FIFA World Cup In Qatar Research Articles

FIFA World Cup and climate change: correlation is not causation. [Copa del Mundo FIFA y cambio climático: correlación no implica causalidad

Sports analytics is defined as the process that identifies and acquires knowledge and insight about players and teams’ performances. To do so, analysts use a wide variety of data sources coming from matches and individual players’ performances (O'Donoghue & Holmes 2014; Jayal, McRobert, Oatley & O’Donoghue, 2018). Nowadays, detailed data from different nature including technical skills, individual physiological performances, team formations, or injuries are analysed on a daily basis by the analytics departments belonging to sports clubs and professional franchises. Even private companies like STATS or OPTA generate important revenues offering their movement tracking values and advanced metrics to media and fans. In the emerging field of Sports Analytics, as in many others, analysts must be aware of spurious correlations. These can come up due to the size (not nature) of data, a common-causal variable or just due to serendipity. For this reason, we always must keep in mind the lessons of the statistician Stephen John Senn and his sharp quote on the matter: “Statistics is not just about merely warning that correlation is not causation. Sometimes correlation isn’t even correlation”. Thus, we will explain an example of how climate change can be affecting, or not, on the FIFA World Cup performance statistics. https://doi.org/10.5232/ricyde2019.057ed References/referencias Allmers, S., & Maennig, W. (2009). Economic impacts of the FIFA Soccer World Cups in France 1998, Germany 2006, and outlook for South Africa 2010. Eastern Economic Journal, 35 (4), 500-519. https://doi.org/10.1057/eej.2009.30 Castellano, J.; Casamichana, D., & Lago, C. (2012). The use of match statistics that discriminate between successful and unsuccessful soccer teams. Journal of Human Kinetics, 31 (1), 137-147. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10078-012-0015-7 Jayal, A., McRobert, A., Oatley, G., & O’Donoghue, P. (2018). Sports Analytics: Analysis, Visualisation and Decision Making in Sports Performance . Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315222783 Kakamu, T.; Wada, K.; Smith, D. R.; Endo, S., & Fukushima T. (2017). Preventing heat illness in the anticipated hot climate of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 22 (68), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-017-0675-y Matzarakis, A., & Frohlich, D. (2015). Sport events and climate for visitors-the case of FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022. International Journal of Biometeorology, 59 (4), 481-586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-014-0886-5 Mohr, M.; Nybo, L.; Grantham, J., & Racinais, S. (2012). Physiological Responses and Physical Performance during Football in the Heat. PLoS ONE, 7 (6), e39202. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039202 NASA (2018). Global Climate Change, Vital Signs of the Planet . [Internet] http://climate.nasa.gov/ (last accessed, Jul. 18) Nassis, G. P.; Brito, J.; Dvorak, J.; Chalabi, H.; & Racinais, S. (2015). The association of environmental heat stress with performance: analysis of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49 (9), 609-613. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2014-094449 Nicolau, J. L., & Sharma, A. (2018). A generalization of the FIFA World Cup effect. Tourism Management, 66 (June), 315-317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.12.014 Liu, H.; Gomez, M. A.; Lago-Penas, C., & Sampaio, J. (2015). Match statistics related to winning in the group stage of 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup. Journal of Sports Sciences, 33 (12), 1205-1213. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1022578 O’Donoghue, P., & Holmes, L. (2014). Data analysis in sport . Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315816357 Pachuari R. K.; Allen, M. R.; Barros, V. R.; Broome, J.; Cramer, W.; Christ, R., et al. (2014). Climate change 2014: synthesis report. Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva. Retrieved from: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/37530/1/IPCC_AR5_SYR_Final.pdf Ramdas, B.; van Gaalen, R., & Bolton, J. (2015). The Announcement Impact of Hosting the FIFA World Cup on Host Country Stock Markets. Procedia Economics Finance, 30 , 226-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)01290-3 Robinson, W. S. (1950). Ecological correlations and the behaviour of individuals. American Sociological Review, 15 (3), 351-357. https://doi.org/10.2307/2087176 Rumpf, M. C.; Silva, J. R.; Hertzog, M.; Farooq, A., & Nassis, G. (2017). Technical and physical analysis of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: winners vs. losers. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 57 (10), 1338-1343. Vandenbroucke, J. P.; Broadbent, A., & Pearce, N. (2016). Causality and causal inference in epidemiology: the need for a pluralistic approach. International Journal of Epidemiology, 45 (6), 1776-1786. https://doi.org/10.2307/2087176 Vigen, T. (2015). Spurious Correlations . Hachette Books. Wikipedia (2018). FIFA World Cup-related lists . [Internet] (last accessed, Jul. 18). Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:FIFA_World_Cup-related_lists

Travelers to U.S.: Zika Virus Knowledge, Attitudes, and Determinants of Practices in the Middle East-Insights for Future Awareness Campaigns.

