scholarly journals Swedish Tennis Coaches’ Everyday Practices for Creating Athlete Development Environments

Author(s):  
Göran Gerdin ◽  
Per Göran Fahlström ◽  
Mats Glemne ◽  
Susanne Linnér

Finding and describing the optimal path to elite athletic performance has, for a long time, been a challenge for researchers. This study examined Swedish tennis coaches’ everyday practices for creating athlete development environments and the environmental factors that promote or hinder athlete development. The study was conducted in 2018–2019 and included in-depth focus groups with 13 Swedish full-time tennis coaches. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and by drawing on models for studying athlete development environments. The results highlight how the coaches’ everyday work involves a range of administrative tasks, which ultimately means that there is little to no time left for focusing on athlete development. These results also draw attention to concerns about these professional coaches’ health, with increasing demands in their roles to manage administrative tasks in addition to the coaching and time spent on the court with their athletes. The results further reveal how the tennis clubs’ boards are increasingly interested in sound economy and high participation levels rather than focusing on performance outcomes and developing elite athletes. Finally, the results from this study emphasize the importance of increased collaboration and communication between clubs, coaches, regions, and the national association to create common and clearer guidelines for long-term athlete development. Future studies could engage in longitudinal and ethnographic work with tennis clubs of varying size and geographical locations, involving different stakeholders (e.g., coaches, management, parents, players) in order to further explore the environmental factors that promote or hinder athlete development.

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D.A. Parker ◽  
Donald H. Saklofske ◽  
Laura M. Wood ◽  
Jennifer M. Eastabrook ◽  
Robyn N. Taylor

Abstract. The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) has attracted growing interest from researchers working in various fields. The present study examined the long-term stability (32 months) of EI-related abilities over the course of a major life transition (the transition from high school to university). During the first week of full-time study, a large group of undergraduates completed the EQ-i:Short; 32 months later a random subset of these students (N = 238), who had started their postsecondary education within 24 months of graduating from high school, completed the measures for a second time. The study found EI scores to be relatively stable over the 32-month time period. EI scores were also found to be significantly higher at Time 2; the overall pattern of change in EI-levels was more than can be attributed to the increased age of the participants.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 1261-1268
Author(s):  
Shu Otani ◽  
Dang-Trang Nguyen ◽  
Kozo Taguchi

In this study, a portable and disposable paper-based microbial fuel cell (MFC) was fabricated. The MFC was powered by Rhodopseudomonas palustris bacteria (R. palustris). An activated carbon sheet-based anode pre-loaded organic matter (starch) and R. palustris was used. By using starch in the anode, R. palustris-loaded on the anode could be preserved for a long time in dry conditions. The MFC could generate electricity on-demand activated by adding water to the anode. The activated carbon sheet anode was treated by UV-ozone treatment to remove impurities and to improve its hydrophilicity before being loaded with R. palustris. The developed MFC could generate the maximum power density of 0.9 μW/cm2 and could be preserved for long-term usage with little performance degradation (10% after four weeks).


Author(s):  
Rostislav Fojtík

Abstract Distance learning and e-learning have significantly developed in recent years. It is also due to changing educational requirements, especially for adults. The article aims to show the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning. Examples of the 20-year use of the distance learning form of computer science describe the difficulties associated with the implementation and implementation of this form of teaching. The results of students in the full-time and distance form of teaching in the bachelor’s study of computer science are compared. Long-term findings show that distant students have significantly lower scores in the first years of study than full-time bachelor students. In the following years of study, the differences diminish, and students’ results are comparable. The article describes the possibilities of improving the quality of distance learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tryggve Lundar ◽  
Bernt Johan Due-Tønnessen ◽  
Radek Frič ◽  
Petter Brandal ◽  
Paulina Due-Tønnessen

