Enhancing performance proficiency at the expert level: Considering the role of 'somaesthetic awareness'

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Objectives: Traditional theories of motor learning (e.g., Fitts & Posner, 1967), along with certain contemporary psychological perspectives (e.g., Weiss & Reber, 2012; Wulf, 2013), postulate that expert performers must relinquish paying conscious attention to, and/or attempting to exert control over, their bodily movements in order to achieve optimal performance. Challenging such largely unquestioned conceptual approaches, however, is an emerging body of evidence (e.g., see Montero, 2010; Shusterman, 2011) which indicates that 'somatic reflection' (i.e., a conscious focus on bodily movement) is an important mediator of continuous improvement (i.e., the fact that certain performers continue to improve their skills even after becoming experts) at the elite level of sport. The present position paper seeks to elucidate and resolve this apparent paradox concerning the role of bodily awareness in expertise. Design: Literature review and position statement. Method: To achieve this latter aim, we draw on empirical evidence (e.g., from research on somatic attention) and theory (e.g., Shusterman's, 2008, theory of body consciousness) to elucidate the role of bodily awareness in facilitating continuous improvement at the elite level of sport. Results and conclusion: In doing so, we sketch some theoretical and practical implications of Shusterman's (2008, 2011, 2012) theory of 'somaesthetics' for contemporary research on expertise in sport

Toward an explanation of continuous improvement in expert athletes: The role of consciousness in deliberate practice

In a body of research spanning three decades, Janet Starkes and her colleagues have produced a wealth of empirical evidence on the importance of deliberate practice in the development of elite performers. Within this corpus of work, a number of studies have alluded to the important role that self-focused attention plays in helping skilled athletes to refine inefficient movements during deliberate practice. Unfortunately, these studies have largely under-represented the role that somatic awareness plays in facilitating further improvement amongst sports performers who have already achieved elite status. In seeking to address this issue of continuous improvement in elite athletes, the current paper marshals evidence to suggest that reflective somatic awareness plays an important role in the practice activities of elite performers. In particular, we argue that such awareness enables elite athletes to consciously and deliberately improve their movement proficiency. More generally, we propose that Shusterman’s (2008) theory of “somaesthetic awareness” offers expertise researchers a potentially fruitful theoretical framework for future research on skill advancement at the elite level of sport

The perils of automaticity

Classical theories of skill acquisition propose that automatization (i.e., performance requires progressively less attention as experience is acquired) is a defining characteristic of expertise in a variety of domains (e.g., Fitts & Posner, 1967). Automaticity is believed to enhance smooth and efficient skill execution by allowing performers to focus on strategic elements of performance rather than on the mechanical details that govern task implementation (Williams & Ford, 2008). By contrast, conscious processing (i.e., paying conscious attention to one’s action during motor execution) has been found to disrupt skilled movement and performance proficiency (e.g., Beilock & Carr, 2001). On the basis of this evidence, researchers have tended to extol the virtues of automaticity. However, few researchers have considered the wide range of empirical evidence which indicates that highly automated behaviors can, on occasion, lead to a series of errors that may prove deleterious to skilled performance. Therefore, the purpose of the current paper is to highlight the perils, rather than the virtues, of automaticity. We draw on Reason’s (1990) classification scheme of everyday errors to show how an overreliance on automated procedures may lead to 3 specific performance errors (i.e., mistakes, slips, and lapses) in a variety of skill domains (e.g., sport, dance, music). We conclude by arguing that skilled performance requires the dynamic interplay of automatic processing and conscious processing in order to avoid performance errors and to meet the contextually contingent demands that characterize competitive environments in a range of skill domains

Income and the Use of Prescription Drugs by the Elderly: Evidence from the Notch Cohorts

We use exogenous variation in Social Security payments created by the Social Security benefits notch to estimate how retirees' use of prescription medications responds to changes in their incomes. In contrast to estimates obtained using ordinary least squares, instrumental variables estimates based on the notch suggest that lower-income retirees exhibit considerable income sensitivity in their use of prescription drugs. Our estimates are potentially useful for thinking about the health care usage implications of any changes in transfer payments to the elderly that may occur in the future, and for evaluating the benefits of the recently enacted Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Lighting Northern New England with Water: A Comparative Analysis of Wave and Tidal Hydrokinetic Energy Regulation

“Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy. In order to limit our dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and curtail rising consumer energy costs, the United States has adjusted its energy trajectory to support more actively the “development and integration of new clean and domestic renewable energy resources into the electric grid.” Although some contend the recent emergence of unconventional oil extraction methods, especially shale gas fracking,3 may hedge political support for renewable energy sources, hydrokinetic power provides a highly affordable and renewable, carbon-free energy source-our nation’s largest supply of*324 clean energy. In comparison to renewable wind energies, the fact that water is 832 times denser than air makes the aggregate of “our tides, waves, ocean current, and free-flowing rivers [[[] an untapped, powerful, [and] highly concentrated [] energy resource.” Moreover, hydrokinetic energy may offer the cleanest and swiftest route to energy independence for the United States, particularly for northern New England. This Comment provides a comparative analysis of hydrokinetic energy projects off the northerly coastlines of New England, focusing exclusively on Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Part II offers a basic primer on hydrokinetic technology, and how it actually works. Part III navigates through the vortex of federal and state regulations governing ocean energy development in national waters. Part IV considers the measures that Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts have taken to address the dire need for renewable energy through hydrokinetic energy development. Lastly, Part V concludes that the varying degree of success for hydrokinetic energy projects in northern New England is mostly attributable to tempered energy policies, limited state financial resources, understandable distaste for the existing federal regulatory framework, and considerable attention to legitimate environmental, commercial, and recreational interests. In summary, this Comment presents a comprehensive overview of the ways in which hydrokinetic technology is being used to harness the ocean’s power and produce clean, renewable energy for residents throughout “Norumbega” or northern New England

Key Performance Indicators for Indonesia’s Small Holder Dairy Farmers

This paper presents a series of Key Performance Indicators to help Indonesian farmers identify the possible causes for their poor farm performance and profitability. When assessing farm profitability, these indicators can be split into two types, those diagnosing problems with feeding management and those with herd management. Too many stock on limited land is a common feature on Asian dairy small holdings. Unlike other forms of livestock, milking cows have very high nutrient requirements, therefore high quality forages and purchased concentrates are essential for profitable dairying. Milk income less feed cost is one of the simplest and easy to measure indicators of farm profitability and the quickest to respond to small changes in farm practices. Problems with herd management can be diagnosed using measures such as the proportion of cows actually milking in the herd or their peak yield and persistency of production. There are also simple indicators of herd reproductive performance and of health and growth of young stock that assist in searching for the underlying causes of poor farm profitability.   Key words: Key performance indicator, dairy farmer, small holder, Indonesia

From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: Televised Sport in Western Europe in the New Millennium

This thesis seeks to explore the critical importance which televised sport will play within the paradigm of the continuing evolution of broadcasting in Western Europe. The arguments and issues which arise are situated within the context of cut-throat competition for sports rights between traditional terrestrial broadcasters and pay TV organisations in what is increasingly becoming a fragmented television market-place. The thesis which utilises developments in the United Kingdom and Ireland as its model plots the technical, financial and institutional issues which have surfaced regarding televised sport over the past sixty years. As such, the motivations behind the purchase of sports rights, the strategy of targeting audiences, the growth of pay TV, the escalation of costs relating to sports rights acquisitions, and the role played by legislation in the television sport equation, all receive due attention. One of the primary objectives of the thesis is to explore empirically the transformation of television markets for sport. As such, weekly TV ratings have been employed so as to measure and articulate the extent to which programming output and audience patronage for sport on each available channel have changed in recent years. Armed with this information, the thesis concludes with a critique of televised sport in the digital age. As digital TV services unfold and established television markets experience further fragmentation, the strategies behind the roll-out of pay-per-view, the implications of continuing hyper-inflation in the market for sports rights and the legislative dilemmas which media regulators will increasingly face are all discussed and analysed in equal measure

Lighting Northern New England with Water: A Comparative Analysis of Wave and Tidal Hydrokinetic Energy Regulation

“Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy. In order to limit our dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and curtail rising consumer energy costs, the United States has adjusted its energy trajectory to support more actively the “development and integration of new clean and domestic renewable energy resources into the electric grid.” Although some contend the recent emergence of unconventional oil extraction methods, especially shale gas fracking,3 may hedge political support for renewable energy sources, hydrokinetic power provides a highly affordable and renewable, carbon-free energy source-our nation’s largest supply of*324 clean energy. In comparison to renewable wind energies, the fact that water is 832 times denser than air makes the aggregate of “our tides, waves, ocean current, and free-flowing rivers [[[] an untapped, powerful, [and] highly concentrated [] energy resource.” Moreover, hydrokinetic energy may offer the cleanest and swiftest route to energy independence for the United States, particularly for northern New England. This Comment provides a comparative analysis of hydrokinetic energy projects off the northerly coastlines of New England, focusing exclusively on Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Part II offers a basic primer on hydrokinetic technology, and how it actually works. Part III navigates through the vortex of federal and state regulations governing ocean energy development in national waters. Part IV considers the measures that Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts have taken to address the dire need for renewable energy through hydrokinetic energy development. Lastly, Part V concludes that the varying degree of success for hydrokinetic energy projects in northern New England is mostly attributable to tempered energy policies, limited state financial resources, understandable distaste for the existing federal regulatory framework, and considerable attention to legitimate environmental, commercial, and recreational interests. In summary, this Comment presents a comprehensive overview of the ways in which hydrokinetic technology is being used to harness the ocean’s power and produce clean, renewable energy for residents throughout “Norumbega” or northern New England

Experiences from semantic web service tutorials

We have given around 20 tutorials on Semantic Web Services in international events during the last two years. This position paper presents our experiences and depicts central aspects relevant for education, dissemination and exploitation of Semantic Web and Semantic Web service technologies in academia and industry