Travelers act as sentinels for the spread of Zika virus. Imported Zika cases and the presence of Zika virus-transmitting mosquitoes have been documented in the Middle East. However, data on travelers’ knowledge, attitude and practices regarding Zika and its prevention measures within the Middle East are scarce. This study aimed to address this issue in a sample of Jordanian and non-Jordanian travelers to U.S. in Jordan. A paper-based questionnaire was distributed to 301 travelers to U.S. in Queen Alia International airport, Amman, Jordan. Only 2.7% of the travelers knew that Zika is associated with birth defects. A total of 10.4% of the participants knew that the bite of infected mosquitoes is a route of Zika transmission. Only 12.6% of respondents correctly identified Zika prevention measures. The level of education and future plans for pregnancy were significantly associated with a high knowledge score (R2 = 0.140, p-value < 0.005). Although 76.2% of the travelers perceived Zika as a health threat, only 11.2% believed in the efficacy of the prevention measures. Formulation of educational campaigns within Middle Eastern countries and development of awareness strategies regarding Zika and its prevention within the airports are required. This is particularly essential with the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Exploring the determinants of 2022 FIFA World Cup attendance in Qatar

This study investigates the determinants of attendance at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar. It considers pull and push factors as antecedents of desirability to attend this mega-event, and particularly sheds light on the perception of the host country as a pull factor. Data from 228 potential visitors were collected. Consistent with previous research, results show that the factors of passion, novelty and escape have positive impacts on desirability. The perception of the host country has a positive impact on desirability and is a better predictor than travel motives or event motives. No significant effect of the support for the national team on desirability was found. The results additionally show that the constraints of time or money have no impact on the relationship between desirability and attendance intent. The findings of this research offer insights into sport marketing and show promise for event management committees, event marketers and researchers alike to develop an understanding of mega-event marketing.

Exploring the determinants of 2022 FIFA World Cup attendance in Qatar

This study investigates the determinants of attendance at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar. It considers pull and push factors as antecedents of desirability to attend this mega-event, and particularly sheds light on the perception of the host country as a pull factor. Data from 228 potential visitors were collected. Consistent with previous research, results show that the factors of passion, novelty and escape have positive impacts on desirability. The perception of the host country has a positive impact on desirability and is a better predictor than travel motives or event motives. No significant effect of the support for the national team on desirability was found. The results additionally show that the constraints of time or money have no impact on the relationship between desirability and attendance intent. The findings of this research offer insights into sport marketing and show promise for event management committees, event marketers and researchers alike to develop an understanding of mega-event marketing.

Football in Arabic literature in diaspora: Global influences and local manifestations

This paper explores how Arab writers in diaspora present football in their literary works. Through an examination of Rabih Alameddine’s I, the Divine, Laila Lalami’s Secret Son and Leila Aboulela’s Lyrics Alley, the paper highlights the way in which Arab novelists in diaspora draw on the game’s international popularity to supplement and clarify the themes that these novels explore. Specifically, this paper investigates how the three novels portray the relationship between the individual and the nation and it suggests that these novels may be read within a context of a growing Arab involvement in international football over the past few years, including recent investments by state members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in European football, the emergence of international football superstars of Arab descent, the direct and indirect influences of football on recent socioeconomic and political transformations in Arab countries, including the Arab Spring, and FIFA’s controversial decision to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Thanks to their position between cultures, these writers render football as a site on which socioeconomic, political and cultural discourses converge. By depicting the quotidian experiences of culturally and ethnically varied characters, the novels offer divergent perspectives on the game’s entanglement with global and local influences and football emerges as a central issue around which the above writers construct some of the most important episodes in the three novels. In this way the three novels demonstrate that the game’s international popularity makes it intricately linked with the daily experiences of the characters they depict.

