Competitive Setting Research Articles

Contactless Real-Time Heart Rate Predicts the Performance of Elite Athletes: Evidence From Tokyo 2020 Olympic Archery Competition

It is widely recognized that psychological stress impairs performance for elite athletes, yet direct evidence is scarce when it comes to high-stakes competition because measuring real-time psychological stress without interference is often challenging. Contactless real-time heart rate—a technology-enabled biomarker of stress—was measured and broadcast on TV during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics archery competition for the first time in sports. Here we examined whether the real-time heart rate of 122 adult archers predicted their performance in this unique setting. We found that higher heart rate—which indicates an increase in psychological stress—is associated with lower scores, correlation coefficient r(2096) = −.076, p < .001, and the observation is robust after we controlled for fixed effects at the individual and match level. Our results provide the first direct evidence in support of the detrimental effect of psychological stress measured by a real-time biomarker in a high-stakes competitive setting.

Seasonal analysis of match load in professional soccer players: An observational cohort study of a Swiss U18, U21 and first team.

The aim of this study was to quantify and compare various external match load measures in three age groups and leagues in male soccer (U18 in highest league of their age group vs U21 in fourth highest league vs first team in highest league). In this retrospective observational cohort study accelerations, decelerations, absolute and relative high-speed running as well as sprint distance, dynamic stress load, explosive distance, high intensity bursts total distance, high metabolic load (HML) distance, speed intensity, total distance, total time, and total loading were assessed in 416 individual player matches of 59 players. All these external load measures showed large inter-individual variability. At a group level, one-way ANOVAs or Kruskal-Wallis tests revealed statistically significant differences between the three teams for all measures analyzed (all p < 0.05), except accelerations. The first team displayed statistically significant higher dynamic stress load, explosive distance, HML distance, speed intensity, total distance and total loading compared to the two youth teams (all p < 0.05). The U18 featured statistically significant higher number of decelerations, absolute and relative high-speed running distance, high metabolic load distance, speed intensity, relative sprint distance, total distance, and total time than the U21, while for U21 higher dynamic stress load was observed than for U18 (all p < 0.05). Based on our data we conclude a routinely monitoring of match loads of different age groups and competitive settings to be required to 1) provide an indication of what players need to be prepared for, 2) track the athletic and match evolution, and 3) individually tailor training programs allowing players to fulfill the short- and long-term sport-specific requirements.

Evolution of Young Female Athletes’ Reasons for Participating in Judo and Basketball

Motivation is a key stone of sport success at all athletes’ skill levels. The change in direction and intensity of motivation in sport can lead to negative impact in athletic preparation, up to a point of dropping out from competitive sport, especially among young female athletes. Due to the different requirements and structure of individual vs team sport it may be a cause that influences the sport motivation of young athletes. Therefore, the major aim of this research is to investigate the differences in motivational dynamics among young female athletes participating in judo as a representative of individual sport and in basketball as a representative of team sport. This investigation has been conducted focusing on the motivational pattern involved in joining and continuing participation in the sport activity, as well as the obstacles athletes face during their athletic careers. Participants included 188 girls who practice regularly in a competitive setting as part of a national project for advancing women’s sport. They participated in basketball (n = 94) and judo (n = 91) and were divided into three age groups: 8–10 (young, n = 53): 11–13 (middle, n = 84) and 14–17 (adult, n = 48). Participants completed the modified Gould, Feltz, and Weiss (1985) questionnaire for examining young athletes’ reasons for participating in sports which was tailored to the research objectives. Factor analysis revealed different interpretable factors for each section of the questionnaire. A two-way ANOVA’s with repeated measures (2 b/j x 3 age groups) and post-hoc tests with Bonferroni adjustments were conducted to investigate differences between basketball and judo athletes across age groups in their motivation to start, to continue, and the obstacles they face. Results revealed that the motivation to start and continue sport participation was higher among basketball athletes compared with judo athletes. In addition, the judo athletes faced stronger obstacles compared to basketball athletes. Additional differences were revealed among the age groups in both sport disciplines. Results are discussed while considering the dynamic of motivational dispositions. Special attention is given to the importance of understanding what is the appropriate and specific psychological support based on variables such as sport discipline, motivational pattern, and age of young female athletes.

