Sport Management: Who We Are and Where We Are Going

Due to the popularity of sport, the need to have sport management programs that properly train practitioners is justified (Pedersen & Thibault, 2014). However, with 505 sport management bachelors programs worldwide (“Degrees in Sports,” n.d.) housed in various academic units, there is little consistency within the field of study. This paper strives to explore the field of sport management and to better understand sport management faculty members’ perceptions of the discipline. Grounded in Foucault’s (1971) theory of discourse, total of 154 sport management faculty members worldwide participated in the study. The data revealed there is a lack of consistency within the field regarding faculty members’ perceptions of sport management. This study offers a vital, first step in an empirical examination of a critical phenomenon in the sport management academy.

Emergent $${{{{{{{\mathcal{PT}}}}}}}}$$-symmetry breaking of collective modes with topological critical phenomena

The spontaneous breaking of parity-time ($${{{{{{{\mathcal{PT}}}}}}}}$$ PT ) symmetry yields rich critical behavior in non-Hermitian systems, and has stimulated much interest, albeit most previous studies were performed within the single-particle or mean-field framework. Here, by studying the collective excitations of a Fermi superfluid with $${{{{{{{\mathcal{PT}}}}}}}}$$ PT -symmetric spin-orbit coupling, we uncover an emergent $${{{{{{{\mathcal{PT}}}}}}}}$$ PT -symmetry breaking in the Anderson-Bogoliubov (AB) collective modes, even as the superfluid ground state retains an unbroken $${{{{{{{\mathcal{PT}}}}}}}}$$ PT symmetry. The critical point of the transition is marked by a non-analytic kink in the speed of sound, which derives from the coalescence and annihilation of the AB mode and its hole partner, reminiscent of the particle-antiparticle annihilation. The system consequently becomes immune to low-frequency external perturbations at the critical point, a phenomenon associated with the spectral topology of the complex quasiparticle dispersion. This critical phenomenon offers a fascinating route toward perturbation-free quantum states.

Wave-driven Mass Loss of Stripped Envelope Massive Stars: Progenitor-dependence, Mass Ejection, and Supernovae

The discovery of rapidly rising and fading supernovae powered by circumstellar interaction has suggested the pre-supernova mass eruption phase as a critical phenomenon in massive star evolution. It is important to understand the mass and radial extent of the circumstellar medium (CSM) from theoretically predicted mass ejection mechanisms. In this work, we study the wave heating process in massive hydrogen-poor stars, running a suite of stellar models in order to predict the wave energy and pre-explosion timescale of surface energy deposition. We survey stellar models with main-sequence progenitor masses from 20–70 M ⊙ and metallicity from 0.002–0.02. Most of these models predict that less than ∼1047 erg is deposited in the envelope, with the majority of the energy deposited in the last week of stellar evolution. This translates to CSM masses less than ∼10−2 M ⊙ that extend to less than ∼1014 cm, too small to greatly impact the light curves or spectra of the subsequent supernovae, except perhaps during the shock breakout phase. However, a few models predict somewhat higher wave energy fluxes, for which we perform hydrodynamical simulations of the mass ejection process. Radiative transfer simulations of the subsequent supernovae predict a bright but brief shock-cooling phase that could be detected in some Type Ib/c supernovae if they are discovered within a couple days of explosion.

The Impact of In-House Software Development Practices on System Usability in the Social Security Funds in Tanzania

In-house software development is a critical phenomenon for the production of efficient and effective software in generating requisite job output. A few studies have devoted efforts towards establishing the impact of in-house software development on software. Therefore, this paper is an effort towards establishing the impact of in-house software development practices on system usability. In pursuit of this paper, a sample of a sample size of 169, at 95% confidence level, with margin error of 5% was drawn from bold software users, i.e. 300 employees who used the all software including those dealing with the main stream activities. A total of 102 respondents actually responded to the questionnaires. The Online Sample Calculator was used to draw the sample. Quantitative data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires and processed using the SPSS. Descriptive statistics were applied in the analysis. Findings of the study indicate that software development practices, specifically usability test and user involvement in software designing and development had an impact on determining software usability for in-house software. The paper concludes that software development practices shape the design of the software; hence influence usability of the software produced. Recommended is therefore that software usability test and user involvement in software designing and development be promoted for effective software production.

Generating a dynamical M2 brane from super-gravitons in a pp-wave background

We present a detail study of dynamically generating a M2 brane from super-gravitons (or D0 branes) in a pp-wave background possessing maximal spacetime SUSY. We have three kinds of dynamical solutions depending on the excess energy which appears as an order parameter signalling a critical phenomenon about the solutions. As the excess energy is below a critical value, we have two branches of the solution, one can have its size zero while the other cannot for each given excess energy. However there can be an instanton tunnelling between the two. Once the excess energy is above the critical value, we have a single solution whose dynamical behavior is basically independent of the background chosen and whose size can be zero at some instant. A by product of this study is that the size of particles or extended objects can grow once there is a non-zero excess energy even without the presence of a background flux, therefore lending support to the spacetime uncertainty principle.

Numerical Study of Desiccation Cracking In Clayey Soil: A New FEM-MPM Coupling Method.

