PREDICTING PERFORMANCE IN SPEED CLIMBING: ACCURACY OF THE FORCE-VELOCITY TEST ON A CYCLE ERGOMETER

The present study examined the validity of the force-velocity (F-V) mechanical parameters of the lower limbs as a predictors of the competitive performance in junior male speed climbing. The second aim was to evaluate F-V characteristics in competitive speed climbers in the junior male category. Ten junior male speed climbers (age: 18±0.5 years; BH: 174.7±4.5 cm; BW: 66.4±6.6 kg; with mean best climbing time from the competition BCT: 7.29±0.66 s) were participants in the research. All they were participants in the Youth European Cup in speed climbing. F-V characteristics were measured using a cycle ergometer test according to the Vandewalle’s protocol. To evaluate of the validity between BCT (criterion) and mechanical parameters (practical measures) from F-V test a standard error of the estimate (expressed as a raw and standardized typical error, TE) and correlation coefficients (rx,y) were used. Moreover, the validity of BCT as a potentially predictor of final competition rank (as a criterion for BCT) was evaluated. Additionally the mean value and standard deviation were calculated for all measured variables. Validity of the BCT as a competition place predictor was largely overestimated (TE=0.73 and rx,y=0.81, p p≤0.05). Accuracy of the BCT prediction for somatic and mechanical variables were very largely error biased. The standardized values of TE for these variables were: 1.93÷7.25. The rx,y were in the range of -0.18 to -0.46. The level of the mechanical variables from the F-V cycle ergometer as a predictors of the BCT in speed climbing may be largely error biased. Application of the cycle ergometer F-V test of prediction BCT values in speed climbing may have low practical value. Moreover, BCT variable may be a poor predictor of the final competition result. Coaches should take these suggestions into account during preparations to speed climbing competitions.

Combined Heat Transfer Mechanisms in the Porous Char Layer Formed from the Intumescent Coatings under Fire

This study examines the combined heat transfer by thermal conduction, natural convection and surface radiation in the porous char layer that is formed from the intumescent coating under fire. The results show that some factors, such as the Rayleigh number, conductivity ratio, emissivity, radiation–conduction number, void fraction and heating mode have a certain effect on the total heat transfer. In addition, the natural convection of the air in the cavity always inhibits surface radiation among the solid walls and thermal conduction, and the character of the total heat transfer is the competition result of the three heat transfer mechanisms.

The effect of winning-losing perception on consumers’ variety-seeking behavior

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of winning-losing perception, including the winning or losing result and the closeness of this result, on consumers’ subsequent variety-seeking behavior. Design/methodology/approach Four experimental designs, one with a modified version of the Tetris game, were used to show how and when winning or losing perceptions will influence individuals’ variety-seeking behavior. Findings Consumers who have failed in a competition or not achieved a goal tend to seek less variety in their later consumption than do consumers who have succeeded because losing feedback weakens consumers’ perception of their control of personal mastery. This effect only exists when the closeness of winning or losing is narrow (e.g. the success is just missed) and diminishes when the result is clear and obvious. Research limitations/implications The current study has systematically explored the interaction between winning-losing outcomes and the closeness of these outcomes. Practical implications This study offers marketing managers practical guidance on how to use competition results to conduct marketing activities, such as transmitting advertisements for classic flavors to those who have lost in a video game or properly increasing the proportion of new flavors or products in stores or vending machines near sports venues. Originality/value This research adds to the literature on competition, which has largely overlooked the possible moderating role of the closeness of the competition result and its influence on individuals’ follow-up irrelevant behaviors and it also adds to the work on variety-seeking behavior, which has not explored the impact of winning-losing perception.

Motivational profile and emotional intensity in school basketball: predictor variables

This research investigated the capacity that game characteristics and protagonists have to predict emotional intensity, as well as motivational orientation (towards performance or outcome). A total of 183 elementary and high school students from four Spanish regions joined the study (boys = 43.7% and girls = 56.2%), aged 12 to 17 years old. Two 60-minute intervention sessions were carried out (15-20’ per game); emotional intensity was assessed at the end of the session using the GES, whereas motivational profiles were assessed through the BREQ3. For data analysis, the decision tree technique known as CHAID was employed. The findings allow highlighting that: a) competition result and game type can predict the participants' emotional intensity; b) result during the match, along with gender, can predict performance-oriented motivational profiles; and c) gender and result, in addition to sports background, help predict motivational profiles not oriented to performance.