OBJECTIVEEpendymoma is the third most common posterior fossa tumor in children; however, there is a lack of long-term follow-up data on outcomes after surgical treatment of posterior fossa ependymoma (PFE) in pediatric patients. Therefore, the authors sought to investigate the long-term outcomes of children treated for PFE at their institution.METHODSThe authors performed a retrospective analysis of outcome data from children who underwent treatment for PFE and survived for at least 5 years.RESULTSThe authors identified 22 children (median age at the time of surgery 3 years, range 0–18 years) who underwent primary tumor resection of PFE during the period from 1945 to 2014 and who had at least 5 years of observed survival. None of these 22 patients were lost to follow-up, and they represent the long-term survivors (38%) from a total of 58 pediatric PFE patients treated. Nine (26%) of the 34 children treated during the pre-MRI era (1945–1986) were long-term survivors, while the observed 5-year survival rate in the children treated during the MRI era (1987–2014) was 13 (54%) of 24 patients. The majority of patients (n = 16) received adjuvant radiotherapy, and 4 of these received proton-beam irradiation. Six children had either no adjuvant treatment (n = 3) or only chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment (n = 3). Fourteen patients were alive at the time of this report. According to MRI findings, all of these patients were tumor free except 1 patient (age 78 years) with a known residual tumor after 65 years of event-free survival.Repeat resections for residual or recurrent tumor were performed in 9 patients, mostly for local residual disease with progressive clinical symptoms; 4 patients underwent only 1 repeated resection, whereas 5 patients each had 3 or more resections within 15 years after their initial surgery. At further follow-up, 5 of the patients who underwent a second surgery were found to be dead from the disease with or without undergoing additional resections, which were performed from 6 to 13 years after the second procedure. The other 4 patients, however, were tumor free on the latest follow-up MRI, performed from 6 to 27 years after the last resection. Hence, repeated surgery appears to increase the chance of tumor control in some patients, along with modern (proton-beam) radiotherapy. Six of 8 patients with more than 20 years of survival are in a good clinical condition, 5 of them in full-time work and 1 in part-time work.CONCLUSIONSPediatric PFE occurs mostly in young children, and there is marked risk for local recurrence among 5-year survivors even after gross-total resection and postoperative radiotherapy. Repeated resections are therefore an important part of treatment and may lead to persistent tumor control. Even though the majority of children with PFE die from their tumor disease, some patients survive for more than 50 years with excellent functional outcome and working capacity.


Mediaevistik ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-53
Author(s):  
Bernard S. Bachrach

During the first thirty-three years of his reign as king of the Franks, i.e., prior to his coronation as emperor on Christmas day 800, Charlemagne, scholars generally agree, pursued a successful long-term offensive and expansionist strategy. This strategy was aimed at conquering large swaths of erstwhile imperial territory in the west and bringing under Carolingian rule a wide variety of peoples, who either themselves or their regional predecessors previously had not been subject to Frankish regnum.1 For a very long time, scholars took the position that Charlemagne continued to pursue this expansionist strategy throughout the imperial years, i.e., from his coronation on Christmas Day 800 until his final illness in later January 814. For example, Louis Halphen observed: “comme empereur, Charles poursuit, sans plus, l’oeuvre entamée avant l’an 800.”2 F. L. Ganshof, who also wrote several studies treating Charlemagne’s army, was in lock step with Halphen and observed: “As emperor, Charlemagne pursued the political and military course he had been following before 25 December 800.”3


1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 623-633
Author(s):  
M Loxham ◽  
F Weststrate

It is generally agreed that both the landfill option, or the civil techniques option for the final disposal of contaminated harbour sludge involves the isolation of the sludge from the environment. For short time scales, engineered barriers such as a bentonite screen, plastic sheets, pumping strategies etc. can be used. However for long time scales the effectiveness of such measures cannot be counted upon. It is thus necessary to be able to predict the long term environmenttal spread of contaminants from a mature landfill. A model is presented that considers diffusion and adsorption in the landfill site and convection and adsorption in the underlaying aquifer. From a parameter analysis starting form practical values it is shown that the adsorption behaviour and the molecular diffusion coefficient of the sludge, are the key parameters involved in the near field. The dilution effects of the far field migration patterns are also illustrated.


2014 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-33
Author(s):  
Paul Janssenswillen ◽  
Wil Meeus