Desiccation cracking is a critical phenomenon soliciting the soil hydro-mechanical behavior, and significantly affects the performance of soil in geotechnical engineering. For this reason, an increasing interest toward studying and simulating the soil crack propagation, after a severe exposure to dry conditions (induced by desiccation), has been noticed during the recent years. However, major gaps remain in the previously developed models to properly provide a realistic prediction of the cracks pattern scheme especially when using the classical Finite Element Method (FEM), widely used in the geotechnical application. In this study, owing to the limitation of this method in re-meshing and dealing with large deformation, the authors were prompted to couple FEM with a mesh-free method: The Material Point Method (MPM) to overcome the individual drawbacks of each method. The dominant influencing factors on soil desiccation cracking have been assessed through a desiccation test performed in climatic chamber and using a digital image processing technique (image analysis) for a quantitative description of the studied sample. A model that relates porosity with suction and tensile strength was used to study the effect of the shrinkage phenomena in desiccation term, and to simulate the crack propagation in a thin clayey soil layer using the Code_Bright software. Consequently, a clear and connected crack pattern was observed, the problem of mesh dependency was clearly overcome proving the validity of the approach and providing a further insight into the behavior of clayey soil exposed to desiccation factors.

Seed Dormancy and Pre-Harvest Sprouting in Rice—An Updated Overview

Pre-harvest sprouting is a critical phenomenon involving the germination of seeds in the mother plant before harvest under relative humid conditions and reduced dormancy. As it results in reduced grain yield and quality, it is a common problem for the farmers who have cultivated the rice and wheat across the globe. Crop yields need to be steadily increased to improve the people’s ability to adapt to risks as the world’s population grows and natural disasters become more frequent. To improve the quality of grain and to avoid pre-harvest sprouting, a clear understanding of the crops should be known with the use of molecular omics approaches. Meanwhile, pre-harvest sprouting is a complicated phenomenon, especially in rice, and physiological, hormonal, and genetic changes should be monitored, which can be modified by high-throughput metabolic engineering techniques. The integration of these data allows the creation of tailored breeding lines suitable for various demands and regions, and it is crucial for increasing the crop yields and economic benefits. In this review, we have provided an overview of seed dormancy and its regulation, the major causes of pre-harvest sprouting, and also unraveled the novel avenues to battle pre-harvest sprouting in cereals with special reference to rice using genomics and transcriptomic approaches.

Effect of Stress on Spinodal Decomposition in Binary Alloys: Atomistic Modeling and Atom Probe Tomography

Self-organizing nanostructure evolution through spinodal decomposition is a critical phenomenon determining the properties of many materials. Here, we study the influence of stress on the morphology of the nanostructure in binary alloys using atomistic modeling and atom probe tomography. The atomistic modeling is based on the quasi-particle approach, and it is compared to quantitative three-dimensional (3-D) atom mapping results. It is found that the magnitude of the stress and the crystallographic direction of the applied stress directly affect the development of spinodal decomposition and the nanostructure morphology. The modulated nanostructure of the binary bcc alloy system is quantified by a characteristic wavelength, $$ \lambda $$ λ . From modeling the tensile stress effect on the A-35 at. pct B system, we find that $$ \lambda _{001}< \, \lambda _{111}< \, \lambda _{101}< \, \lambda _{112}$$ λ 001 < λ 111 < λ 101 < λ 112 and the same trend are observed in the experimental measurements on an Fe-35 at. pct Cr alloy. Furthermore, the effect of applied compressive and shear stress states differs from the effect of the applied tensile stress regarding morphological anisotropy.

Occupational Violence and Its Association with the Quality of Working Life of Nurses in Intensive Care Units of Educational-Medical Centers in 2019

Background: Violence is a critical phenomenon in clinical settings, which negatively affects the nurses’ quality of working life (QoWL). Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine occupational violence and its association with nurses’ QoWL in intensive care units. Methods: This was a descriptive, analytical, correlational study, the participants of which were 220 nurses working in the intensive care units of Mazandaran educational-medical centers. The participants were selected by using the stratified random sampling method in 2019. Data collection instruments were three questionnaires, namely Dumont Occupational Violence, Walton QoWL, and Demographic Information. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 24, and descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Overall, 63.2% of the participants rated their QoWL as average, and 68.3% of the nurses stated that they had experienced violent behaviors from their nursing colleagues. Also, people with higher incomes had significantly higher QoWL (P = 0.003). In general, there was a significant negative correlation between occupational violence and QoWL (P = 0.01, r = -0.173). Conclusions: By taking into account the various aspects of QoWL, nurse managers should adopt effective strategies to create favorable working conditions to improve the QoWL of nurses and reduce the incidence of violent behaviors.

Digital Lighthouse Platform: Understanding the Misinformation Phenomenon on WhatsApp

In the past few years, the large-scale dissemination of misinformation through social media has become a critical issue, harming the trustworthiness of legit information, social stability, democracy and public health. In many developing countries such as Brazil, India, and Mexico, one of the primary sources of misinformation is the messaging application WhatsApp. In February 2020, the Panorama Mobile Time/Opinion Box survey on mobile messaging in Brazil revealed that WhatsApp was installed on 99% of Brazilian smartphones. Among users of the application, 98% said they access it every day or almost every day. In this context, WhatsApp provides an important feature: the public groups. Many of these groups have been used to spread misinformation, especially as part of articulated political or ideological campaigns. Despite this scenario, due to WhatsApp's private messaging nature, few methods were explicitly developed to investigate the misinformation phenomenon on this platform. This tutorial provides an overview of recent developments in monitoring misinformation spreading, automatic misinformation detection, and identifying misinformation spreaders. In addition, we provide an overview of the leading open problems associated with the misinformation phenomenon and briefly examine some of the existing solutions. We hope that our tutorial can help researchers better understand Brazil's misinformation propagation and use data science methods to face this critical phenomenon.