The Nature of Conflict in Sport: Development and Validation of the Group Conflict Questionnaire

The purpose of the present dissertation was to develop a questionnaire to assess intra-group conflict in sport teams. To this end, the current dissertation consisted of three phases which followed a logical progression that is typical in the questionnaire development process. A total of (N = 752) participants took part in the three phases (Phase 1: N = 10; Phase 2: N = 437; Phase 3: N = 305). Phase 1 was a qualitative investigation of athletes’ (N = 10) perceptions of the nature of conflict in sport. This phase was undertaken to gain a better understanding of the conflict phenomenon in sport groups. Results from Phase 1 indicated that participants experienced conflict in task and social situations, and that conflict manifested itself through cognitive (disagreements), behavioral (interference) and affective (negative emotions) components. Phase 2 consisted of two projects. The objective of the first project was to utilise the results from Phase 1 to generate potential questionnaire items. These items were then assessed for content validity by a panel of experts (N = 6). A total of 50 items were generated and sent out to the experts. Based on their feedback, a total of 25 items were retained for further testing. The objective of the second project of Phase 2 was to begin initial reliability (internal consistency) and validity (factorial) testing with the set of content valid items with a sample of athletes (N = 437). Results from this initial psychometric testing yielded a structurally reliable and valid (CFI = .946, RMSEA = .086, SRMR = .042) 14-item, two dimensional (task conflict, 7-items, and social conflict, 7-items) version of the Group Conflict Questionnaire. Phase 3 was undertaken to further test the reliability (internal consistency) and validity (factorial, convergent, discriminant, known-group difference) for the Group Conflict Questionnaire with another sample of athletes (N = 305). Results provided evidence for reliability and validity for the four types assessed (CFI = .903, RMSEA = .109, SRMR = .060). The newly developed and validated 14-item, two dimensional, Group Conflict Questionnaire can be utilised for continued use to advance the knowledge of conflict in sport

Application of diffusion barriers to the refractory fibers of tungsten, columbium, carbon and aluminum oxide

A radio frequency powered ion-plating system was used to plate protective layers of refractory oxides and carbide onto high strength fiber substrates. Subsequent overplating of these combinations with nickel and titanium was made to determine the effectiveness of such barrier layers in preventing diffusion of the overcoat metal into the fibers with consequent loss of fiber strength. Four substrates, five coatings, and two metal matrix materials were employed for a total of forty material combinations. The substrates were tungsten, niobium, NASA-Hough carbon, and Tyco sapphire. The diffusion-barrier coatings were aluminum oxide, yttrium oxide, titanium carbide, tungsten carbide with 14% cobalt addition, and zirconium carbide. The metal matrix materials were IN 600 nickel and Ti 6/4 titanium. Adhesion of the coatings to all substrates was good except for the NASA-Hough carbon, where flaking off of the oxide coatings in particular was observed

Monte Carlo Hamiltonian of lattice gauge theory

We discuss how the concept of the Monte Carlo Hamiltonian can be applied to lattice gauge theories.Comment: "Non-Perturbative Quantum Field Theory: Lattice and Beyond", Guangzhou, China 200

