Scott Fleming

Choking in sport: a review

Choking under pressure is a pejorative colloquial term (Clark, Tofler, & Lardon, 2005) used to describe a sub-optimal sporting performance under stressful conditions. In order to prevent its occurrence and enable performers to achieve their potential under pressure, a full understanding of the phenomenon is necessary. By reviewing critically the contemporary research, the aim of the paper is to examine the suggested mechanisms and potential moderators of choking in sport, and consider the interventions designed to alleviate it. In addition, the conceptual and methodological concerns that exist within the choking literature will be presented, and directions for future research that address such concerns will be recommended.

A re-examination of choking in sport

Abstract The purpose of this study was to re-examine choking in sport. Using a grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), qualitative data were gathered from four “experts” of applied sport psychology, who had published within the stress and anxiety literature, and worked extensively with athletes who had performed in highly stressful situations. The experts perceived that the contemporary definitions of choking in sport fail to reflect fully the experiences of “chokers”, and created a more detailed definition in response. They considered the choking process to consist of a stress response that culminates in a significant drop in performance – a choke, which psychologically damages the performer. It was also suggested that the choking process and its consequences were moderated by individual differences and type of sport. Accordingly, they recommended interventions that may alleviate choking and, importantly, generated characteristics that can be used to identify a choker. Such findings offer an extended understanding of choking in sport and provide a framework for future ecologically valid research.

Sport and South Asian youth: the perils of ‘false universalism’ and stereotyping

Studies of the sport-ethnicity relation have tended to neglect young South Asians in Britain and although there has recently been an increasing interest in the role of sport in South Asian lifestyles, the significance and function of sport in South Asian cultures remains confused and ill-informed. This paper offers a critical reflection on some of the important studies that have informed this under-researched area of leisure studies, and considers two key themes. First, that the failure to fully acknowledge South Asian heterogeneity — a failure manifest as ‘false universalism’ — operates at three different levels: collective treatment of all minority groups; mistaken assumptions about all South Asians; and a misunderstanding about the full complexity of South Asian heterogeneity. Second, that false universalism leads to the sort of crude stereotypes about the sporting aptitude and preferences of young South Asians that are generally prevalent, and can also become internalized by South Asians themselves.

Continuing professional development: suggestions for effective practice

Some of the recent debates and discourses about higher education have embraced the development of shared aims and values within the professional context. The opportunity to engage in critical reflexive pedagogy is being widely acknowledged as an important element in the continuing professional development in the sector. In this paper a case study model of professional development practice is outlined: the Teaching Development Group at the University of Gloucestershire. As part of a review of its own organizational structure for some aspects of professional development, a multi‐method research project was undertaken during 2001. The first phase was a questionnaire survey of the universitys academic staff to establish some baseline data and to plot general patterns and trends. This generated a database of 101 returns; a response rate of 31%. The second phase was a series of four ‘focus group’ meetings to develop a more nuanced understanding of the key themes and issues that emerged from the survey. These highlighted the positive spirit in which the scheme was received in the first instance, the difference of opinion over the direction taken by different groups and agenda setting, and some perceptions about a formal framework for teaching observation as part of on‐going professional development. From the perceptions of preferences and/or optimal practice identified in the two phases of the research, a scheme of this kind has the potential to contribute effectively to professional development when appropriately resourced, small, cognate groups have autonomy and when there is a clear differentiation between on‐going staff development and formal appraisal activities.

Personal narrative and the ethics of disclosure: a case study from elite sport

In this article the ethics of disclosure through personal narrative are explored through a relatively benign autobiographical vignette concerning the background to a doctoral study on referee communication in rugby union football. It deals specifically with the referee’s encounters with three key ‘actors’: his mentor, a club coach, and a player (with a rich and therefore identifiable biography) who was ‘sin binned’ in a particular game. Through it, four substantive themes are explored: (i) the impracticality of voluntary informed consent; (ii) anonymity — and the possibilities for the errors of disclosed identities and mistaken identities; (iii) risk of harm; and (iv) violation of privacy.

