How Do National Economic Competitiveness Indices View Human Capital?

Economic competitiveness is at the top of national, regional and global political and economic agendas. Several countries in all regions of the world have established policies and institutions devoted to economic competitiveness, including in developing and transition countries. This leads to the question of how to define national economic competitiveness and, as a logical consequence, how to measure it. This article provides a critical analysis of two major global indices measuring national economic competitiveness, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), with a special focus on the index published by the WEF due to its broader global coverage. The article shows that human capital has been given relatively little explicit recognition, despite the large weight of human capital in the WEF index. This article asserts through simulations based on WEF data that countries performing poorly in national economic competitiveness rankings can improve their standings significantly by focusing reform efforts on raising quality of education and on expanding access to education and training. The simulations also show that the potential improvements in national economic competitiveness are unequally distributed across the globe, and that in terms of national economic competitiveness, developing and transition countries stand to gain relatively most from improving their education and training systems compared to developed nations. Suggestions for improving measurements of education and training in the WEF index conclude the article and it is shown that educationalists can help refocus policy discussions on how to improve education and training systems through discussions on substance.     

Assessment of the risk and biomechanical consequences of lateral epicondylalgia by estimating wrist and finger muscle capacities in tennis players

Previous studies suggested that a pronounced weakness of the extensor muscles relative to the flexor muscles could increase the risk of occurrence of lateral epicondylalgia. This study investigates this hypothesis by estimating the ratio of extensor to flexor muscle capacities among healthy non-players (n = 10), healthy tennis players (n = 20), symptomatic players (n = 6), and players who have recovered from lateral epicondylalgia (n = 6). Maximum net joint moments in flexion or extension were measured during seven tasks involving the voluntary contraction of wrist and fingers. Using these data, the muscle capacities of the main muscle groups of the hand (wrist flexors, wrist extensors, finger flexors, finger extensors, and intrinsic muscles) were estimated using a musculoskeletal model. These capacities were then used to compute the extensor/flexor capacity ratios about the wrist and the finger joints. Compared to healthy non-players, healthy players presented higher extensor muscle capacities and greater capacity ratios showing that playing tennis generates specific adaptations of muscle capacities. Interestingly, symptomatic players, similar to those of non-players, showed more imbalanced ratios than healthy players. These results confirm that the ratio of extensor/flexor muscle capacities seems to be associated with lateral epicondylalgia and can be further used to understand its incidence and consequences.     

Formation d'Ingénieurs en Génie Sanitaire: un exemple de collaboration entre deux universités

For eight years, the Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland and the Ecole Inter-Etats d'Ingénieurs de I'Equipement Rural (EIER) at Ouagadougou Burkina Faso, have collaborated in the postgraduate education and training of university engineers, offering a course in Sanitary Engineering, comprising 8 months in Ouagadougou, followed by 3 months in Lausanne. Successful students receive a diploma confered by the two Engneering Schools. Such collaboration is productive only if planned on a long-trem basis forcing some of the limiting principles of technical development programmes to be sidestepped. The better students may continue their studies towards an MSc or a PhD, developing the EIER's research facilities, working on topics directly related to Afircan needs and may benefit fiom EPFL's facilities and scientific experience.     

Development of SMEs and heterogeneity of trajectories: the case of biotechnology in France

Biotechnology is an emergent sector based on the creation of research-intensive Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). While some SMEs are growing, most of them remain small, even those set-up several years ago. What is the pattern of development of the biotech sector? What are the patterns of development of firms? Studies on the development of high-tech SMEs have focused on a business model, in which entrepreneurs rely on growth forecasts to persuade capital investors (business angels and venture capitalists) to invest in a radical innovation project. Firms aim for a world market to industrialise their innovation, and initial public offering (IPO) enables initial investors to make profits that offset risky initial investment. While this model is appealing, it is simply one of the possible models of biotechnology development. Some firms are not designed to experience exponential growth, and choose to target local markets. Moreover, not all firms have the ambition of being listed on the stock exchange. Based on an in-depth analysis of the business and development of 60 French biotech SMEs, this article identifies two business models. By defining the development trajectories of each of these models, it highlights the temporary nature of the emergent model.     

