Ostrich or eagle? Protection and professionalism in sport science and coaching

In this presentation I examine the processes of professionalisation and mutual development within and between two occupational groups in the UK - sport and exercise scientists and sports coaches. At the outset I acknowledge the ‘cultural turn’ in science and use my own positionality, based on 30 years of experience within both communities, to inform the analysis. The main questions addressed here are whether these two interdependent groups have found a satisfactory professional relationship and how they have adjusted to the destabilising forces of late modernity. The issue of child protection in sport is used as a case study through which to examine these questions. The readiness of the two groups to acknowledge and embrace associated ethical and professional practices differs considerably. It is argued that sports coaching has addressed protection issues much more readily and effectively than has sport science. It is also suggested that the preoccupation of sport science with scholarly activity undermines the realisation of its aspiration for professional and chartered status. The emphasis of both occupational groups on ‘performance enhancement’, both scholarly and/or athletic, has led them to suffer from diminished social and political perspectives which benefit neither. The paper concludes with some reflections on the potential for both occupations to learn from attending to wider external reference points

If We Pay Football Players, Why Not Kidney Donors

Ethicists who oppose compensating kidney donors claim they do so because kidney donation is risky for the donor’s health, donors may not appreciate the risks and may be cognitively biased in other ways, and donors may come from disadvantaged groups and thus could be exploited. However, few ethical qualms are raised about professional football players, who face much greater health risks than kidney donors, have much less counseling and screening concerning that risk, and who often come from racial and economic groups deemed disadvantaged. It thus seems that either ethicists—and the law—should ban both professional football and compensated organ donation, allow both, or allow compensated organ donation but prohibit professional football. The fact that we choose none of those options raises questions about the wisdom of the compensation ba

Chapter 15 - Professional and Entertainment Groups, pp. 347-359

The Catherwood Library and ILR School at Cornell are pleased to again make available an extremely important index of major labor union publications, long out of print. It is Lloyd G. Reynolds and Charles C. Killingsworth\u27s Trade Union Publications: The Official Journals, Convention Proceedings and Constitutions of International Unions and Federations, 1850-1941. Baltimore, The John Hopkins Press, 1944

The Value of Learning Groups to the 1st Year Undergraduate Experience for Students of Early Childhood.

Learning networks, groups or communities are seen as having the potential to provide supportive, integrative and deep learning processes which can enhance student performance and support transition to university (Peat, Dalziel and Grant 2001; Zhao and Kuh 2004). The provision of a learning environment with opportunities for meaningful academic and social interactions is characteristic of higher education and collaborative learning strategies are frequently used to encourage student selfmanagement, independence and the general development of group skills. Whilst the value-added potential of learning groups is well documented (Peat et al. 2001; Zhao and Kuh 2004; Lizzio and Wilson, 2006), the nature of the course subject is rarely considered as potentially significant to the effectiveness of the group process; the emphasis in research studies being more frequently concerned with generic academic or pastoral functions. The Early Childhood degree at the University of Worcester established learning groups in 2002 as a specific learning and teaching strategy aligning the pedagogic and andragogic philosophy of the subject to promote academic and professional characteristics required as transferable skills for work in the sector. The social constructivist philosophy underpinning the subject and practice of early childhood provided the common, connecting thread for learning groups to have relevance and meaning for personal, academic and professional development. This study investigated the experience and perceived value of learning groups for the first cohort in 2002/3 through a questionnaire, and by interviews focussed more openly on their general first year experience with a sample group of year 1 students in 2008. The findings revealed an overall highly positive perception indicating that learning groups had scope and value as a forum for:- • Building strong relationships and social identity • Co-construction of a learning culture • Reciprocal learning and skill development • Empowerment of adult learners and development of confidence • Enhancing professional development The most useful transferable skills and knowledge gained during the first year came from sharing ideas and relationship building in small group work which gave the students confidence. The findings demonstrate that peer learning groups provide mutual support and learning opportunities which develop skill in working with others which, in turn, students regard as the predominant quality required for their future professional lives

Reputational Externality and Self-Regulation

Professional associations and other producer groups often complain that their reputation is damaged by other groups providing a similar but lower-quality service and that the latter should be regulated. We examine the conditions under which a common regulatory regime can induce Pareto-improvements by creating a common reputation for quality among heterogeneous producers, when the regulator cannot commit to a given quality. A common reputation can be created only if the groups are not too different and if marginal cost is declining. High cost groups and small groups benefit most from forming a common regime

What do nurses do in professional Facebook groups and how can we explain their behaviours?

