Mental Toughness and Coping Skills in Male Sprinters

The predictive quality of psychological skills in relation to sports and more specifically track and field athletes continues to be explored. Purpose: To profile psychological adaptations in Jamaican male sprinters and to assess the differences between elite and sub-elite athletes. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 30 male participants who were grouped based on previous athletic achievement into the elite group and sub-elite group. Following a simulated competitive run; the athletes completed the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 and the Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48. Results: The elite athletes exhibited greater mental toughness than the sub-elite group and coping skills were a significant predictor of mental toughness. Conclusion: Assessment of psychological skills may distinguish elite from sub-elite athletes

Do red deer stags (Cervus elaphus) use roar fundamental frequency (F0) to assess rivals?

It is well established that in humans, male voices are disproportionately lower pitched than female voices, and recent studies suggest that this dimorphism in fundamental frequency (F0) results from both intrasexual (male competition) and intersexual (female mate choice) selection for lower pitched voices in men. However, comparative investigations indicate that sexual dimorphism in F0 is not universal in terrestrial mammals. In the highly polygynous and sexually dimorphic Scottish red deer Cervus elaphus scoticus, more successful males give sexually-selected calls (roars) with higher minimum F0s, suggesting that high, rather than low F0s advertise quality in this subspecies. While playback experiments demonstrated that oestrous females prefer higher pitched roars, the potential role of roar F0 in male competition remains untested. Here we examined the response of rutting red deer stags to playbacks of re-synthesized male roars with different median F0s. Our results show that stags’ responses (latencies and durations of attention, vocal and approach responses) were not affected by the F0 of the roar. This suggests that intrasexual selection is unlikely to strongly influence the evolution of roar F0 in Scottish red deer stags, and illustrates how the F0 of terrestrial mammal vocal sexual signals may be subject to different selection pressures across species. Further investigations on species characterized by different F0 profiles are needed to provide a comparative background for evolutionary interpretations of sex differences in mammalian vocalizations

Troubling the exclusive privileges of citizenship: mobile solidarities, asylum seekers, and the right to work

This article discusses asylum seekers and the right to work in the UK. Differential access to the labour market is one of the ways in which the state maintains a distinction between British citizens, who ‘belong’, and non-citizens who do not. While such a policy approach garners widespread support amongst the general public of citizens, it does not go uncontested. This article discusses a UK-based campaign, ‘Let Them Work’, which has sought to influence the government in extending the right to work to asylum seekers. In doing so, it demonstrates the ways in which the stratified regime of citizenship rights is contested politically, and explores how such contestation troubles the exclusive privileges of citizenship by enacting mobile solidarities from marginalised spaces

Media’s Influence on Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Roles and Attrition

Past researchers have argued that teacher attrition rates result from burnout, job dissatisfaction, and lack of support, but they have not explored the possibility of the media’s ability to influence the perception teachers have regarding their roles. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into whether the media influenced secondary teachers’ self-perceptions and attrition in a public high school in the Midwest. Social influence theory served as the theoretical framework. The research questions focused on how the media’s portrayal of educators in print and film influenced how teachers perceived themselves and teacher attrition. For this qualitative case study, 8 teachers volunteered for the interview phase, and 23 participants completed the anonymous survey, which led to identifying emergent themes related to the social influence on teachers’ self-perception of their role and possible links to attrition. Data analysis consisted of 7 preset labels and 6 emergent codes aligned with the research questions, later examined to gain insight into the problem, which revealed that professional and social environments influence the participants’ perceptions of their role and professional identity. The findings of this study led to the recommendation of a 3-day professional development course that may be used as the foundation of teacher preparation curriculum. The results of the research may impact social change by improving secondary teachers’ understanding of how the media’s social influence can alter perceptions they have of their roles

A Qualitative Study on Nurse Facilitators of Mind-Body Skills Groups

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), founded by Dr. James Gordon, provides communities with evidence-based Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) that foster self-care, self-awareness, and self-expression. MBSGs range from 8 to 12-week series on various mind-body practices wherein group members meet, practice, and reflect on the impact of mind-body skills in their lives. Research has demonstrated that participants in MBSGs have positive outcomes. Healthcare professionals (HCPs), especially nurses, gain resiliency from MBSGs. As facilitators of MBSGs, nurses develop essential skills transferable to clinical and educational settings. MBSGs are therapeutic for adult participants with chronic stress. Prior to this thesis, only one study examined the impact of facilitating MBSGs on the facilitator. There was no research on the nurse as an MBSG facilitator. This paper examines the influence of mindfulness on the CMBM model, which uniquely provides MBSGs to various populations. It also investigates the CMBM model’s impact on the nurse facilitators’ ability to be mindfully aware and responsive. The paper utilizes a cross-sectional qualitative research design; the researcher interviewed five nurse facilitators of MBSGs to capture their nuanced experiences. The semi-structured interviews revealed the following three themes: (1) self-care (subthemes: self-care during COVID-19, mindfulness as self-care, and leaning toward compassion to find safety and self-compassion); (2) patient applications (subthemes: compassionate presence as a mind-body skill and a platform to share other mind-body skills); and (3) finding confidence. The interview findings suggest MBSG facilitation has potential to be a nursing intervention; MBSGs could enhance nursing resilience in healthcare organizations and nursing colleges

Preventing phone theft and robbery: the need for government action and international coordination

The banning of stolen handsets from networks has been around for 20 years, but remains little used internationally. Where used, its effectiveness is hindered by implementation problems, reprogramming, easy fencing opportunities, and international trafficking. Kill-switches where the user remotely disables a handset and deletes data have potential but, if non-permanent, are likely to experience similar limitations. This study proposes a set of responses to be adopted by national governments with international coordination

Global EdD (taught doctorate) in Remote Pedagogy and Stewardship

This project is made possible with funding by the Government of Ontario and through eCampusOntario’s support of the Virtual Learning Strategy.I. Module 1: Indigenous Knowing MethodologiesII. Module 2: Educational Research in an Online EnvironmentIII. Module 3: Stewardship in EducationIV. Module 4: Educational Change & Reciprocal LearningV. Module 5: Reciprocal Research ResidencyThe Global EdD in Remote Pedagogy and Stewardship is an open-access taught doctorate (EdD) in remote digital research and sustainability for educators. There are four (4) self-guided modules created by professors and researchers from the University of Windsor, Canada; Aamjiwnaang First Nation; Lews Castle College, The University of Highlands and Islands (UHI), UK; Yunnan Normal University, China and international writing partners. The four multimedia modules are: 1. Indigenous Knowing Methodologies; 2. Educational Research in an Online Environment; 3. Stewardship in Education and 4. Educational Change and Reciprocal Learning. To complete the Global EdD, self-guided students must register for the fifth and final Module 5, the reciprocal research residency, at a partner institution. Rich reading and viewing reference lists are included in each module of the course