Training journals and the development of an elite sports identity

In this article we investigate whether the practice of writing training journals can shed light on the process whereby young cross-country skiers are transformed from promising talents into serious, committed athletes. By using data from athletes and coaches themselves, we explore how training journals help shape athletes’ outlook on sports, their relationship with their coach, and their personal identity. We focus on the cross-country skiers’ and coaches’ attitudes to planning their training sessions and keeping a journal. Journal writing can be understood as a project of subjectification, whereby the discourses place an athlete in certain positions that then imply particular expectations as to how the athlete will behave. In order to understand the subjectification process, we use what Michael Foucault called the technologies of the self, that is, the discourses and practices that individuals use when working on themselves.publishedVersio

Combinatory strategies for promoting tissue remodelling and endogenous plasticity after experimental ischemic stroke

Ulike strategier for å fremme regenerering og endogen plastisitet i hjernen etter eksperimentelt iskemisk slag Hjerneslag er på verdensbasis en av sykdommene som rammer flest mennesker i tillegg til å ha høy dødelighet. Vi kan kategorisere hjerneslag i to hovedtyper; slag forårsaket av en blødning i hjernevevet, eller slag forårsaket av en blokkering av blodtilførselen i hjernen, også kalt iskemiske slag. De fleste pasienter som rammes av slag, rammes av iskemiske slag, enten ved trombose eller en embolisme som begge innebærer at plakk eller en blodpropp føres med blodstrømmen opp i hjernen og blir sittende fast der. Per i dag er det kun trombolyse, oppløsning av blokkeringen i arterien med tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), som er godkjent som klinisk behandling av slagpasienter. Dessverre er tPA kun effektivt i et kort tidsrom på ca. 3-4,5 timer etter blodtilførselen opphører, noe som fører til at mange pasienter ikke kan motta denne typen behandlingen grunnet forsinket ankomst til sykehuset. Med økende levealder og en økende eldre befolkning forventes det også at antallet nye slagtilfeller vil bli flere i årene som kommer. Sykdomsutviklingen og patologien til iskemiske slag er en sammensatt prosess som utvikler seg over tid, i tillegg til store forskjeller mellom pasienter, noe som gjør behandling svært utfordrende. En stor del av behandlingen dreier seg derfor i mange tilfeller om rehabilitering etter skaden har oppstått. Dette understreker hvorfor tilnærming til behandling bør fokusere på å kombinere ulike strategier, enten når det gjelder å bremse skadeutviklingen, eller reparere skaden som allerede har oppstått. Humane nevronale stamceller (hNSCs) har vist seg i dyremodeller å ha positiv effekt på mikromiljøet i skadeområdet og på inflammasjon. Det er også en mulighet for at hNSCs kan erstatte noe av det tapte vevet, men også stimulere hjernens eget potensiale for plastisitet og regenerasjon. I arbeidet som er presentert i denne avhandlingen beskrives det ulike tilnærminger til behandling av hjerneslag i eksperimentelle slagmodeller. Hovedmålet med arbeidet har vært a) å kombinere stamcelleterapi enten med andre celletyper eller med farmakologisk behandling for å se om dette øker effekten i forhold til stamcellebehandling alene; b) studere effekten av å modulere inflammatoriske prosesser på utvikling av skaden; c) ta i bruk histologiske metoder for å se på celleimplantatenes overlevelse og integrering i vevet; d) studere hjernens egen (endogene) kapasitet for regenerasjon og effekten av de ovennevnte behandlingene på denne responsen til skade; e) sammenligne to forskjellige dyremodeller og diskutere potensialet for klinisk translasjon ved bruk av disse i slagforskning. I avhandlingen presenteres og diskuteres resultatene av arbeidet, potensialet av å integrere forskjellige behandlinger, samt bruk av dyremodeller med tanke på klinisk translasjon

Does education make a difference? : an exploration of education and gender in a South African context

Master i flerkulturell og internasjonal utdanningThis thesis examines the role of education in the process of transforming gender norms in marginalized societies, based on a study in a South African township. Education is understood as a crucial tool when societies initiate social and political change, but needs to be critically viewed on whether efforts in fact challenge practices, culturally and socially, that are gender insensitive. The tendency of understanding gender equality as numerical equality has dominated how national and international policy on gender has been outlined, and despite all efforts, reaching social and political justice and empowerment for women seems to be a slow process. Two main focuses come out of the study reported in this thesis. First, there is a gap between modern gender discourses, on the one hand, which form the school’s efforts and approaches and traditional gender practices, on the other hand. Secondly, in disadvantaged societies and societies in conflict education there is a need to involve a more sensitive approach towards people’s realities and pragmatic choices in order to “live out” the potential of education as a counterforce on unjust practices. The capability approach and social construct theory will serve as the theoretical orientation for this thesis and together they offer a conceptual structure in order to understand how education, gender and development may be related