AIMTo explore and explain the causal (mechanisms) relationships between nurse’s actions and behaviours in Facebook groups.BACKGROUNDOnline Social Networks such as Facebook have rapidly diffused through the nursing profession with an estimated 60% using social media every day. There have been a range of concerns linked to unprofessional behaviours on Facebook despite professional guidance being in place. However, there is little evidence that explores the causal and influencing factors that lead to nursing behaviour and actions on Facebook.METHODBhaskarian critical realist ethnography (CRE) employing structured observation and reflective field notes of publicly accessible, groups and profiles on Facebook explicitly relevant to the nursing profession. For ethical approval reasons, these groups and pages will remain anonymous. Observations were conducted over a 6 month period during 2015-2016 by applying a selective case sampling approach to post. Observations occurred at two time points during the 6 month period by a single researcher. This allowed for a range of ‘typical’ and more extreme behaviours to be observed.CRITICAL REALISM & DATA ANALYSISCausal mechanisms are a ‘reality’ that cannot be directly observed (this is not the same as cause-effect; reality is much more complex). However, the components and outcomes of this reality can be observed and measured. Components for coding data were: morphostatic and morphogenic structures, entities, tendencies, events, behaviours and outcomes. These were then ‘mapped’ to explain how they interacted. Theories based on past research and other theoretical models were established and the maps were used to test which of these best explained nurses’ actions and behaviours in the Facebook environment.RESULTSComponents from the data were mapped (e.g. figure.1). This identified that despite having awareness of being professional and being in the domain of the professional group with other nurses a shift from professional-unprofessional seemed to occur. Indicating that awareness (self-efficacy) does not always result in professional behaviours and actions. For example, swearing would be deemed to be unprofessional but heightened emotions in response to politicians and policy changes that affect nursing created resulted in offensive language being ‘accepted’ within the group. Figure.2 provides an example framework illustrating how personal-professional-social values can create conflict and a shift in one may then affect the behaviours of an individual or group in the online environment.CONCLUSIONPersonal-professional-social values overlap in the Facebook environment and triggers in one domain may result in unprofessional or unacceptable behaviours in another. Further research needs to examine the nature of these and methods by which awareness of professionalism translates into action (i.e. the areas where conflicting values may occur)

More questions than answers: the role of practitioner research in professional practice.

The concept of the career guidance practitioner viewing themselves as a professional is currently being challenged (Colley and Lewin, 2008; Greer, 2009). During the last decade there has been a concerted effort to support practitioners in engaging with research both as an agent and as a recipient to enhance practice and to drive forward the concept of the professional. This paper presents examples of progress within this endeavour and the views of practitioners who have engaged in research activities, either as part of their role or as dedicated continuing professional development (CPD). Throughout this paper we explore the role of research within the concepts of profession and professional practice; drawing on literature and primary research that captures views from two groups of practitioners. That careers guidance is a profession is an assumed reality for many practitioners and the organisations that represent them (and our own stance is that it is indeed a profession and we refer to it as such throughout this paper)

Counselling for people with sight loss in the UK: The need for provision and the need for evidence

For adults of any age the diagnosis of a visual impairment can be traumatic, and timely referral to informal peer support and/or professional counselling may be both beneficial and appropriate. It is estimated that 45/113 (40%) of UK voluntary organisations for people with sight loss provide professional counselling (n=17) or ‘informal support’ (n=28), such as peer support groups, telephone helplines and befriending.1 However, what is the evidence that these services help people adjust emotionally to their acquired vision loss and the consequences that flow from this? During the spring/summer of 2008, we conducted a follow-up to the scoping survey reported earlier1 to assess the evidence for effectiveness of professional counselling services for people with acquired sight loss. We contacted the 17 counselling services previously identified by Rees1 and further services via Vision 2020 UK,

Professional socialisation, accountability and social media: what’s the relationship and should we care?

BACKGROUND: The rapid diffusion of social network sites such as Facebook have presented a wealth of challenge and opportunity for the nursing profession. A large majority of student nurses have adopted Facebook but [as developing professionals] may not understand the implications and unintended consequences of the information shared in a personal or innocent way.No studies have yet critically analysed [in depth] the underlying factors that influence and determine the relationships between professional accountability and social media or if there is actually a ‘problem’ with social media. AIM: Critically analyse the relationships between professional accountability and Facebook during the journey of professional socialisation.METHOD: Critical realist ethnography employing online observation of three cohort groups, 30 public profiles and professional group discussion topics, focus groups (academic and practicing nursing staff n=8) and semi-structured interviews with student nurses over two sites (n=16).RESULTS: Critical realist retroductive analysis (Bhaskar, 1998) was developed as part of this study. Three relationships were identified and six models were generated to explain and test proposed mechanisms within the data, which cause these relationships: 1) the concept of professional accountability 2) patterns of use 3) behaviours and activities 4) physical versus online reality 5) unacceptable, acceptable, professional or unprofessional behaviours 6) perceived knowledge and awareness versus actual behaviours.Three explanatory theoretical concepts were then confirmed and used to develop three critical realist frameworks: I) Socialisation, Professional Socialisation, Online Socialisation (SPO) II) Unacceptable, Acceptable, Unprofessional, Professional (UAPU) and III) Awareness into Action (A2A).CONCLUSION: I) SPO: This study has indicated a potential ‘tertiary’ or ‘online’ socialisation process and illustrates the factors, context and socialisation informs accountable behaviours; linking the physical and online (personal, public, professional).II, III) UAPU, A2A: The lack of physical context and presence in the online environment causes dissonance between perceived and actual behaviours and confidence versus competence in the online environment. With further research and validation these three frameworks may be used in education and practice, for personal and group assessment, reflection and/or for raising awareness of good practice online. They may also be used by organisations and professional bodies to assess scenarios or incidents