Competitive Women Research Articles

The Influence of Home-Court Advantage in Elite Basketball: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review analyzes the factors that influence home advantage in basketball across various competitions in the United States and Europe. Through an investigation of English- and Spanish-language articles published in EBSCO, Scopus, Consensus, and Web of Science between 2010 and 2024 related to home advantage in basketball, 1682 articles were initially identified. After applying specific filters to ensure that only articles concerning National Basketball Association (NBA), Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Euroleague, Spanish basketball, and European basketball were considered, 39 articles met the final requirements for in-depth analysis. The studies analyzed in this review suggested that player performance, player position, and sleep influenced home advantage in competitions in Europe and the United States. Fan behavior had a bigger impact in European competitions, where teams from capital cities have a lower home advantage. In the United States, where teams must travel long distances to play, several studies indicated that teams traveling eastwards tend to perform more strongly than teams traveling westwards. Also of note is that, in many cases, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions reduced home advantage. This review identifies factors contributing to home advantage in basketball, compares competitions in different regions, and proposes ideas for future research such as a greater focus on women's competitions, the impact of television, and the introduction of new performance indicators.

Competitive formats and the competitiveness of women’s elite futsal teams: should we follow men’s standards?

Competitive formats and the competitiveness of women’s elite futsal teams: should we follow men’s standards?

Enhancing the Performance and Competitiveness of Women in MSMES Through Marketing, Capital, and Digital Literacy

The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the performance and competitiveness of women entrepreneurs in the Tuka Tuku Purbalingga programme. Tuka-Tuku in Purbalingga serves as support for the development of start-ups in the field of local culinary specialties or other local products. Tuka-Tuku facilitates the expansion of local start-ups, preserves the authenticity of regional products, and promotes the cultural heritage of diverse culinary traditions. The current study employed a quantitative research design utilizing a survey method to gather data. The survey instrument comprised a 5-point Likert scale and was administered to female entrepreneurs participating in the program. To test ten research hypotheses pertaining to the relationships between marketing, capital, digital literacy, performance, and competitiveness, Structural Equation Modeling was applied. The findings of this research have revealed that marketing, financing, and digital literacy play a significant and positive role in enhancing the performance and competitiveness of women entrepreneurs participating in the Tuka Tuku Purbalingga program. Additionally, this study confirms that performance is a crucial determinant of female entrepreneurs' competitiveness in the program. These findings suggest that women entrepreneurs with strong marketing, financing, and digital literacy skills are more likely to achieve better performance and be more competitive in the market. Given these results, it is recommended that policymakers and stakeholders direct their efforts towards enhancing the marketing, capital, and digital literacy skills of female entrepreneurs in the Tuka Tuku Purbalingga program to improve their overall performance and competitiveness.

Evaluation of active and reactive menifestations in female padel players. Influence of the playing side

Over the last years padel has experienced an exponential growth in all areas, as can be seen in the significant number of licences, the incorporation of new professional circuits and a significant increase in the number of scientific publications. However, there are still scarce research that analyse in depth the conditional characteristics of padel players according to the side of the court which they play on. Several studies have evaluated the explosive strength of the lower body in racket sports, but in padel the existing evidence is scarce, limited and heterogeneous, especially regarding the side of play, and particularly in women's competition. In this sense, the aim of this study is focused on evaluating and analysing the manifestations of active and reactive strength of the lower body in women's padel according to the side of play. The squat jump test (SJ) and the countermovement test (CMJ) were used to assess the active and reactive manifestations of lower limb strength, in addition to the power performed. The results obtained showed no significant differences in the height of the SJ and CMJ jumps, neither in the power performed. However, it can be seen that all the physical variables analysed are slightly higher in those players located on the left side of the court. Depending on the side of play, the differences found could be the result of specific chronic muscular adaptations derived from highly specialized training and competition. The results obtained suggested the need to design and carry out differentiated trainings taking according to the side of the game in which the players compete in padel tennis. Further research is needed to contrast the results found in this investigation.