Introduction to the special issue on mobility, climate change, and economic inequality

Introduction to the special issue on mobility, climate change, and economic inequality

Covidization of Media and Entertainment Industry: Current Times and the Future Ahead

The paper has tried to address the modification and adaptation done by the motion pictures industry on the business model, decision-making process, and revenue model, with a case study on Walt Disney. This paper also tried to understand the digital disruptiveness probable strategies taken by media organizations to conquer the spot of market leader and gain a competitive advantage from the set of homogeneous competitors. The new normal business model that has helped Disney+ to create the core competency has given the organization a long-term benefit to make a sustainable business model. The paper further indulges on how Walt Disney’s proactive, informed, and balanced decision-making process about the sudden change in media business dynamics along with the arts and communication industry is going to be a benchmark while keeping the window of both online and offline media business with growing target audience and revenue generation. In the end, we have tried to come up with a business model for the media industry in contemporary times and the future.

Equilibrium Identification and Selection in Finite Games

Decision-making under simultaneous competition Hardly any decision is made in isolation and most decision makers are dealing with fierce competition when trying to find the optimal decision for their problem. The expected outcome of such a competitive problem setting or the individually optimal course of action for each competitor is not evident. In a finite game, a finite set of decision makers simultaneously select their action from a finite set of strategies. In “Equilibrium identification and selection in finite games”, T. Crönert and S. Minner propose a solution approach enumerating all equilibria and selecting the most likely equilibrium in finite games. The approach is targeted toward large finite games that cannot be efficiently represented in normal form. They apply their algorithm to two- and three-player knapsack and facility location and design games. Their numerical experiments show that prior approaches identifying a single equilibrium can result in unlikely outcomes.

From a land ‘down under’: the potential role of responsible innovation as practice during the bottom-up development of mission arenas in Australia

ABSTRACT This perspective paper integrates theories of responsible innovation (RI) with the nascent development of the concept of mission-oriented innovation to address wicked socio-institutional challenges. Theoretically, steering a Mission-oriented Innovation System (MIS) and associated ‘mission arena' toward activities that create virtuous cycles of RI practice will lead to cumulative impacts on the evolution of innovation system cultures. We explore this claim using nascent future-oriented ‘missions' developing within the competitive industry setting of Australian agri-food research and development ventures and aligned training exercises (short courses) in RI practice. This example highlights attempts to stimulate the practice of RI from the bottom up through the Australian (national) innovation system, as agri-food ‘missions’ come to be. Such reporting provides a conceptual grounding to foster a cycle (see graphical abstract) of relevance for comparison to other ex-ante MIS as mission-orientation is popularized as a potential solution to intractable and urgent problems throughout the developed world. A mission-oriented innovation cycle where clockwise from left: 1) people and organizations with ‘responsible innovation’ potential contribute as actors to an innovation system (technological, sectoral, regional, national or mission-oriented) that works to… 2) determine and prioritize a ‘challenge’ (‘grand societal’ or more mundane) then. 3) develops a ‘mission/s’ to overcome the ‘challenge’ leading to… 4) results of mission-oriented activities (that are either successful or not given the mission aims) over a given timeframe, circling back to… 5) the cumulative learning and development of language, discourse and practice (or not) of people, organizations, and innovation systems because of the mission-oriented innovation investment.

Comparison of Bigdata Application in User Behavior for Short Video Industry: TikTok and Xiaohongshu

With the progression of innovation, the applications created based on enormous information will gotten to be increasingly copious. Since the computing control of computers and the gigantic sum of information accessible are not easy issue, cleverly applications spoken to by manufactured insights and profound learning will ended up more astute. Within the setting of such industry competition, each brief video stage still must deeply understand the contrasts of its clients in numerous division measurements, so as to realize more precise advertise situating and define more sensible improvement methodologies. This article uses two platforms which analyze user behaviors depending on bigdata. AARRR Model is a technological tool that helps firms to find their problems. Bigdata is a basic section to build up such model. According to the analysis, the two companies built their own big data analysis methods based on this model to help them achieve greater success. These results shed light on guiding further exploration of big data analysis implementation for short video industry.

Optimization of vehicle structural parameters considering stability improvement

The main structural parameters that affect vehicle bifurcation characteristics and the safe basin are obtained, with the goal of improving the stability. First, the distribution of the system equilibrium points in three-dimensional space is studied, and the bifurcation characteristics of the front steering angles are obtained. Second, the front steering angle range corresponding to the bifurcation point (FSAR-BP) and the safe basin of the system (SBS) are determined and used as optimization objective functions. Considering the influence of the structural parameters on the FSAR-BP and SBS, a sensitivity analysis of the parameters is performed to establish their importance ranking in terms of their influence on the FSAR-BP and SBS. Third, a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) is utilized to optimize the parameters, and the competitive Pareto parameter optimization solution sets are obtained. Finally, the three solution sets with better comprehensive performance are selected for comparison with the pre-optimized set in the FSAR-BP and SBS. The results indicate that the optimized FSAR-BP increased by 218.81%, 237.83%, and 267.88%, and the optimized SBS increased by 207.52%, 197.06%, and 173.93%, respectively.

