‘More than meets the audiences’ eyes’: individual and collective impression management in the everyday doing of coach education work

To date, research into formal coach education has tended to prioritise the perceptions and experiences of learners. Consequently, there is a paucity of research that addresses the everyday realities of interactively doing coach education work from the perspective(s) of coach educators. In building upon the initial insights provided by Allanson, Potrac, and Nelson (2019), this thesis breaks new ground by providing original, ethnographically grounded knowledge concerning the individual and collective social interactions that constitute coach educators’ practice(s). Data were rigorously generated with eight coach educators via a methodological bricolage that consisted of cyclical semi-structured interviews and participant observations. In total, 151 hours of observational data and 55 hours of interview data were generated. A phronetic-iterative approach to data analysis was adopted. This required subjecting phases of data generation, interpretive sense-making, and the representation of findings to ongoing cycles of emic and etic interpretation. The analysis process was primarily informed by Goffman’s (1959) and Hochschild’s (1983) dramaturgical theorising. Their insights were further bolstered using Crossley’s (2011) relational sociology. The analysis showed that the participants used various individual and collective impression management strategies in their everyday work. On one level they reflected their understanding(s) of the audience’s (i.e., coach learners’) expectations and the various contextual constraints that they encountered. However, these social performances also recognised a number of other factors and features. These included, informal and formal hierarchies between coach educators, unfamiliar collegial relationships, performance evaluation mechanisms, casualised contracts, and the desire of individual participants to obtain, protect and advance a particular reputation as a coach educator. Overall, the significance of the thesis lies in the ways in which it has illuminated the different challenges, ambiguities, tensions, and relational complexities that characterise coach educators’ attempts to practically work with and influence others

Genomic reconstruction of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England

AbstractThe evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of sampled SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021.</jats:p

Stratified analyses refine association between TLR7 rare variants and severe COVID-19

Summary: Despite extensive global research into genetic predisposition for severe COVID-19, knowledge on the role of rare host genetic variants and their relation to other risk factors remains limited. Here, 52 genes with prior etiological evidence were sequenced in 1,772 severe COVID-19 cases and 5,347 population-based controls from Spain/Italy. Rare deleterious TLR7 variants were present in 2.4% of young (<60 years) cases with no reported clinical risk factors (n = 378), compared to 0.24% of controls (odds ratio [OR] = 12.3, p = 1.27 × 10−10). Incorporation of the results of either functional assays or protein modeling led to a pronounced increase in effect size (ORmax = 46.5, p = 1.74 × 10−15). Association signals for the X-chromosomal gene TLR7 were also detected in the female-only subgroup, suggesting the existence of additional mechanisms beyond X-linked recessive inheritance in males. Additionally, supporting evidence was generated for a contribution to severe COVID-19 of the previously implicated genes IFNAR2, IFIH1, and TBK1. Our results refine the genetic contribution of rare TLR7 variants to severe COVID-19 and strengthen evidence for the etiological relevance of genes in the interferon signaling pathway