Transgender in modern olympic sports: problems and ways of their solution

Background. In recent years, there have been active disputes and disagreements among international sports leaders, including representatives of the International Olympic Committee, about the possibility of including transgender athletes in the number of participants in the Olympic Games. Objective of the review: to analyze of the modern scientific literature data to substantiate the possibility of admitting transgender women to participate in the women’s competitions of the Olympic Games. Review results indicate that the number of transgender candidates for participation in sports of higher achievements may be caused by the increase in the transgender population in the world. Currently, there is no significant scientific evidence on the biological benefits that hinder the integrity of transgender women’s competition in women’s sports. There is also no evidence that transgender women who have opted for testosterone suppression (e.g. hormone therapy to confirm sex and/or surgical removal of the sex glands) retain an indefinite advantage over cisgender athletes. To be more precise, current evidence suggests that any biological benefits of transgender women in athletic performance do not fall outside the range that is observed among cisgender female athletes after testosterone suppression. However, experts disagree in the field of medicine about the morphofunctional differences of transgender female athletes and cisgender female athletes, society’s rejection of female athletes after transgender transition, the indecision of International Olympic Committee representatives in solving this problem in women’s sports relevant and extremely painful for healthy women, sportswomen, for the development of sports in general and women’s sports in particular.Our further research will be aimed at expanding the study of the conceptual foundations of combining two key areas of research - medico-biological and socio-cultural, with integration into the practice of sports as one of the actual issues of our time that require a theoretically justified and practically proven solution.

Sprint race distance affects reaction time in male and female sprinters at the 2022 World Indoor Athletics Championships

In sprint disciplines, the start reaction (SR) time affects the final result in the sprint. This research aimed to analyze and examine whether there are significant differences in the SR in the semi-final and final groups in the 60 m and 400 m disciplines at the World Indoor Championships in Athletics, held in Belgrade in 2022 in men's and women's competition. The aim was also to determine if there were statistical differences between men and women in the 400 m event. T-test for independent samples showed statistical differences between the SR in the 60 m and 400 m athletics events in men (t=-4.434, p=0.000) and women (t=-3.210, p=0.004). For the 400 m running events, an independent samples t-test was used to examine differences between men and women in SR. No significant differences were obtained between men and women in the 400 m event (t=0.401, p=0.691). SR is part of all running disciplines and affects the time achieved in the race (result). Although it has been known for a long time that training can influence SR, a few studies still examine training's effects on SR. The question can be about how much it is possible to reduce SR with specific training exercises or to apply certain neurophysiological methods.

Intimate Relationships Weaken Female Competition: Evidence from Phase-amplitude Coupling and Event-Related Potentials

Competition, an essential component of social interaction, frequently occurs in daily life, and the impact of intimate relationships on women's competition has not yet been revealed. In this study, the visual target paradigm was used to explore the neural mechanisms underlying the regulation of female competitiveness by intimate relationships using event-related potential (ERP) data, time–frequency analysis, and brain functional connectivity. The research results indicate that, the P1, the N4, and the LPP were sensitive to the impact of intimate relationships on competition. Compared to competition between unfamiliar opposite-gender dyads, the average amplitudes of the N4 and LPP were higher in the late stage of competition between romantic partners. Compared to competition with strangers of the opposite gender, alpha band power was significantly higher when female individuals competed with their romantic partners. In addition, there was a positive correlation between the synchronization of activity in the frontal, parietal, and right temporal lobes of a female's brain and their degree of female engagement in competition. When a female individuals focused on the competition, activity synchronization was higher. The results indicate that competition with unfamiliar individuals of the opposite gender can make female focus on the competitive task, causing synchronous activation of corresponding brain regions. When competing with a romantic partner, women's focus decreases, their willingness to compete decreases, and the synchrony of brain functional connectivity decreases. This study suggests that intimate relationship weakens women's competitiveness, which is of significant importance for understanding high-quality intimate relationship and promoting the development of healthy competition.

An investigation of data-driven player positional roles within the Australian Football League Women's competition using technical skill match-play data

Understanding player positional roles are important for match-play tactics, player recruitment, talent identification, and development by providing a greater understanding of what each positional role constitutes. Currently, no analysis of competition technical skill data exists by player position in the Australian Football League Women's (AFLW) competition. The primary aim of the research was to use data-driven techniques to observe what positions and roles characterise AFLW match-play using detailed technical skill action data of players. A secondary aim was to comment on the application of clustering methods to achieve more interpretable, reflective positional clustering. A two-stage, unsupervised clustering approach was applied to meet these aims. Data cleaning resulted in 165 variables across 1296 player seasons in the 2019–2022 AFLW seasons which was used for clustering. First-stage clustering found four positions following a common convention (forwards, midfielders, defenders, and rucks). Second-stage clustering found roles within positions, resulting in a further 13 clusters with three forwards, three midfielders, four defenders, and three ruck positional roles. Key variables across all positions and roles included the field location of actions, number of contested possessions, clearances, interceptions, hitouts, inside 50s, and rebound 50s. Unsupervised clustering allowed the discovery of new roles rather than being constrained to pre-defined existing classifications of previous literature. This research assists coaches and practitioners by identifying key game actions players need to perform in match-play by position, which can assist in player recruitment, player development, and identifying appropriate match-play styles and tactics, while also defining new roles and suggestions of how to best use available data.