Green technology upgrading choice in a competitive setting: the effect of environmental tax

ABSTRACT This research considers a supply chain consisting of a regulator and two symmetric firms where the regulator influences the market by imposing a tax on firms’ environmental pollutant emissions. A price competition model is proposed to examine the equilibrium solutions that the two firms can reach in their technology upgrading process, and the effect of the environmental tax is evaluated. The two firms’ Nash equilibrium solutions regarding their technology improvement decision show that there is no asymmetric equilibrium. The decision to upgrade or not upgrade may arise in equilibrium, depending on the technology’s fixed cost. Besides, a prisoner’s dilemma may arise when the two firms do not upgrade their technology, and multiple equilibria may arise when the fixed cost incurred is at a medium level. Technology improvement decision is the dominant strategy when either prisoner’s dilemma arises or multiple equilibria arise for the two firms regardless of whether the environmental tax is exogenous given or not. In addition, firms’ reactions to environmental tax may be non-monotone. However, the role of the tax on firms’ improvement decisions is limited when the regulator further increases the tax. Finally, the optimal tax level for the regulator that can maximise welfare is obtained.

Epidemiology of injuries in amateur boxing: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

To synthesise competition and training injury data in amateur boxing. Systematic review and meta-analysis. Pooled estimates of competition injury incidence rates per 1000 athlete-exposures (IIRAE) and per 1000 min of exposure (IIRME), and training injury incidence rates per 1000 h of exposure (IIRHE) were obtained by fitting random-effects models. MEDLINE, Embase, AMED, AUSPORT, and SPORTDiscus databases were searched from inception to 27 May 2022. Cohort studies with prospectively collected injury and exposure data from amateur boxing competition or training published in peer-reviewed journals were eligible for inclusion. Seventeen studies were eligible for inclusion. The competition IIRAE and IIRME summary estimates were 54.7 (95 % CI 33.8-88.4) and 6.8 (95 % CI 4.2-10.9), respectively. The training IIRHE summary estimate was 1.3 (95 % CI 0.2-7.0). The most commonly injured body regions in the competition and training settings were the head and neck (median: 72 %; range: 46 % to 100 %) and upper limb (median: 49 %; range: 40 % to 53 %), respectively. The predominant types of injury were contusions (median: 35 %; range: 5 % to 100 %) and lacerations and abrasions (median: 20 %; range: 0 % to 69 %) in the competition setting, and sprains and strains (median: 60 %; range: 50 % to 81 %) in the training setting. Amateur boxing athletes sustain, on average, 1 injury every 2.5 h of competition and every 772 h of training. There is a need for identifying injury mechanisms and modifiable risk factors that can be targeted by preventive measures to reduce the burden of injury in amateur boxing.

How popularity goal and popularity status are related to observed and peer-nominated aggressive and prosocial behaviors in elementary school students

Whereas previous research with secondary school students has demonstrated that popularity goals and actual popularity status are related to peer-reported aggression, it is unclear whether this is already the case in the upper grades of elementary school. The current study extends previous research by assessing elementary school students, focusing on both aggressive and prosocial behaviors, and importantly by observing aggressive and prosocial behaviors in cooperative and competitive small-group settings. Participants were 173 Dutch fifth- and sixth-grade students (58.2% girls; Mage = 11.11 years, SD = 0.72), who self-reported popularity goals and nominated peers for popularity, aggressive behavior, and prosocial behavior. Participants’ behavior in a cooperative task and a competitive task, completed in groups of 4, was observed. Results show that popularity goal was related to high levels of aggression according to peers (only for boys) and to low levels of prosocial behavior across reporters and settings. Actual popularity status was related to high levels of strategic aggression across reporters and settings and additional high levels of strategic prosocial behavior in a cooperative setting. Thus, the current study demonstrates that popularity goal is already related to social behavior in elementary school and that desired and actual popularity are not only predictive of the behavior as perceived by peers but also predictive of observed behaviors during group interactions.

