Neurophysiologic, psychological, sport and health dimensions of three meditation techniques

The aim of this study was to record experiences of three meditation conditions: Ratio Breathing, Transcendental Meditation and Zazen, with special reference to sport, health, neuro-physiology and sense of coherence. The participants (N=9), seven males and two females were all British, actively competing across a range of individual and team sports, with no experience of using meditation techniques or practices in their sporting or daily lives. Their mean age was 31.56 years with an age range of 22 to 44 years. The study employed a within-subjects, repeated measures design, with each participant practising each meditation condition in a randomly counterbalanced order. Integrative findings support the value of all three meditation conditions for health and to a lesser extent for sport, especially with regard to their effect on focus. All three meditation conditions were associated with a decrease in respiration. The differential effect of the meditations was apparent. Participants valued Ratio breathing for its effect on concentration, Transcendental Meditation for its depth of meditation and Zazen for its effect on self and removal of external distractions. These qualitative findings were associated with differentially significant quantitative effects on lowered respiration rate in the Ratio Breathing group, increased physical relaxation and alpha activity in the Transcendental Meditation group, and increases in both alpha and theta activity in the Zazen group.

Les sources de motivation au regard de la carrière des jeunes inscrits aux programmes Sport-études à l'ordre d'enseignement secondaire

Lorsqu'il est question de l'impact du sport sur le développement de jeunes adolescents' c'est généralement en fonction de leurs comportements. Toutefois, lorsqu'il s'agit d'évaluer l'influence de la pratique sportive sur le développement scolaire et professionnel des élèves-athlètes, nombreux sont les gens qui voient le sport comme une distraction notable à l'engagement et à la poursuite de leurs études. Pourtant nous remarquons, depuis quelques années, l'apparition et la multiplication de programmes d'études voulant favoriser à la fois la réussite scolaire ainsi que la réussite sportive de jeunes athlètes. Conformément aux propos de Boute, Lepert, Syndiqué et Taupin (1981), nous croyons que les programmes Sport-études concrétisent deux idées (et deux désirs) qui mûrissaient depuis longtemps: l'idée qu'il n'est pas nécessaire d'abandonner ses études pour se consacrer à un sport, et plus important, l'idée qu'il n'est pas nécessaire d'abandonner le sport pour mener à bien ses études secondaires. Selon cette perspective, il serait logique de penser que les programmes scolaires misant sur la combinaison des études et de la pratique du sport de haut niveau s'associent à des caractéristiques particulières notamment, en ce qui à trait à leur motivation au regard de leur projet professionnel. Notre étude vise donc à identifier les sources spécifiques de motivation des élèves inscrits aux programmes Sport-études et régulier à l'ordre d'enseignement secondaire et de vérifier l'existence possible de différences entre ces deux groupes de sujets. Ce mémoire se divise en trois parties. La première partie vise à exposer la problématique de notre recherche. Nous identifions d'abord notre problème de recherche en dressant un portrait général de la situation actuelle des jeunes à l'ordre d'enseignement secondaire puis nous traitons du rôle qu'occupe l'orientation quant à la motivation des élèves au regard de leurs études. À cela s'ajoute l'examen d'une littérature appropriée aux élèves-athlètes et aux sources de motivation particulières qui leur sont attribuées. Nous présentons ensuite le cadre théorique de notre recherche en analysant les concepts de motivation et de développement de carrière. Nous complétons cette partie par l'étude de certaines recherches et expériences en lien avec notre problématique et nous démontrons la pertinence de notre recherche avant d'identifier les objectifs poursuivis. En ce qui à trait à la deuxième partie de notre étude, elle concerne la méthodologie. Nous présentons dans cette section les principales démarches utilisées afin de rencontrer nos objectifs de recherche. Il s'agit entre autres de l'instrument de mesure retenu, les sujets sélectionnés, du déroulement de l'expérience, de la présentation des programmes Sport-études, des limites de notre recherche et des techniques statistiques employées pour analyser et interpréter les résultats obtenus. Quant à la troisième partie, elle contient essentiellement les données obtenues au cours de notre recherche. Dans un premier temps, nous dégageons un portrait général des sources de motivation au regard de la carrière des élèves inscrits aux programmes réguliers et Sport-études. Puis, dans un deuxième temps, nous essayons de dégager les particularités du profil motivationnel de ces élèves en fonction du programme d'études auquel ils sont inscrits. Enfin, quelques implications possibles de nos résultats pour la pratique de l'orientation professionnelle font l'objet de la conclusion de ce mémoire.

