Professionalisation of sport federations - a multi-level framework for analysing forms, causes and consequences

Research question: International and national sport federations as well as their member organisations are key actors within the sport system and have a wide range of relationships outside the sport system (e.g. with the state, sponsors, and the media). They are currently facing major challenges such as growing competition in top-level sports, democratisation of sports with 'sports for all' and sports as the answer to social problems. In this context, professionalising sport organisations seems to be an appropriate strategy to face these challenges and current problems. We define the professionalisation of sport organisations as an organisational process of transformation leading towards organisational rationalisation, efficiency and business-like management. This has led to a profound organisational change, particularly within sport federations, characterised by the strengthening of institutional management (managerialism) and the implementation of efficiency-based management instruments and paid staff. Research methods: The goal of this article is to review the current international literature and establish a global understanding of and theoretical framework for analysing why and how sport organisations professionalise and what consequences this may have. Results and findings: Our multi-level approach based on the social theory of action integrates the current concepts for analysing professionalisation in sport federations. We specify the framework for the following research perspectives: (1) forms, (2) causes and (3) consequences, and discuss the reciprocal relations between sport federations and their member organisations in this context. Implications: Finally, we work out a research agenda and derive general methodological consequences for the investigation of professionalisation processes in sport organisations

Body mass index, abdominal fatness, fat mass and the risk of atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of prospective studies

Different adiposity measures have been associ- ated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation, however, results have previously only been summarized for BMI. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta- analysis of prospective studies to clarify the association between different adiposity measures and risk of atrial fibrillation. PubMed and Embase databases were searched up to October 24th 2016. Summary relative risks (RRs) were calculated using random effects models. Twenty-nine unique prospective studies (32 publications) were included. Twenty-five studies (83,006 cases, 2,405,381 participants) were included in the analysis of BMI and atrial fibrillation. The summary RR was 1.28 (95% confidence interval: 1.20–1.38, I 2 = 97%) per 5 unit increment in BMI, 1.18 (95% CI: 1.12–1.25, I 2 = 73%, n = 5) and 1.32 (95% CI: 1.16–1.51, I 2 = 91%, n = 3) per 10 cm increase in waist and hip circumference, respectively, 1.09 (95% CI: 1.02–1.16, I 2 = 44%, n = 4) per 0.1 unit increase in waist- to-hip ratio, 1.09 (95% CI: 1.02–1.16, I 2 = 94%, n = 4) per 5 kg increase in fat mass, 1.10 (95% CI: 0.92–1.33, I 2 = 90%, n = 3) per 10% increase in fat percentage, 1.10 (95% CI: 1.08–1.13, I 2 = 74%, n = 10) per 5 kg increase in weight, and 1.08 (95% CI: 0.97–1.19, I 2 = 86%, n = 2) per 5% increase in weight gain. The association between BMI and atrial fibrillation was non- linear, p nonlinearity \ 0.0001, with a stronger association at higher BMI levels, however, increased risk was observed even at a BMI of 22–24 compared to 20. In conclusion, general and abdominal adiposity and higher body fat mass increase the risk of atrial fibrillation

De novo DNA demethylation and non-coding transcription define active intergenic regulatory elements

Deep sequencing of mammalian DNA methylomes has uncovered a previously unpredicted number of discrete hypomethylated regions in intergenic space (iHMRs). Here, we combined whole genome bisulfite sequencing data with extensive gene-expression and chromatin-state data to define functional classes of iHMRs, and to reconstruct the dynamics of their establishment in a developmental setting. Comparing HMR profiles in embryonic stem and primary blood cells, we show that iHMRs mark an exclusive subset of active DNase hypersensitive sites (DHS), and that both developmentally constitutive and cell-type specific iHMRs display chromatin states typical of distinct regulatory elements. We also observe that iHMR changes are more predictive of nearby gene activity than the promoter HMR itself, and that expression of non-coding RNAs within the iHMR accompanies full activation and complete demethylation of mature B cell enhancers. Conserved sequence features corresponding to iHMR transcript start sites, including a discernable TATAA motif, suggest a conserved, functional role for transcription in these regions. Similarly, we explored both primate-specific and human-population variation at iHMRs, finding that while enhancer iHMRs are more variable in sequence and methylation status than any other functional class, conservation of the TATA box is highly predictive of iHMR maintenance, reflecting the impact of sequence plasticity and transcriptional signals on iHMR establishment. Overall, our analysis allowed us to construct a 3-step timeline in which 1) intergenic DHS are pre-established in the stem cell, 2) partial demethylation of blood specific intergenic DHSs occurs in blood progenitors, and 3) complete iHMR formation and transcription coincide with enhancer activation in lymphoid-specified cells

Detailed study of dissipative quantum dynamics of K-2 attached to helium nanodroplets

We thoroughly investigate vibrational quantum dynamics of dimers attached to He droplets motivated by recent measurements with K-2 [1]. For those femtosecond pump-probe experiments, crucial observed features are not reproduced by gas phase calculations but agreement is found using a description based on dissipative quantum dynamics, as briefly shown in [2]. Here we present a detailed study of the influence of possible effects induced by the droplet. The helium droplet causes electronic decoherence, shifts of potential surfaces, and relaxation of wave packets in attached dimers. Moreover, a realistic description of (stochastic) desorption of dimers off the droplet needs to be taken into account. Step by step we include and study the importance of these effects in our full quantum calculation. This allows us to reproduce and explain all major experimental findings. We find that desorption is fast and occurs already within 2-10 ps after electronic excitation. A further finding is that slow vibrational motion in the ground state can be considered frictionless.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

