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The Effectiveness of Psychological Skills Training and Behavioral Interventions in Sport using Single-Case Designs: A Meta Regression Analysis of the Peer-Reviewed Studies
No full textWe used a novel meta regression analysis approach principles to examine the effectiveness of psychological skills training and behavioral interventions in sport assessed using single-case experimental designs (SCEDs). One hundred and twenty-one papers met the inclusion criteria applied to eight database searches and key sport psychology journals. Seventy-one studies reported sufficient detail for effect sizes to be calculated for the effects of psychological skills training on psychological, behavioral, and performance variables. The unconditional mean effect size for weighted ( = 2.40) and unweighted ( = 2.83) models suggested large improvements in psychological, behavioral, and performance outcomes associated with implementing cognitive-behavioral psychological skills training and behavioral interventions with a SCED. However, meta-regression analysis revealed important heterogeneities and sources of bias within this literature. First, studies using a group-based approach reported lower effect sizes compared to studies using single-case approaches. Second, the single-case studies, (over 90 per cent the effect sizes), revealed upwardly biased effect sizes arising from: (i) positive publication bias such that studies using lower numbers of baseline observations reported larger effects, while studies using larger numbers of baseline observations reported smaller – but still substantial – effects; (ii) not adopting a multiple baseline design; and (iii) not establishing procedural reliability. We recommend that future researchers using SCED’s should consider these methodological issues
Balancing academia and family life: The gendered strains and struggles between the UK and China compared
Get PDFPurpose:
This paper aims to explore and compare academics’ experiences of managing work-life balance (WLB) in the British and Chinese contexts. The authors have three specific purposes. Firstly, to investigate whether there are marked gender differences in either context, given female and male academics’ work is considered fully comparable. Secondly, to examine contextual factors contributing to gender differences that influence and shape decisions in WLB and career paths. Thirdly, to explore the gendered consequences and implications.
Design/methodology/approach:
A cross-national and multilevel analytical approach to WLB was chosen to unpick and explore gender land contextual differences and their influence on individual academics’ coping strategies. To reflect the exploratory nature of uncovering individual experience and perceptions, the authors used in-depth, semi-structured interviews. In total, 37 academics participated in the study, comprised of 18 participants from 6 universities in the UK and 19 participants from 6 universities in China.
Findings:
This study reveals gendered differences in both the British and Chinese contexts in three main aspects, namely, sourcing support; managing emotions; and making choices, but more distinct differences in the latter context. Most significantly, it highlights that individual academics’ capacity in cultivating and using coping strategies was shaped simultaneously by multi-layered factors at the country level, the HE institutional level and the individual academics’ level.
Originality/value:
Very few cross-cultural WLB studies explore gender differences. This cross-national comparative study is of particular value in making the “invisible visible” in terms of the gendered nature of choices and decisions within the context of WLB. The study has significant implications for female academics exercising individual scope in carving out a career, and for academic managers and institutions, in terms of support, structure and policy
“It’s psychology Jim, but not as we know it!”: The changing face of applied sport psychology practice
Get PDFApplied sport psychology has developed substantially in recent decades, and there exist a multitude of views regarding how contemporary practices can be best defined and conceptualized. In this paper, we reflect on these developments and draw from a growing body of literature on professional development, in an attempt to provide clarity on the expanding roles and responsibilities of the applied sport psychology practitioner. In so doing, we acknowledge the recent diversification of applied sport psychology practices, with an emphasis on competencies relating to: working with more diverse performance populations (e.g., in business, military, healthcare, education, and the performing arts); engaging in organizational psychological practices; positive youth development; promoting life skills; and mental health and counselling support provisions Further, we offer suggestions for the future of applied sport psychology education and training, in an effort to contribute to the profession’s continued journey toward maturation. This includes discussion surrounding the possible implementation of multi-supervisory pathways, extended placement opportunities and engagement in post training practices within specialist performance domains, in an effort to aid the development of more diverse competencies which reflect the multiplicity of current practice
Wellbeing on the Healthcare Frontline: A Safe Laboratory for Critical Action Learning
Get PDFThis article explores the potential for using an emancipatory education model, based
on the work of the Brazilian pedagogue Paulo Freire, to promote the wellbeing of
