Psychological ways of preparing to start by athletes; pre-performance language routines

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 19-27
Author(s):  
Joanna Kotek ◽  
Józef Maciuszek
Keyword(s):  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Psychological Preparation ◽  
Mental Preparation ◽  
Performance Preparation ◽  
Starting State ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Mental Techniques

INTRODUCTION Article investigates direct psychological preparation to start by analysing techniques used by athletes to indicate an optimal starting state. Main goal was to differentiate pre-performance routines from sport mantras, understood as repetitive use of language, and to answer the question if the mantras have different effects on the process of preparation to start. The article is based on own research and literature. SUBJECTS AND PROCEDURE Research contains survey, covering the issue of mental techniques used by athletes before the start (146 respondents). 15 interviewees were chosen for semi-structured interviews about use of pre-performance mantras. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The outcome was the definition of sport mantra and description of variations of its use. Differences between this technique and other strategies of mental preparation to start were described. The results of the study address that and the characteristics of the mantas technique. It also provides clues for teaching pre-performance preparation.

Psychological ways of preparing to start by athletes; pre-performance language routines

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 19-27
Author(s):  
Joanna Kotek ◽  
Józef Maciuszek
Keyword(s):  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Psychological Preparation ◽  
Mental Preparation ◽  
Performance Preparation ◽  
Starting State ◽  
Mental Techniques

Introduction Article investigates direct psychological preparation to start by analysing techniques used by athletes to indicate an optimal starting state. Main goal was to diff erentiate pre-performance routines from sport mantras, understood as repetitive use of language, and to answer the question if the mantras have diff erent eff ects on the process of preparation to start. The article is based on own research and literature. Subjects and procedure Research contains survey, covering the issue of mental techniques used by athletes before the start (146 respondents). 15 interviewees were chosen for semi-structured interviews about use of pre-performance mantras. Results and conclusions The outcome was the defi nition of sport mantra and description of variations of its use. Diff erences between this technique and other strategies of mental preparation to start were described. The results of the study address that and the characteristics of the mantas technique. It also provides clues for teaching pre-performance preparation.

scholarly journals “I’ve Heard of It, Yes, but I Can’t Remember What Exactly It Was”—A Qualitative Study on Awareness, Knowledge, and Use of the UV Index

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1615
Author(s):  
Katharina Diehl ◽  
Tatiana Görig ◽  
Charlotte Jansen ◽  
Maike Carola Hruby ◽  
Annette B. Pfahlberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Sun Protection ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Protection Factor ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Uv Index ◽  
Correct Definition ◽  
Definition Of

Pharmacists and pharmaceutical technicians play an important role in counselling customers regarding sunscreen use and sun protection measures. A potentially helpful tool that can be used during counselling is the ultraviolet index (UVI), which informs individuals when and what sun protection measures are needed at a specific place and time. Our aim in this qualitative study was to explore awareness, knowledge, and use of the UVI during counselling in pharmacies. We used semi-structured interviews with pharmacists and pharmaceutical technicians (n = 20) to answer our research questions. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. During the interviews pharmacists and pharmaceutical technicians revealed a lot of uncertainty and lack of knowledge regarding the UVI. Eight professionals were able to give a correct definition of UVI. Amongst others, the UVI was confused with sun protection factor. Overall, the UVI was hardly used during the counselling of customers. The UVI was developed to provide guidance when which type of sun protection is required to avoid detrimental effects of ultraviolet radiation. For effective implementation, both the general population and health professionals (e.g., pharmacists) have to increase their knowledge about the UVI. This would strengthen its use during professional counselling in pharmacies and may help to reduce the incidence of skin cancer over the long term.

