‘Believe in Yourself,Channel Energy,and Play Your Trumps’: Olympic preparation in complex coordination sports

ObjectivesThis paper is aimed at (a) analysing the psychological context of complex coordination sports (CCSs) and specific contextual factors related to Olympic Games, (b) sharing the authors' experiences in Olympic preparation of athletes in diving, figure skating, and artistic and rhythmic gymnastics with an emphasis on typical working issues and strategies; and (c) summarizing the authors' reflections on the role of the national sport system and cultural contexts in Olympic preparation and major lessons learnt in working with Olympic athletes.Design and MethodAnalysing and structuring the authors' professional experiences in working with Olympic athletes in CCSs based on the scientist-practitioner model.ResultsMajor results include (a) a summary of psychological context for Olympic athletes in CCSs; (b) the temporal structure of Olympic preparation; (c) four categories of Olympic athletes; (d) consultants' strategies, reflecting major psychological aspects of Olympic preparation in CCSs; and (e) lessons learnt in working with Olympic athletes in CCSs.ConclusionThe authors emphasize the large responsibility of sport psychology practitioners working with Olympic athletes in CCSs and share lessons learnt, with a focus on seven major sport psychology approaches validated in their practice.     

MizarMode—an integrated proof assistance tool for the Mizar way of formalizing mathematics

The Emacs authoring environment for Mizar (MizarMode) is today the authoring tool of choice for many (probably the majority of) Mizar authors. This article describes the MizarMode and focuses on the proof assistance functions and tools available in it.

We start with the explanation of the design principles behind the Mizar system, and show how these design principles—mainly the concentration on simple and intuitive human-oriented proofs—have helped Mizar in developing and maintaining a very large body of formalized mathematics.

Mizar is a non-programmable and non-tactical verifier: the proofs are developed in the traditional “write—compile—correct” software programming loop. While this method is in the beginning more laborious than the methods employed in tactical and programmable proof assistants, it makes the “proof code” in the long-run more readable, maintainable and reusable. This seems to be a crucial factor for a long-term and large-scale formalization effort.

MizarMode has been designed with the aim to facilitate this kind of proof development by a number of “code-generating”, “code-browsing” and “code-searching” methods, and tools programmed or integrated within it. These methods and tools now include, e.g., the automated generation of proof skeletons, semantic browsing of the articles and abstracts, structured viewing, proof advice using trained machine learning tools like the Mizar Proof Advisor, deductive tools like MoMM, etc. We give an overview of these proof-assistance tools and their integration in the MizarMode, and also discuss some emerging and future extensions such as integration of external theorem proving assistance.     

Style and responsibility: Medicine in postmodernity

To what extent can postmodern developments be observed in modern medicine and which theories of postmodern philosophy can we draw on with regard to medicine's theoretical problem? This article explores these questions with special emphasis on the epistemological status of medicine, the concept of disease, and the anthropological model. It is examined whether medicine's inherent duty to act can be questioned in the light of the plurality that characterizes postmodernity. It is concluded that, according to postmodern philosophy, medicine should be characterized by a justified variety of paradigms. Cooperation within the variety must continue to be guaranteed, always in favor of the constitutive moral duty of medicine.     

On P-compatible hybrid identities and hyperidentities

P-compatible identities are built up from terms with a special structure. We investigate a variety defined by a set ofP-compatible hybrid identities and answer the question whether a variety defined by a set ofP-compatible hyperidentities can be solid.Presented byJan Zygmunt;     

Predictors of future employment status among Australian and Swedish school‐leavers: Longitudinal data

Longitudinal data were compared from samples of school‐leavers in Australia and Sweden. The data were collected at approximately the same time and comprised two waves. Wave 2 occurred 5 years after Wave 1. The study examined at‐school predictors of future employment status. It was anticipated that prediction would be better in Sweden, where the unemployment rate was low, than in Australia, where the unemployment rate was high. The hypothesis was not supported. Two possible explanations for this were considered: (1) the different attrition rates in the two samples; (2) the fact that the local unemployment rates in the areas of study at the time, Luleå, northern Sweden and Adelaide, South Australia were actually very similar, despite big differences in the national rates. Attrition analyses on the Australian sample revealed that, despite the fact that unemployed school‐leavers were more likely to drop out, the dropouts and stayers did not differ significantly on any of the pretest measures or demographic variables, apart from socioeconomic status (low SES respondents were more likely to drop out). Consequently the latter explanation was felt to be more plausible and it is proposed that future research designed to test the hypothesis should compare different regions within the same country where unemployment rates vary substantially. The best predictors of future employment status in both countries were the academic variables: teacher‐rated academic potential and stated intention to continue with further study after completing compulsory schooling.     

The 'self' in analytical psychology: the function of the 'central archetype' within Fordham's model

This paper concerns the self as Fordham came to conceive it after a conceptual analysis of Jung's use of the term. Fordham identified a contradiction in Jung's usage, and resolved it by reserving 'self' for a definition of the psychosomatic entirety of the individual, and using a separate term for referring to expressions of the self in human experience (e.g. symbols). Fordham tentatively suggested that the latter be termed the 'central archetype', although this was neither developed nor dropped. I explore the value of this term from a developmental perspective and, more specifically in terms of the deintegration of psyche out of an early psychosomatic unity. This draws upon infant research and an observation of a 14-month old boy. Finally, further developments are briefly described and illustrated, whereby pre-symbolic expressions of the central archetype become symbolic and come to reflect what was for Jung, the 'ultimate', 'Formation, Transformation, Eternal Mind's eternal recreation'.     

Efficient personality questionnaire for professional training

This study falls within the theoretical framework of the construct of the Efficient Personality. In this work, we present the study of validity and reliability of an original questionnaire made up of 60 items, applied to students from formative cycles of higher Professional Training. The questionnaire was reduced to 24 items, surpassing its initial .84 Cronbach alpha coefficient. Six first-order factors were obtained: Social Self-concept, Academic Self-concept, Solving Ability, Self-esteem, and Problem Coping. One second-order factor was obtained: Efficient Personality. The six-component factorial solution is similar both to the Spanish version for secondary school and to the Chilean versions for secondary and university populations, dividing the initial dimension of Self-concept into Self-concept and Self-esteem.     

GABA(A) receptors determine the temporal dynamics of memory retention

Four experiments studied the role of GABA(A) receptors in the temporal dynamics of memory retention. Memory for an active avoidance response was a nonmonotonic function of the retention interval. When rats were tested shortly (2 min) or some time (24 h) after training, retention was excellent, but when they were tested at intermediate intervals (1-4 h), retention was poor. Activity at GABA(A) receptors was critical for impairing memory retention at the intermediate intervals because injection of the GABA(A) receptor partial inverse agonist FG7142 prior to test significantly improved performance. These retention enhancing effects of FG7142 were dose-dependent and not due to any nonspecific effects of FG7142 on activity. Our results suggest that the temporal dynamics of memory retention may be caused by variations in neurotransmission through the GABA(A) receptor in the post-training period.