‘Role models’ among elite young male rugby league players in Britain

There is a taken-for-granted acceptance that sports stars have responsibilities as ‘role models’, yet the concept of a ‘role model’ is unclear. The present study addressed the choice of ‘role models’ amongst elite young British rugby league players, and the reasons for their choices. During the summer of 2002 under-13 and under-14 participants of regional training camps (N = 291) completed a questionnaire survey. Almost all indicated that they had a ‘favourite player’ - though some were not current rugby league players. The most frequently cited were all senior international players, and many had on-field leadership experience. Analysis of the reasons for the choices revealed important general dimensions of technical competence, decision-making, physical characteristics, (explicit reference to) ‘role models’ and temperament. These provided the basis for a preliminary explanatory model. This particular cohort of young players demonstrated broad consensus and were able to make clear judgements through nuanced understandings of the game.

The Effect of Shear Stress on the Size, Structure, and Function of Human von Willebrand Factor

Clinical outcomes from ventricular assist devices (VADs) have improved significantly during recent decades, but bleeding episodes remain a common complication of long-term VAD usage. Greater understanding of the effect of the shear stress in the VAD on platelet aggregation, which is influenced by the functional activity of high molecular weight (HMW) von Willebrand factor (vWF), could provide insight into these bleeding complications. However, because VAD shear rates are difficult to assess, there is a need for a model that enables controlled shear rates to first establish the relationship between shear rates and vWF damage. Secondly, if such a dependency exists, then it is relevant to establish a rapid and quantitative assay that can be used routinely for the safety assessment of new VADs in development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to exert vWF to controlled levels of shear using a rheometer, and flow cytometry was used to investigate the shear-dependent effect on the functional activity of vWF. Human platelet-poor plasma (PPP) was subjected to different shear rate levels ranging from 0 to 8000/s for a period of 6 h using a rheometer. A simple and rapid flow cytometric assay was used to determine platelet aggregation in the presence of ristocetin cofactor as a readout for vWF activity. Platelet aggregates were visualized by confocal microscopy. Multimers of vWF were detected using gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. The longer PPP was exposed to high shear, the greater the loss of HMW vWF multimers, and the lower the functional activity of vWF for platelet aggregation. Confocal microscopy revealed for the first time that platelet aggregates were smaller and more dispersed in postsheared PPP compared with nonsheared PPP. The loss of HMW vWF in postsheared PPP was demonstrated by immunoblotting. Smaller vWF platelet aggregates formed in response to shear stress might be a cause of bleeding in patients implanted with VADs. The methodological approaches used herein could be useful in the design of safer VADs and other blood handling devices. In particular, we have demonstrated a correlation between the loss of HMW vWF, analyzed by immunoblotting, with platelet aggregation, assessed by flow cytometry. This suggests that flow cytometry could replace conventional immunoblotting as a simple and rapid routine test for HMW vWF loss during in vitro testing of devices.

The experience of community sport development: a case study of Blaenau Gwent

In this paper, the experience of community sport development (CSD) is explored through case study evidence from Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council – an area of social disadvantage in the South Wales valleys. An empirically informed theoretical account is presented based on three key themes: (a) community development and social capital; (b) nurturing citizenship; and (c) resistance to paternalism. As a result, a re-conceptualisation of CSD is advanced in which there is an explicit recognition of the tripartite relationship between community, citizens and providers as part of an understanding of new governance. This in turn requires a shift away from dichotomous ‘bottom–up’ and ‘top–down’ approaches towards a non-hierarchical emphasis for CSD.

Learning through reflection: values, conflicts, and role interactions of a youth sport coach

This paper examines the use of reflective practices in the personal learning journey of a part-time, volunteer, youth sport coach. Using autoethnographic and reflective texts, the paper explores the centrality of values in coaching practice, the tensions and conflicts created by them and their denial, and the consequent impact on the coach’s behaviour and emotions. The use of reflection in a practice setting to gain a deeper understanding of those values and conflicts is discussed. The paper concludes with an assessment of the potential benefits of, and obstacles to, effective and critical reflective practices for the youth sport coach and offers some recommendations for further research.

Nuts, zoo, and the mediation of a youthful masculinity

Abstract Nuts and Zoo, two mass market “mens lifestyle” magazines aimed specifically at young men were launched in Britain in 2004. With their tabloidesque presentation and irreverent editorial style, initial sales of the weeklies were an unprecedented success. This paper explores the discourses of masculinity articulated in the magazines and examines the wider set of socio‐cultural values, norms, and expectations embodied and celebrated therein. Through discourse analysis of 57 magazines (between February 2004 and January 2005), key mediating influences became evident: voyeurism, excess (together often manifest in schadenfreude), and the use of irony (through which the potentially “unacceptable” is made humorous). The paper also analyzes the gender politics of the ob‐jectification and sexualization of women in Nuts and Zoo.