A Dimension Reduction Approach to Player Rankings in European Football

Player performance evaluation is a challenging problem with multiple dimensions. Football (soccer) is the largest sports industry in terms of monetary value and it is paramount that teams can assess the performance of players for both financial and operational reasons. However, this is a difficult task, not only because performance differs from position to position, but also it is based on competition, time played and team play-styles. Because of this, raw player statistics are not comparable across players and must be processed to facilitate a fair performance evaluation. Furthermore, teams may have different requirements and a generic player performance evaluation does not directly serve the particular expectations of different clubs. In this study, we provide a generic framework for estimating player performance and performing player-fit-to-criteria assessment, under different objectives, for left and right backs from competitions worldwide. The results show that the players who have ranked high have increased their transfer values and they have moved to suitable teams. Global nature of the proposed methodology expands the analyzed player pool, facilitating the search for outstanding players from all available competitions

Multiobject Optimization of National Football League Drafts: Comparison of Teams and Experts

Predicting the success of National Football League drafts has always been an exciting issue for the teams, fans and even for scientists. Among the numerous approaches, one of the best techniques is to ask the opinion of sport experts, who have the knowledge and past experiences to rate the drafts of the teams. When asking a set of sport experts to evaluate the performances of teams, a multicriteria decision making problem arises unavoidably. The current paper uses the draft evaluations of the 32 NFL teams given by 18 experts: a novel multicriteria decision making tool has been applied: the sum of ranking differences (SRD). We introduce a quick and easy-to-follow approach on how to evaluate the performance of the teams and the experts at the same time. Our results on the 2021 NFL draft data indicate that Green Bay Packers has the most promising drafts for 2021, while the experts have been grouped into three distinct groups based on the distance to the hypothetical best evaluation. Even the coding options can be tailored according to the experts’ opinions. Statistically correct (pairwise or group) comparisons can be made using analysis of variance (ANOVA). A comparison to TOPSIS ranking revealed that SRD gives a more objective ranking due to the lack of predefined weights

Exploring Meteorites Mysteries

This teacher's guide with activities supports lessons on the earliest history of the Solar System and meteorite impacts on Earth. Educational levels: Middle school, Intermediate elementary, High school

10th Annual St. Cloud State University Student Research Colloquium 2007

2007 Student Research Colloquium Proceedings include Schedule of events, Acknowledgement of research sponsors, Program, Abstracts, Student presenter index, Faculty sponsor index, Acknowledgement of planning committee, volunteers, sponsors, donors, May of Atwood Memorial Center. Program highlights include: Invited alumnus address: Moira Petit, Got Exercise? Physical Activity and Bone Development (M.S. Exercise Physiology, St Cloud State University, 1994). COSE Denise M. McGuire Student Research Awards 2007 Best Poster Award

Oxford consensus on primary cam morphology and femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: part 1—definitions, terminology, taxonomy and imaging outcomes

INTRODUCTION: Primary cam morphology is a mostly benign bony prominence that develops at the femoral head-neck junction of the hip, but it is highly prevalent in many athlete populations. In the small proportion of athletes for whom it is not benign, the resulting hip osteoarthritis can be debilitating. Clinicians, athletes, patients and researchers do not yet agree on important primary cam morphology elements. We aimed to ascertain and improve the level of agreement on primary cam morphology definitions, terminology, taxonomy and imaging outcome measures. METHODS: To collect and aggregate informed opinions, an expert panel-the Young Athlete's Hip Research Collaborative-rated primary cam morphology definition, terminology, taxonomy and imaging outcome statements through an online Delphi exercise followed by an online meeting to explore areas of tension and dissent. Reporting followed Conducting and REporting DElphi Studies. RESULTS: A diverse and inclusive Delphi panel (n=65 for rounds 1 and 2, representing 18 countries; 6 stakeholder groups; 40% women) agreed on 35 of 47 statements in 4 domains, while surfacing areas of tension and dissent. This Delphi panel agreed on four key issues essential to moving research and clinical care forward around primary cam morphology. They agreed on: (1) definition, confirming its conceptual attributes (tissue type, size, location, shape and ownership); (2) terminology-use 'morphology' and not terms with a negative connotation like 'lesion', 'abnormality' or 'deformity'; (3) taxonomy, distinguishing between primary and secondary cam morphology, and (4) imaging outcomes, a continuous bone/cartilage alpha angle on radial femoral head-neck MRI for primary cam morphology aetiology research. CONCLUSION: This consensus provides athletes, patients, clinicians and researchers with a strong foundation to guide more precise communication, better clinical decision-making and higher value research about primary cam morphology and its natural history

