Is there a Relative Age Effect in the Competition Total Scores and its Components of Junior Individual Rhythmic Gymnasts?

Background: Children born at the beginning of the year may be cognitively, emotionally, and physically more advantageous than those born at the end of the year. Aim: This study aims to determine whether there is a relative age effect (RAE) on the total scores and its components of the gymnasts in their routines, competing in the 1st Rhythmic Gymnastics Junior World Championships Individual All-Around Ranking-Apparatus Qualification in 2019. Methods: 138 gymnasts from 61 countries participated in this competition and 61 gymnasts competed in each apparatus. The total scores (TS) and its components in gymnasts' competition routines were analyzed according to gymnasts' age groups (13, 14, and 15 years old) and period of birth [Group I (those born in the first six months of the year), Group II (those born in the last six months of the year)]. Differences and percentages of change between the two periods were examined. A total of 732 scores (Difficulty, Execution, and Total Scores) were evaluated. Descriptive statistics and the One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Test analysis were used for statistical evaluation. Results: When the TS and its components were examined in all age groups and all routines, no significant difference was observed between Group I and Group II in terms of RAE. Conclusion: It is thought that considering the RAE in talent selection and orientation programs, participation in sports activities and performance evaluation may be useful for athletes, coaches, and administrators. Keywords: Rhythmic gymnastics, competition performance scores, relative age effect, gymnast

Construction Scheme and Talent Policies of Free Trade Zones in China

Free Trade Zones (FTZs) are the important product of deepening reform, expanding opening up and promoting high-quality economic development under the unified deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. As the core competitiveness of FTZs, talents play an important role in the construction and development of FTZs, and the formulation of talent selection policies are vital in talent introduction. This article mainly discusses the construction scheme and talent policies of FTZs in China for reference of relevant departments.

Talent Selection Based on Sport-Specific Tasks Is Affected by the Relative Age Effects among Adolescent Handball Players

Talent selection is often affected by the relative age effects (RAEs), resulting in the overrepresentation of relatively older (vs. relatively younger) players among those selected. The use of sport-specific tasks is suggested to reduce RAEs during talent selection. Purpose: To test the hypothesis that talent selection including only sport-specific tasks is not affected by the RAEs and to analyse the body size and biological maturity of the top selection level according to relative age. Methods: Participants were U14 female (n = 5428) and U15 (n = 4408) male handball players participating in four programs consisting of four selection levels (local, county, regional, and national) grouped in bi-annual age. Handball-specific generic skills, position-specific technical drills and in-game performance were the selection criteria evaluated by experts and coaches. Body dimensions were measured and bone age, as an indicator of maturity, was estimated. The relative age quartile distributions within the bi-annual cohorts were examined using Chi-square and Odds Ratios. Results: In terms of all the registered players no RAEs were evident. However, the RAEs of moderate effect size were evident at the county level; χ2 = 53.2 (girls) and 66.4 (boys), OR = 2.5 and 3.3, respectively. The RAEs of a large effect size were found at the regional level; χ2 = 139.5 (girls) and 144.9 (boys), OR = 8.2 and 5.2, respectively. At national level, RAEs were still present, but with no further increase in the effect size. At the highest selection level, there were no differences in the anthropometric measures between the relatively older and younger players. Conclusion: The findings provide support to the hypothesis that the selection process exacerbates RAEs even when using only sport-specific selection criteria. The performance metrics in technical skills, but also coaching assessments are likely involved. In addition, an advanced maturity and/or an above-average body size increases the selection odds for relatively younger players.

Differences in Squat Jump, Linear Sprint, and Change-of-Direction Performance among Youth Soccer Players According to Competitive Level

The aim of this investigation was to analyze significant differences in performance depending on the level of play (elite vs. amateur) in youth soccer players (under 17 years. old (U17) and U19). A cross-sectional study was conducted, and 45 elite and amateur male youth soccer players (16.56 ± 0.9 years old) were evaluated in their performances in squat jump (SJ), 10 m linear sprint (LS), 20 m LS, 505 agility test (505) and Illinois agility test (IAT). Differences in performances were analyzed with a 2 × 2 MANOVA, post-hoc ANOVAs, and Hedges’ g (g) for pairwise comparisons of subgroups (level of play and age group). This investigation showed that the elite player performance was significantly (p < 0.05) better in all performance tests than amateur players in both age groups. Interestingly, this investigation showed that the more complex the target exercise, the larger the effect sizes for group differences (SJ: g = 0.64–1.18, LS: g = 0.05–2.23, change-of-direction (COD): g = 3.01–6.84). The SJ, LS, 505, and IAT may prove useful in talent selection test batteries to separate between competitive levels in youth soccer players.