Effects of niche overlap on coexistence, fixation and invasion in a population of two interacting species

Synergistic and antagonistic interactions in multi-species populations—such as resource sharing and competition—result in remarkably diverse behaviours in populations of interacting cells, such as in soil or human microbiomes, or clonal competition in cancer. The degree of inter- and intra-specific interaction can often be quantified through the notion of an ecological ‘niche’. Typically, weakly interacting species that occupy largely distinct niches result in stable mixed populations, while strong interactions and competition for the same niche result in rapid extinctions of some species and fixations of others. We investigate the transition of a deterministically stable mixed population to a stochasticity-induced fixation as a function of the niche overlap between the two species. We also investigate the effect of the niche overlap on the population stability with respect to external invasions. Our results have important implications for a number of experimental systems.

Isothermal Drying Process and its Effect on Compressive Strength of Concrete in Multiscale

Drying could change the microstructure of cement-based materials and inevitably affect their mechanical properties. The isothermal drying process of concrete at three scales and its effect on compressive behavior and microstructure were investigated. The deformations of cement paste, mortar, and concrete in the drying process all exhibit the characteristics of expansion first and then shrinkage. The porosity and average pore diameter increase after drying, which is mainly attributed to the increase of pores less than 100 nm diameter for paste and to the pores within 100~1000 nm for mortar. Drying makes paste denser, while the bonding between paste and aggregate is weakened. Microstructural studies indicate that the increase in compressive strength of concrete caused by isothermal drying is the competition result between the strengthening effect and the weakening effect, and is related to the paste content.

The influence of organizational culture on information governance effectiveness

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impact of organizational culture on information governance (IG) effectiveness at higher education institutions (HEIs). IT professionals, such as chef information officers, chief technology officers, chief information security officers and IT directors at HEIs were surveyed and interviewed to learn about whether organizational culture influences IG effectiveness. Several IG activities (processes) were identified, including information security, the function of an IG council, the presence of a Record Information Management department, the role of a compliance officer and information stewards and the use of an automated system or software to identify and maintain information life-cycle management. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted using Cameron and Quinn’s (Cameron and Quinn, 2011) competing value framework. To evaluate organizational culture, using the competing value framework, four types of organizational culture profiles were used: collaboration, creation/innovation, controlling/hierarchy, and competition/result-oriented. The methodology included quantitative and qualitative techniques through the use of content analysis of data collected from participants. IT professionals, such as chef information officers, chief technology officers, chief information security officers and IT directors at HEIs were surveyed and interviewed to learn about whether organizational culture influences IG effectiveness. Findings Findings revealed organizational culture may influence IG effectiveness positively, especially from cultures of competition/result-oriented and control/hierarchy. Qualitatively, it also emerged that competition/result-oriented and control characteristics of organizational culture were perceived by IG professionals to produce more accurate information. One of the characteristics of organizational culture that became evident in the current study, coming from more than one subject, was the challenge in IG due to the presence of information silos. Trust, on the other hand, has been highlighted as the glue which can enable and drive governance processes in an organization. Research limitations/implications The current study was conducted based on HEIs. While the current study serves as a baseline for studying IG in other institutions, its results cannot be generalized for other type of institutions. The results cannot be generalized for other types of not-for-profit or for-profit organizations. Many of the characteristics of the sample data were specific to HEIs. For instance, financial, manufacturing and health-care institutions present challenges inherent in those institutions. Originality/value Trust has been highlighted as the glue which can enable and drive governance processes in an organization. Respondents of current study have indicated that trust serving several different factors toward IG effectiveness, including freedom to speak freely in the meeting about impact of organizational culture on IG, wiliness of executives of administration, particularly the CIO, to communicate IG matters to institution, sharing information and being transparent, entrusting help desk staff and technical supervisors so users can communicate with them and share their concerns and perceiving “feeling of trust” in the organization, which would benefit the institution, allowing stakeholders to collaborate and work together to overcome issues when facing IG challenges.