Collaborative design in public services: a wicked problem-reframing case

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Moura e Sá ◽  
Catarina Frade ◽  
Fernanda Jesus ◽  
Mónica Lopes ◽  
Teresa Maneca Lima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

PurposeWicked problems require collaborative innovation approaches. Understanding the problem from the users' perspective is essential. Based on a complex and ill-defined case, the purpose of the current paper is to identify some critical success factors in defining the “right problem” to be addressed.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical research study was carried out in a low-density municipality (case study). Extensive data were collected from official databases, individual semi-structured interviews and a focus group involving citizens, local authorities, civil servants and other relevant stakeholders.FindingsAs defined by the central government, the problem to be addressed by the research team was to identify which justice services should be made available locally to a small- and low-density community. The problem was initially formulated using top-down reasoning. In-depth contact with citizens and key local players revealed that the lack of justice services was not “the issue” for that community. Mobility constraints and the shortage of economic opportunities had a considerable impact on the lack of demand for justice services. By using a bottom-up perspective, it was possible to reframe the problem to be addressed and suggest a new concept to be tested at later stages.Social implicationsThe approach followed called attention to the importance of listening to citizens and local organisations with a profound knowledge of the territory to effectively identify and circumscribe a local problem in the justice field.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the limitations of traditional rational problem-solving approaches and contributes to expanding the voice-of-the-customer principle showing how it can lead to a substantially new definition of the problem to be addressed.

Gender Inequality and Intersectional Disadvantage among Students in South African Universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-172
Author(s):  
Oliver Tafadzwa Gore ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Capabilities Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Higher Education Policies ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
South African Higher Education

Although policies to widen participation have been implemented in South African higher education since 1994, inequality of achievements persists in universities. The failure of the higher education policy to clearly define ‘disadvantage’ in various interventions seems to have contributed to the continuing inequalities. This study theorises disadvantage using the capabilities approach pioneered by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum and argues for a more nuanced definition of disadvantage by exploring the opportunities, agency and achievements available to students in universities. The theorisation is based on findings from a qualitative case study of 26 semi-structured interviews conducted with students from one South African university. Using empirical findings, the theorisation in this study shows how the conversion factors intersect, resulting in some students achieving fewer functionings, which put them at a disadvantage. While gender equality seemingly has been achieved through enrolment figures that show parity levels, some female students are still disadvantaged through subtle forms of discrimination and sexual harassment in universities. This study therefore recommends that higher education policies should consider an expansive definition of disadvantage that encompasses the various dimensions of student wellbeing for all students to have flourishing lives.

scholarly journals Economic Contributions and Challenges of Immigrant Entrepreneurs to Their Host Country – Case of African Immigrants in Auckland, New Zealand

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Olufemi Muibi Omisakin
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Small Business Owners ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Immigrant Entrepreneurship ◽  
Immigrant Entrepreneurs ◽  
Definition Of

Entrepreneurship is an important concept in both developing and developed societies today. Although there is no consensus on the definition of entrepreneurship, it is believed to be a process of creating value by bringing together a unique package of resources to exploit entrepreneurship opportunities (Morris, 2002). This study aims to discover the economic contributions and challenges of immigrant entrepreneurs to their host country, and focuses on African small business owners in Auckland, New Zealand. Literature on immigrant entrepreneurship was reviewed, resulting in a discussion of the economic contributions of immigrant entrepreneurship as well as its challenges. Data was collected using face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, observation and field notes as the sources of inquiry. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 17 participants. All participants were African immigrant small business owners running businesses in Auckland. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected (Braun & Clarke, 2006). 

scholarly journals Balanced Scorecard: estudo sobre sua utilização como instrumento de gestão na empresa Novo Nordisk no Brasil

ForScience ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmar Souza Moreira ◽  
Wagner de Paulo Santiago ◽  
Igor Veloso Colares Batista
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Agency Conflict ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Pharmaceutical Production