Cyber Security in the Gulf Cooperation Council

The Internet is one of the fastest growing areas of infrastructure development in the union of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf commonly referred to as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It is clear that the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) worldwide has helped to quicken communication and facilitate the exchange of information. The number of Internet users and Internet-enabled technological devices is increasing exponentially, including an estimated 40 million Internet users within the area of the GCC that continues to grow. It considers the fastest growing and most economically competitive region in the world. This growth is largely fuelled by oil although the region is also becoming an increasingly popular destination for local and international tourists. This trend is set to continue with upcoming global events such as the Abu Dhabi and Bahrain Grand Prix, the Expo 2020 in Dubai and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.As the Internet grows and reaches most aspects of society, staying up-to-date with effective security measures and ensuring online safety remains a challenge. For example, modern cars are effectively computers, and many of which are connected to the Internet. These computing devices embedded in everyday life bring about new risks. In addition, the cybercrime landscape has evolved considerably over the past decade becoming more sophisticated with an increasing diversification of organizational forms of criminal actors. Failure to understand the impact of cybercrime and the threats pose to economy, national security, and the critical infrastructure; will leave GCC states vulnerable to all cyber-attacks and easy targets. There is now evidence of malicious actors that work alone, within cohesive group structures and as larger ephemeral online communities. In addition, vectors used to perpetrate cyber crime are constantly evolving due in part to innovative tactics of criminals which continues to evolve. Attacks typically occur unbeknown to the victims and through processes that guarantee anonymity to malicious actors. For example, many cyber-attacks are propagated through networks of compromised computers and intermediary systems masking the identity, which in certain cases make it difficult to identify the source and intention of cybercrime. The countries of the GCC share culture, and political, geographic and socio-economic interests. As “communities of shared fate”, all Internet-connected nations are at the mercy of online threats. Yet, mechanisms to respond to such activity have been reactive at best with a deficiency of crime prevention efforts. A major block to the effective control of cyber crime is its transnational characteristic. Cyber attacks occur across borders, and perpetrators and their victims are rarely located in the same jurisdiction. Cyber criminals have also taken advantage of safe haven countries - states that lack Internet crime-related legislation and the capability to enforce them. In 2014, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 10 High Level Event in Geneva, co-organised by ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP, highlighted the significant risks posed by insufficient responses to cyber security. As connectivity develops cyber security must be recognised as a major threat for the Middle East.One approach to curtail malicious activities has been through international frameworks. For example, the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention on Cybercrime, known as the Budapest Convention, is an international treaty that provides a comprehensive international approach to cybercrime investigation and law. The Convention formalises mutual legal assistance arrangements between jurisdictions and primarily includes European states, as well as a number of non-European states such as the USA, Japan, Australia and Canada. However, as of March 2015, no countries among the GCC have joined the Convention. Also there is no treaty or cooperation between the GCC states on cybercrime.Among the six GCC countries, Qatar and Oman are the only two to have developed technical, organisational and legal measures to address cybercrime (Table 1). Other countries are working on these measures but still lack capacity to address cyber issues. The following four main recommendations offer some avenues to increase cyber security capacity in the GCC: 1 - Create a national (and regional) cyber awareness initiative 2 - Establish a centralised mechanism to share information, assets and expertise with GCC states and abroad3 - Establish technical standards to combat cyber crime through a national (and regional) framework4 - Engage in international police and judicial cooperation, for example, by signing the Budapest Convention.

Sport events and climate for visitors--the case of FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022.

The effect of weather on sport events is not well studied. It requires special attention if the event is taking place at a time and place with extreme weather situations. For the world soccer championship in Qatar (Doha 2022), human biometeorological analysis has been performed in order to identify the time of the year that is most suitable in terms of thermal comfort for visitors attending the event. The analysis is based on thermal indices like Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET). The results show that this kind of event may be not appropriate for visitors, if it is placed during months with extreme conditions. For Doha, this is the period from May to September, when conditions during a large majority of hours of the day cause strong heat stress for the visitors. A more appropriate time would be the months November to February, when thermally comfortable conditions are much more frequent. The methods applied here can quantify the thermal conditions and show limitations and possibilities for specific events and locations.