From ‘motivational climate’ to ‘motivational atmosphere’: a review of research examining the social and environmental influences on athlete motivation in sport

This chapter is intended to provide a comprehensive review of the various theories of social and environmental factors that influence athletes’ motivation in sport. In order to achieve this, a short historical review is conducted of the various ways in which motivation has been studied over the past 100 years, culminating in the ‘social-cognitive’ approach that undergirds several of the current theories of motivation in sport. As an outcome of this brief review, the conceptualisation and measurement of motivation are discussed, with a focus on the manner in which motivation may be influenced by key social agents in sport, such as coaches, parents and peers. This discussion leads to a review of Deci & Ryan’s (2000) self-determination theory (SDT), which specifies that environments and contexts which support basic psychological needs (competence, relatedness and autonomy) will produce higher quality motivation than environments which frustrate of exacerbate these needs. The research establishing the ways in which key social agents can support these basic needs is then reviewed, and the review depicts a situation wherein SDT has precipitated a way of studying the socio-environmental influences on motivation that has become quite piecemeal and fragmented. Following this, the motivational climate approach (Ames, 1992) specified in achievement-goals theory (AGT – Nicholls, 1989) is also reviewed. This section reveals a body of research which is highly consistent in its methodology and findings. The following two sections reflect recent debates regarding the nature of achievement goals and the way they are conceptualised (e.g., approach-avoidance goals and social goals), and the implications of this for motivational climate research are discussed. This leads to a section reviewing the current issues and concerns in the study of social and environmental influences on athlete motivation. Finally, future research directions and ideas are proposed to facilitate, precipitate and guide further research into the social and environmental influences on athlete motivation in sport. Recent studies that have attempted to address these issues are reviewed and their contribution is assessed

The motivational atmosphere in youth sport: coach, parent, and peer influences on motivation in specializing sport participants

This study qualitatively examined the motivationally relevant behaviors of key social agents in specializing sport participants. Seventy-nine participants (9-18 years old) from 26 sports participated in semi-structured focus-groups investigating how coaches, parents, and peers may influence motivation. Using a critical-realist perspective, an inductive content-analysis indicated that specializing athletes perceived a multitude of motivationally-relevant social cues. Coaches’ and parents’ influences were related to their specific roles: instruction/assessment for coaches, support-and-facilitation for parents. Peers influenced motivation through competitive behaviors, collaborative behaviors, evaluative communications, and through their social relationships. The results help to delineate different roles for social agents in influencing athletes' motivation

Do Diatoms beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet Indicate Interglacials Warmer than Present?

Basal sediment debris from the Greenland ice sheet was examined with the hope of recovering microfossils that could be used to determine and date changes in ice sheet size through time. Basal debris and debris-laden ice from the lower 18 m of the Camp Century ice core, northwest Greenland, revealed the presence of common freshwater and rare marine diatoms. These diatoms may have lived in the vicinity of the Camp Century site in the Late Neogene prior to development of the Greenland ice sheet. More likely, they lived during a Pleistocene interglacial period, when the volume of ice in the Greenland ice sheet was smaller than it is today and the site was ice free. A warmer and/or longer interglacial period than the present Holocene "interglacial" is suggested to explain the large decrease in ice sheet volume.Key words: diatoms, interglacial, Pleistocene, Camp Century ice core, GreenlandMots clés: diatomées, interglaciaire, Pléistocène, carotte de glace du Camp Century, Groenlan

The Viability of the Economy of Oromia: A Point of Departure

The Oromo, an oppressed, colonized, ethno-national group within Ethiopia, are engaged in a struggle to achieve full political and economic participation within a national entity. Given an undernourishment rate approaching 50 percent and an agriculture which provides a means of livelihood for 80 percent of the labor force, any future leadership will have to address the interrelated issues of agriculture and economy. An examination of production numbers indicates that an independent Oromia would not be at an agricultural disadvantage when compared with remaining as a participating entity within the present boundaries of Ethiopia. Policies directed toward overcoming undernutrition cannot be formulated apart from understanding the implications of the nature of economic exchange which is assumed to be non-coercive. In the case of food, this thesis argues that the non- coerciveness assumption does not hold, resulting in the lack of market access to food— undernutrition and death—for those lacking adequate monetary or production resources. Two additional constraints that must be taken into account are the lack of price responsiveness in aggregate agriculture which results in long periods of low prices for primary crop products and the fallacy of composition which calls into question the practice of assuming that a development activity that works in one nation will work well if others implement the same development activity. While economic theorists argue that conventional economic theory is an objective, value-free description of a natural human process that is true for all times and all places, there is sufficient basis to argue that conventional economic theory is value-laden and socially constructed in such a manner as to enhance and reinforce the dominant Western set of values and the existing power structures and mechanisms for the distribution of goods and services. If economic systems are socially constructed, then alternative socially constructed systems are possible. This thesis proposes using a dynamic concept of wealth in combination with the culture, values, and traditions of the Oromo as a point of departure for conceptualizing an economic system that may be better suited for establishing a viable economy of Oromia than the conventional model

Nature of the Taconic Orogeny in the Cupsuptic Quadrangle, West-Central Maine

Guidebook for field trips in the Rangeley Lakes - Dead River Basin region, western Maine: 62nd annual meeting October 2, 3, and 4, 1970: Trip

Acquiring Articles through Unmediated, User-Initiated Pay-Per-View Transactions: An Assessment of Current Practices

Depressed economic times often lead libraries to consider new practices, including alternatives to the traditional subscription model. This column discusses a pay-per-view (PPV) model for acquiring journal articles whereby a library creates an account with a content provider through which authenticated users can purchase articles at the library’s expense. To gain insight into the current use of this model, the paper draws on both a literature review and the results of a survey assessing the practices of academic libraries with experience acquiring articles through unmediated, user-initiated pay-per-view transactions. The future of the PPV model as well as issues and challenges that it raises are also considered

Formal total synthesis of (±)-conduramine E utilising the Bryce-Smith-Gilbert photoamination reaction

Utilising a Bryce-Smith-Gilbert photoamination of benzene as a key step, a synthesis of ()-conduramine E was carried out. A highly regioselective dihydroxylation of a cyclic diene was effected utilising Sharpless AD-mix-b

Building community cyclone resilience through academic and insurance industry partnership

This paper presents research from collaboration between the Cyclone Testing Station (CTS) at James Cook University and insurer Suncorp over the last two years. A key outcome of this work has been an insurance premium reduction program by Suncorp known as the 'Cyclone Resilience Benefit'. Background research conducted for the program by the CTS is discussed and its details are briefly reviewed. Insights from the program delivery to over 14,000 homeowners to date are discussed. Although still in preliminary stages, the development of this industry program based on academic research demonstrates the benefits of strategic partnerships in the field of natural disaster risk mitigation

Building community cyclone resilience through academic and insurance industry partnership

This paper presents research from collaboration between the Cyclone Testing Station (CTS) at James Cook University and insurer Suncorp over the last two years. A key outcome of this work has been an insurance premium reduction program by Suncorp known as the 'Cyclone Resilience Benefit'. Background research conducted for the program by the CTS is discussed and its details are briefly reviewed. Insights from the program delivery to over 14,000 homeowners to date are discussed. Although still in preliminary stages, the development of this industry program based on academic research demonstrates the benefits of strategic partnerships in the field of natural disaster risk mitigation