Difundido entre empresas de todo o mundo, o Balanced Scorecard, três décadas após a sua criação, continua sendo um instrumento utilizado pelas empresas para gestão do  Planejamento Estratégico. Este estudo tem o objetivo de analisar a utilização prática do Balanced Scorecard como instrumento de gestão do Planejamento Estratégico na empresa Novo Nordisk Produção Farmacêutica do Brasil Ltda., identificando pontos de divergência em relação à teoria criada por Kaplan e Norton nos anos 90. Para a realização da pesquisa, foi adotada a abordagem metodológica empírico analítica, com a condução de estudo de caso em uma unidade fabril da empresa localizada em Montes Claros – MG. Foram feitas 19 entrevistas semiestruturadas com diretores e gerentes e aplicados 207 questionários aos demais funcionários. Os resultados mostraram que entre os gestores da empresa existe um conhecimento comum em relação às premissas para definição do Planejamento Estratégico e  um alinhamento sobre o Balanced Scorecard.  Contrariamente ao exposto por Kaplan e Norton sobre as etapas de criação do Balanced Scorecard, verificou-se que o processo na Novo Nordisk em Montes Claros é desenvolvido de forma inversa, primeiro são recebidas as metas advindas da matriz, para então ser desenvolvido o Planejamento Estratégico que levará ao atingimento destas metas. A pesquisa mostrou ainda as adaptações feitas pela empresa em estudo ao modelo proposto por Kaplan e Norton, de forma a minimizar as barreiras oriundas do conflito de agência que podem levar ao insucesso na obtenção dos resultados esperados para as metas definidas no Planejamento Estratégico das organizações.Palavras-chave: Balanced scorecard. Metas. Planejamento Estratégico.Balanced Scorecard: study on its use as a management instrument in Novo Nordisk company in BrazilAbstractDiffused among companies around the world, the Balanced Scorecard continues to be an instrument used by the companies to manage the Strategic Planning, even three decades after its creation. This study aims to analyze the practical use of the Balanced Scorecard as an instrument for the management of Strategic Planning in Novo Nordisk Produção Farmacêutica do Brasil Ltda (Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Production of Brazil Ltda), identifying points of divergence from the theory created by Kaplan and Norton in the 1990s. To develop the research, the analytical empirical methodological approach was adopted, with the conduction of a case study at a company unit located in Montes Claros - MG. There were 19 semi-structured interviews with directors and managers and 207 questionnaires were applied to the other employees. The results showed that among the managers of the company there is a common knowledge regarding the premises for the definition of Strategic Planning and also an alignment on the Balanced Scorecard. Contrary to what Kaplan and Norton presented about the stages of the creation of the Balanced Scorecard, it was verified that the process at Novo Nordisk in Montes Claros is developed in an inverse way: first, the goals coming from the head quarter are received. Then the Strategic Planning, which will lead to the attainment of these goals, is developed. The research also showed the adaptations made by the company under study to the model proposed by Kaplan and Norton, in order to minimize the barriers from the agency conflict that can lead to the failure to obtain the expected results for the goals defined in the Strategic Planning of the organizations.Keywords: Balanced Scorecard. Goals. Strategic Planning.  

scholarly journals Research and development projects fuzzy definition in the university context

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Kuchta
Keyword(s):  
Research Funding ◽  
Fuzzy Theory ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Innovative Potential ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The University ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose – research on R&D projects implemented at universities shows that many researchers feel that the requirements set on R&D project definition in the process of calls for projects brake the innovativeness and the freedom of research. Thus, the objective of the paper is to propose a soft, fuzzy set based method of R&D project definition, which would allow to evaluate projects in the stage of project calls, but at the same time would not act contrary to the research ideas of the most ingenious and innovative researchers. Research methodology – the proposal is based on the results of over 70 structured interviews with R&D project managers from Polish and French universities. The respondents expressed their critical opinion about the required definition of R&D projects in the application stage of most calls, suggested which elements should be improved and in which way. Most of them criticised the required detail level of projects description and emphasized the uncertainty present in their research. Then we propose to model this uncertainty by means of fuzzy sets. Findings – the result of the research presented in the paper is a new way of R&D project definition, based on the fuzzy theory, adjustable to each R&D project type. The new method of project definition will express the actual uncertainty and innovative potential of each R&D project and thus allow a selection of R&D projects which would maximise their contribution to the university and science development. Research limitations – the proposed approach needs to be validated and verified on the basis of a big sample of a real world R&D project, with the participation of a representative sample of researchers. Another limitation is a highly probable resistance against such an approach among the researchers and research funding institutions, as it requires a deep analysis of the planned research and its context. Practical implications – it is proposed that the method will be used by research funding institutions in project calls. This will increase the efficiency of financial resources spent on research, in terms of value-added per one dollar invested in the research. Originality/Value – the proposed method is the first approach to project definition based on fuzzy numbers and one of very few existing approaches to project definition taking uncertainty into account

scholarly journals The identity of a new profession

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Le ◽  
Darren Tellier
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Education Practice ◽  
Healthcare Needs ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Medical Traditions

