Sources of stress,burnout and intention to terminate among rugby union referees

We examined sources of stress, burnout and intention to terminate among rugby union referees. Questionnaires were returned by 682 of 1175 referees (58%) from Wales, Scotland and England. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed four correlated sources of stress factors (performance concerns, time pressure, interpersonal conflict and fear of physical harm), which accounted for 49.6% of the variance. Referees believed the first three factors to be mildly related to their stress. They believed fear of physical harm to be unrelated to their stress. A structural model hypothesizing that time pressure and interpersonal conflict predict burnout, and that age and burnout predict intention to terminate refereeing, fit the observed data. The goodness-of-fit index for this model was 0.96. Our results and those of other studies indicate that interpersonal conflict and time pressure are common sources of stress for sport officials and are frequently related to their burnout experiences. Also, age and burnout are frequently, although only marginally, related to intention to terminate.     

Film Genre Studies

Les Adams and Buck Rainey's Shoot-em-Ups: The Complete Reference Guide to Westerns of the Sound Era (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1978---$30.00)

David Rothel's The Singing Cowboys (Cranbury, N.J.: A.S. Barnes, 1978---$19.95)

Lawrence H. Suid's Guts & Glory: Great American War Movies (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1978---$12.95/6.95)

Jack G. Shaheen, ed. Nuclear War Films (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1978---$10.00/4.95)

Thomas Cripps' Black Film as Genre (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978---$10.00)

Neil P. Hurley's The Reel Revolution: A Film Primer on Liberation (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1978---$7.95, paper)

Anita Loos' San Francisco, A Screenplay (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1979---$10.00/4.95)

Eugene Rosow's Born to Lose: The Gangster Film in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978---$19.95)     

Sensory, cognitive, and linguistic factors in the early academic performance of elementary school children: The Benton-IU project

Standardized sensory, perceptual, linguistic, intellectual, and cognitive tests were administered to 470 children, approximately 96% of the students entering the first grade in the four elementary schools of Benton County, Indiana, over a 3-year period (1995--1997). The results of 36 tests and subtests administered to entering first graders were well described by a 4-factor solution. These factors and the tests that loaded most heavily on them were reading-related skills (phonological awareness, letter and word identification); visual cognition (visual perceptual abilities, spatial perception, visual memory); verbal cognition (language development, vocabulary, verbal concepts); and speech processing (the ability to understand speech under difficult listening conditions). A cluster analysis identified 9 groups of children, each with a different profile of scores on the 4 factors. Within these groups, the proportion of students with unsatisfactory reading achievement in the first 2 years of elementary school (as reflected in teacher-assigned grades) varied from 3% to 40%. The profiles of factor scores demonstrated the primary influence of the reading-related skills factor on reading achievement and also on other areas of academic performance. The second strongest predictor of reading and mathematics grades was the visual cognition factor, followed by the verbal cognition factor. The speech processing factor was the weakest predictor of academic achievement, accounting for less than 1% of the variance in reading achievement. This project was a collaborative effort of the Benton Community School Corporation and a multidisciplinary group of investigators from Indiana University.     

Suicidal Clients and Supervisees: A Model for Considering Supervisor Roles

It is likely that counselor trainees will be exposed to suicidal clients and subsequently face personal dilemmas, stress, and feelings of incompetence. Ethical guidelines mandate that supervisors have procedures to assist supervisees in such times. Currently, the literature does not provide a framework for providing such supervision. This article presents a theory‐grounded model to assist the supervision of supervisees working with suicidal clients.     

Sources of stress, burnout and intention to terminate among rugby union referees

We examined sources of stress, burnout and intention to terminate among rugby union referees. Questionnaires were returned by 682 of 1175 referees (58%) from Wales, Scotland and England. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed four correlated sources of stress factors (performance concerns, time pressure, interpersonal conflict and fear of physical harm), which accounted for 49.6% of the variance. Referees believed the first three factors to be mildly related to their stress. They believed fear of physical harm to be unrelated to their stress. A structural model hypothesizing that time pressure and interpersonal conflict predict burnout, and that age and burnout predict intention to terminate refereeing, fit the observed data. The goodness-of-fit index for this model was 0.96. Our results and those of other studies indicate that interpersonal conflict and time pressure are common sources of stress for sport officials and are frequently related to their burnout experiences. Also, age and burnout are frequently, although only marginally, related to intention to terminate.     

Using data for decision-making: perspectives from 16 principals in Michigan, USA

In response to the vast amounts of data associated with the accountability movement and the rhetoric of data-informed decision-making, we interviewed 16 principals to find out what streams of data they used and what decisions they made by using the data. We found that: (a) student achievement data are predominantly used to the extent of neglecting other streams of data such as student and community background data and school process data; (b) student achievement data are used more for accountability purposes—for assessing “of” rather than “for” the learning; (c) different streams of data are rarely used together to derive rich meaning for decision-making; and (d) school districts differ in the extent to which their principals use data to improve curriculum and instruction. The study pointed both to the challenges and to the opportunities of making data-informed decisions to improve our schools.     

Learning pathways between and within vocational and higher education: towards a typology?

Promotion by governments of the provision of pathways for learners and the principle of seamlessness in post-compulsory education over the past decade may be perceived as both positive and problematic. Seamlessness can provide considerable choice and yet can readily lead to uncertainty and indecision. A number of studies have drawn attention to the phenomenon of indirect transfer, where the movement of tertiary students is not linear but involves several moves within and between sectors. This paper explores patterns in such movements and proposes a typology of five learning pathways. The research involved in-depth interviews held with 69 students in South Australia who had experienced both vocational and higher education sectors. Such research can help educators and researchers understand more fully the experiences in and reasons for moving within and between various pathways. It can also assist policymakers and institutional planners with insights into how best to fashion relationships between sectors and tailor policies and services that help learners navigate through education systems.     

Action research and the english as a foreign language practitioner: time to take stock

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) experienced an energetic and enthusiastic campaign in favour of the practice of action research among teachers in the profession. Although there are now some positive signs that action research is practised by teachers working in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, it is, as yet, not so clear that such practice is widespread. Yet, few educators deny the importance of action research for ‘bridging the gap’ between theory and practice, or the need for that gap to be bridged in all spheres of the profession. This article reports the result of a small-scale international survey into the knowledge, practices and opinions of EFL classroom teachers with respect to action research, and discusses reasons for and possible solutions to some of the difficulties and limitations of action research at this level     

Competitive Trait Anxiety in Male and Female College Athletes

Abstract

This study investigated issues related to competitive trait anxiety (CTA) among university varsity athletes. Sixty-four male and 64 female athletes completed the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) and an 18-item questionnaire. The questionnaire measured fear of failure, fear of evaluation, importance of sport success, success/failure in sport, and satisfaction with sport experiences. It was hypothesized that these issues would be significantly related to CTA. Questionnaire responses were factor analyzed, and the four resultant factors were entered into a regression analysis of males' and females' SCAT scores. A fear of failure scale (performance worries items) and a fear of evaluation scale (expectancy of criticism items) were significantly related to males' SCAT scores (R² = .22). Only the fear of failure scale was significantly related to the females' SCAT scores (R² = .24). Results support the proposed relationships of fear of failure and fear of evaluation to CTA, but also suggest that the pattern of these relationships varies across age, gender, sport, and other variables.