THE SHAPING OF A GENDER NORM: MARRIAGE, LABOR, AND FOOT‐BINDING IN HISTORICAL CHINA

AbstractThis article presents a theory that explains the rise of foot‐binding in historical China, in response to a gender‐asymmetric social mobility shock that dispersed men's quality distribution in the marriage market. The theory characterizes the marriage market equilibrium and women's competition strategies before and after the shock. Empirical evidence using archival data corroborates the theoretical predictions that greater men's social mobility opportunities encouraged foot‐binding and that a greater cost of women's labor discouraged foot‐binding. The article thus highlights that costly gender norms can be traced back to gender asymmetry in social mobility opportunities.

Analysis of the spatial distribution of the serve and the type of serve-return in elite table tennis. Sex differences.

Serve and return of the serve are among the most critical technical-tactical factors influencing performance in table tennis (TT). The present study aimed to analyse sex differences in the spatial distribution of serve and serve-return in elite TT players. A total of 48 elite TT players (men: n = 24; women: n = 24) participated in the investigation. A total of 24 matches were recorded and examined, analysing 1,177 plays and 5,319 strokes in the men's competition and 950 games and 5,097 strokes in the women's competition. Technical actions were analysed using an observation tool validated by two expert TT coach with a high level of agreement (K > 0.80). Men distributed their serves over zones 1 and 2 of the table, while women more frequently selected zone 5 (p < 0.05). In men, 30.1% of the serves were near the net, 63.6% in the middle zone of the table and 6.2% in the end zone of the table, while in women, these values were 10.9%, 67.2%, and 21.8%, respectively. As for the technique of the serve-return depending on the zone of the service, in men the action of the cut from zone 1 and 2 predominated, while in women this technique was more frequent from zone 5 (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the serve-return with the flip technique in zone 1, 3 and 4 was more frequent in men (p < 0.05). As for the return of the serve with the topspin technique, there were differences in zone 3, being more frequent in men (p < 0.05). Finally, the serve return with cut and defensive serve-return techniques in zones 3, 4, 5, and 6 were more frequent in women (p < 0.05). There are differences between sexes in service and return of serve actions during a match in elite players.

여자 축구선수들의 특별한 의학적 문제들과 고려 사항

Football is a sports that the most attention and love from many countries and people regardless of gender around the world. Recently, FIFA (Fédération internationale de football association) has been actively helping female football players around the world with economic and technical support. In addition, FIFA has been making great efforts to revitalize the women's league. In this article, the medical issues that should be considered and examined by team doctors and medical teams and what problems should be particularly concerned in female football players will be divided into three categories to be gone through: sports injury, RED-s(relative energy deficiency in sports) and gender verification. First of all, it is known that the overall percentage of injury for female football players is lower than that of male players, however the rate of serious damage is higher in female football players due to the more frequent the knee anterior cruciate ligament injury and traumatic brain injury. It is important to know that RED-s starts with low energy availability as it progresses it can be a serious problem that deteriorates the health and performance of individual athletes. The issue of gender verification is needed to determine whether this player can participate in the women's competition, and it should be check whether this violates the spirit of fair play.

The influence of tactical positioning on performance in sprint cross-country skiing.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of tactical positioning on performance in the heats of sprint cross-country (XC) skiing among men and women and the consistency of overtaking events over repeated competitions on the same racecourse. Thirty male and thirty female elite to world-class level skiers within each competition [(sprint International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) points: 40 ± 21 vs. 35 ± 24)] performed two repeated world-cup competitions at four different venues (two in the classical and two in the skating style) between 2017 and 2020. The intermediate rankings at five checkpoints were analysed using television broadcasts of the competitions. Sprint time-trial (STT) rank correlated positively with the final rank for the seven men's (ρ = .54-.82, P < .01) and the eight women's (ρ = .40-.80, P < .05) competitions, while one of the classical competitions for males did not correlate significantly (P = .23). The strength of the correlation coefficients between intermediate ranks and final ranks during the heats increased gradually from the first to the last checkpoint among both sexes in the classical style (τ = ~0.26 to ~0.70) and in the skating style (τ = ~0.22 to ~0.82), in which the majority of performance-variance was decided before the start of the finish sprint. For both sexes, ~20 and 16 overtaking events were observed in each heat for the classical and skating style, respectively. There was a significant sex-difference in the number of overtaking events in one out of the 16 competitions (P < .01), but no differences across seasons for any competition (P = .051-796). Overall, this study showed the importance of tactical positioning for performance in sprint XC skiing, with the number of overtaking events being relatively consistent for competitions performed on the same racecourse.