Mental health exemptions to criminal responsibility - between law, medicine, politics and security

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Measuring radicalisation: risk assessment conceptualisations and practice in England and Wales

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Science in the clutches of elite sports: hard science, relational skills and power in Norwegian sports coaching

In this article, we examine the professionalization coaching in Norway, focusing on the years between 1990 and 2020. During this period, Norway started to perform comparatively well in international elite sport. Data are drawn from two relatively separate fields of Norwegian elite sport, namely elite football for men and the Norwegian organization for elite sports’ (Olympiatoppen) programme for future elite sport coaches. In our analysis, we rely on two sets of concepts: Giddens’ notion of reflexivity in late modern society, and Foucault’s concept of pastoral power. When concepts and methods from both the natural and the social sciences enter the clutches of elite sport, academic perspectives transform into recipes that aim to help athletes achieve more. The more the coach knows about the athlete, the better she can plan for training sessions. On the other hand, it creates a risk of manipulation and abuse of power.publishedVersio

A simulation model of colorectal cancer surveillance and recurrence

BACKGROUND: Approximately one-third of those treated curatively for colorectal cancer (CRC) will experience recurrence. No evidence-based consensus exists on how best to follow patients after initial treatment to detect asymptomatic recurrence. Here, a new approach for simulating surveillance and recurrence among CRC survivors is outlined, and development and calibration of a simple model applying this approach is described. The model’s ability to predict outcomes for a group of patients under a specified surveillance strategy is validated. METHODS: We developed an individual-based simulation model consisting of two interacting submodels: a continuous-time disease-progression submodel overlain by a discrete-time Markov submodel of surveillance and re-treatment. In the former, some patients develops recurrent disease which probabilistically progresses from detectability to unresectability, and which may produce early symptoms leading to detection independent of surveillance testing. In the latter submodel, patients undergo user-specified surveillance testing regimens. Parameters describing disease progression were preliminarily estimated through calibration to match five-year disease-free survival, overall survival at years 1–5, and proportion of recurring patients undergoing curative salvage surgery from one arm of a published randomized trial. The calibrated model was validated by examining its ability to predict these same outcomes for patients in a different arm of the same trial undergoing less aggressive surveillance. RESULTS: Calibrated parameter values were consistent with generally observed recurrence patterns. Sensitivity analysis suggested probability of curative salvage surgery was most influenced by sensitivity of carcinoembryonic antigen assay and of clinical interview/examination (i.e. scheduled provider visits). In validation, the model accurately predicted overall survival (59% predicted, 58% observed) and five-year disease-free survival (55% predicted, 53% observed), but was less accurate in predicting curative salvage surgery (10% predicted; 6% observed). CONCLUSIONS: Initial validation suggests the feasibility of this approach to modeling alternative surveillance regimens among CRC survivors. Further calibration to individual-level patient data could yield a model useful for predicting outcomes of specific surveillance strategies for risk-based subgroups or for individuals. This approach could be applied toward developing novel, tailored strategies for further clinical study. It has the potential to produce insights which will promote more effective surveillance—leading to higher cure rates for recurrent CRC

UK Counter-Terrorism and Multiple and Complex Needs: A Policy-Informed Discourse Analysis

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‘You create your own luck, in a way’ About Norwegian footballers’ understanding of success, in a world where most fail

The article is based on interviews with twelve young footballers who turned pro with the Norwegian top-flight club Odd BK. After asking why they succeeded in making the transition from promising talent to established top-level footballer, we investigate how the players’ own explanations tally with the two predominant theories in research on talent development, namely deliberate practice and successful talent development environments. We shall see that the basic elements of these theories resemble the players’ own recipes for success and more or less specify how the players and the club can achieve progress. However, neither of these theories relates to the structural situation that the players find themselves in, namely the fact that most hard-working players are never offered a professional contract. The looming uncertainty provides fertile ground for the development of notions of luck and the intricate workings of chance.publishedVersio