Making the cut: How panel reviewers use evaluation devices to select applications at the European Research Council

AbstractThe European Research Council (ERC) receives many high-quality applications, but funds only a few. We analyze how members of ERC review panels assess applications in the first, highly competitive step of evaluations for ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants. Drawing on interviews with ERC panel members in different fields, we show that they adopt a set of evaluation devices that offer pragmatic and standardized ways of evaluating in a time-constrained and highly competitive setting. Through the use of evaluation devices, panel reviewers enact and generate a distinct reviewing expertise that encompasses subject-specific knowledge and knowledge about how to accomplish evaluation within a situated setting. We find that ERC panel reviewers employ four evaluation devices during the first step of ERC reviews: first, reviewers base judgments on applicants’ prior achievements (delegation devices); second, they adjust their evaluations of individual applications to the quality of a given set of applications (calibration devices); third, they combine multiple elements to assess the feasibility of proposals (articulation devices); and finally, they consider the impact of the proposed research on science and society (contribution devices). We show that the current use of these devices generates what we have termed evaluative pragmatism: a mode of reviewing that is shaped by and accommodated to the need to review many high-quality proposals in a short time period with possibly limited expert knowledge. In conclusion, we discuss how the prevalence of evaluative pragmatism in the first step of ERC panel reviews shapes candidate selection, particularly regarding human and epistemic diversity in European research.

Pooling problems under perfect and imperfect competition

We investigate pooling problems in which multiple players vie with one another to maximize individual profit in a non-cooperative competitive market. This competitive setting is interesting and worthy of study because the majority of prevailing process systems engineering models largely overlook the non-cooperative strategies that exist in real-world markets. In this work, each player controls a processing network involving intermediate tanks (or pools) where raw materials are blended together before being further combined into final products. Each player then solves a pure or mixed-integer bilinear optimization problem whose profit is influenced by other players. We present several bilevel formulations and numerical results of a novel decomposition algorithm.

A survey on physarum polycephalum intelligent foraging behaviour and bio-inspired applications

In recent years, research on Physarum polycephalum has become more popular after Nakagaki (AIR 407: 6803-470, 2000) performed their famous experiment showing that Physarum was able to find the shortest route through a maze. Subsequent researches have confirmed the ability of Physarum-inspired algorithms to solve a wide range of real-world applications. In contrast to previous reviews that either focus on biological aspects or bio-inspired applications, here we present a comprehensive review that highlights recent Physarum polycephalum biological aspects, mathematical models, and Physarum bio-inspired algorithms and their applications. The novelty of this review stems from our exploration of Physarum intelligent behaviour in competition settings. Further, we have presented our new model to simulate Physarum in competition, where multiple Physarum interact with each other and with their environments. The bio-inspired Physarum in competition algorithms proved to have great potentials for future research.

Direct Resolution of the Interactions of a Hydrocarbon Gas with Adsorbed Surfactant Monolayers at the Water/Air Interface Using Neutron Reflectometry

We have directly resolved in the present work the interfacial composition during and after the interactions of a saturated atmosphere of oil vapor with soluble surfactant solutions at a planar water/air interface for the first time. Experiments were conducted on interactions of hexane vapor with solutions of alkyltrimethylammonium bromides and sodium dodecyl sulfate to observe the balance between cooperativity and competition of the components at the interface. In all cases, hexane adsorption was strongly enhanced by the presence of the surfactant, even at bulk surfactant concentrations four orders of magnitude below the critical micelle concentration. Cooperativity of the surfactant adsorption was observed only for sodium dodecyl sulfate at intermediate bulk concentrations, yet for all four systems, competition set in at higher concentrations, as hexane adsorption reduced the surfactant surface excess. The data fully supported the complete removal of hexane from the interface following venting of the system to remove the saturated atmosphere of oil vapor. These results help to identify future experiments that would elaborate and could explain the cooperativity of surfactant adsorption, such as on cationic surfactants with short alkyl chains and a broader series of anionic surfactants. This work holds relevance for oil recovery applications with foam, where there is a gas phase saturated with oil vapor.

Pass-Through of Own and Rival Cost Shocks: Evidence from the U.S. Fracking Boom

Abstract In imperfectly competitive settings, a firm's price depends on its own costs as well as those of its competitors. We demonstrate that this has important implications for the estimation and interpretation of pass-through. Leveraging a large input cost shock resulting from the fracking boom, we isolate price responses to firm-specific, regional, and industry-wide input cost shocks in the U.S. oil refining industry. The pass-through of these components varies from near zero to full pass-through, reconciling seemingly disparate results from the literature. We illustrate the policy implications of rival cost pass-through in the context of a tax on refinery carbon emissions.