In Canada, there is a growing interest in regulating the practices of acupuncture and Chinese herbology under the banner of ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine’ (TCM). However, the origins and definition of TCM are unclear and therefore disputed. While TCM is often used as an umbrella term to represent Chinese medical traditions that span millennia, numerous academics consider TCM to be a modern construct that has departed from the foundational roots of Chinese medicine. To better understand TCM and its implications for the profession, our study investigates: 1) historical precedents leading up to the formal creation of TCM; 2) characteristics and defining features of TCM; and 3) how this relates to education, practice and regulation of the profession in Canada. A mixed-methods study design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore perceptions of individuals who contributed to mediums that discussed the formation of TCM or traditions that exist outside of TCM. In addition, an anonymous web-based survey was sent to TCM-related professional organizations, who were asked to distribute the survey to their members to capture the views of persons practicing within TCM-related health professions in Canada. Due to a lack of participation from the organizations, no survey data was collected. Interviews revealed that TCM is a product of the standardization and simplification of Chinese medicine during the 1950’s and 60’s in China to meet healthcare needs at the time. Currently in Canada, there appears to be a lack of awareness that the establishment of TCM is not a comprehensive representation of Chinese medical traditions, and that many aspects of it may not be suited to the healthcare landscape of modern-day Canada. There is a need for more discussion surrounding the identity of this new profession.

scholarly journals TACTICS OF BORDER CROSSING MOVEMENT: EXPLORING THE MOBILITY OF BRAZILIANS THROUGH THE SCHENGEN AND UK AIRSPACE

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Dias
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Research Orientation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Embodied Practice

This paper addresses the relations between migrants, mobility, tactics, negotiation, and the contemporary definition of borders in the aftermath of 9/11.The empirical focus of this paper is how Brazilians from Alto Paranaiba journey through airports located in the Schengen area and in the British territory to London. As a main research orientation, I use the notion of journey as approached by mobility studies, where actions and skills remain an important link between the wayfarer and the social space in which s/he moves through, the embodied practice to how we grasp the world. Migrants deal and struggle against border regime, but they are not powerless social actors. They rather produce creative resistance to reinvent their journey through the surveillance apparatus, which manage and delimit places with targets and threats. In this process, I explore the notion of border crossing movement as a tactical mobility developed by migrants to overcome the border control imposed by governments in airports. The article was drawn through fieldwork conducted initially in London, between 2009 and 2013, and afterwards in Alto Paranaiba, during 2013. The ethnographic study consisted in semi-structured interviews, participant observation through snowball technique, which enabled me to access a considerable number of participants in these two regions explored. The argument that I develop is that migrants as social actors are part important in the dialogue produced between border crossing and border reinforcement.

scholarly journals Addressing the Problems of Land Registration Processes in Complex Land Tenure Systems Using Computational Techniques: Evidence from Accra Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-57
Author(s):  
Williams Miller Appau ◽  
Baslyd B. Nara ◽  
Javier G. Morales
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Systems Design ◽  
Computational Techniques ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Land Registration ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
The People ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Land Tenure Systems

Land registration processes have been described to be simplistic in simple land tenure environments where land rights are treasured and registered by the state on behalf of the people. Duplication of tasks, repeated preparation of land registration documents, and wrong definition of tasks affect the activities and processes of land registration characterising complex land tenure environments. Many qualitative land registration models such as the use of Unified Modified Language (UML) diagrams have been developed to show the frameworks of land registration processes in most parts of the world. However, most researches avoid the technical implementation of these models. This paper presents the quantitative approaches to addressing the problems of land registration processes in complex land tenure systems using computational techniques such as Process Maker and Java Script. The paper used case study approach to collect data and systems design method for the output. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from the Lands Commission of Accra and its stakeholders. Process maker software was operationalised using GeoJSON parcel file. Results show that, the simplification of land registration processes is based on the rationale behind the change (Data error, improved capacity, service quality), and the semantics (process re-engineering) involved in the computation of the modelling processes. The outcome has the ability to simplify an otherwise complex tenure system by avoiding delays and therefore improving the land registration processes.

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