Healthy People/Healthy Economy: Annual Report Card 2014

This fourth annual Healthy People/Healthy Economy Report Card makes the case once again that health and wellness are essential to the future of the Commonwealth. This Report Card outlines more than a dozen complementary policies and practices to improve health and prevent disease, and it is critical that we adopt them.This year, the Report Card intensifies its focus on health at both ends of the lifespan— young children and seniors. Equally important, it stresses the urgent need for action to improve health at the neighborhood and community level in order to enhance lives and meet the Commonwealth's new goals for controlling health care costs.Massachusetts is now focused squarely on the difficult task of controlling its health care spending. With the enactment of Chapter 224 in 2012, the Commonwealth became the third U.S. state, following Maryland and Vermont, to assert control over all public and private health care spending. Under Chapter 224, the Commonwealth aims to keep the rate of increase in total health care spending equal to or less than the state's economic growth rate. This ambitious goal builds upon the state's achievement of the highest rate of health insurance in the country, with about 96 percent of residents covered. While people who live in Massachusetts are already among the healthiest in the United States, there are many areas for improvement, and making those improvements is key to controlling future costs.Let's look at the record.Massachusetts ranks high among the states on most health indicators. One well-regarded national report, America's Health Rankings, rates Massachusetts as the 4th-healthiest state in the country. Yet measures like these mask important and costly problems.For example, even though the Commonwealth is among the states with the lowest levels of overweight, obesity and illnesses related to unhealthy weight, including Type 2 diabetes, the overall national trend has been consistently negative. In Massachusetts: - The percentage of obese people has doubled since 1990, from approximately 10 percent to more than 20 percent.- The number of cases of diabetes skyrocketed 80 percent between 1995 and 2010.- The cost impact of diabetes, which is estimated to be more than $6 billion per year, will escalate unless the current trend is reversed.- Equity issues remain, as African Americans are more likely to report that they are in fair or poor health compared to whites (about 18 percent vs. 12.5 percent), and Hispanics are much more likely to report poor health status (27 percent).- Low-income residents are much more likely to characterize their health as fair or poor (29 percent of residents earning less than$25,000, compared to 4.7 percent of residents earning more than $75,000 per year).- People who have completed high school or college are much more likely to report their health as good compared to those who have not finished school (Only 6 percent of college graduates characterized their health as fair or poor, compared to nearly 35 percent among those who did not finish high school).

Maine IT Workforce Skills Management : A study for the Maine State Department of Labor

Executive Summary: From August 2010 to February 2011 personnel from Information and Innovation at the University of Southern Maine have conducted a study of IT skills needed, possessed and taught in Maine. The goals of this study were to provide fine-grained information to the Maine state Department of Labor to facilitate their workforce development activities. This study concerns the skills sought after by employers, possessed by unemployed and employed workers and taught in education and training establishments with a bricks and mortar presence in Maine. It relied on data created by third parties and by study personnel. Anecdotal evidence was gathered from meetings with local industry IT professionals as well. This study does not attempt to estimate demand or supply of a given skill, but it does assess which skills are in greatest and least demand, which skills are in greatest and least supply, and which skills are taught more and less often. The results of data analysis are presented in a new measure, skill rank disparity, which exposes skill and training gaps and gluts. This study provides certain insights into its results, observing individual cases of skills high in demand and low in supply, for example. Insights are also provided in terms of groups of skills that are often taught, often asked for, and whether these groups of skills are well-represented in the Maine IT workforce. This study also provides specific and actionable recommendatio

Healthy People/Healthy Economy: A Five-Year Review and Five Priorities for the Future

The first Report Card (2011) identified a dozen priorities for decisive action to improve health in Massachusetts. The need to act was summed up in the title of our first report, The Boston Paradox, published in 2007. As we saw it, Massachusetts had "plenty of health care, but not enough health." The Commonwealth ranked high on many measures of health status and health care compared to the rest of the United States. But it was not immune to risks such as rising rates of overweight, obesity and diabetes that threatened to increase the burden of illness on many families, to drive up health-care costs that were already too high, and to sap the economic vitality of the state.So how have we done? Clear signs have emerged that rates of growth in overweight and obesity in the Massachusetts population at large have stayed flat over the last two to three years. Similarly, overweight and obesity have leveled off among youth in several high-risk communities aided by the Commonwealth's Mass in Motion program. We have seen a widespread effort to promote a "culture of health."A real culture of health requires investment of real dollars in priorities that shape our lifelong health. Here there have been encouraging signs as well.In 2011 we documented a "mismatch": increased health care spending by the Commonwealth came at the expense of investment in crucial long-term determinants of health such as education and public health programs. Since then, the Commonwealth's spending on health care and other health-related priorities has come closer into balance.But it is far too early to give ourselves good grades. First, it remains to be seen whether the unhealthy weight gain in Massachusetts has stopped for good. After all, America's obesity crisis has been more than 30 years in the making. In Massachusetts, rates of overweight, obesity and related conditions such as diabetes remain at historically high levels. Disparities in rates and resulting health risks among African-American and Latino residents remain stubbornly high. There is an especially urgent need for addressing what can be termed "ZIP-code disparities," or huge differences in health between affluent communities and low-income, high-risk urban neighborhoods throughout the state.And while Massachusetts adults are among the nation's healthiest, the state's youth consistently fall in the middle of the pack for risks such as overweight and obesity, with especially troubling numbers for the youngest children. These facts do not bode well for our economic future.It likewise remains to be seen whether the Commonwealth's tentative steps toward a better balance can be sustained in state expenditures on both health care and the determinants of health. The growth in health-care spending in Massachusetts has slowed in the last two to three years, but experts are divided on whether this trend will continue. Meanwhile, recent budget increases for public health and other health-related programs have not come close to making up for cuts in real inflation-adjusted spending suffered over the last 15 years.And so as Governor Baker, the Legislature and community leaders reset the state's agenda, we offer one overarching goal and five specific recommendations for further action. The Commonwealth's overarching goal should be to make steady progress toward a culture of health. To make this a reality, Massachusetts officials need to fully embrace the "health in all policies" approach that many experts and health-care leaders see as essential if we are to improve health, avoid unnecessary spending, and sustain our economic vitality. Nearly every government action, from capital planning and construction to the design or reform of programs, represents an opportunity to contribute to better health for all residents