Non-Fermi liquid behavior of SrRuO_3 -- evidence from infrared conductivity

The reflectivity of the itinerant ferromagnet SrRuO_3 has been measured between 50 and 25,000 cm-1 at temperatures ranging from 40 to 300 K, and used to obtain conductivity, scattering rate, and effective mass as a function of frequency and temperature. We find that at low temperatures the conductivity falls unusually slowly as a function of frequency (proportional to \omega^{-1/2}), and at high temperatures it even appears to increase as a function of frequency in the far-infrared limit. The data suggest that the charge dynamics of SrRuO_3 are substantially different from those of Fermi-liquid metals.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figure

Deep SDSS optical spectroscopy of distant halo stars II. Iron, calcium, and magnesium abundances

We analyze a sample of 3,944 low-resolution (R ~ 2000) optical spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), focusing on stars with effective temperatures 5800 < Teff < 6300 K, and distances from the Milky Way plane in excess of 5 kpc, and determine their abundances of Fe, Ca, and Mg. We followed the same methodology as in the previous paper in this series, deriving atmospheric parameters by chi2 minimization, but this time we obtained the abundances of individual elements by fitting their associated spectral lines. Distances were calculated from absolute magnitudes obtained by a statistical comparison of our stellar parameters with stellar-evolution models. The observations reveal a decrease in the abundances of iron, calcium, and magnesium at large distances from the Galactic center. The median abundances for the halo stars analyzed are fairly constant up to a Galactocentric distance r ~ 20 kpc, rapidly decrease between r ~ 20 and r ~ 40 kpc, and flatten out to significantly lower values at larger distances, consistent with previous studies. In addition, we examine the [Ca/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] as a function of Fe/H and Galactocentric distance. Our results show that the most distant parts of the halo show a steeper variation of the [Ca/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] with iron. We found that at the range -1.6 < [Fe/H] < -0.4 [Ca/Fe] decreases with distance, in agreement with earlier results based on local stars. However, the opposite trend is apparent for [Mg/Fe]. Our conclusion that the outer regions of the halo are more metal-poor than the inner regions, based on in situ observations of distant stars, agrees with recent results based on inferences from the kinematics of more local stars, and with predictions of recent galaxy formation simulations for galaxies similar to the Milky Way

Two-dimensional Superfluidity and Localization in the Hard-Core Boson Model: a Quantum Monte Carlo Study

Quantum Monte Carlo simulations are used to investigate the two-dimensional superfluid properties of the hard-core boson model, which show a strong dependence on particle density and disorder. We obtain further evidence that a half-filled clean system becomes superfluid via a finite temperature Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. The relationship between low temperature superfluid density and particle density is symmetric and appears parabolic about the half filling point. Disorder appears to break the superfluid phase up into two distinct localized states, depending on the particle density. We find that these results strongly correlate with the results of several experiments on high-$T_c$ superconductors.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures upon request, RevTeX version 3, (accepted for Phys. Rev. B

Deep SDSS optical spectroscopy of distant halo stars I. Atmospheric parameters and stellar metallicity distribution

We analyze a sample of tens of thousands of spectra of halo turnoff stars, obtained with the optical spectrographs of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), to characterize the stellar halo population "in situ" out to a distance of a few tens of kpc from the Sun. In this paper we describe the derivation of atmospheric parameters. We also derive the overall stellar metallicity distribution based on F-type stars observed as flux calibrators for the Baryonic Oscillations Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Our analysis is based on an automated method that determines the set of parameters of a model atmosphere that reproduces each observed spectrum best. We used an optimization algorithm and evaluate model fluxes by means of interpolation in a precomputed grid. In our analysis, we account for the spectrograph's varying resolution as a function of fiber and wavelength. Our results for early SDSS (pre-BOSS upgrade) data compare well with those from the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline (SSPP), except for stars with logg (cgs units) lower than 2.5. An analysis of stars in the globular cluster M13 reveals a dependence of the inferred metallicity on surface gravity for stars with logg < 2.5, confirming the systematics identified in the comparison with the SSPP. We find that our metallicity estimates are significantly more precise than the SSPP results. We obtain a halo metallicity distribution that is narrower and more asymmetric than in previous studies. The lowest gravity stars in our sample, at tens of kpc from the Sun, indicate a shift of the metallicity distribution to lower abundances, consistent with what is expected from a dual halo system in the Milky Way.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, Table 1 includes model ugriz magnitudes for stars with different atmospheric parameters in electronic forma

Photoresponse of GaAs/AlAs heterostructures under external bias

Results of a photoresponse technique which has been employed to study the photovoltaic properties of GaAs/AlAs heterostructures are presented. The structures consist of a thin layer of AlAs (50 or 200 Å thick) sandwiched between layers of GaAs which were several microns thick. The experimental procedure consisted of illuminating these structures with chopped light while also applying a constant dc bias across the samples. The resulting photovoltage across the sample was then measured as a function of the wavelength of the incident light. It has been found that the application of a dc bias can increase (by several orders of magnitude in some cases) the magnitude of the photovoltage signal compared with that observed when no dc bias is applied. The dc bias was found to shift the photovoltage spectrum to slightly longer wavelengths