The dynamics of fibroblasts/ECM in neonatal cardiac injury

Tese de mestrado. Biologia (Biologia Evolutiva e do Desenvolvimento). Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2014

'Anyone But England‘, Glasgow 2014 and the Independence Referendum: Exploring the Role of Narratives in the Sociological Study of Scottish Sport.

Drawing upon the findings of my MSc dissertation and the proposed methodology for my current PhD thesis, this paper will critically reflect upon the potential uses of narrative analysis within the sociological study of sport. The majority of this paper will consider the expression of anti-English sentiment by Scots in relation to both sporting and wider social contexts. Drawing upon the conceptual framework of ‘narrative identity’ proposed by Somers (1994), data was generated through semi-structured interviews focusing upon the ‘ontological’ and ‘public’ narratives of Scottish identity as expressed by Scots living in England. The relationship between Scotland and England is argued to be heavily influenced by the existence of an ‘underdog mentality’ grand ‘public narrative’ for Scots in relation to their English neighbours, based on perceived differences in economic and sporting resources. This ‘underdog mentality’ is argued to act as a legitimating force for the expression of anti-English sentiment within an individual’s ‘ontological narrative’ in both a sporting and wider social context. The paper concludes by reflecting upon the benefits of adopting a narrative analysis approach, and outlining the proposed use of similar methods within my PhD research on the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the Scottish independence referendum.

Political Discourse Analysis, Sport and Scottish Independence: Provisional Reflections upon Fairclough and Fairclough's (2012) Analytical Framework.

This paper aims to reflect upon the potential analytical utility of the political discourse analysis framework proposed by Isabela Fairclough and Norman Fairclough (2012). This framework represents the most recent substantive development upon Norman Fairclough's past work situated within the wider school of Critical Discourse Analysis, building upon his influential position this methodological tradition. Central to this development is the additional emphasis placed upon the necessity to conceptualise all political discourse as 'argumentative' in nature, given that political actors are ultimately proposing or refuting particular courses of concrete future action. This paper will therefore apply Fairclough and Fairclough's model to provisional data derived from an ongoing doctoral thesis which considers the nature of political discourse relating to sport, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Scottish independence, with an ultimate aim of critically considering the benefits and limitations of applying this analytical framework as a methodological tool within this ongoing study.

The Working Group on Scottish Sport and the Scottish Independence Referendum: an Unrealised Political 'Imaginary'?

In September 2014, a historic referendum on the issue of Scottish independence was held, with the potential to dissolve the political union between Scotland and the other constituent nations of the United Kingdom which had survived intact since the 1707 Act of Union. On a significantly high electoral turnout of 84.6%, the Scottish electorate opted to reject the proposals of the governing party in the devolved Scottish Parliament, the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), to create an independent Scottish state, with 55.3% of the electorate voting ‘No’ to Scottish independence against a 44.7% ‘Yes’ vote. In the grand scheme of the Scottish independence referendum campaigns, sports policy remained a somewhat peripheral issue within the arguments forwarded by the Yes Scotland and Better Together campaigns. Nonetheless, developments such as the formation of the 'Sport for Yes' campaign sub-group, the inclusion of sport within the Scottish Government’s White Paper on Scottish independence and the establishment of the Working Group on Scottish Sport demonstrated that the potential implications of independence were still deemed significant enough to merit a degree of policy planning by the Scottish Government (Lafferty, 2014; Scottish Government, 2013; Working Group on Scottish Sport, 2013, 2014). This paper will critically consider the implications of the 'No' vote in the Scottish independence referendum for the latter of these developments, the policy proposals of the Working Group for Scottish Sport. Drawing upon the principles of critical discourse analysis, specifically the analytical framework proposed by Fairclough and Fairclough (2012), the content of this group's proposal will be examined in order to critically explore the policy for Scottish sport it envisaged for an independent Scottish state. The paper will then conclude by reflecting upon the extent to which elements of this political 'imaginary' (Fairclough and Fairclough, 2012) of Scottish sport remain a possibility for future sports policy in Scotland following the eventual 'No' vote in the referendum.

‘Sport for Yes’? The Precarious Positioning of Scottish Athletes in the Scottish Independence Referendum Campaign.

