A person-centered approach to achievement goal orientations in competitive tennis players: Associations with motivation and mental toughness

Background:Research on achievement goal orientations in sport has typically relied on the use of variable-centered approaches that tend to overlook population heterogeneity.In this study,we used a person-centered approach to identify subgroups of competitive tennis players according to unique combinations of achievement goal orientations and tested for subgroup differences in motivation and mental toughness.Methods:A sample of 323 competitive tennis athletes(69.35%male)between 15 and 25 years of age(17.60±2.40 years,mean±SD)completed the 3×2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Sport,Sport Motivation Scale Ⅱ,and Mental Toughness Index.Latent profile analysis was used to identify unique combinations of achievement goal orientations.Comparisons between latent subgroups on autonomous motivation,controlled motivation,and mental toughness were performed using analysis of variance.Results:Latent profile analysis supported 3 distinct patterns of achievement goal profiles that were primarily distinguishable based on valence of competence(i.e.,approach vs.avoidance).Analyses of variance indicated that athletes who were classified into subgroups that endorsed approach types of goals(regardless of the types of avoidance goals they endorsed)reported higher levels of autonomous motivation and mental toughness.Conclusion:Results indicated that athletes tend to pursue a number of achievement goals collectively rather than in isolation.Although approach goals are more commonly linked to adaptive psychological functioning and positive outcomes,avoidance goals may also be associated with desirable psychological characteristics if they are pursued in conjunction with approach types of achievement goals.     

Online interaction across three contexts: an analysis of culture and technological affordances

Students were linked virtually across three contexts: U.S., Malaysia, and China. Differences emerged in how student-created messages were constructed and interpreted; these impacted perceived relational affiliation. Messages constructed by students in Malaysia and China exhibited casual talk, greater self-disclosure, requests for personal information, and greater use of emoticons/emoji. Interactions were perceived as informal, friendly, and positive. U.S. students’ messages often showed institutional talk, less self-disclosure, and more attention to the instructor-assigned task. Asian-U.S. student pairs perceived their interactions as formal, less friendly, and less positive. This study shows how online technologies may be afforded and shaped by culture and interaction.     

Optimizing recovery to support multi-evening cycling competition performance

Road criterium and track bicycle racing occur at high speeds, demand repeated high power outputs, last 10–90?min, and offer little chance for recovery after the event. Consecutive evenings of criterium and track racing are respectively known as speed-week or six-day events and take place in evening hours over the course of a week. Given the schedule and timing of these competitions, return to homeostasis can be compromised. No recommendations exist on how to optimize recovery for cyclists participating in these types of repeated evening competitions. Criterium and track cyclists spend considerable time, near and above the individual lactate threshold and therefore mostly utilize carbohydrate as their chief energy substrate. Henceforth, pre – and post-race nutrition and hydration is examined and recommendations are brought forward for carbohydrate, protein, and fluid intake. As evening high-intensity exercise perturbs sleep, strategies to optimize sleep are discussed and recommendations for an optimal sleep environment are given. Active recovery is examined, and the benefits of a short duration low intensity exercise reviewed. Passive recovery methods such as compression garments and cold water immersion are recommended, while evidence for massage, pneumatic compression devices, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation is still lacking. Optimizing recovery strategies will facilitate a return to the resting state following strenuous night competition.     

Considerations for the use of functional principal components analysis in sports biomechanics: examples from on-water rowing

The proliferation of new biomechanical technology in laboratory and field settings facilitates the capture of data-sets consisting of complex time-series. An understanding of the appropriate statistical approaches for analysing and interpreting these data-sets is required and the functional data analysis (FDA) family of statistical techniques has emerged in the biomechanical literature. Given the use of FDA is currently in its infancy with biomechanical data, this paper will form the first of a two part series aiming to address practical issues surrounding the application of FDA techniques in biomechanics. This work focuses on functional principal components analysis (fPCA), which is explored using existing literature and sample data from an on-water rowing database. In particular methodological considerations for the implementation of fPCA such as temporal normalisation of data, removal of unwanted forms of variation in a data-set and documented methods for preserving the original temporal properties within a set of curves are explored in detail as a part of this review. Limitations and strengths of the technique are outlined and recommendations are provided to encourage the appropriate use of fPCA within the field of applied sports biomechanics.     

Sport and civil society in the Nordic region

Abstract

This paper examines the key elements within the relationships of sport and civil society in Scandinavia. The analysis combines themes and developments in Nordic sport and civil society, such as the role of the welfare state and the impacts of neoliberalism, with consideration of specific national experiences, especially in Finland. The discussion has four main parts. First, we set out the principal features of the ‘Nordic model’ of society, and how it shapes sport and civil society relations. Second, we advance a Finnish case study, examining the historical connections of three sectors to the national sport culture. Third, we consider how, in recent decades, the Nordic model has encountered and sought to respond to neoliberalism and globalization processes. Finally, we explore how Nordic societies have sought to influence globalization processes and ‘global civil society’ through sport, specifically through taking lead roles within the transnational ‘sport for development and peace’ sector.