Goal-directed self-talk used to self-regulate in male basketball competitions

This study examined how goal-directed self-talk may help basketball players to self-regulate in stereotypical competitive situations: seconds before a challenging game, while clearly winning or clearly losing, and at the close of a tight game. Participants were recruited in groups of three to four, until preliminary inspection of the data indicated that data saturation was reached. In the end, 34 basketball players voluntarily took part in individual interviews, writing up to three self-instructions they had used in each of the four competitive situations to self-regulate. Content analyses revealed that self-talk in competitive basketball situations serves cognitive functions (e.g., regulating cognition and behaviour), motivational functions (e.g., promoting mastery goals) and emotion and activation-regulating functions (e.g., creating activated states). More specifically, the results also indicated that athletes’ self-talk may serve functions specific to the psychological demands experienced in each situation. It is argued that knowing how athletes counsel themselves, could prove important for applied sport psychologists to design psychological skill training.     

Exploring the contribution of activity sports tourism to same-day visit expenditure and duration

ABSTRACT

Drawing upon a unique large-scale data source (n=5,004) and motivated by the time allocation model of consumer demand in economics, this paper critically analyses the relationship between the expenditure from, and duration of, same-day visits that comprise a large component of the domestic tourism market in England. It focusses on the contribution of activity sports tourism as a component of same-day visits. Three-stage least squares (3SLS) instrumental variable estimation is employed to account for the simultaneous determination of duration and expenditure as implied by economic theory. Controlling for socio-economic characteristics and general trip behaviours, the research identifies that although total expenditures and trip durations are positively related, there are trade-offs between these when focussing on the direct effects of the activities undertaken. However, accounting for the interrelationship between the duration of visits and the expenditures on them, it is found that walking reduces the expenditures on trips and their duration. Field sports increase them both. No effects are identified for running and cycling, as land-based activity sports tourism, or swimming and water sports, as water-based activity sports tourism. The key drivers of expenditure, which also increase the duration of trips, are visiting attractions and hospitality. The research provides a theoretically informed and empirically robust foundation for a more nuanced and targeted activity sports tourism strategy, which might have implications for how activity sports tourism may contribute to health and well-being and local economic development to better inform tourism planning and policy.     

The decentralisation of the school system in post‐communist Romania

Following the fall of the Iron Curtain in December 1989, the Romanian system of education has started a deep process of reconstruction that asked for a comprehensive package of reforms among which decentralisation. Broadly the paper aims to make a contribution to the emerging knowledge base about the realities of restructuring of post‐communist education systems and the impact that governance through markets is having on public services. The paper focuses on presenting and discussing the attempts to decentralise pre‐higher education in Romania in considering the role of the state and governance in the provision of public services and the introduction of market mechanisms in education. The decentralisation of education has been proposed by the then Minister of Education Andrei Marga. Although decentralisation in pre‐higher education has been piloted for three academic years and the policy documents that introduced it have been permanently amended and updated, more than a decade later, this reform has not reached its aims mainly due to the various changes on the political scene. However, provided that no major amendments will be made to the Laws of National Education (2009), decentralisation in pre‐higher education will be a reality from 2010–11.     

Attitudes to diversity: a cross‐cultural study of education students in Spain,England and the United States

This study explores the beliefs and attitudes that university students enrolled in teacher education programmes in Spain, England and the US (Texas) hold about individuals who differ. A beliefs and attitudes toward difference scale (BATD) was constructed using nine dimensions of diversity; culture, language, socioeconomic status/social class, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political ideology, disability and special talent. A two‐way factorial analysis of variance indicated significant main effects due to the respondent groups on culture, religion and sexual orientation; significant main effects of worldview of difference on political ideology; and no interaction between the two factors on each of the nine domains of difference. An exploratory factor analysis was also performed in order to explore the viability of the theoretical model. The data suggest that attitudes towards people who differ include etic, emic and individual properties. These are discussed in terms of the uses of cross‐cultural data and further research opportunities.     

Measuring systemic problems in National Innovation Systems. An application to Thailand

The paper contributes to research on innovation systems in general and, in particular, to the current debate on rationales for innovation policy by providing a framework to identify systemic problems in a given system of innovation and test the framework empirically. The data were drawn from the Thai Community Innovation Survey in the period after which a major change in the country's innovation system policy had been initiated. By hierarchical factor analysis, systemic problems are identified and grouped into four components: institution, network, Science and Technology infrastructure and other support services. The analysis allows researchers to investigate the mismatch between policies and problems and identify policy gaps.     

