The Challenges of Sport Psychology Delivery in Elite and Professional Sport: Reflections From Experienced Sport Psychologists

The challenges encountered by sport psychologists operating within elite and professional sports teams have arguably been inadequately considered (Nesti, 2010). It has been suggested that this may be due to the inaccessibility of elite team environments (Eubank, Nesti, & Cruickshank, 2014; Nesti, 2010). The purpose of this research was to examine the chal- lenges facing practitioners who operate in elite environments and to illuminate how these were experienced. Qualitative interviews with six experienced applied sport psychologists were conducted and a narrative themed analysis undertaken. Four main themes emerged as most prevalent and meaningful: challenges to congruence, a broader role: managing multiple relationships, the influence of elite sport cultures, and surviving and thriving were presented in narrative form. Practitio- ners provided experiential insight into how specific challenges were understood and dealt with, and how they are able to provide an effective service while managing themselves and the demands of the environment

The dual function of social gaze

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordEars cannot speak, lips cannot hear, but eyes can both signal and perceive. For human beings, this dual function makes the eyes a remarkable tool for social interaction. For psychologists trying to understand eye movements, however, their dual function causes a fundamental ambiguity. In order to contrast signaling and perceiving functions of social gaze, we manipulated participants’ beliefs about social context as they looked at the same stimuli. Participants watched videos of faces of higher and lower ranked people, while they themselves were filmed. They believed either that the recordings of them would later be seen by the people in the videos or that no-one would see them. This manipulation significantly changed how participants responded to the social rank of the target faces. Specifically, when they believed that the targets would later be looking at them, and so could use gaze to signal information, participants looked proportionally less at the eyes of the higher ranked targets. We conclude that previous claims about eye movements and face perception that are based on a single social context can only be generalized with caution. A complete understanding of face perception needs to address both functions of social gaze

The dual function of social gaze

Ears cannot speak, lips cannot hear, but eyes can both signal and perceive. For human beings, this dual function makes the eyes a remarkable tool for social interaction. For psychologists trying to understand eye movements, however, their dual function causes a fundamental ambiguity. In order to contrast signaling and perceiving functions of social gaze, we manipulated participants’ beliefs about social context as they looked at the same stimuli. Participants watched videos of faces of higher and lower ranked people, while they themselves were filmed. They believed either that the recordings of them would later be seen by the people in the videos or that no-one would see them. This manipulation significantly changed how participants responded to the social rank of the target faces. Specifically, when they believed that the targets would later be looking at them, and so could use gaze to signal information, participants looked proportionally less at the eyes of the higher ranked targets. We conclude that previous claims about eye movements and face perception that are based on a single social context can only be generalized with caution. A complete understanding of face perception needs to address both functions of social gaze. 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC B

Mathematics for Teachers 2

Exam paper for first semester Mathematics For Teachers

Malnutrition and non-communicable diseases among Bangladeshi women: an urban-rural comparison

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aims at examining the urban-rural differentials in the effects of socioeconomic predictors on underweight and obesity of ever-married women in Bangladesh. The effect of malnutrition and other risk factors on non-communicable diseases is also examined. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The information regarding nutritional status, socioeconomic and demographic background, and non-communicable diseases of ever-married women was extracted from the nationally representative, cross-sectional Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS 2011) data set. Both bivariate (χ2 test) and multivariate (multinomial logistic regression model) analyses were performed in determining the risk factors of malnutrition. The effect of malnutrition and associated risk factors on non-communicable diseases was determined using binary logistic regression models. RESULTS: The overall prevalence as well as the effects of individual risk factors of malnutrition differ in urban and rural settings. Regional differentials in the prevalence of underweight were statistically significant only for rural areas. In rural and urban settings, women from households with poor economic status were 67% (odds ratio (OR) 0.33, 95% CI 0.26-0.43) and 81% (OR=0.19, 95% CI 0.13-0.29) less likely to be overweight, respectively, with respect to those from affluent households. Women from the Rangpur division were significantly more likely to suffer from anemia (OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.13-1.77) and hypertension (OR=1.67, 95% CI 1.19-2.34) than those from the Sylhet division (reference division). With respect to those considered as underweight, women who were categorized as overweight were 0.47 (OR=0.53, 95% CI 0.43-0.65) times less likely to suffer from anemia, and 1.83 (OR=2.83, 95% CI 1.99-4.02) and 1.70 (OR=2.70, 95% CI 2.09-3.50) times more likely to suffer from diabetes and hypertension, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Rural-urban differentials in the effects of individual risk factors of malnutrition were observed. Wealth status of households and nutritional status of women showed significant effect on the prevalence of anemia, diabetes and hypertension

49 Gbit/s Direct-Modulation and Direct-Detection Transmission over 80 km SMF-28 without Optical Amplification or Filtering

We demonstrate direct-modulation of a discrete mode laser using Discrete Multi-Tone modulation for transmission distances up to 100 km in the 1550 nm band. A large operational temperature range (0-65ºC) is also demonstrated

Educator perspectives on factors influencing children’s school-based physical activity

Formative research is an important first step in the design and development of children’s school-based physical activity (PA) interventions. Exploration of educator (headteacher and PE-coordinator) perceptions toward the promotion of school-based PA, including physical education (PE) delivery has however been limited. This study took a socio-ecological approach to explore the barriers and facilitators of children’s school-based PA from the perspective of school educators. Interviews were conducted with headteachers (n=4), PE-coordinators (n=4) and a deputy headteacher (n=1) and data thematically analysed using Nvivo software (version 10). Findings suggested that, at an organisational level headteachers were the predominant driving force in the promotion of PA opportunities, yet institutional barriers including low priority for PA and PE were perceived to negate delivery. At an interpersonal level, strategies to increase the delivery of school-based PA were developed, however poor teacher-coach relationships and significant others reduced PA promotion opportunities. Child PA was further negated through intrapersonal factors, including lack of PE-specific teacher training and varying teacher interest in PA and sport. To increase primary school children’s school-based PA, barriers and facilitators at the organisational, interpersonal and intrapersonal level must be considered and targeted, and researchers and schools should work in partnership to develop future interventions

Prazosin dosed 3 times a day to treat flashbacks related to PTSD: A case report

Prazosin is an alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonist widely known by mental health providers for its off-label use for nightmares in patients with PTSD. Prazosin is lipophilic and crosses the blood-brain barrier to antagonize alpha-1 receptors in the central nervous system, potentially reducing autonomic arousal caused by PTSD. There have been numerous case reports describing the reduction of nightmares and daytime flashbacks due to PTSD with prazosin dosed at night and during the day, respectively. This case report illustrates the resolution of flashbacks related to chronic PTSD with prazosin dosed 3 times a day. As the half-life of prazosin is only 2 to 3 hours, even a twice daily dosing regimen may lead to breakthrough symptoms between doses. This case proposes a unique dosing strategy for prazosin and need for further research utilizing multiple daily doses of prazosin in the treatment of PTSD