scholarly journals Expanding the Gap: An Updated Look Into Sex Differences in Running Performance

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia C. Hallam ◽  
Fabiano T. Amorim

Males consistently outperform females in athletic endeavors, including running events of standard Olympic distances (100 m to Marathon). The magnitude of this percentage sex difference, i.e., the sex gap, has evolved over time. Two clear trends in sex gap evolution are evident; a narrowing of the gap during the 20th century, followed by a period of stability thereafter. However, an updated perspective on the average sex gap from top 20 athlete performances over the past two decades reveals nuanced trends over time, indicating the sex gap is not fixed. Additionally, the sex gap varies with performance level; the difference in absolute running performance between males and females is lowest for world record/world lead performances and increases in lower-ranked elite athletes. This observation of an increased sex gap with world rank is evident in events 400 m and longer and indicates a lower depth in female competitive standards. Explanations for the sex difference in absolute performance and competition depth include physical (physiological, anatomical, neuromuscular, biomechanical), sociocultural, psychological, and sport-specific factors. It is apparent that females are the disadvantaged sex in sport; therefore, measures should be taken to reduce this discrepancy and enable both sexes to reach their biological performance potential. There is scope to narrow the sex performance gap by addressing inequalities between the sexes in opportunities, provisions, incentives, attitudes/perceptions, research, and media representation.

2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avi Goldfarb ◽  
Catherine Tucker

This paper explores how digitization and the associated use of customer data have affected the evolution of consumer privacy concerns. We measure privacy concerns by reluctance to disclose income in an online marketing research survey. Using over three million responses over eight years, our data show: (1) Refusals to reveal information have risen over time, (2) Older people are less likely to reveal information, and (3) The difference between older and younger people has increased over time. Our results suggest that the trends over time are partly due to broadening perceptions of the contexts in which privacy is relevant.


1956 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
THOMAS McKEOWN ◽  
BRIAN MacMAHON

Observations on length of gestation of males and females are presented for man, the guinea-pig, sheep, pig and rabbit; from the literature, data are also available for the cow, horse, camel and goat. Pregnancy is longer for males than for females in the cow, horse and possibly the sheep and camel; it is longer for females than for males in man and possibly the guinea-pig. No definite conclusion is reached about the pig and rabbit, in which litter-size is normally large, or about the goat, in which the number of observations on record is small. The sex differences in length of gestation are reflected in the sex ratios of offspring born after different periods of gestation, and in the percentage distribution of the sexes by duration of gestation. The difference in length of gestation can be attributed to a sex difference in foetal weight in man, but not in the guinea-pig or in species such as the cow, in which gestation is longer for males than for females. It is suggested that in the cow the longer male gestation may be due to the fact that the proportion of males conceived is higher if mating takes place early, rather than late, in heat. (The only alternative explanation is a sex difference, attributable to something other than weight of foetus, in the period between fertilization and birth.) In man the earlier birth of males is apparently due to their greater weight, attributable wholly or in part to a sex difference in rate of prenatal growth. This observation does not exclude the possibility that in man, as in the cow, the proportion of males conceived is higher if mating occurs early in the cycle, since the method of recording length of gestation (from onset of menstruation) gives no information about time of mating.


1953 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
THOMAS McKEOWN ◽  
R. G. RECORD

SUMMARY 1. The association between foetal growth and placental weight according to sex and order of birth is examined in single pregnancy in man. Data recorded are: birth weight (on 13,020 births); birth weight and placental weight (on 4931); and weights at birth and at 3 and 6 months after birth (on 405). 2. From 30 to 31 weeks' gestation, the earliest period examined, males are heavier than females. There is little difference between mean weights of first and later born until 36–37 weeks, from which time later born are heavier than first born (Fig. 1). 3. From 34 to 35 weeks (the earliest period from which numbers permit the comparison) mean placental weights are greater for males than for females, and for later born than for first born (Fig. 2). 4. At a given weight of placenta males are heavier than females (Fig. 3); there is little difference between weights of first and later born at placental weights under 1½ lb., but at higher placental weights later born are heavier than first born (Fig. 4). 5. The difference between growth rates of males and females is of course determined genetically. It is suggested that it may be explained by the observations that (a) the placenta is larger for males than for females, and (b) males make a greater use than females of a unit weight of placenta. The sex difference in growth rate is exhibited after birth (Fig. 5). 6. The difference between foetal growth rates of first and later born is determined by the pre-natal environment. It may be explained largely, though not entirely, by the fact that the placenta is larger for later born than for first born. The difference in growth rate is reversed after birth, and at 6 months first born are as heavy as later born (Fig. 5).


1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-284
Author(s):  
David C. Geary

AbstractThe male advantage in certain mathematical domains contributes to the difference in the numbers of males and females that enter math-intensive occupations, which in turn contributes to the sex difference in earnings. Understanding the nature and development of the sex difference in mathematical abilities is accordingly of social as well as scientific concern. A more complete understanding of the biological contributions to these differences can guide research on educational techniques that might someday produce more equal educational outcomes in mathematics and other academic domains.


Crisis ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Hideki Bando ◽  
Fernando Madalena Volpe

Background: In light of the few reports from intertropical latitudes and their conflicting results, we aimed to replicate and update the investigation of seasonal patterns of suicide occurrences in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: Data relating to male and female suicides were extracted from the Mortality Information Enhancement Program (PRO-AIM), the official health statistics of the municipality of São Paulo. Seasonality was assessed by studying distribution of suicides over time using cosinor analyses. Results: There were 6,916 registered suicides (76.7% men), with an average of 39.0 ± 7.0 observed suicides per month. For the total sample and for both sexes, cosinor analysis estimated a significant seasonal pattern. For the total sample and for males suicide peaked in November (late spring) with a trough in May–June (late autumn). For females, the estimated peak occurred in January, and the trough in June–July. Conclusions: A seasonal pattern of suicides was found for both males and females, peaking in spring/summer and dipping in fall/winter. The scarcity of reports from intertropical latitudes warrants promoting more studies in this area.


Author(s):  
Galen Strawson

This chapter examines the difference between John Locke's definition of a person [P], considered as a kind of thing, and his definition of a subject of experience of a certain sophisticated sort [S]. It first discusses the equation [P] = [S], where [S] is assumed to be a continuing thing that is able to survive radical change of substantial realization, as well as Locke's position about consciousness in relation to [P]'s identity or existence over time as [S]. It argues that Locke is not guilty of circularity because he is not proposing consciousness as the determinant of [S]'s identity over time, but only of [S]'s moral and legal responsibility over time. Finally, it suggests that the terms “Person” and “Personal identity” pull apart, in Locke's scheme of things, but in a perfectly coherent way.


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