frontline healthcare workers. It is argued that a three-stage PIP model (problem, information, planning), an emancipatory method used widely within trade union education programmes, can be understood as a methodology based on the principles of critical action learning (CAL) in that it adopts a critical perspective and examines power
relations, explores emotional experience and is action oriented. Further, that because
this model of learning is based on collective reflection it is a methodology which prioritises building relationality. This autoethnographic study offers three vignettes of
wellbeing interventions carried out with healthcare workers using a PIP model. It proposes that addressing wellbeing in the current healthcare context, highlighted during
the Coronavirus crisis, requires a critical and relational approach that supports healthcare workers to collectively address problems at work. As such, it is argued that the
PIP model provides an alternative approach to wellbeing from the dominant and individualistic positive psychology model. This article contributes towards the utilisation
of a CAL framework within the workplace and offers practical insights for management learning within the wellbeing field
Developing the Effectiveness of Applied Sport Psychology Service Delivery: A Reflective Practice Intervention
Get PDFLittle empirical evidence exists to corroborate the proposed benefits that reflective practice may have for service delivery effectiveness in Applied Sport Psychology (ASP). To systematically address this gap, we collected data over a five-year period via a staggered, single-subject multiple-baseline intervention that aimed to: (a) investigate the effectiveness of a training program designed to enhance practitioners’ abilities to engage in higher levels of reflection; and (b) explore whether developments in level of reflection influenced practitioner effectiveness. Eight trainee and four professionally qualified, UK based practitioners participated in an individualized 14-week study, which contained a two week intervention and a two month post-study retention assessment. All participants demonstrated immediate improvements in the level they were able to reflect at, as well as augmented reflective learning following the intervention. Measures of effective practice (e.g., client feedback, self-assessments) also demonstrated improvements post-intervention. In-depth social validation procedures substantiated these findings, with participants reporting that through more critical levels of reflection they experienced enhanced self-awareness, approaches to meeting client needs, professional judgement and decision making, and a range of other characteristics associated with effective consultants. Our findings offer novel support for the links between reflective practice and service delivery effectiveness, as well as a better understanding of the mechanisms through which such adaptations occur. This study makes a significant contribution by providing an in-depth, longitudinal insight into the value of focusing practitioner training on reflective practice as a meta-cognitive strategy to enhance ASP practice
Using a Questionnaire to Determine Children’s Attitudes to, Knowledge of and Use of Sports Drinks
No full textThis case study is designed to aid those new to research involving children, using a questionnaire as a data collection tool. It is based on more than 50 years of supervisory experience of two researchers with an interest in public and oral health. While the case study focuses on sports drink consumption of secondary school children, it can be used by anyone interested in studying other food/drink habits, attitudes and/or motivations to, or knowledge of foods. The case study takes a pragmatic and realistic approach to research, allowing the reader to avoid many of the common pitfalls associated with poor planning and communication during the research process. The initial development of a research topic is outlined, concentrating on the ethical issues associated with using children in research and the need for careful planning and time management. Some useful tools are included in the case study to aid the researcher, including a flowchart of the whole process to set the context and the use of a Gantt chart to aid time management. The development of the questionnaire focuses on the establishment of strong and measurable aims and objectives and stresses the importance of isolating the key issues and items involved in the study and the need to pilot the questionnaire prior to data collection. Types of study design and schools as a setting for research are reviewed together with helpful tips on how to ensure your project runs smoothly and achieves robust and valid results. The case study concludes with suggestions on how to disseminate high-quality research findings to inform public health policy and improve public understanding of a topic
Dehydration reduces stroke volume and cardiac output during exercise because of impaired cardiac filling and venous return, not left ventricular function
Get PDFDehydration accrued during intense prolonged whole‐body exercise in the heat compromises peripheral blood flow and cardiac output (Q). A markedly reduced stroke volume (SV) is a key feature of the dehydration‐induced cardiovascular strain, but whether the lower output of the heart is mediated by peripheral or cardiac factors remains unknown. Therefore, we repeatedly quantified left ventricular (LV) volumes, LV mechanics (LV twist, a marker of systolic muscle function, and LV untwisting rate, an independent marker of LV muscle relaxation), left intra‐ventricular pressure gradients, blood volume and peripheral blood flow during 2 hr of cycling in the heat with and without dehydration (DEH: 4.0 ± 0.2% body mass loss and EUH: euhydration control, respectively) in eight participants (three females and five males). While brachial and carotid blood flow, blood volume, SV, LV end‐diastolic volume (LVEDV), cardiac filling time, systemic vascular conductance and Q were reduced in DEH compared to EUH after 2 hr, LV twist and untwisting rate tended to be higher (p = .09 and .06, respectively) and intra‐ventricular pressure gradients were not different between the two conditions (p = .22). Furthermore, LVEDV in DEH correlated strongly with blood volume (r = .995, p < .01), head and forearms beat volume (r = .98, p < .05), and diastolic LV filling time (r = .98, p < .05). These findings suggest that the decline in SV underpinning the blunted Q with exercise‐induced dehydration is caused by compromised LV filling and venous return, but not intrinsic systolic or diastolic LV function