Automatic Zig-Zag sampling in practice

Novel Monte Carlo methods to generate samples from a target distribution, such as a posterior from a Bayesian analysis, have rapidly expanded in the past decade. Algorithms based on Piecewise Deterministic Markov Processes (PDMPs), non-reversible continuous-time processes, are developing into their own research branch, thanks their important properties (e.g., super-efficiency). Nevertheless, practice has not caught up with the theory in this field, and the use of PDMPs to solve applied problems is not widespread. This might be due, firstly, to several implementational challenges that PDMP-based samplers present with and, secondly, to the lack of papers that showcase the methods and implementations in applied settings. Here, we address both these issues using one of the most promising PDMPs, the Zig-Zag sampler, as an archetypal example. After an explanation of the key elements of the Zig-Zag sampler, its implementation challenges are exposed and addressed. Specifically, the formulation of an algorithm that draws samples from a target distribution of interest is provided. Notably, the only requirement of the algorithm is a closed-form differentiable function to evaluate the log-target density of interest, and, unlike previous implementations, no further information on the target is needed. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated against canonical Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, and it is proven to be competitive, in simulation and real-data settings. Lastly, we demonstrate that the super-efficiency property, i.e. the ability to draw one independent sample at a lesser cost than evaluating the likelihood of all the data, can be obtained in practice.

The impact of sustainability certifications on performance and competitive action in hotels

Despite the growing research interest in the benefits of sustainability certificates to businesses, their impact on hotel firms’ financial performance at the competitive set (compset) level is not known. To fill this gap in the literature, this study uses data from 251 certified hotels located in Florida, United States, to analyze the effect of sustainability certificates on key performance indicators (KPIs) in hotels (e.g., Occupancy, ADR, RevPAR), compared to their compset. The findings show that certified hotels can increase their KPIs compared to competitors through a first-mover advantage. The study offers significant contributions to the literature on environmental management and competitive dynamics in the hospitality industry. We provide guidelines to managers regarding timing of response to other hotels in their competitive set when obtaining sustainability certification.

Abstract 9375: Role of Cardiac MRI in the Evaluation of T Wave Inversion in a Large Pre-Participation Cohort of Young Asian Males

Introduction: Abnormal T wave inversion (ATWI) in the pre-participation screening (PPS) electrocardiogram (ECG) may signify underlying myocardial disorders (e.g. cardiomyopathy, myocarditis) associated with sudden cardiac death. Current guidelines for competitive athletes recommend evaluation of ATWI with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and follow-on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) if TTE is normal (i.e. echo-negative). However, data on evaluation of ATWI detected on PPS outside of competitive athletes (e.g. recreational athletes or military enlistees) is lacking. Methods: We studied the yield of ATWI evaluation in a large unselected cohort of 48115 young Asian male military enlistees who underwent PPS between 2019-2021. Individuals with ATWI meeting the International Criteria 2017 definition underwent TTE. Echo-negative individuals with persistent ATWI on repeat ECG further underwent CMR and were followed up for 12 ± 8 months. Routine demographic, anthropometric and ECG parameters were collected. Individuals with known heart disease or conduction abnormalities (e.g. RBBB) were excluded. Results: 133 (0.3%) individuals had ATWI, amongst whom TTE detected 3 (2.3%) individuals with cardiomyopathy. 105 echo-negative individuals had persistent ATWI and underwent CMR, which detected a further 5 (4.8%) cases of cardiomyopathy and 2 (1.9%) cases of prior myocarditis with residual scar. Echo-negative individuals with myocardial disorders on CMR had deeper ATWI of ≥ 2mm (p=0.047), ATWI in lateral (p=0.046) or all 3 territories (p=0.006), and concomitant ST segment depressions (p=0.030). ATWI depth of &lt; 2mm demonstrated 100% negative predictive value for myocardial disorders on TTE or CMR. Conclusions: Evaluation of ATWI in our unselected cohort of young Asian males identified myocardial disorders in 7.5%, with follow-on CMR increasing the diagnostic yield by 3-fold compared to TTE alone. Our findings confirm that CMR has utility in the evaluation of ATWI detected by PPS even in unselected individuals outside the competitive athletic setting. ATWI depth of ≥2mm was present in all individuals with myocardial disorders, and may serve as a cut-off value for further CMR evaluation in settings with resource limitations.