Subjective Evaluation of Sustainability and Attractiveness Criteria of Planned Buildings: A Case Study

Architectural competitions are regarded an important way to find close-to-optimal solutions for given building design tasks. In recent years, sustainability criteria within architectural competitions increased in importance. However, the question how to cleverly integrate sustainability criteria into the required deliverables that architects have to provide in competition entries remains widely unsolved. Even if energy calculations or tabular data are stipulated, both meaningfulness and impact on the jury decision seem to be highly doubtful. This might be due to a number of reasons: First of all, architectural competitions regularly address early design stages. In other words, large uncertainties regarding construction assemblies, glazing properties, and HVAC-systems (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) persist at this moment, thus energy evaluations come with a high level of inaccuracy. Moreover, juries that evaluate competition entries regularly consist of domain specialists for the later building usage and architects, but not necessarily encompass energy efficiency specialists. This is understandable, given the multitude of requirements within building design, where sustainability is only one out of many. Furthermore, there is no common understanding regarding clear decision criteria pertaining to sustainability. Even if certain scalar KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are demanded, these numbers can regularly not describe the overall performance of a building design. Another important aspect is that entries to architectural competitions regularly are checked onto formal issues, but not regarding the plausibility of their content. As such, it cannot be expected that the winning and running-up projects of competitions automatically resemble the most sustainable projects. Literally, any sustainability or energy performance description has to be taken for granted, but can rarely be validated. Commonly it is argued that the winning projects of competitions are regularly the competition entries that show the most balanced mix of different attributes. This, however, is difficult to evaluate. In the present contribution we illustrate the methodology and results of a recently conducted empirical experiment. Thereby, we asked undergraduate and graduate students of architecture to subjectively evaluate a set of competition entries of a recent architectural competition for a high-density, low-energy residential housing project. The project entries were the winning project as well as the five runner-up projects. The students were provided with principle information about the competition and its principle goals and then had to rank the projects regarding different criteria. The comparison of this subjective evaluation was then compared with the competition result. Some differences between the jury’s ranking and the subjective evaluation could be observed.

Understanding Anomalous Synoptic Eddy Vorticity Forcing in Pacific–North American Teleconnection Pattern Events

Utilizing a decomposition of anomalous eddy vorticity forcing (EVF) proposed by Song in 2016 and a modified Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) dynamical core atmospheric model, this study provides a different understanding of physical mechanisms that are responsible for the formation of the anomalous synoptic EVF (SEVF) associated with Pacific–North American teleconnection pattern (PNA) events. A series of short-term control experiments (CEs) and initial-value modified experiments (IVMEs) is conducted. In each case of CEs, there are no obvious PNA-like circulation anomalies. IVMEs are exactly the same as CEs except that appropriate small perturbations are introduced into the initial-value fields of CEs. The modified initial-value fields led to a gradual development of the PNA-like flow anomalies in IVMEs. Based on these numerical results, deformations of the synoptic eddy due to the emergence of the PNA pattern can be easily acquired by subtracting the synoptic eddy in CEs from the synoptic eddy in IVMEs . The anomalous SEVF associated with the PNA events in the model can be decomposed into ensembles of two linear and interaction terms (EVF1 and EVF2) and a nonlinear self-interaction term (EVF3). It is demonstrated that the physical essence of the anomalous SEVF associated with the PNA events is a competition result between EVF1 plus EVF2 and EVF3. Results also indicate that the different signs of SEVF associated with the positive and negative PNA events are not necessarily related to the different tilts of the synoptic eddy.

Study of bilateral trading platform competition in consideration of suppliers’ spatial network

The bilateral trading platform is an intermediary system which serves both consumers and suppliers. To make this happen, platforms must attract users on board from both sides and make them trade with each other. Spatial distribution of suppliers has the significant impact on consumers platform adoption decision, but how does the supplier’s network affect the platform competition has rarely been studied. In this paper, the supplier’s spatial network is added to bilateral trading platform network effect model, and influences of the supplier’s network structure on the platform competition are discussed. Simulation results show that, compared with the central network, the decentralized network is more conducive to the platform competition. When suppliers on two competitive platforms follow the same network structure, the reinforcement effect of the first-mover advantage on platforms will vanish. This result is robust in different spatial network patterns. Conversely, when one of the platforms has a superior network structure of suppliers, its first-mover advantage will get strengthened, and it will achieve a better competition result; otherwise, its first-mover advantage will get weakened. These results provide an insight into the platform competition mechanism and will help platforms to make corresponding competitive strategies.