De vernederlandsing van het middelbaar onderwijs in Vlaanderen was een moeizaam proces dat zich over een lange periode uitstrekte. De nu vijftig jaar oude taalwet van 1963 wordt als eindpunt van dit proces beschouwd. Het tempo van de vernederlandsing verschilde van school tot school naargelang van hun ligging en leiding.Het bisschoppelijke Sint-Hubertuscollege in Neerpelt is het eerste Vlaams college. Daar werd in 1910 volledig Nederlandstalig gestart zowel tijdens de klasuren als erbuiten in de ontspanningstijd en het godsdienstig verenigingsleven. Gunstige factoren waren in dit verband de ligging van de school, ver weg van de taalgrens of een verfranste stad, met vrijwel geen Waalse leerlingen én de gebrekkige Franse taalkennis van de leerlingen die zich in 1910 aanboden. Ook de onvolledige humanioracyclus en het ontbreken van een concurrerende rijksschool speelden daarbij mee. Deze gunstige omgevingsfactoren en het feit dat in naburige katholieke colleges zoals die van Peer en Maaseik het vernederlandsingsproces in een stroomversnelling zat, werden door de koppige directeur Jaak Peuskens aangegrepen om het Nederlands in zijn college in te voeren. Het bisdom dat hem hiervoor op de vingers tikte, liet uiteindelijk betijen na een goede uitslag in de jaarlijkse staatsprijskamp.Met de inrichting van een internaat en de volledige humanioracyclus en de faam als eerste Vlaams college vergrootte de school haar rekruteringsgebied. Dat gebeurde onder impuls van de ondernemende directeur Gerard Nulens die contacten onderhield in Vlaamsgezinde milieus van diverse strekking. Neerpelt dat via het spoor gemakkelijk bereikbaar was, werd zo een flamingantisch trefpunt. Onder meer de zonen van Frans Van Cauwelaert, August Borms en Emiel Wildiers zaten er op de schoolbanken. Ook nadat het bisdom onverwacht en zonder duidelijke motivering de hoogste twee klassen van de klassieke humaniora afschafte, bleef het college van Neerpelt aantrekkingskracht uitoefenen op zonen van leidinggevende Vlaamsgezinden.________The Sint-Hubertuscollege (St Hubert’s secondary School) in Neerpelt: the first Flemish secondary school?A micro-investigation of the Dutchification of secondary education.The Dutchification of secondary education in Flanders was a laborious process that took a very long time. The now fifty year old law on the use of language of 1963 is considered as the finishing point of this process. The speed of the Dutchification differed from school to school according to its location and administration.The Episcopal Sint-Hubertuscollege in Neerpelt was the first Flemish secondary school. In 1910 it became an entirely Dutch speaking school, where Dutch was used during classes as well as elsewhere during leisure time and at religious associations. This was favoured by factors such as the location of the school, far away from the language border or a Frenchified city, the fact that there were hardly any Walloon pupils as well as the deficient knowledge of French of the pupils who applied in 1910. In addition, the incomplete cycle of coursework in humanities and the lack of a competing state school played a role. The stubborn director Jaak Peuskens took advantage of these favourable environmental factors and the fact that in neighbouring Catholic secondary schools like the ones in Peer and Maaseik the Dutchification process was rapidly gaining speed in order to introduce Dutch in his secondary school. The diocese that rapped him over the knuckles for this, in the end condoned it after the school obtained a good result in the annual state competition.After the setting up of the boarding school, the introduction of the complete humanities cycle and the resulting fame of being the first Flemish secondary school, the school enlarged its catchment area for recruitment. This happened at the instigation of the enterprising director Gerard Nulens who had contacts in pro-Flemish circles of various tendencies. Thus Neerpelt, which was so easily accessible by rail, became a Pro-Flemish meeting point. Pupils who attended the school included among others the sons of Frans Van Cauwelaert, August Borms and Emiel Wildiers. Even after the diocese unexpectedly and without clear motivation cancelled the two highest classes of the classical humanities cycle, the secondary school of Neerpelt continued to attract the sons of pro-Flemish leaders.


Author(s):  
John Toye

This book provides a survey of different ways in which economic sociocultural and political aspects of human progress have been studied since the time of Adam Smith. Inevitably, over such a long time span, it has been necessary to concentrate on highlighting the most significant contributions, rather than attempting an exhaustive treatment. The aim has been to bring into focus an outline of the main long-term changes in the way that socioeconomic development has been envisaged. The argument presented is that the idea of socioeconomic development emerged with the creation of grand evolutionary sequences of social progress that were the products of Enlightenment and mid-Victorian thinkers. By the middle of the twentieth century, when interest in the accelerating development gave the topic a new impetus, its scope narrowed to a set of economically based strategies. After 1960, however, faith in such strategies began to wane, in the face of indifferent results and general faltering of confidence in economists’ boasts of scientific expertise. In the twenty-first century, development research is being pursued using a research method that generates disconnected results. As a result, it seems unlikely that any grand narrative will be created in the future and that neo-liberalism will be the last of this particular kind of socioeconomic theory.


Author(s):  
Alyssa T Brooks ◽  
Hannah K Allen ◽  
Louise Thornton ◽  
Tracy Trevorrow

Abstract Health behavior researchers should refocus and retool as it becomes increasingly clear that the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic surpass the direct effects of COVID-19 and include unique, drastic, and ubiquitous consequences for health behavior. The circumstances of the pandemic have created a natural experiment, allowing researchers focusing on a wide range of health behaviors and populations with the opportunity to use previously collected and future data to study: (a) changes in health behavior prepandemic and postpandemic, (b) health behavior prevalence and needs amidst the pandemic, and (c) the effects of the pandemic on short- and long-term health behavior. Our field is particularly challenged as we attempt to consider biopsychosocial, political, and environmental factors that affect health and health behavior. These realities, while daunting, should call us to action to refocus and retool our research, prevention, and intervention efforts


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document