"Dropping the Ball": The Understudied Nexus of Sports and Politics

From the Roman Colosseum to the Yankee Stadium, the Olympics to the Super Bowl, sports have always played a central role in societies. With so much at stake—money, pride, power (and occasionally even fun)—sports are undeniably political. Yet despite this recognition, political scientists and policy scholars devote little attention to the study of sports, especially compared with other disciplines like business, law, and economics. We offer reasons for this void and suggest how political scientists can begin to fill it. In our view, the nexus between sports and politics is not only a vital topic of study on its own, but it can also provide a lens through which to examine—and test—broader questions in the discipline. We propose how scholars can think more systematically about the interaction of politics and sports and leverage the distinctive qualities of sports to improve causal identification across a range of issue areas and subfields in political science and policy studies

Self-reported Mental Disorders Negatively Influence Surgical Outcomes After Arthroscopic Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement.

Background:Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is responsible for hip pain and dysfunction, and surgical outcomes depend on multiple factors. The presence of mental disorders negatively influences outcomes of multiple orthopaedic conditions, although the impact on FAI surgery is unclear. Hypothesis:The authors hypothesized that a preoperative self-reported history of mental disorders would negatively influence patient-reported outcome measures after FAI surgery. Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods:A matched-cohort study was performed by reviewing a prospectively collected database of cases of arthroscopic management of FAI with a single surgeon over a 2-year period. Demographics and radiographic parameters were recorded for all patients. Patients completed the Hip Outcome Score-Activity of Daily Living Subscale (HOS-ADL), Hip Outcome Score-Sport-Specific Subscale (HOS-SSS), and modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) prior to surgery and 2 years after surgery. Unpaired and paired t tests were used to compare results between and within cohorts at baseline and follow-up. Statistical significance was defined as P < .05. Results:The cohort included 301 patients, with 75 and 226 patients reporting and not reporting a history of mental disorders, respectively. Before treatment, all patient-reported outcome measures were significantly lower among patients reporting a history of mental disorders (P < .01 for HOS-ADL, HOS-SSS, and mHHS). Patients in both groups demonstrated significant improvements (P < .0001) in HOS-ADL, HOS-SSS, and mHHS when preoperative outcome measures were compared with follow-up. Patients with reported mental disorders had significantly lower scores after surgery as compared with patients without mental disorders (P < .0001 for HOS-ADL, HOS-SSS, and mHHS). Conclusion:The presence of a reported mental disorder is associated with lower patient-reported outcomes before and after surgical management of FAI. Statistically significant and clinically relevant improvements were observed for patients who reported mental disorders. The magnitude of these improvements was not as large as that for an age- and sex-matched control group without a self-reported mental disorder

DCPS or Sidwell Friends? How Politician Schooling Choices Affect Voter Evaluations

Voters often rely on informational shortcuts, such as the background traits of politicians, to decide which candidates to support at the ballot box. One such background trait is family composition, particularly parental status. Research, however, has mostly overlooked whether the value-laden choices that politicians make regarding their families—like what neighborhoods they live in, where they worship, and what schools they send their children to—affect how constituents view them. We conduct a survey experiment in the U.S. that presents respondents with hypothetical biographies of politicians that randomly vary one of the most important decisions that politicians make regarding their families: whether to send them to public or private school. We find that: (1) voters are more inclined to vote for politicians with children in public school; and (2) this preference may be due to voters perceiving these politicians as both warmer and more committed to public services

Work Related Factors and Office and Information Manager’s Performance in Indigenous Organizations in Bayelsa State

This study primarily focuses on the examination of the role of some work related factors and office and information manager’s performance. The major factors investigated are: modern computers, information infrastructure, and office interconnectivity in Yenagoa Metropolis. The study employed the descriptive survey research design. Questionnaire was used as the primary instrument for data collection, after which such data was analyzed using simple percentage and the parametric statistics of Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Findings revealed that there is a strong relationship between modern infrastructure and employee task commitment, thereby enhancing performance. It is also found that there is an association between automation of information infrastructure and office and information manager’s performance. Finally, it is also discovered that there is a relationship between interconnectivity of systems and office and information manager’s performance. It is, therefore, concluded that work related factors are not necessarily financial incentives alone, which stimulate office and information managers’ performance in indigenous work organizations. The study recommends that management should ensure proper training of office and information managers to acquire the necessary skills for optimal functioning. Keywords: Job satisfaction, work commitment, incentive DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-20-04 Publication date:July 31st 201