Talent management in the conditions of public service (on the example of Kazakhstan and Russia)

The process of improving the quality of public services directly depends on the professionalism of the public service personnel. In this regard, it is necessary to constantly engage in their professional training and increase the level of development of their professional competencies, to strive for the formation of maximum productivity and efficiency of their activities. All these issues are components of direction that has become popular recently – talent management, designed to use effectively the qualities of employees, which will allow them to make a significant contribution to the development of the organization. The article considers examples of the application of the talent management system both from the point of view of the direction of the development of the organization’s human capital, and from the point of view of designing competencies, improving the efficiency of activities, as well as a method of forming a personnel reserve. The article presents the experience of applying the talent management system in Russian science, analyzes the state and options for using various models of talent management by scientists and practitioners of Kazakhstan. The authors describe their own experience of participation in various research projects aimed at finding, developing and supporting talents in the conditions of public service. The article gives an example of such a project for the selection of talented young people (graduate students), who want in the future to enter the public service in the Republic of Kazakhstan and Russia. Finally, the authors draw conclusions about the impact of trends in the modernization of the public service in Kazakhstan and Russia on the development of the model of talent selection and management in this system of professional activity.

STRATEGIES FOR ORGANISING AND MANAGING RESEARCH AT UNIVERSITIES: SYSTEMIC REVIEW

The purpose of the study was to identify and synthesise the interventions used to build the strategies for organising and managing research at universities that can be feasible in Ukraine. To achieve this purpose we provided a descriptive profile of the interventions and strategies used at universities to organise and manage research, rather than the detailed examination of substantive research results. The method of descriptive content analysis was applied to analyse empirical, experimental, review, conceptual, and commentary sources revealing strategies of organising and managing research at universities. The growth and corporate type strategies are dominant at universities, particularly in the USA and EU. The universities mainly seek cost-effective research opportunities that can help the institutions build a strong international brand. The policy of institutional strategic research management aimed at cooperation in research with other sectors seems to be the most feasible and appropriate for the Ukrainian research management context. Creating project management communities was found to be the second most feasible and appropriate strategy of organising and managing the university research in Ukraine. Financial criterion dominates in assessing the interventions for building a strategy of organising and managing research at universities. The university research can be stimulated at the state level through a demand-oriented reform that is aimed at reshaping the management of personnel, talent selection system, and personnel assessment.

How Relative Age Effects Associate with Football Players’ Market Values: Indicators of Losing Talent and Wasting Money

Background: In football, annual age-group categorization leads to relative age effects (RAEs) in talent development. Given such trends, relative age may also associate with market values. This study analyzed the relationship between RAEs and market values of youth players. Methods: Age category, birthdate, and market values of 11,738 youth male football players were obtained from the “transfermarkt.de” database, which delivers a good proxy for real market values. RAEs were calculated using odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: Significant RAEs were found across all age-groups (p < 0.05). The largest RAEs occurred in U18 players (Q1 [relatively older] v Q4 [relatively younger] OR = 3.1) ORs decreased with age category, i.e., U19 (2.7), U20 (2.6), U21 (2.4), U22 (2.2), and U23 (1.8). At U19s, Q1 players were associated with significantly higher market values than Q4 players. However, by U21, U22, and U23 RAEs were inversed, with correspondingly higher market values for Q4 players apparent. While large typical RAEs for all playing positions was observed in younger age categories (U18–U20), inversed RAEs were only evident for defenders (small-medium) and for strikers (medium-large) in U21–U23 (not goalkeepers and midfielders). Conclusions: Assuming an equal distribution of football talent exists across annual cohorts, results indicate the selection and market value of young professional players is dynamic. Findings suggest a potential biased selection, and undervaluing of Q4 players in younger age groups, as their representation and market value increased over time. By contrast, the changing representations and market values of Q1 players suggest initial overvaluing in performance and monetary terms. Therefore, this inefficient talent selection and the accompanying waste of money should be improved.

An IoT-Based Motion Tracking System for Next-Generation Foot-Related Sports Training and Talent Selection

Motion tracking in different fields (medical, military, film, etc.) based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensing technology has been attracted by world's leading researchers and engineers in recent years; however, there is still a lack of research covering the sports field. In this study, we propose a new AIoT (AI + IoT) paradigm for next-generation foot-driven sports (soccer, football, takraw, etc.) training and talent selection. The system built is cost-effective and easy-to-use and requires much fewer computational resources than traditional video-based analysis on monitoring motions of players during training. The system built includes a customized wireless wearable sensing device (WWSDs), a mobile application, and a data processing interface-based cloud with an ankle attitude angle analysis model. Eleven right-foot male participators wore the WWSD on their ankle while each performed 20 instances of different actions in a formal soccer field. The experimental outcome demonstrates the proposed motion tracking system based on AIoT and MEMS sensing technologies capable of recognizing different motions and assessing the players’ skills. The talent selection function can partition the elite and amateur players at an accuracy of 93%. This intelligent system can be an emerging technology based on wearable sensors and attain the experience-driven to data-driven transition in the field of sports training and talent selection and can be easily extended to analyze other foot-related sports motions (e.g., taekwondo, tumble, and gymnastics) and skill levels.