Australian Catholic University

About: Australian Catholic University is a education organization based out in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 2721 authors who have published 10013 publications receiving 215248 citations. The organization is also known as: ACU & ACU National.

Meaningfulness as satisfaction of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: Comparing the four satisfactions and positive affect as predictors of meaning in life

Abstract: Positive affect (PA) has consistently been shown to predict meaning in life (MIL). In one of the first investigations to examine multiple predictors of MIL simultaneously, we tested in three studies the hypothesis that satisfactions associated with being benevolent and fulfilling psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are more central predictors of MIL, and could explain the correlation between PA and MIL. Study 1, a cross-sectional survey, regressed the four suggested factors and PA simultaneously on MIL, showing that all four emerged as independent predictors, whereas PA and MIL were no longer connected. Study 2 looked at recollections of meaningful situations, showing that all four satisfactions and PA emerged as independent predictors of situational meaning. Study 3 used a diary method to show that daily fluctuations in autonomy, competence, relatedness, beneficence, and PA all simultaneously and independently predicted daily sense of meaning. However, a brief longitudinal study showed that whereas combined satisfaction of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence at T1 predicted general sense of MIL at T2, PA did not. Together, these studies show that the four satisfactions consistently emerge as independent predictors of both general and short-term meaning, in some situations even accounting for the relation between PA and general MIL.

Re-Examining High-Fat Diets for Sports Performance: Did We Call the ‘Nail in the Coffin’ Too Soon?

Abstract: During the period 1985–2005, studies examined the proposal that adaptation to a low-carbohydrate ( 60 % energy) diet (LCHF) to increase muscle fat utilization during exercise could enhance performance in trained individuals by reducing reliance on muscle glycogen. As little as 5 days of training with LCHF retools the muscle to enhance fat-burning capacity with robust changes that persist despite acute strategies to restore carbohydrate availability (e.g., glycogen supercompensation, carbohydrate intake during exercise). Furthermore, a 2- to 3-week exposure to minimal carbohydrate (<20 g/day) intake achieves adaptation to high blood ketone concentrations. However, the failure to detect clear performance benefits during endurance/ultra-endurance protocols, combined with evidence of impaired performance of high-intensity exercise via a down-regulation of carbohydrate metabolism led this author to dismiss the use of such fat-adaptation strategies by competitive athletes in conventional sports. Recent re-emergence of interest in LCHF diets, coupled with anecdotes of improved performance by sportspeople who follow them, has created a need to re-examine the potential benefits of this eating style. Unfortunately, the absence of new data prevents a different conclusion from being made. Notwithstanding the outcomes of future research, there is a need for better recognition of current sports nutrition guidelines that promote an individualized and periodized approach to fuel availability during training, allowing the athlete to prepare for competition performance with metabolic flexibility and optimal utilization of all muscle substrates. Nevertheless, there may be a few scenarios where LCHF diets are of benefit, or at least are not detrimental, for sports performance.

Physiological Issues Surrounding the Performance of Adolescent Athletes

Abstract: More than ever, many young athletes are being encouraged to train intensely for sporting competitions from an early age. Compared with studies in adults, less is known about the physiological trainability of adolescents. The velocity of physical growth during the adolescent years makes research with a group of young athletes particularly difficult. The purpose of this review is to discuss a number of physiological issues that surround the performances of the adolescent athlete. Research has highlighted the role of growth hormone (GH) in the abrupt acceleration of linear growth that occurs during adolescence. In addition, GH has been shown to be sensitive to exercise following short term intervention studies. The reduced anaerobic power of the adolescent athlete compared with that of an adult athlete has been attributed to the intrinsic properties of the muscle that are yet to be fully understood. Resistance training studies in male adolescents, and to a lesser extent female adolescents, highlight the substantial relative strength gains that can be obtained. Aerobic trainability in young boys appears to improve markedly during the adolescent years. One of the most plausible explanations for this observation is the ‘trigger hypothesis’ which links increased aerobic improvements in adolescence with hormonal changes and substantial growth of the cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal systems. Studies of aerobic trainability in adolescent girls are too scarce to be conclusive. An understanding of the impact of long term intensive training on adolescent athletes is difficult to ascertain because physical stresses vary both between and within sports. There is, however, limited evidence to suggest that ‘intense’ training does not impair normal growth, development or maturation. Adolescent athletes who experience rapid growth as well as large increases in training volumes may be vulnerable to overuse injuries.

A Learner-Centred Approach to Developing Team Skills through Web-Based Learning and Assessment.

Abstract: In traditional face-to-face classrooms, collaborative learning has been endorsed as an effective pedagogy that fosters skills of analysis, communication and higher order thinking. Increasingly, as online learning environments for tertiary learners make use of course support systems, there is greater recognition of the potential of communications technologies to foster dialogue, networking and team skills among learners. Such skills are now among the recognised core attributes that graduates are expected to develop. In face-toface classroom students learn the skills of collaboration and teamwork by engaging in tasks defined and supervised by a teacher. In online environments teacher presence is often limited to task definition, management and feedback functions. Team skills and collaboration therefore need to be supported though different pedagogies and processes such as establishing a climate of trust and openness, communication protocols, resolution of conflict and group processes that provide sanctions and support. In this paper we describe an innovative approach to building the skills of decision-making and conflict resolution, leadership and clarity in goal setting and communication. A case study of tertiary learners illustrates how the essential aspects of task definition, resources to support group learning and integrated online assessment foster team skills.