Measure of the path integral in lattice gauge theory

We show how to construct the measure of the path integral in lattice gauge theory. This measure contains a factor beyond the standard Haar measure. Such factor becomes relevant for the calculation of a single transition amplitude (in contrast to the calculation of ratios of amplitudes). Single amplitudes are required for computation of the partition function and the free energy. For U(1) lattice gauge theory, we present a numerical simulation of the transition amplitude comparing the path integral with the evolution in terms of the Hamiltonian, showing good agreement.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Detection and characterization of a 500 μm dust emissivity excess in the Galactic plane using Herschel/Hi-GAL observations

Context. Past and recent observations have revealed unexpected variations in the far-infrared – millimeter (FIR-mm) dust emissivity in the interstellar medium. In the Herschel spectral range, those are often referred to as a 500 μm emission excess. Several dust emission models have been developed to interpret astrophysical data in the FIR-mm domain. However, these are commonly unable to fully reconcile theoretical predictions with observations. In contrast, the recently revised two level system (TLS) model, based on the disordered internal structure of amorphous dust grains, seems to provide a promising way of interpreting existing data. Aims. The newly available Herschel infrared GALactic (Hi-GAL) data, which covers most of the inner Milky Way, offers a unique opportunity to investigate possible variations in the dust emission properties both with wavelength and environment. The goal of our analysis is to constrain the internal structure of the largest dust grains on Galactic scales, in the framework of the TLS model. Methods. By combining the IRIS (Improved Reprocessing of the IRAS Survey) 100 μm with the Hi-GAL 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm data, we model the dust emission spectra in each pixel of the Hi-GAL maps, using both the TLS model and, for comparison, a single modified black-body fit. The effect of temperature mixing along the line of sight is investigated to test the robustness of our results. Results. We find a slight decrease in the dust temperature with distance from the Galactic center, confirming previous results. We also report the detection of a significant 500 μm emissivity excess in the peripheral regions of the plane (35° < |l| < 70°) of about 13–15% of the emissivity, which can reach up to 20% in some HII regions. We present the spatial distributions of the best-fit values for the two main parameters of the TLS model, i.e. the charge correlation length, lc, used to characterize the disordered charge distribution (DCD) part of the model, and the amplitude A of the TLS processes with respect to the DCD effect. These distributions illustrate the variations in the dust properties with environment, in particular the plausible existence of an overall gradient with distance to the Galactic center. A comparison with previous findings in the solar neighborhood shows that the local value of the excess is less than expected from the Galactic gradient observed here

Investigation to develop a method to apply diffusion barrier to high strength fibers

A radio frequency powered ion plating process was used to apply the diffusion barriers of aluminum oxide, yttrium oxide, hafnium oxide and titanium carbide to a substrate tungsten fiber. Each of the coatings was examined as to its effect on both room temperature strength and tensile strength of the base tungsten fiber. The coated fibers were then overcoated with a nickel alloy to become single cell diffusion couples. These diffusion couples were exposed to 1093 C for 24 hours, cycled between room temperature and 1093 C, and given a thermal anneal for 100 hours at 1200 C. Tensile testing and metallographic examinations determined that the hafnium oxide coating produced the best high temperature diffusion barrier for tungsten of the four coatings