Talent Assessment in Soccer:predicting Performance Through the Lens of Selection Psychology

Professional soccer clubs are always searching for talented soccer players. Based on match observations or results on performance tests, soccer coaches and scouts strive to identify players who have the potential to participate at the professional soccer level. By doing so, they (implicitly) make performance predictions. However, making such predictions is hard: youth players are often selected at an early age for clubs’ professional academies, which means that predictions cover large time intervals and are uncertain. How can soccer clubs improve talent selection decisions? Or in other words: how can we optimize performance predictions in soccer? In his PhD thesis ‘Talent Assessment in Soccer: Predicting Performance Through the Lens of Selection Psychology’ Tom Bergkamp aimed to answer these questions. In collaboration with the KNVB and FC Groningen, he examined which methods yield better predictions among soccer scouts, coaches, and from soccer specific tests. He used insights from psychological research on selection (i.e. selection psychology), which had previously not been applied in the sports literature. The thesis offers new insights on predicting soccer performance. For example, it presents a large-scale survey on the decision-making process of soccer scouts; a population which had received little interest in the sport sciences so far. In addition, it includes an experiment – involving nearly one hundred scouts and coaches of professional soccer clubs – examining whether a structured assessment approach improves the predictions of these decision-makers. Finally, the thesis examines whether soccer performance in small-sided soccer games can be used as a predictor of performance in regular 11v11 games. The findings in this thesis may raise awareness among soccer- and sport organizations on the importance of evidence-based talent selection methods

The Paradox of Emotionality & Competence in Multicultural Competency Training: A Grounded Theory

The American Psychological Association mandates multicultural competency training as a requirement of accredited doctoral programs. The tripartite model of knowledge, skills, and awareness has been the most consistently cited framework in the last two decades. Although multiple pedagogical methods have been researched, there has yet to be a unified theory developed to link educational techniques to the tripartite domain competencies. Furthermore, there is a dearth of research exploring the various learning factors involved in multicultural competency training. Emotionality is an important factor in obtaining multicultural competency. No unified theory of multicultural education can be developed without incorporating the element of emotional triggering. This grounded theory study found that the emotional construct, termed Agent Shame, served as a barrier to multicultural competency. Further, a curriculum construct coined Oppression Mechanics, offers powerful implications for future multicultural competency training

A New Materials and Design Approach for Roads, Bridges, Pavement, and Concrete

Increased understanding of demand for transport energy and how to improve road pavement materials would enable decision makers to make environmental, financial, and other positive changes in future planning and design of roads, bridges, and other important transportation structures. This research comprises three studies focused on pavement materials and a fourth study that examines energy demand within the road transportation sector. These studies are as follows: 1. A techno-economic study of ground tire rubber as an asphalt modifier; 2. A computational fluid dynamics analysis comparing the urban heat island effect of two different pavement materials – asphalt and Portland Cement Concrete; 3. A new approach that modifies the surface of ground tire rubber using low-cost chemicals and treatment methods to be used in asphalt applications; and 4. Analysis of road transport energy demand in California and the United States. The findings of these studies include that 1. GTR is an effective and economically suitable additive for modified asphalt, 2. the suitability of PCC pavements in urban settings should be reexamined, 3. Surface modification of GTR materials can improve compatibilization of particles for the manufacture of asphalt materials, and 4. gasoline sales are generally price inelastic in both the U.S. and California. Ultimately, these four studies improve understanding of road pavement materials and transport energy demand. They lay out important information about the future of the relationship between materials and design in the transportation industry. These findings may be used by engineers, policymakers, and others in the industry to better consider implications of decisions involved in design, creation, and modification of structures using pavement and concrete, including roads, bridges, etc

Contracting for liability limitation

Today terrorism has become a world-wide phenomenon which does not stop at the European borders. Following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and terrorist attacks in Paris, Madrid and London, concerns have arisen in Europe about potential liability exposure for terrorism-related damage. This book tackles the problem of civil liability for damage caused by terrorist acts from several angles. The authors expertly deliver a comprehensive analysis of terrorism-related risk under international and EU law and the national tort law systems of seven representative EU Member States. They also provide a comparison of the situation in Europe to the liability environment in the US. Risk mitigation strategies are considered and critically assessed, as are alternative systems for redressing terrorism-related risks. The book concludes with a reflection on the analysis and presents possible strategies for future regulation by the European lawmakers

Molecular evolution of the porcine type I interferon family: subtype-specific expression and antiviral activity

Type I interferons (IFNs), key antiviral cytokines, evolve to adapt with ever-changing viral threats during vertebrate speciation. Due to novel pathogenic pressure associated with Suidae speciation and domestication, porcine IFNs evolutionarily engender both molecular and functional diversification, which have not been well addressed in pigs, an important livestock species and animal model for biomedical sciences. Annotation of current swine genome assembly Sscrofa10.2 reveals 57 functional genes and 16 pseudogenes of type I IFNs. Subfamilies of multiple IFNA, IFNW and porcine-specific IFND genes are separated into four clusters with ~60 kb intervals within the IFNB/IFNE bordered region in SSC1, and each cluster contains mingled subtypes of IFNA, IFNW and IFND. Further curation of the 57 functional IFN genes indicates that they include 18 potential artifactual duplicates. We performed phylogenetic construction as well as analyses of gene duplication/conversion and natural selection and showed that porcine type I IFN genes have been undergoing active diversification through both gene duplication and conversion. Extensive analyses of the non-coding sequences proximal to all IFN coding regions identified several genomic repetitive elements significantly associated with different IFN subtypes. Family-wide studies further revealed their molecular diversity with respect to differential expression and restrictive activity on the resurgence of a porcine endogenous retrovirus. Based on predicted 3-D structures of representative animal IFNs and inferred activity, we categorized the general functional propensity underlying the structure-activity relationship. Evidence indicates gene expansion of porcine type I IFNs. Genomic repetitive elements that associated with IFN subtypes may serve as molecular signatures of respective IFN subtypes and genomic mechanisms to mediate IFN gene evolution and expression. In summary, the porcine type I IFN profile has been phylogenetically defined family-wide and linked to diverse expression and antiviral activity, which is important information for further biological studies across the porcine type I IFN family

Sistem Pakar Diagnosa Penyakit jantung Koroner dengan Metode Certhainty Factor Berbasis Android Mobile

Penyakit Jantung Koroner atau yang dikenal dengan Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) merupakan suatu penyakit yang terjadi ketika arteri yang menyuplai darah untuk dinding jantung mengalami pengerasan dan penyempitan. Dengan demikian banyaknya masyarakat yang kurang memperhatikan kesehatan pada bagian jantung tersebut, dan hal ini dapat menyebabkan permasalahan yang cukup serius dan menjadi kekwatiran tersendiri dengan semakin banyak masyarakat yang mengalami serangan jantung. Maka dengan ini metode yang algoritma yang digunakan adalah certhainty factor atau metode yang mendefinisikan ukuran kepastian terhadap fakta atau aturan untuk menggambarkan keyakinan seorang pakar terhadap masalah yang sedang dihadapi. Untuk Mengetahui Penyakit yang diderita salah satunya menggunakan sistem pakar untuk mendiagnosa penyakit berdasarkan penyakit yang diderita, kemudian menghasilkan informasi mengenai penyakit tersebut. Sistem pakar merupakan sistem yang berusaha untuk mengadopsi kemampuan atau pengetahuan manusia ke dalam komputer agar komputer dapat bekerja dalam menyelesaikan suatu masalah seperti layaknya seorang pakar atau yang mempunyai knowledge atau kemampuan khusus yang tidak diketahui dan dimiliki oleh orang lain