive SummaryModeling and Simulation for Lifetime PredictionsNaval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC)This research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

The Lived Experience of ‘Critical Moments’ in Premier League Academy Football: A Descriptive Psychological Phenomenological Exploration

Events associated with change such as de-selection, injury or retirement have been referred to collectively as transitions in the sport psychology literature. The term transition suggests that these changes are rather smooth, steady and relatively easy to negotiate when in reality, such changes are often complex and deeply uncomfortable for the athlete (Nesti et al., 2012). According to Nesti and Littlewood (2011) changes that are rapid, traumatic and personal and involve new levels of self-awareness are better described as ‘critical moments’. A ‘critical moment’ is defined as an event which is ‘…large or small, intended or unintended, and may have a positive or negative effect on a person’s sense of self’ (Nesti et al., 2012). Athletic identity is often considered to be central to the experience of career transitions and ‘critical moments’ in sport. A strong athletic identity often develops at the expense of other personal and social experiences (Brewer, 1993; Cabrita et al., 2014). As such, the athlete may become overly committed to the athlete role (Horton and Mack, 2000; Tasiemski, et al., 2004). This can affect the well-being of the athlete and may lead to inadequate coping and emotional disturbances when dealing with various setbacks (Brown and Potrac, 2009; Rongen et al., 2015). Players within an English Premier League Academy environment may be especially susceptible to experiencing ‘critical moments’. For instance, due to the time commitment imposed by the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), it is reasonable to suggest that young players may be at risk of forgoing the exploration of various identities other than that of 'being a footballer'. This thesis explores the lived experience of ‘critical moments’ in Premier League Academy football. This is achieved through the use of descriptive psychological phenomenology as a methodology. Despite the literature highlighting the potential benefits of employing this method within sport psychology studies (Dale, 1996; Nesti, 2004), it has not been accurately utilised in the literature to date (O’Halloran, et al., 2016). Consequently, this thesis revisits the philosophical roots of the approach in order to discuss its modification for use within the human sciences, prior to its application within sport psychology research. The subsequent study recruited 8 participants using purposive sampling. The participants were Premier League Academy Scholars aged between 16 and 18 years. For anonymity purposes, the Premier League Academy where data collection took place in this research will be referred to as ATFC. It has Category 1 status and is based in the North West of England. Data was analysed using the descriptive psychological phenomenological method devised by Giorgi (2009). The intra-structural higher-level eidetic constituents of ‘critical moments’ that emerged from the data analysis were: emotional and psychological disturbances, psychosocial distruption/adaptation, personal growth and an altered perception of time. The findings suggest that the ‘lifeworld’ of an ATFC Premier League Academy football player is complex. Emotional and psychological disturbances such as anxiety, uncertainty, grief and a sense of loss are experienced during ‘critical moments’ because the individual’s identity or ‘structure of meaning, which is the core of their existence’ is being challenged or undergoing a crisis (Hergenhahn, as cited in Nesti, 2004). Consequently, recommendations are made in this thesis towards a more holistic view of psychological/psychosocial support. For instance, from an existential perspective, angst and anxiety are considered to be a normal part of elite sport (Nesti, 2007). As such, confronting rather than attempting to remove the anxiety and discomfort experienced during a ‘critical moment’ may become a powerful opportunity for personal growth and creating a more authentic self (Ronkainen and Nesti, 2017). Implications of this research for applied practice (i.e. accreditation pathways, practitioner development, Academy staff and the Premier League) and pedagogy (i.e. BASES and BPS accreditation programs and higher-level education) are explored in the final Chapter of this thesis

The Discovery of an Active Galactic Nucleus in the Late-type Galaxy NGC 3621: Spitzer Spectroscopic Observations

We report the discovery of an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) in the nearby SAd galaxy NGC 3621 using Spitzer high spectral resolution observations. These observations reveal the presence of [NeV] 14 um and 24 um emission which is centrally concentrated and peaks at the position of the near-infrared nucleus. Using the [NeV] line luminosity, we estimate that the nuclear bolometric luminosity of the AGN is ~ 5 X 10^41 ergs s^-1, which corresponds based on the Eddington limit to a lower mass limit of the black hole of ~ 4 X 10^3 Msun. Using an order of magnitude estimate for the bulge mass based on the Hubble type of the galaxy, we find that this lower mass limit does not put a strain on the well-known relationship between the black hole mass and the host galaxy's stellar velocity dispersion established in predominantly early-type galaxies. Mutli-wavelength follow-up observations of NGC 3621 are required to obtain more precise estimates of the bulge mass, black hole mass, accretion rate, and nuclear bolometric luminosity. The discovery reported here adds to the growing evidence that a black hole can form and grow in a galaxy with no or minimal bulge.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Integrating physical activity promotion into UK medical school curricula: testing the feasibility of an educational tool developed by the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine.

Background: At present education on exercise medicine and physical activity (PA) promotion does not feature heavily within the medical curriculum. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of a self-directed educational tool (Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine (FSEM) exercise prescription booklet) on medical students' understanding of PA in disease management. Methods: Students from 22 UK medical schools were invited to complete a brief online questionnaire before and after being provided access to the FSEM exercise prescription booklet. Results: A total of 205 students responded to the open invitation to participate. At baseline 59% of students agreed that PA promotion was an important part of a doctor's job with 86% agreeing that PA was important in the prevention of disease. However, confidence to prescribe PA and knowledge of chief medical officer's adult PA guidelines was low. Following use of the FSEM booklet students' (n=53) knowledge of PA guidelines and confidence to advise patients about PA significantly improved (p<0.05). Correct response answers to case scenarios covering PA in disease management (specifically osteoarthritis and cancer) also improved (32% and 44% increase, respectively, p<0.01). Conclusion: Self-guided educational tools have the potential to improve the exercise prescription skills of undergraduate medical students. Future research should compare different methods of delivering education on PA within medical schools to determine the most effective means of integrating PA into the curriculum

The iconography of Asphyxiophilia: From fantasmatic fetish to forensic fact

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