Finite Memory Observers for linear time-varying systems. Part II: Observer and residual sensitivity

Fault detection and diagnosis are important issues in process engineering. Hence, considerable interest is growing in this field from industrial practitioners as well as academic researchers, as opposed to 30 years ago. This paper focusses on a model-based approach for fault detection. This approach is based on Finite Memory Observers (FMO), properties of this observer are presented in the first part of our work (Graton et al., 2014 [1]), the main results of this paper are recalled at the beginning of this paper and constitute the basis of this second part. Properties of the Finite Memory Observer (FMO) are studied from a global point of view for the class of linear time-varying (LTV) systems with stochastic noises. FMO performances take their framework from the study of their properties, and from the study of their influences on diagnosis results. Fundamentally, the generation of residuals is essential in a diagnosis procedure. In Graton et al. (2014) [1], the design for the finite memory observer is shown, the determination of its optimal window length is solved, and the generation of residuals for diagnosis is completed. This paper is the second part of this work and is devoted to the study of the observer and residual sensitivity towards model parameter variations and noises.     

Three-dimensional kinematics of the lower limbs during forward ice hockey skating

The objectives of the study were to describe lower limb kinematics in three dimensions during the forward skating stride in hockey players and to contrast skating techniques between low- and high-calibre skaters. Participant motions were recorded with four synchronized digital video cameras while wearing reflective marker triads on the thighs, shanks, and skates. Participants skated on a specialized treadmill with a polyethylene slat bed at a self-selected speed for 1 min. Each participant completed three 1-min skating trials separated by 5 min of rest. Joint and limb segment angles were calculated within the local (anatomical) and global reference planes. Similar gross movement patterns and stride rates were observed; however, high-calibre participants showed a greater range and rate of joint motion in both the sagittal and frontal planes, contributing to greater stride length for high-calibre players. Furthermore, consequent postural differences led to greater lateral excursion during the power stroke in high-calibre skaters. In conclusion, specific kinematic differences in both joint and limb segment angle movement patterns were observed between low- and high-calibre skaters.     

Tour de France,Giro, Vuelta,and classic European races show a unique progression of road cycling speed in the last 20 years

Abstract

Road cycling ranks among the most intense endurance exercises. Previous studies and mathematical models describing road cycling have not analysed performances per se. We describe the evolution of road cycling performance over the past 116 years. We studied the top ten cyclists' mean speeds in eight famous classic races and three European Grand Tours, using a previously published multi-exponential model that highlights the different progression periods of an event during the century. In addition, we measured an indicator of difficulty for the Tour de France by calculating the climbing index (i.e. the total altitude climbed over total distance). The eleven races' mean speed increased progressively from 23.13 km · h^?1 in 1892 to 41.19 ± 2.03 km · h^?1 in 2008. Road cycling development, like other quantifiable disciplines, fits a piecewise progression pattern that follows three periods: before, between, and after the two World Wars. However, a fourth period begins after 1993, providing a speed progression of 6.38% from the third one. The Tour de France's climbing index also provided insight into a recent paradoxical relationship with speeds: when the climbing index increased, the winner's speed also increased. Our results show a major improvement (6.38%) in road cycling performance in the last 20 years and question the role of extra-physiological parameters in this recent progression.     

Muscle oxygenation and EMG activity during isometric exercise in children

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the time-course of and the relationships between muscle oxygenation, blood volume and myoelectrical manifestations during isometric exercise in children. Twelve healthy children aged 12.5 ± 1.2 years (mean ± s) performed an isometric knee extension at 50% of their maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) until exhaustion to assess endurance time (limit time, T _lim). Changes in muscle oxygenation and blood volume were assessed by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The root mean square (RMS) amplitude and the mean power frequency (MPF) from electromyogram (EMG) signals were obtained, as NIRS parameters, from the vastus lateralis. Mean T _lim was 117 ± 34 s. The muscle oxygenation and blood volume curves decreased immediately at the beginning of exercise. Maximal deoxygenation occurred at 50% T _lim, and fell by 76.9% from the resting value. Similarly, minimal blood volume was observed at 50% T _lim; it reached a plateau that lasted until the end of exercise. The kinetics of the MPF and RMS curves were inversely related to time. At the last set of exercises (after 75% T _lim), a steeper RMS curve and an abrupt decrease in the MPF curve were observed. Significant correlations (r) between muscle oxygenation, blood volume, root mean square amplitude and mean power frequency were observed, which ranged from 0.72 to 0.99. These findings suggest that the fatigue resulting from sustained isometric exercise is related to a decrease in oxygenation and blood volume.