Name of the Game: Do Statistics Confirm the Labels of Professional Baseball Eras?

A game defined and measured by hitting and pitching performances, baseball exists as the most statistical of all sports (Albert, 2003, p. ix). Probably more than any other sport, the game's present is couched in references to its history. Professional baseball has endured many changes (both overt and subtle) in rules, equipment, stadium structures, and competitive strategy over the course of its history. Because of such shifts, the modern era of Major League Baseball (MLB) has been segmented into six distinct eras (Lombardi, 2006): Dead Ball (1901-1919), Live Ball (1920-1941), Integration (1942-1960), Expansion (1961-1976), Free Agency (1977-1993), and Long Ball/Steroid (1994-2005). This study runs through the 2011 season and adds a seventh era, labeled "Post-Steroid" (2006-present).The purpose of this research was to determine how the names and/or characteristics/perceptions associated with the actual offensive outputs of each era of MLB corresponded with the statistical realities related to each era's On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage (OPS), beginning with the 1901 season and MLB's Modern Era. The study's sole focus was the effect of team OPS to determine how hitting and pitching contributed to team winning percentage in each era.Results were segmented by each defined era to determine any significant differences between the eras. Multiple regression and ANOVA were used to determine if perceptions and realities for each era's offensive output aligned descriptively. Results showed that perceptions for five of the seven eras matched statistical realities, while perceptions of two eras did not. Results also showed significant statistical differences between the defined periods and illustrated how offensive output defined each era.M.S

Examining Competitive Balance in North American Professional Sport Using Generalizability Theory: A Comparison of the Big Four

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to use Generalizability Theory to analyze levels of competitive balance in each of the four major professional sports leagues in North America (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL) to determine if Generalizability Theory has merit as a measure of competitive balance, if leagues are competitively balanced based on an absolute determination, and to what extent leagues are competitively balanced relative to the other leagues. The study analyzed a 10-year period for each of the four leagues from 2005-2014 and used game-by-game win/loss data to determine competitive balance. A single-facet, crossed design (Teams (T) x Games (G)) was applied for each of the leagues in each of the 10 observed seasons. G-Studies were performed to estimate the percentages of variance associated with each facet and their interaction. D-Studies were then performed to determine if leagues were competitively balanced based on an absolute decision, as well as how each league’s level of competitive balance ranked relative to the other three leagues. The results from the G-Studies showed a majority of the variance for each league came from the interaction term. The D-Studies showed that the NBA was the least competitively balanced of the four leagues and was consequently the only of the four to exhibit an absolute measure of competitive imbalance. MLB was the third most competitively balanced league, while the NHL and NFL were the most competitively balanced leagues. The D-Study results also indicate that Generalizability theory has merit as a method for measuring competitive balance, as the ranking of leagues on levels of competitive balance from the study were comparable to the findings of existing literature utilizing accepted methods for measuring competitive balance.Ph.D

Stereophotogrammetry

No abstract

The planarity of the stickface motion in the field hockey hit

The field hockey hit is an important but poorly understood stroke. This study investigated the planarity of the stickface motion during the downswing, in order to better characterise the kinematics and to assess the suitability of planar pendulum models for simulating the hit. Thirteen experienced female field hockey players were filmed executing hits with a single approach step, and the kinematics of the centre of the stickface were measured. A method was developed for identifying how far back from impact the stickface motion was planar. Orthogonal least-squares regression was used to determine best-fit planes for sections of the stickface path of varying length, each of which ended at impact, and these sections were considered planar if the mean residual between the stickface path and the fitted plane was less than 0.25% of the distance traveled by the stickface during that period. On average the stickface motion was planar for the last 83±12% of its downswing path, with the length of the planar section ranging from 1.85 m to 2.70 m. The suitability of a planar model for the stickface motion was supported, but further investigation of the stick and arm kinematics is warranted

GLOBAL STABILITY AND BIFURCATIONS ANALYSIS OF AN EPIDEMIC MODEL WITH CONSTANT REMOVAL RATE OF THE INFECTIVE

In this thesis we consider an epidemic model with a constant removal rate of infective individuals is proposed to understand the effect of limited resources for treatment of infective on the disease spread. It is found that it is unnecessary to take such a large treatment capacity that endemic equilibria disappear to eradicate the disease. It is shown that the outcome of disease spread may depend on the position of the initial states for certain range of parameters. It is also shown that the model undergoes a sequence of bifurcations including saddle-node bifurcation, subcritical Hopf bifurcation. Keyword: Epidemic model, nonlinear incidence rate, basic reproduction number, local and global stabilit