Refractive error and vision correction in a general sports-playing population

Purpose: To evaluate, in an amateur sports-playing population, the prevalence of refractive error, the type of vision correction used during sport and attitudes toward different kinds of vision correction used in various types of sports. Method: A questionnaire was used for people engaging in sport and data was collected from sport centres, gyms and universities that focused on the motor sciences. Results: One thousand, five hundred and seventy-three questionnaires were collected (mean age 26.5 ± 12.9 years; 63.5 per cent male). Nearly all (93.8 per cent) subjects stated that their vision had been checked at least once. Fifty-three subjects (3.4 per cent) had undergone refractive surgery. Of the remainder who did not have refractive surgery (n = 1,519), 580 (38.2 per cent) reported a defect of vision, 474 (31.2 per cent) were myopic, 63 (4.1 per cent) hyperopic and 241 (15.9 per cent) astigmatic. Logistic regression analysis showed that the best predictors for myopia prevalence were gender (p < 0.001) and location of sport practice (p < 0.001). Sports that present higher prevalence of outdoor activity have lower prevalence of myopia. Contact lens penetration over the study sample was 18.7 per cent. Contact lenses were the favourite system of correction among people interviewed compared to spectacles and refractive surgery (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study showed that sport was not associated with different levels of myopia prevalence in the adult population. However, subjects engaging in outdoor sports had lower rates of myopia prevalence. Penetration of contact lens use in sport was four times higher than the overall adult population. Contact lenses were the preferred system of correction in sports compared to spectacles or refractive surgery, but this preference was affected by the type of sport practised and by the age and level of sports activity for which the preference was required

Development of a core outcome set for lower limb orthopaedic surgical interventions in ambulant children and young people with cerebral palsy

Background: The literature on lower limb orthopaedic surgery for ambulant children with cerebral palsy (CP) demonstrates significantly heterogenous outcomes and outcome measures and evidence of selective outcome reporting. This limits evidence synthesis and undermines research findings through outcome reporting bias. Although several outcomes are commonly measured and reported, these do not always capture the needs and expectations of children and families. Purpose: The aims of this project were to (1) develop a minimum set of important and relevant outcomes, a “Core Outcome Set” for use in future clinical studies evaluating lower limb orthopaedic surgery for ambulant children with CP, and (2) develop a recommendation of optimal outcome measures, a “Core Outcome Measurement Set”, to assess each outcome within the core outcome set. Methods: The project was designed in four parts. (1) potential outcomes were identified through systematic reviews; (2) interviews with stakeholders (healthcare professionals, researchers, children and families) were undertaken; (3) an international two-round e-Delphi consensus survey was used to gain agreement between stakeholders as to which outcomes were “core”; (4) outcomes selected through the Delphi process were brought forward to a consensus meeting to agree on the final core outcome set. Target stakeholders from relevant national and international networks were approached to contribute to this selection. The selection of core outcome measurement instruments was designed in four parts. (1) conceptual considerations; (2) identification of existing outcome measures; (3) quality assessment; and (4) development of generic recommendations on the selection of outcome measurement instruments for a COS. Results: The literature review and stakeholder interviews initially identified 99 outcome domains. These were grouped into 41 outcomes for prioritisation in the Delphi survey. A total of 197 participants from 13 countries were surveyed. The findings were brought forward to the consensus meetings with 21 international stakeholders. Consensus was achieved on eight outcome domains: (1) pain and fatigue; (2) lower limb structure; (3) motor function; (4) daily life activities; (5) gait-related outcomes; (6) physical activity; (7) independence; and (8) quality of life. An adverse event domain was agreed as an essential part of any study documentation. The outcome measures recommended by the consensus group were a combination of clinician-driven objective measures: (1) Three-Dimensional Gait Analysis (3-DGA); (2) Edinburgh Visual Gait Score (EVGS); (3) 10-Meter Walk Test (10-MWT); and (4) Gross Motor Functional Measure (GMFM-66), and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs): (5) Gait Outcomes Assessment List (GOAL); (6) Gillette Functional Assessment Questionnaire (Gillette FAQ); (7) Patient-Reported Outcomes Instruments System (PROMIS); and (8) Cerebral Palsy - Quality of Life (CP- QoL). Conclusions: This project has developed an evidence-based, internationally endorsed core outcome set for lower limb orthopaedic surgery in ambulant children with CP. It is recommended that these core sets be implemented into future clinical studies. The use of these core sets would enhance the consistency and quality of studies in orthopaedic surgery for children with CP

A Study of the Crisis Leadership Model at Marshall University

This research addresses the question: what factors contribute to a group successfully navigating times of crisis and what roles does the leader play in this navigation. Given recent events such as the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the tsunami that devastated Indonesia in 2004, the catastrophic force of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the most recent earthquake in 2010 that decimated Haiti, coupled with the current tenuous international political climate, the need to understand how groups move through crisis and what role leadership plays is vitally important. To study this question, the crisis of Marshall University will be analyzed. On November 14th, 1970, a chartered Southern Airways flight carrying the Marshall University football team, coaching staff and many members of the community, crashed outside Huntington, West Virginia. There were no survivors. Left behind were two assistant coaches and three varsity players that were not aboard the flight. After much deliberation, the university decided to carry on with the football program and hired Jack Lengyel of Wooster College to lead the rebuilding effort. A case study of the Marshall University football program will be conducted for this research. During this research, literature in the field of crisis management will be reviewed, literature in the area of storytelling within the context of leadership will be reviewed, the crisis of the plane crash and its aftermath will be analyzed, an interview with Coach Lengyel will be conducted, and a crisis leadership model will be developed for the purpose of determining how effectively a given leader navigates times of crisis