Study of propellant valve leakage in a vacuum Final summary report

Adverse effects of liquid propellant leakage past control valves in vacuum environmen

PRINT MEDIA AND ELECTORAL PROCESS IN NIGERIA

Elections in many developing countries such as Nigeria remain complex and cannot be handled solely by the government, as a vibrant print media is part of this exercise. Unfortunately, the Nigerian electoral process cannot be said to enjoy free, fair, and credible elections. Research design for the study was descriptive research, which combined both qualitative and quantitative methods. The sample was divided into two categories of a total of eight hundred and twenty (820) questionnaire respondents and sixteen (16) key respondents and interviewees from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and Lagos State, being the hub of media establishments and highly cosmopolitan locations in Nigeria. The study used survey, interview, and observation methods of data collection. Quantitative analysis was done using responses elicited from structured questionnaires. Content analysis of qualitative data was carried out on the selected 10 print media publications based on national spread. Findings showed that the print media contributed to creating better perception of the nation’s electoral process by international observers (Mean = 3.9497, St.D = 2.20417), the print media embarked upon improper reportage, selective coverage and failed to report actual happenings during elections because of undue influence by politicians and proprietors media establishments, thereby misinforming the people. The study concluded that the print media is important for smooth electoral process during the period of the study (1999-2019), despite challenges such as inadequate funding, and non-adherence to professional ethics by some print media journalists

Interpersonal violence in peacetime Malawi.

Background: The contribution of interpersonal violence (IPV) to trauma burden varies greatly by region. The high rates of IPV in sub-Saharan Africa are thought to relate in part to the high rates of collective violence. Malawi, a country with no history of internal collective violence, provides an excellent setting to evaluate whether collective violence drives the high rates of IPV in this region. Methods: This is a retrospective review of a prospective trauma registry from 2009 through 2016 at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. Adult (\u3e16 years) victims of IPV were compared with non-intentional trauma victims. Log binomial regression determined factors associated with increased risk of mortality for victims of IPV. Results: Of 72 488 trauma patients, 25 008 (34.5%) suffered IPV. Victims of IPV were more often male (80.2% vs. 74.8%; p Discussion: Even in a sub-Saharan country that never experienced internal collective violence, IPV injury rates are high. Public health efforts to measure and address alcohol use, and studies to determine the role of mob justice, poverty, and intimate partner violence in IPV, in Malawi are needed. Level of evidence: Level III

Study of propellant valve leakage in a vacuum Phase I report, 7 Jun. - 24 Nov. 1965

Propellant valve leakage and propellant flow system freezing and blockage when exposed to vacuum environment in Apollo service module engin

Prevalence, trend and outcome of twin pregnancy in Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Southern Nigeria

Background: Multiple pregnancy is a high-risk pregnancy associated with a higher maternal and perinatal complications compared to singleton pregnancy. Twinning is the commonest form of multiple pregnancy, and its prevalence varies across the globe, with lowest value in Japan and highest in Nigeria.Methods: The aim of the study was to review twin births in Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), to determine its prevalence, trend, and management outcome.Results: During the period under review, there were 13516, and 263 twin births, giving the prevalence of twinning in RSUTH as 19.5 per 1000 live births or 1 in 51 deliveries. The rate of twinning increased from 7.6 per 1000 deliveries in 2015 to 35.7 per 1000 deliveries in 2019. Mean age of patients was 31 SD 4.82 years, 95% CI: 30.42, 31.59, and modal age group was 30-34 years. Patients’ parity ranged from 0 to 7 with modal parity being para-1. Majority (51.7%) had secondary level education, and were Christians. Preterm delivery rate was 62.4%. The mean gestational age at delivery was 35.7 SD 2.9 weeks, 95% CI: 35.3, 36.0. The mean birth weights of the first and second twins were 2.39 SD 0.67 and 2.30 SD 0.69 respectively. Majority (92%) of the foetuses were alive at birth. Still birth and perinatal mortality rate were 4.2 and 7.8 per 1000 live births. There was no case of maternal mortality.Conclusions: The rate of twining in our setting is high, with an increasing trend. Most of the parturient had preterm delivery, and improved perinatal care services would ensure best perinatal outcome.