A systematic review of sport-based life skills programs for young people: The quality of design 2 and evaluation methods
Get PDFOver the past two decades, researchers have reported positive life skills outcomes for young people participating in sport-based life-skills programs. However, to date, there has been a lack of consideration in the literature regarding the quality of the programs designed and the evaluation methods adopted. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of the life skills literature to: (a) assess the quality of sport-based life skills program design and evaluation methods; and (b) identify characteristics relating to the quality of sport-based life skills programs where authors had evidenced life skills development and transfer. Using the PRISMA guidelines, we searched six databases for relevant research papers and applied inclusion and exclusion criteria to the papers returned, of which 13 papers met the criteria. We conducted two quality assessment exercises (design and evaluation methods) and found two moderate-high quality life skills programs, ten moderate quality programs, and one low quality program. We present the characteristics (regarding quality) of intervention designs and methods, conclude with recommendations for designing quality sport-based life skills programs, and provide guidelines for researchers to evaluate sport-based life skills programs.
Lay Summary: Through engaging in sport-based life skills programs, young people can develop transferable skills. However, the quality of these life skills programs is unclear. We assess the quality of the design and evaluation methods of sport-based life skills programs, present the characteristics of moderate-high and moderate quality programs, and offer recommendations for future research and practice.
Practical Implications:
The characteristics identified can be used to aid the development of the content, delivery and evaluation methods within future sport-based life skills programs.
The quality assessment tool (QATID) that is embedded within this paper can be used by applied researchers to ensure that the design of their life skills interventions is of high quality.
By using the QATID and the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT) when designing and evaluating sport-based life skills programs, applied researchers can validate better subsequent claims of program effectiveness
A Parametric Technique for Traps Characterization in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs
Get PDFA new parametric and cost-effective tech- nique is developed to decouple the mechanisms behind current degradation in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs under a nor- mal device operation: self-heating and charge trapping. A unique approach that investigates charge trapping using both source (IS) and drain (ID) transient currents for the first time. Two types of charge trapping mechanisms are identified: (i) bulk charge trapping occurring on a time scale of less than 1 ms, followed by (ii) surface charge trapping with a time constant larger than a millisecond. Through monitoring the difference between IS and ID, a bulk charge trapping time constant is found to be independent of both drain (VDS ) and gate (VGS ) biases. Surface charge trapping is found to have a much greater impact on a slow degrada- tion when compared to bulk trapping and self-heating. At a short timescale ( 1 ms), the dynamic ON resistance degradation is predominantly limited by surface charge trapping
Acute reductions in hematocrit increase flow-mediated dilation independent ofresting nitric oxide bioavailability in humans
Get PDFHemoglobin (Hb) may impact the transduction of endothelium‐dependent and nitric oxide (NO) mediated vasodilator activity, given its contribution to shear stress stimuli and diverse biochemical reactions with NO. We hypothesized that an acute reduction in [Hb] and hematocrit (Hct) would increase brachial artery flow‐mediated dilation (FMD). In eleven healthy males (28 ± 7 years; 23 ± 2 kg m−2), FMD (Duplex ultrasound), arterial blood gases, Hct and [Hb], blood viscosity, and NO metabolites (ozone‐based chemiluminescence) were measured before and after isovolumic hemodilution, where ∼20% of whole blood was removed and replaced with 5% human serum albumin. Hemodilution reduced Hct by 18 ± 2% (P < 0.001) and whole blood viscosity by 22 ± 5% (P < 0.001). Plasma nitrite (P = 0.01), S‐nitrosothiols (P = 0.03), and total red blood cell NO (P = 0.001) were collectively reduced by ∼15–40%. Brachial artery FMD increased by ∼160% from 3.8 ± 2.1 to 9.7 ± 4.5% (P = 0.004). Statistical covariation for the shear stress stimulus did not alter FMD, indicating that the increase in FMD was not directly related to alterations in whole blood viscosity and the shear stimulus. Collectively, these findings indicate that hemoglobin scavenging of NO appears to be an important factor in the regulation of FMD under normal conditions through constraint of endothelium‐dependent NO‐mediated vasodilation in healthy humans