Assessment of an international breaststroke swimmer using a race readiness test

Competitive swimmers routinely undertake a 7 x 200-m incremental step test to evaluate their fitness and readiness to compete.An exercise protocol more closely replicating competition swimming speeds may provide further insight into the swimmer’s physiological and technical readiness for competition. This case study reports data over a 3-year period from 11 Race Readiness Tests, which were completed, in addition to the 7 x 200-m test, as an attempt to provide the swimmer and coach with a fuller assessment. For this individual, data provided objective information from which to assess training status and race readiness following a transition from 200-m to 100-m race training. Data also raised a question as to whether a 100-m maximal effort 10 minutes before another one actually enhances performance owing to a priming effect

Turbulent transport in the solar nebula

It is likely that turbulence played a major role in the evolution of the solar nebula, which is the flattened disk of dust and gas out of which our solar system formed. Relevant turbulent processes include the transport of angular momentum, mass, and heat, which were critically important to the formation of the solar system. This research will break ground in the modeling of compressible turbulence and its effects on the evolution of the solar nebula. The computational techniques which were developed should be of interest to researchers studying other astrophysical disk systems (e.g., active galactic nuclei), as well as turbulence modelers outside the astrophysics community

Tourism and culture in Mongolia: the case of Ulaanbaatar Naadam

The chapter discusses the different experiences of the two sets of visitors to the Ulaanbaala Naadan festival, based on a study conducted in 2005, and explores the challenges for this traditional cultural event posed by modern tourism and other forces. It commences with a brief overview of international and domestic tourism in Mongolia. The overview is followed by a review of the origins and history of Naadam as an indigenous cultural festival. The experiences of modern day visitors to the festival from overseas and from Mongolia are then examined and compared, with reference to similarities and differences between the two groups. Finally, the chapter considers issues and future challenges for the festival as a result of the increasing number of international visitors and their expectations of the festival

Mongolian hospitality: intrepid travelling

Continuing the series on exploring diverse hospitality practices, Kevin O'Gorman and Karen Thompson explore the origins of Mongolian hospitality. They highlight the lack of commercial hospitality provision in Mongolia and reflect on some of the contemporary hospitality customs and practices centred on the 'home'

Cobweb/3: A portable implementation

An algorithm is examined for data clustering and incremental concept formation. An overview is given of the Cobweb/3 system and the algorithm on which it is based, as well as the practical details of obtaining and running the system code. The implementation features a flexible user interface which includes a graphical display of the concept hierarchies that the system constructs