This paper will critically consider the implications for Scottish athletes who have publicly stated their personal opinion on the Scottish independence referendum. Developments such as the inclusion of sport within the Scottish Government’s White Paper on Scottish independence, the establishment of the ‘Working Group on Scottish Sport’ and the establishment of the ‘Sport for Yes’ campaign group demonstrate the harnessing of sporting issues as an additional, if somewhat peripheral, debate point in the referendum campaigns (Lafferty, 2014; Scottish Government, 2013; Working Group on Scottish Sport, 2013, 2014). The latter of these developments, the establishment of the ‘Sport for Yes’ campaign group, is of particular interest, offering evidence of the explicit political mobilisation of past and present athletes in support of the ‘Yes Scotland’ pro-independence campaign. Whilst the pro-union ‘Better Together’ campaign does not possess a comparable group to the ‘Sport for Yes’ example, examples of athletes discussing the potential negative impact of Scottish independence on the funding and organisation of Scottish sport have been capitalised upon by pro-union campaigners, as exemplified in the comments of Sir Chris Hoy (BBC, 2013; Daily Record, 2013a). Given the negative reaction to Hoy’s comments from certain pro-independence campaigners (Daily Record, 2013b; Swanson, 2013), other Scottish athletes have understandably attempted to avoid controversy by refusing to align with either side of the referendum debate. This paper will therefore consider the potential pitfalls for athletes who publicly announce their political positions, whilst also scrutinising the extent to which such pronouncements are of political significance, drawing upon past academic analyses of the interrelationship between sport and politics (e.g. Coghlan, 1990; Houlihan, 1994; Jeffreys, 2012; Macfarlane, 1986; Whannel, 2008).

Enhancing Student Learning Experiences in Sport Psychology Modules Using Practical Activities

The University of Worcester states in its most recent strategic plan (2013 – 2018) a set of enduring values that guide and direct the activities of the institution. The first listed, and perhaps the most important value is the striving to be “an outstanding university at which to be a student”. This is further supplemented by values such as “to inspire our students to reach their full potential through excellent, innovative teaching, scholarship and research” (University of Worcester 2013: p.4). One of the many ways in which the institution strives to provide this outstanding educational experience is through regular engagement, both formal and informal, with students at a number of points in each semester. Regular experiences of collating formal and informal feedback has led to the identification of a common theme amongst Higher National Diploma (HND) students in the Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences (ISES), where they consistently request ‘more practicals’. The ISES modules however are designed to incorporate a high degree of interaction, practical activities and tasks. This is especially important for those studying at HND level as research suggests differences in learning preferences exist when compared to undergraduate students, the former preferring a more tactile style of learning (Peters et al. 2008). Using an introductory Sport Psychology HND module as an example, practical activities and tasks are fully embedded in the taught sessions to enable contextual links to be made between the learning outcomes and their subsequent use. Examples of these include: a. interviewing athletes to produce a performance profile (Butler & Hardy 1992); b. completing psychometric instruments such as the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) to measure competitive anxiety in sport (Martens et al. 1990) and demonstrate data collection and construct measurement; c. performing relaxation interventions on the students to demonstrate how specific techniques (in this instance, decreasing somatic anxiety) might work in practice; d. demonstrating how observational learning facilitates skill acquisition by creating experimental conditions that the students participate in, in teaching a new skill. Nevertheless owing to the students' previously stated on-going requests for more practical activities, it became evident that assumptions about what students consider an effective means of experiential or active learning in the context of sport-related disciplines of study needed to be investigated. This is where the opportunity to undertake an action research project arose, this being a practical method commonly employed in pedagogical enquiry to aid reflection on teaching and assessment practice for the purposes of working towards continuous improvement.

Still Playing Together(?): A Recall to Physical Education and Sport History Intersections.

As academic disciplines, Physical Education and Sport History share interests in performance, participation, physique and the politics of corporeal praxis. Engendering unity between the two disciplines, however, has not been without concern. Scholars working within (and across) both fields have highlighted how the potential for shared knowledge production and meaning making has been, to a degree, stymied by epistemological and methodological criticism and trepidation. Issues over contextualization, rigour, narrative schemas, conceptualizations of the body, and notions of agency and power still, in particular, constrain our current educational and historical readings and renderings of physical culture(s). Scholarly schisms and methodological differences can be overcome, however, and need not prohibit disciplinary collaborations that might better address prevailing ethical questions and affect political cause; vis-à-vis the body, the physical and sport. This brief piece is, consequently, recourse to the scholarly symbiosis between Physical Education and Sport History and echoes the encouragement of our earlier colleagues to play, inquire, create and produce together.

