Servant leadership for multidimensional sport employee well-being: relationships, health, and happiness [Abstract]

Conference abstrac

Workplace dynamics in professional sport: a case study of identification, political skill, and personal control

This case is based on a collection of real-life scenarios encountered by employees working for professional sport organizations. The workplace in this environment contains circumstances distinct to the sport context which this case aims to highlight. A small work group of three individuals with diverse backgrounds representing key departments in a professional basketball club are brought together to lead a difficult challenge in the community. Over the course of the season, several meetings and personal interactions play out which present difficulties in productivity due to individual differences in human relations capacity and varying psychological connections with the environment. In combination with the teaching notes, the case is designed to highlight (1) the special nature of employee identification in the professional sport setting (2) an array of political skills which are relevant and useful to the sport workplace and (3) the role of perceived personal control in sport organizations. An overview of theory and its specific application to the case is provided along with discussion questions and answers to aid instructors in effectively engaging with students around the topical areas. </div

Assessing the association between pre-course metrics of student preparation and student performance in introductory statistics: Results from early data on simulation-based inference vs. nonsimulation based inference

The recent simulation-based inference (SBI) movement in algebra-based introductory statistics courses (Stat 101) has provided preliminary evidence of improved student conceptual understanding and retention. However, little is known about whether these positive effects are preferentially distributed across types of students entering the course. We consider how two metrics of Stat 101 student preparation (pre-course performance on concept inventory and math ACT score) may or may not be associated with end of course student performance on conceptual inventories. Students across all preparation levels tended to show improvement in Stat 101, but more improvement was observed across all student preparation levels in early versions of a SBI course. Furthermore, students' gains tended to be similar regardless of whether students entered the course with more preparation or less. Recent data on a sample of students using a current version of an SBI course showed similar results, though direct comparison with non-SBI students was not possible. Overall, our analysis provides additional evidence that SBI curricula are effective at improving students' conceptual understanding of statistical ideas post-course regardless student preparation. Further work is needed to better understand nuances of student improvement based on other student demographics, prior coursework, as well as instructor and institutional variables.Comment: 16 page

Pilot Safety Evaluation of Varenicline for the Treatment of Methamphetamine Dependence.

Despite the worldwide extent of methamphetamine dependence, no medication has been shown to effectively treat afflicted individuals. One relatively unexplored approach is modulation of cholinergic system function. Animal research suggests that enhancement of central cholinergic activity, possibly at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), can reduce methamphetamine-related behaviors. Further, preliminary findings indicate that rivastigmine, a cholinesterase inhibitor, may reduce craving for methamphetamine after administration of the drug in human subjects. We therefore performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study of the safety and tolerability of varenicline in eight methamphetamine-dependent research subjects. Varenicline is used clinically to aid smoking cessation, and acts as a partial agonist at α4β2 nAChRs with full agonist properties at α7 nAChRs. Oral varenicline dose was titrated over 1 week to reach 1 mg bid, and then was co-administered with 30 mg methamphetamine, delivered in ten intravenous infusions of 3 mg each. Varenicline was found to be safe in combination with IV methamphetamine, producing no cardiac rhythm disturbances or alterations in vital sign parameters. No adverse neuropsychiatric sequelae were detected either during varenicline titration or following administration of methamphetamine. The results suggest that varenicline warrants further investigation as a potential treatment for methamphetamine dependence

Combating anti-statistical thinking using simulation-based methods throughout the undergraduate curriculum

The use of simulation-based methods for introducing inference is growing in popularity for the Stat 101 course, due in part to increasing evidence of the methods ability to improve students' statistical thinking. This impact comes from simulation-based methods (a) clearly presenting the overarching logic of inference, (b) strengthening ties between statistics and probability or mathematical concepts, (c) encouraging a focus on the entire research process, (d) facilitating student thinking about advanced statistical concepts, (e) allowing more time to explore, do, and talk about real research and messy data, and (f) acting as a firmer foundation on which to build statistical intuition. Thus, we argue that simulation-based inference should be an entry point to an undergraduate statistics program for all students, and that simulation-based inference should be used throughout all undergraduate statistics courses. In order to achieve this goal and fully recognize the benefits of simulation-based inference on the undergraduate statistics program we will need to break free of historical forces tying undergraduate statistics curricula to mathematics, consider radical and innovative new pedagogical approaches in our courses, fully implement assessment-driven content innovations, and embrace computation throughout the curriculum.Comment: To be published in "The American Statistician

Why Diversity Matters: A Roundtable Discussion on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Librarianship

After presenting together at ACRL 2015 to share their research on race, identity, and diversity in academic librarianship, the authors resumed the conversation, which resulted in this article. Here, they discuss why diversity really matters to academic libraries, librarians, and the profession, and where to go from here. They conclude the article with a series of questions for readers to consider, share, and discuss among colleagues to continue and advance the conversation on diversity in libraries

Finding Meaning in a Multivariable World: A Conceptual Approach to an Algebra-Based Second Course in Statistics

Although the teaching of the first course in statistics has improved dramatically in recent years, there has been less focus on a similarly conceptual-based second course aimed at non-majors. We present a curriculum for the second course, designed to expand statistical literacy across disciplines, which focuses on conceptual understanding of multivariable relationships through data visualization, study design, the role of confounding variables, reduction of unexplained variation, and simulation-based inference, rather than the mathematically-based discourse often used in the second course. Our curriculum uses a student-centered pedagogical approach, utilizing guided discovery activities based on real-world case studies, facilitated by student-focused technology tools. Highlights of the curriculum and student assessment will be shared

Challenging the State of the Art in Post-Introductory Statistics: Preparation, Concepts, and Pedagogy

The demands for a statistically literate society are increasing, and the introductory statistics course ( Stat 101 ) remains the primary venue for learning statistics for the majority of high school and undergraduate students. After three decades of very fruitful activity in the areas of pedagogy and assessment, but with comparatively little pressure for rethinking the content of this course, the statistics education community has recently turned its attention to use of randomization-based methods to illustrate core concepts of statistical inference. This new focus not only presents an opportunity to address documented shortcomings in the standard Stat 101 course (for example, improving students’ reasoning about inference), but provides an impetus for re-thinking the timing of the introduction of multivariable statistical methods (for example, multiple regression and general linear models). Multivariable methods dominate modern statistical practice but are rarely seen in the introductory course. Instead these methods have been, traditionally, relegated to second courses in statistics for students with a background in calculus and linear algebra. Recently, curricula have been developed to bring multivariable content to students who have only taken a Stat 101 course. However, these courses tend to focus on models and model-building as an end in itself. We have developed a preliminary version of an integrated one to two semester curriculum which introduces students to the core-logic of statistical inference through randomization-methods, and then introduces students to approaches for protecting against confounding and variability through multivariable statistical design and analysis techniques. The course has been developed by putting primary emphasis on the development of students’ conceptual understanding in an intuitive, cyclical, active-learning pedagogy, while continuing to emphasize the overall process of statistical investigations, from asking questions and collecting data through making inferences and drawing conclusions. The curriculum successfully introduces introductory statistics students to multivariable techniques in their first or second course