Comparison of 10 vs. 20 min neuromuscular training for the prevention of lower extremity injuries in male youth football: A cluster randomised controlled trial

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 20 min neuromuscular training with a programme of 10 min in youth football players. 342 (15.4 ± 1.7 years) male football players from 18 teams were included, and cluster-randomized by team into two intervention groups. Both groups performed an injury prevention programme twice a week over five months using the same exercises but a different duration. The first intervention group (INT10, n = 175) performed the programme for 10 min, the second intervention group (INT20, n = 167) for 20 min. Primary outcomes were lower extremity (LE) injuries. Secondary outcomes were injury type, severity, mechanism and compliance to the intervention. 13 teams with 185 players were included for final analysis. No significant group difference was found between INT10 (6.37 per 1000 h) and INT20 (7.20 per 1000 h) for the incidence rate ratio of the lower extremities (IRR = 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.59, 1.79), nor for the distribution of injury location, type, severity or mechanism. The results show that performing preventive exercises for 10 min is no less effective than 20 min in youth football players. Shorter training sessions can, therefore, be effectively used for injury prevention.     

Evaluation of soccer players under the Moneyball concept

ABSTRACT

The recruitment of athletes with limited resources is a global problem in professional sports. In US Major League Baseball, the experience of the Oakland Athletics’ general manager in the last decade turned his “Moneyball” model into a synonym of quantitative analysis in the transfer market of baseball players. His strategy focused on hiring players with outstanding technical skills but relatively low market value. This study adapted this model to the framework of a multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA), by selecting undervalued players who have complementary abilities. The novelty here refers to the joint use of four algorithms explored by the composition of probabilistic preferences (CPP) (i.e., ranking, classification, dynamic evaluation and regularity analysis) and their application to soccer player performance evaluation. The new model analysed the recent transfer of a left-back soccer player to Europe. The results indicated 12 opportunities for better investment, among 32 left and right-back players considered. Two years later, the value of the same player was considerably lower. He played only five matches in the 2018–2019 season, without scoring or providing any assists. On the other hand, the players better classified by the CPP-MB model presented higher performances and market values.     

Make or Buy? A Qualitative Analysis of the Organisational Handling of Digital Innovations in the German Book Publishing Sector

Traditional media have been changing in response to digitisation processes and the spread of the internet. This article looks at the consequences of technological change for the organisational structures of publishing houses in Germany, most of which are small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Following any decision to produce digital content, new tasks emerge which need to be fulfilled and publishing houses have to re-allocate appropriate responsibilities. The context of the preference for in-house or for external production is explored as is the precise identification of the managerial and technical skills demanded by a switch to digital publishing. The findings suggest the important role of strategic partnerships with service providers as well as with other publishing houses, especially for larger projects beyond the capabilities of SMEs.     

Early career researchers: Scholarly behaviour and the prospect of change

Early career researchers (ECRs) are of great interest because they are the new (and biggest) wave of researchers. They merit long and detailed investigation, and towards this end, this overarching paper provides a summary of the first‐year findings of a 3‐year, longitudinal study of 116 science and social science ECRs who have published nearly 1,200 papers and come from 7 countries and 81 universities. ECRs were interviewed in their own languages face‐to‐face, by Skype, or telephone. The study focused on the attitudes and behaviours of ECRs with respect to scholarly communications and the extent to which they are adopting new and disruptive technologies, such as social media, online communities, and Open Science. The main findings include: publishing in high‐impact factor journals is the only reputational game in town; online scholarly communities, and ResearchGate in particular, are gaining ground; social media are beginning to have an impact, especially in the dissemination arena; outreach activities have become more important; libraries are becoming increasingly invisible to ECRs; Open Science is not gaining traction; and more transformational ideas are being expressed, especially in the US and UK.     

Authors from the periphery countries choose open access more often

This article analyses attitudes of academic authors toward open access (OA) and the frequency of choosing OA publication venues. The research looks particularly at differences between authors based in countries with a gross domestic product per capita less or greater than US$18,000 (called periphery and core countries, respectively). The data were obtained with an online survey sent to 107,296 scholars listed on the mailing lists belonging to De Gruyter Open from December 2015 to January 2016. A total of 1,012 responses were received. Authors from the periphery countries publish their articles in gold OA more often and they also pay OA publication fees equally often as those based in the core countries. The reasons for that are complex, involving both their preference to publish in OA and the composition of the publishing market in the periphery.     

National academic award winners over time: their family situation,education and interpersonal relations

The article presents the results of a study focusing on the family situation, education and interpersonal relations of adults (26–35 years old) who in their adolescence (16–19 years old) displayed exceptional giftedness. One group of those surveyed were national academic award winners (90). The control group consisted of 90 people of no outstanding academic achievement. The research found many differences between these two groups, both in the family situation and in interpersonal relations. High achievers were raised in families of higher social and professional status, and almost 72.2% of them decided to continue their academic career after they had graduated from university. The national academic award winners showed higher scores in shyness and lower scores in sociability in interpersonal relations.     

Internationale Hochschulrankings

Despite disagreement about their validity, reliability and effects, international rankings of universities have become widely used by students and higher education institutions. This article compares three international rankings of universities and analyzes, based on the academic literature, the extent to which they assess relevant aspects of teaching and research and whether these aspects are measured adequately. We study the Academic Ranking of World Universities published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the World University Ranking published by the British magazine Times Higher Education Supplement and the Excellence Ranking published by the German Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE). The analysis is based on the academic literature about these international rankings and the publications by the rankings’ publishers. We draw conclusions about the design of rankings and develop further research questions.