A case-control study of tackle based head impact event (HIE) risk factors from the first three seasons of the National Rugby League Women's competition.

The tackle is the most injurious event in rugby league and carries the greatest risk of concussion. This study aims to replicate previous research conducted in professional men's rugby league by examining the association between selected tackle characteristics and head impact events (HIEs) in women's professional rugby league. We reviewed and coded 83 tackles resulting in an HIE and every tackle (6,318 tackles) that did not result in an HIE for three seasons (2018-2020) of the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) competition. Tackle height, body position of the tackler and ball carrier, as well as the location of head contact with the other player's body were evaluated. Propensity of each situation that caused an HIE was calculated as HIEs per 1,000 tackles. The propensity for tacklers to sustain an HIE was 6.60 per 1,000 tackles (95% CI: 4.87-8.92), similar to that of the ball carrier (6.13 per 1,000 tackles, 95% CI: 4.48-8.38). The greatest risk of an HIE to either the tackler or ball carrier occurred when head proximity was above the sternum (21.66 per 1,000 tackles, 95% CI: 16.55-28.35). HIEs were most common following impacts between two heads (287.23 HIEs per 1,000 tackles, 95% CI: 196.98-418.84). The lowest propensity for both tackler (2.65 per 1,000 tackles, 95% CI: 0.85-8.20) and ball carrier HIEs (1.77 per 1,000 tackles, 95% CI: 0.44-7.06) occurred when the head was in proximity to the opponent's shoulder and arm. No body position (upright, bent or unbalanced/off feet) was associated with an increased propensity of HIE to either tackler or ball carrier. In the NRLW competition, tacklers and ball carriers have a similar risk of sustaining an HIE during a tackle, differing from men's NRL players, where tacklers have a higher risk of HIEs. Further studies involving larger samples need to validate these findings. However, our results indicate that injury prevention initiatives in women's rugby league should focus on how the ball carrier engages in contact during the tackle as well as how the tackler executes the tackle.

Competitive scenarios increase competition in women: A meta-analysis.

Competitive scenarios increase competition in women: A meta-analysis.

Differences in the Situational Parameters of Tennis Matches Between Winners and Losers in the Women’s Main Draw Competition at ROLAND GARROS 2022

Several studies investigated the situational efficiency parameters at tennis matches in the men's and women's competition at previous Rolland Garros tournaments. The aim of this study was to determine if there are differences in the situational efficiency parameters between winners and losers in the women's main draw competition at Roland Garros 2022. This study included 125 main draw matches. Differences in performance were analysed across 7 situational efficiency variables: aces, double faults, 1st serve average speed, 2nd serve average speed, winners, unforced errors and forced errors. The results showed significant differences between winners and losers with the following parameters on the winners’ side: number of aces per match (2.40/1.63; p = 0.03), winners (24.83/19.37; p = 0.00), unforced errors (23.80/29.13; p = 0.00) and forced errors (19.71/23.64; p = 0.00). The results demonstrated that there were no significant differences in double faults, 1st serve average speed and 2nd serve average speed. More aces of winners can indicate better service accuracy and variability, as there is no significant difference in service speed. Also, a more successful start of a point can positively affect the early dominance in the point rally and easier achieving of winners. In addition to all the above, it is notable that more successful tennis players, as well as having more winners, record less unforced and forced errors. The information obtained should be used by tennis coaches in planning trainings and preparing matches in order for their tennis players to achieve maximum results.&#x0D; Keywords: tennis, efficiency, match statistics

Intrasexual Competition in Women’s Likelihood of Self-Enhancement and Perceptions of Breast Morphology: A Hispanic Sample

Women’s breasts are considered sexually attractive because they may infer a woman’s residual reproductive value. Given that men find women’s breasts attractive, women may compete with other women to enhance their physical attractiveness when primed with an intrasexual competitive cue. The current study investigated women’s intrasexual competition when viewing variations in breast morphology. Women (N = 189) were randomly assigned to a partner threat condition and shown images of women’s breasts that included variations in breast size, ptosis (i.e., sagginess), and intermammary distance (i.e., cleavage). Women were more likely to report an increase in enhancing their appearance, wearing revealing clothing, dieting and exercising, and perceiving the breasts as a sexual threat as a function of larger breast sizes with low ptosis and intermediate distances. The partner threat prime did not play a role in ratings. Interestingly, there was a moderating role for women’s dispositional levels in intrasexual competition. Women with higher levels of intrasexual competition were more likely to enhance their appearance when viewing large breast sizes. The study points to the role that breast morphology indicative of residual reproductive value has on increasing enhancement strategies.

