Sports participation is worth two letter grades in undergraduate admissions decisions

The current study aimed to assess the impact of sports participation on undergraduate admissions decisions at universities, colleges, and conservatoires in the United Kingdom. A between subjects, experimental design was employed. Participants from providers of undergraduate courses completed an on-line experiment that required them to make a decision on one of three randomly assigned undergraduate applications written for the study: one without sport participation included (control) and two modified versions with sport participation included (one for team sports and one for individual sports). Participants were asked to decide whether to make an offer or reject the application. Significant differences were found between the control and sport-modified applications for one and two grade differences overall, as participation in sport elevated the undergraduate application. As this study was delimited to sport participation, the findings cannot be generalized to other extra-curricular activities. Future researchers could extend this investigation by examining the economic and social impact of participation in sports at secondary school post-University

Engagement in sport career transition planning enhances performance

Retirement from sport has the potential to be a major loss for professional athletes. Yet, many athletes resist engaging in career transition planning programs prior to their retirement. This research note reports the findings from an investigation on whether planning for an inevitable resource loss event (i.e., retirement from professional sport) can accrue gains (i.e., sporting performance). Data for this study was sourced from the National Rugby League, a top-level men’s professional sports league in Australasia, and included 28,516 performance selection observations for 632 players over three seasons. The findings demonstrated that higher levels of engagement in preretirement planning were positively associated with team selection, team tenure, and career tenure. Preretirement planning was also found to exert its effect on performance through the experience of career transition practitioners and the number of intervention support sessions the athletes participated in. Results are discussed in relation to conservation of resources and cognitive dissonance theories

Kako učitelji-trenerji vplivajo na pomembne spremembe v vedenju športnih trenerjev?

This article provides an overview of how coach educators influence meaningful behavior change in sports coaches. Drawing upon the extant research, we outline gaps in the literature before reviewing key factors that influence behavior change in sport coaches. The framework for this article provides examples of five specific hypotheses, including: H1: Ensure coach education programs are structured and sequenced; H2: Coach characteristics drive behaviors: H3: Behavior change is more likely to occur when coaches understand the impact of their behavior: H4: The learning environment must align with needs of coaches; and H5: Delivering and receiving feedback appropriately informs coach education practice. We include evidence of how an experienced coach educator influences meaningful behavior change in sports coaches. We conclude with recommendations for sport coach development programs and future researchers.//Prispevek obsega pregled, kako učitelji-trenerji vplivajo na pomembne spremembe v vedenju športnih trenerjev. Na podlagi obstoječih raziskav smo prikazali vrzeli v literaturi, nato pa smo pregledali glavne dejavnike, ki vplivajo na spremembo vedenja športnih trenerjev. Okvir tega prispevka so primeri petih specifičnih hipotez, in sicer H1: zagotovitev, da so programi izobraževanja trenerjev strukturirani in izvedeni zaporedno; H2: značilnosti trenerjev pogojujejo njihovo vedenje; H3: sprememba vedenja se bolj verjetno pojavi, kadar trenerji razumejo vpliv svojega vedenja; H4: učno okolje je treba uskladiti s potrebami trenerjev in H5: ustrezno dajanje in prejemanje povratnih informacij izpopolnjuje prakso izobraževanja trenerjev. Predstavljamo tudi dokaze, kako izkušen učitelj-trener vpliva na pomembne spremembe vedenja športnih trenerjev. Prispevek se zaključi s priporočili za programe razvoja športnih trenerjev in bodočih raziskovalcev

Muscle dysmorphia research neglects DSM-5 diagnostic criteria

This systematic review aimed to collect, evaluate, and synthesize the research on muscle dysmorphia (MD) post official recognition as a specifier for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) in the DSM-5, and provide recommendations for future research. Literature searches were conducted in four databases to see if inclusion criteria were met. Results revealed 33 studies meeting inclusion criteria, none of which utilized DSM-5 criteria for MD and/or acknowledged the criterion in their research. Few studies acknowledged the association between MD and BDD, and the methodological quality of recent MD research was considered low due to a lack of clinical samples, measurements not using validated cut-off scores, and the research designs. In conclusion, future MD research is encouraged to utilize DSM-5 diagnostic criteria to better inform clinical practice; and significantly improve the methodological quality. As such, more effective treatment options may be developed reducing the risk of health harming consequences in these individuals

Can written disclosure reduce psychological distress and increase objectively measured injury mobility of student-athletes? A randomized controlled trial

Injured students-athletes took part in a randomized controlled trial to test whether written disclosure could reduce psychological distress and improve injury mobility. Writing took place alongside prescribed physical rehabilitation and consisted of three 20- minute writing sessions, once a week for three consecutive weeks. Participants in the experimental injury-writing group (푛 = 25) followed a structured form of written disclosure, called the guided disclosure protocol (GDP). They firstly, wrote about the onset of their injury in a chronological manner, secondly, they explicitly labelled their emotions and described the impact of the injury, finally they wrote about future coping and psychological growth. Controls(푛 = 21)wrote about nonemotional and noninjury related topics. In addition to self-report measures, a physiotherapist, blind to experimental condition, assessed mobility at the injury site. Although self-report indices remained unchanged, the GDP group evidenced a significant improvement in injury mobility compared to controls

Counter-conditioning as an intervention to modify anti-fat attitudes

This study examined the effect of anti-fat attitude counter-conditioning using positive images of obese individuals participants completed implicit and explicit measures of attitudes towards fatness on three occasions: no intervention; following exposure to positive images of obese members of the general public; and to images of obese celebrities. Contrary to expectations, positive images of obese individuals did not result in more positive attitudes towards fatness as expected and, in some cases, indices of these attitudes worsened. Results suggest that attitudes towards obesity and fatness may be somewhat robust and resistant to change, possibly suggesting a central and not peripheral processing route for their formation

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

A LISP-Ada connection

The prototype demonstrates the feasibility of using Ada for expert systems and the implementation of an expert-friendly interface which supports knowledge entry. In the Ford LISP-Ada Connection (FLAC) system LISP and Ada are used in ways which complement their respective capabilities. Future investigation will concentrate on the enhancement of the expert knowledge entry/debugging interface and on the issues associated with multitasking and real-time expert systems implementation in Ada