High Performance Disability Sport Coaching

As the profile of disability sport has risen, so has the emphasis grown beyond participation to include the development of a high performance environment. This book is the first to take an in-depth look at the role of coaches and coaching in facilitating the professionalisation of disability sport, in raising performance standards, and as an important vector for the implementation of significant political, socio-cultural and technological change. Using in-depth case studies of elite disability sport coaches from around the world, the book offers a framework for critical reflection on coaching practice as well as the reader’s own experiences of disability sport. The book also evaluates the vital role of the coach in raising the bar of performance in a variety of elite level disability sports, including athletics, basketball, boccia, equestrian sport, rowing, soccer, skiing, swimming and volleyball. Providing a valuable evidence-based learning resource to support coaches and students in developing their own practice, High Performance Disability Sport Coaching is essential reading for all those interested in disability sport, coaching practice, elite sport development and the Paralympic Games.

High Performance Disability Sport Coaching: Introduction

As the profile of disability sport has risen, so has the emphasis grown beyond participation to include the development of a high performance environment. This book is the first to take an in-depth look at the role of coaches and coaching in facilitating the professionalisation of disability sport, in raising performance standards, and as an important vector for the implementation of significant political, socio-cultural and technological change. Using in-depth case studies of elite disability sport coaches from around the world, the book offers a framework for critical reflection on coaching practice as well as the reader’s own experiences of disability sport. The book also evaluates the vital role of the coach in raising the bar of performance in a variety of elite level disability sports, including athletics, basketball, boccia, equestrian sport, rowing, soccer, skiing, swimming and volleyball. Providing a valuable evidence-based learning resource to support coaches and students in developing their own practice, High Performance Disability Sport Coaching is essential reading for all those interested in disability sport, coaching practice, elite sport development and the Paralympic Games.

Global sport in the suburbs: the Regent Street Polytechnic’s sports facilities at Chiswick, 1888–1938

This article shows how the elite origins and religious mission of the Regent Street Polytechnic encouraged participation in amateur sport in London, and promoted the suburb of Chiswick as a global context for competitive sports. From the 1880s to the outbreak of World War 2, the Polytechnic and its facilities forged synergies between the city centre and the burgeoning suburbs in London, engendering a city-wide culture of amateur sports, and embedding the Polytechnic into a global network of athletes. Suburbs are typically presented by writers as being ‘on the edge’ of metropolitan life, but such perspectives are wrong. The West London suburb of Chiswick was the home of Polytechnic facilities that provided a dynamic context for the internationalization and modernization of sport in the capital.

Efeito da ligadura funcional na prevenção da recorrência da entorse do tornozelo numa equipa de basquetebol feminino

Introdução: O basquetebol é considerado um desporto de alto risco para a ocorrência de lesões, nomeadamente das entorses do tornozelo. Como a história de lesão anterior é um fator de risco para a ocorrência de entroses têm-se desenvolvido estratégias de prevenção para evitar as recidivas, um dos métodos possíveis é o recurso a ligaduras funcionais em “tape”. Objetivo: Neste trabalho vai-se verificar se as ligaduras funcionais em “tape” previnem a recorrência de entorse do tornozelo, numa equipa feminina de basquetebol sub-16. Métodos: A amostra é composta por 9 atletas de basquetebol sub-16 com história de entorse no tornozelo na época precedente, vão-se utilizar ligaduras funcionais no tornozelo. Resultados: A entorse teve 9 registos na época anterior. Não houve registo de qualquer lesão da tibiotársica nos treinos ou jogos, durante a aplicação das ligaduras. Conclusão: A utilização das ligaduras funcionais no grupo estudado, como método de prevenção foi eficaz, não se registando qualquer entorse no decorrer das atividades desportivas (treinos/jogos).

Mapping non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence: Development and confirmatory factor analysis of the impulse, self-harm and sucidal ideation questionnaire for adolescents (ISSIQ-A)

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the deliberate, self-inflicted destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent and an important clinical phenomenon. Rates of NSSI appear to be disproportionately high in adolescents and young adults, and is a risk factor for suicidal ideation and behavior. The present study reports the psychometric properties of the Impulse, Self-harm and Suicide Ideation Questionnaire for Adolescents (ISSIQ-A), a measure designed to comprehensively assess the impulsivity, NSSI behaviors and suicide ideation. An additional module of this questionnaire assesses the functions of NSSI. Results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the scale on 1722 youths showed items' suitability and confirmed a model of four different dimensions (Impulse, Self-harm, Risk-behavior and Suicide ideation) with good fit and validity. Further analysis showed that youth׳s engagement in self-harm may exert two different functions: to create or alleviate emotional states, and to influence social relationships. Our findings contribute to research and assessment on non-suicidal self-injury, suggesting that the ISSIQ-A is a valid and reliable measure to assess impulse, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, in adolescence.