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Analysis and Reflection as Learning Tools

In my time, I have been head coach and assistant coach to pro, semi-pro and national league rugby teams as well as the Irish women's team. I have been a sports psychologist and an advisor on performance and setting performance environments in rugby, golf, motorcycle racing, rally driving and many other professional and Olympic sports. I am now a technical diving instructor as well. Why the mini-CV?

Wrong Teacher, Wrong Habits

Learning skills from some instructors might be a waste of time. Skills are the foundation of safe and enjoyable diving and the building blocks of all diving certifications. The comment here is not that learning skills is a waste of time, but that if you learn them from the wrong instructor, you may have to re-learn them completely for the skills to be of any use.

Removal of large shark species by fishers may lead to explosions in smaller shark species

Sharks influence fish communities at coral reefs

The research team from University of Western Australia arrived at this conclusion after a study involving two coral reefs. At one of the reefs (Scott Reef), shark hunters had been legally permitted to hunt sharks while the other reef (Rowley Shoals) was situated in a marine protected area.

TDI, SDI,  Jordan Greene, Sean Harrison, Paul Montgomery, Mark Powell, Brian Carney, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Mag, X-Ray Magazine, scuba diving news
TDI / SDI HQ Staff | Jordan Greene, Sean Harrison, Paul Montgomery, Mark Powell, Brian Carney (l to r)

Mark Powell Becomes TDI / SDI ‘International Business’ Manager

Mark Powell qualified as a TDI / SDI Instructor in October 2000, and has been an ardent advocate of this training agency for almost two decades. In 2002 Mark Powell set up Dive-Tech (a dedicated technical diving training facility) and began working as a full time professional. A role that he has continued to this day.

“I am very excited to join the HQ team. The opportunity to help grow this agency is very exciting”, stated Powell.

Rob Stewart promotional photo

[update] Sharkwater director Rob Stewart's body found

Stewart is best known for his 2006 documentary Sharkwater in which he examined and exposed the shark-hunting industries of the world and the effect upon the ocean ecosystem.

Rob Stewart, 37, was diving with a small group on the wreck of the Queen of Nassau near Alligator Reef off Lower Matecumbe Key in about 225 feet of water, his sister Alexandra Stewart told Miami Herald on Wednesday morning. He was filming an installment of his Sharkwater documentary series, she said.

Management of decompression stress

World-renowned diving medicine expert Dr Neal Pollock gave everyone a lot to think about with his talk on the thoughtful management of decompression stress.

Neal looked at the many factors that can alter decompression stress and the practical strategies all divers can use to optimise decompression safety.

“It is increasingly common for divers to rely on dive computers for their decompression safety. Dive computers do not yet measure or integrate a multitude of factors that can alter decompression stress.”- Dr Neal Pollock.

A high proportion of recreational divers may experience dental symptoms during a dive.

Diving could be bad for your teeth

The lead of the pilot study, Vinisha Ranna, who is also a keen scuba diver, became interested in the problem after she experienced it herself. In her case it manifested as a squeezing sensation in the teeth, known as barodontalgia

In order to see just how common and severe this problem is, she distributed a questionnaire through social media platforms dedicated to scuba diving and collected data from 100 scuba diving enthusiasts. A substantial number replied they experienced symptoms that range from tooth, jaw and gum pain to loosened crowns and broken dental fillings.

Lead author Vinisha Ranna, BDS, swims near underwater wreckage in Sri Lanka.

Nearly half of divers experience dental problems

Due to the constant jaw clenching and fluctuations in the atmospheric pressure underwater, divers may experience symptoms ranging from tooth, jaw and gum pain to loosened crowns and broken dental fillings. Recreational divers should consult their dentist before diving if they recently received dental care, said lead author Vinisha Ranna, BDS, a student in the UB School of Dental Medicine.

Shearwater Perdix AI
Shearwater Perdix AI

First Look: New Shearwater Perdix AI

When Shearwater first introduced their new Perdix dive computer in December 2015, I was pretty excited.

 

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