Isokinetic hamstrings-to-quadriceps peak torque ratio: the influence of sport modality, gender, and angular velocity

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in hamstrings-to-quadriceps (H/Q) peak torque ratios evaluated at different angular velocities between men and women who participate in judo, handball or soccer. A total of 166 athletes, including 58 judokas (26 females and 32 males), 39 handball players (22 females and 17 males), and 69 soccer players (17 females and 52 males), were evaluated using an isokinetic dynamometer. The H/Q isokinetic peak torque ratios were calculated at angular velocities of 1.05 rad · s?1 and 5.23 rad · s?1. In the analysis by gender, female soccer players produced lower H/Q peak torque ratios at 1.05 rad · s?1 than males involved in the same sport. However, when H/Q peak torque ratio was assessed at 5.23 rad · s?1, there were no significant differences between the sexes. In the analysis by sport, there were no differences among females at 1.05 rad · s?1. In contrast, male soccer players had significantly higher H/Q peak torque ratios than judokas (66 ± 12% vs. 57 ± 14%, respectively). Female handball players produced significantly lower peak torque ratios at 5.23 rad · s?1 than judokas or soccer players, whereas males presented no ratio differences among sports At 5.23 rad · s?1. In the analysis by velocity, women's muscular ratios assessed at 1.05 rad · s?1 were significantly lower than at 5.23 rad · s?1 for all sports; among men, only judokas presented lower ratios at 1.05 rad · s?1 than at 5.23 rad · s?1. The present results suggest that sport modality and angular velocity influence the isokinetic strength profiles of men and women.     

The relationship between drawing and oral language in deaf students aged three to five

This study examines the relationship between drawing and oral language acquisition in deaf students aged three to five. The sample is made up of one hundred participants: fifty deaf and fifty hearing children. Goodenough's Human Figure Drawing Test and the WPPSI Scale of Intelligence geometric design subtest have been used to evaluate graphic representation. The deaf participants' oral language has been assessed using the GAEL-P test. The main findings were that there were no significant differences between the populations studied in terms of graphic representation. The oral language level of the deaf population does not correlate with the level of their geometric designs, but does with the complexity of the drawing of the human figure at the age of 5. The main conclusion with respect to the relationship between oral language and figurative drawings suggests that different representations of symbolic functions should be integrated into children's education, especially in the case of deaf children.     

Lexical effects on children’s pseudoword reading in a transparent orthography

The present study investigated the involvement of lexical knowledge in pseudoword reading by Italian children aged 8–10. In both lexical decision and reading aloud tasks, inhibitory effects were found on pseudowords derived from high-frequency words in comparison to pseudowords derived from low-frequency words. A group of adult readers showed inhibitory effects on pseudowords based on high-frequency words only in lexical decision. The inhibitory effects were interpreted as due to interference on pseudoword processing caused by lexical activation of a high-frequency base-word. The results support the view that lexical information is exploited even in the development of reading of a transparent orthography.     

Mapping the impact of climate change on biomass accumulation on stone

Several climate parameters affect the growth of organisms and, hence, their capacity to accumulate biomass. In the present research, we analyse the influence of two parameters, temperature and precipitation, on biomass accumulation on stone substrate, and propose a function to estimate it in temperate areas. The expression is subsequently used for the first time to evaluate the impact that climate change would have in biomass accumulation in Europe. The models on climate change predict an increase in temperature and precipitation in northern areas of Europe for the far future (2070–2099), which would lead to a higher accumulation of biomass. Otherwise, a significant reduction in precipitation is expected in southern areas of Europe, associated with a lower biomass accumulation in such areas.     

Making the transition to post-secondary education: opportunities and challenges experienced by students with ASD in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

Internationally there are increasing numbers of young people on the ASD spectrum attending higher education. Early transition planning is essential and students with ASD often require support to articulate their post-school educational goals and actively participate in transition planning meetings. Services within higher education are primarily designed to provide academic supports however, non-academic supports may be an even more crucial factor in enabling successful transitions for young people on the ASD spectrum who often experience heightened anxiety within an unfamiliar environment. Within this paper, the results of a small-scale exploratory study of the transition experiences of six young people on the ASD spectrum to post-secondary education will be shared. There was limited evidence that transition planning had been initiated as a formal process for the six students. Accessing support in higher education proved to be a complex process for some students who required sustained input from parents to ensure that they would utilise the supports available. Encouraging the development of self-determination skills, a key predictor of success in higher education, needs to begin in secondary school. It is anticipated insights from this study can contribute to the development of an embedded infrastructure to support effective transitions for students with ASD to post-secondary education.