What kind of Dr do you want to be?: A cross-sectional study measuring personality and sex effects of medical students

Turkish medical students (N = 376; 145 men, 231 women) aged 18–25 (M = 20.36, SD = 2.02) reported on their personality and post-graduation specialty preferences. We found (1) sex differences in interests in psychiatry in favor of women (suppressed by Machiavellianism and competitiveness) and surgery in favor of men (mediated by psychopathy and competitiveness), (2) interests in basic/diagnostic medicine were associated with higher rates of narcissism and competitiveness in women, (3) interests in surgery were associated with higher rates of psychopathy (mediated by masculinity and competitiveness), and (4) interests in psychiatry were associated with less competitiveness. In women, psychopathy was correlated with interests in surgery more than basic/diagnostic medicine whereas competitiveness was more strongly correlated with interests in basic/diagnostic medicine than psychiatry. In men, competitiveness was more correlated with interests in psychiatry than surgery. Lastly, the relationship between interests in basic/diagnostic medicine and competitiveness was more strongly correlated in women than in men. Results are discussed in relation to sociocultural and evolutionary models of vocational interests.

The competitive woman: Evolutionary insights and cross-cultural evidence into finding the Femina Economica

We propose to explain the gender gap in competitiveness often found in economic experiments with a theoretical framework rooted in evolutionary psychology: Women evolved adaptations to trade off the motivation to acquire resources in competitive environments for effort dedicated to investing directly into offspring, to attract and retain mates, and to not alienate potential allomaternal allies. Such a tradeoff does not appear similarly binding for men. To begin to test this idea, we conducted a series of experiments using cash and prizes (in-kind payments dedicated to either children's needs, gender-specific interests, or gender-neutral interests for placebo tests) to reward subjects at different life stages (parents and non-parents) from countries differing in economic development and culture (novel data from Togo, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Colombia plus China data from Cassar et al. (2016)). Our hypothesis is that different incentive types (cash or prize) may induce specific frames which activate the motivation to compete in different domains of interest, with behavioral predictions that depend on an individual's gender and life stage. Consistent with the predictions, our results on parents from China, Togo, and Sierra Leone and from non-parents from Bosnia show that, once the incentives are switched from cash to child-benefitting or gender-stereotypical goods, the gender gap in competitiveness was largely eliminated, shrinking by more than 10 percentage points, whereas placebo prizes had no impact. Importantly, economic and cultural elements matter, as not all societies exhibit a gender gap to start with (Colombia and Nana Benz of Togo). These findings indicate that competitiveness in women can be much more intense than has been observed, once we include incentives that matter to women, with implications for policies designed to promote gender equality based on labor market incentives aligned with women’ goals and respectful of the differential constraints that nature and societies put on the individual.

PROBLEMS OF GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE SCIENTIFIC SPHERE OF THE ARCHITECTURAL AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Тhe paper highlights the problem of gender inequality in science in different historical periods, shows the increasing role of women in research and educational activities in architecture and construction at the present stage, proves the ability of women to hold higher levels of academic hierarchy and research and administrative positions in Ukraine, as well as the competitiveness of women in the labor market in the architectural and construction industry.

Sexual Receptivity Signal of Lordosis Posture and Intra-Sexual Competition in Women

Previous research has shown that women may use self-enhancement strategies to compete with one other. Lumbar curvature in women is considered to enhance a woman′s attractiveness, potentially due to its role in bipedal fetal load and sexual receptiveness. The current study investigated the role of lumbar curvature on women’s perceptions of sexual receptiveness as well as its role in women’s intrasexual competitiveness. Study 1 (N = 138) tested and confirmed that women’s intrasexual competition influences their perception of sexual receptivity of women as a function of lordosis posture depicted in a standing posture. Study 2 (N = 69) replicated these results and extended them to other postures, namely, the quadruped and supine positions. Study 3 (N = 106), using a two-alternative forced-choice task, revealed that other women perceive relatively larger arched-back postures as more threatening to their relationship and frequently as being more attractive. Collectively, this work suggests that women consider a lordotic posture in other women as a signal of sexual receptivity and perceive it as a threat to their relationship. This research provides robust support for the sexually receptivity hypothesis of lumbar curvature, questioning the alternative morphological vertebral wedging hypothesis.