On the discretized sum-product problem

We give a new proof of the discretized ring theorem for sets of real numbers. As a special case, we show that if $A\subset\mathbb{R}$ is a $(\delta,1/2)_1$-set in the sense of Katz and Tao, then either $A+A$ or $A.A$ must have measure at least $|A|^{1-\frac{1}{68}}$Comment: 13 pages, 0 figures. v3: final version, to appear in IMR

The practical and theoretical implications of flow theory and intrinsic motivation in designing and implementing exergaming in the school environment

Helping children develop a positive attitude toward being active for life is a primary objective for physical educators. The cultivation of an internal desire to participate in physical activity occurs over a prolonged period of time through a variety of positive experiences in school, at home, and in the community. Like any well thought out physical education unit, a meaningful exergaming (also known as active gaming) program must balance the needs of the students with the prescribed learning expectations. This paper is intended to bridge the theoretical aspects of intrinsic motivation and flow theory with the pragmatics of teaching active gaming programs in a school setting. The authors have established the Canadian Exergaming Research Centre (http://www.ucalgary.ca/exergaming/) in order to explore the impact of exergames in a school environment

10. The Academic Departments

Includes: Collective Bargaining, Labor Law, and Labor History: The Department of Economic and Social Statistics; Labor Economics and Income Security Department: A Parent Department: Human Resources and Administration; The Organizational Behavior Department; Evolution of the Human Resources and Administration Department

06381 Abstracts Collection -- Computer Science in Sports

From 17.09.06 to 20.09.06, the Dagstuhl Seminar 06381 ``Computer Science in Sport\u27\u27 was held in the International Conference and Research Center (IBFI), Schloss Dagstuhl. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar as well as abstracts of seminar results and ideas are put together in this paper. The first section describes the seminar topics and goals in general. Links to extended abstracts or full papers are provided, if available

Collective Impact: The Strategies and Realities of Implementing a ‘Shared Youth Vision’

“Collective Impact” will demonstrate innovative approaches to partnership and funding models in urban youth programming in response to the emerging trend of collective impact funding initiatives. This workshop will highlight successful work within the Rutgers University network, with emphasis on effective strategies for fund diversity, partnership development, and tools in data collection, school enrollment, student retention and program evaluation

An investigation of computer generated knowledge retention activities in computer-based training with adult learners

The goal of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of training and the effectiveness of different types of knowledge retention activities delivered by computer-based training programs. This study focused on a computer-based learning system called the Profound Learning Delivery System (PLS). PLS is an application designed to improve the content knowledge retention of adult learners who are completing computer-based training. This study used a pretest-posttest experimental design to compare adult learners’ knowledge of Microsoft Outlook ( Outlook, 1997) before and after a computer-based training session. Participants were trained using two different computer-based instructional programs; a commercially available software program matched for comparison purposes and PLS. This comparison involved three different formats for post-instruction retention activities that were; no review activities, user generated review activities, and program generated retention activities. Results indicate, there was a significant difference between the groups 60 days after training. This result demonstrated that PLS has potential worth exploring

Performance analysis of the flip turn in swimming: The relationship between pressures and performance times

This study examined the effects of pressure and other kinetic variables on freestyle flip turn performance. It was hypothesized that an increase in average and peak pressure, and a decrease in the magnitude difference between left and right foot pressure, would result in an improved performance of a swimmer as they performed a flip turn. Ten University level (varsity) swimmers performed five freestyle flip turns using their competition technique. Data were collected from a pressure pad mounted to the vertical wall of the pool and from an underwater camera in the sagittal plane. A negative correlation of .58 and .67 was seen for average and peak pressures respectively when compared to five-meter performance times. Average contact area throughout the push-off phase compared to average and maximum load was .94 and .88. An increase in average contact area from 40 cm2 to 50 cm2 resulted in a 26% increase in maximum load. No difference in performance was seen for varying maximum knee flexion angles. Differences between pressure magnitudes between left and right foot did not impact the five-meter performance time. Therefore, increased average contact area throughout the push-off phase caused higher average and maximum loads, and to a lesser extent average and peak pressures. Increases in pressure and load resulted in an improved five-meter performance time. It is concluded that flip turn performance increases through higher contact area with the feet when pushing off the wall

A Comparison of Exergaming Interfaces for Use in Rehabilitation Programs and Research

Exergames or active video games are video games with interfaces that require active involvement and the exertion of physical force by participants. These exergames are designed to track body motion and provide both fun and exercise for game players. Numerous video game console companies have designed exergaming interfaces that are becoming very popular. This paper examines the nature of the interfaces and explores the possibility of using these interfaces for rehabilitation programs and research. While many systems exist, this paper will focus on three major players: Sony PlayStation Move, Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect. Comparisons include the technical specifications, the motion sensed by each interface, and the motion required in each therapeutic activity type. Discussion addresses the research implications of using these tools

Start performance and its relation to competition times in Paralympic swimmers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the variability of the 100m freestyle final race time to start performance in a population of Paralympic swimmers using the coefficient of variation (CV). A secondary purpose of study was to investigate the correlation between start performance and competition results in this population of athletes. A total of 321 data points were collected on start performances and 231 data points were collected from competition results. It was found that there was a within-athlete CV in final times of 2.6% and a within-athlete CV in start performances of 18.2%. These two parameters were moderately correlated having an r2 of 0.57. The athletes improved their performances across five-consecutive seasons by 6.4%. In addition, it was found that a strong correlation existed between the 5m start time compared to the final race time in the 100m freestyle (r2=0.78). The results showed that the variability of start performance was moderately correlated to the variability of the final times and there was a strong correlation between start performance and competition results