New upper bounds on the solution matrix to the continuous algebraic Riccati matrix equation

In this paper, new upper bounds for the solution matrix of the continuous algebraic Riccati matrix equation (CARE) are derived by means of some matrix inequalities and linear algebraic techniques. Furthermore, for the derived each bound, iterative algorithms are developed to obtain sharper solution estimates. Comparing with some appearing results in the literature, the presented bounds are less restrictive and more efficient. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.     

The effect of attentional focus on running economy

Abstract

In research on motor control, the detrimental effect of an internal focus of attention on movement execution of well-learned motor skills is a frequently replicated finding. This experimental study was designed to determine whether this effect is observed with physiological variables during endurance exercise. We examined whether the focus of attention can influence running economy (oxygen consumption at a set running speed). Trained runners had to focus their attention on three different aspects while running on a treadmill. For three consecutive 10-min periods, runners concentrated on the running movement, on their breathing, and on their surroundings. Results showed an increased running economy in the external focus condition. In line with research on motor control, endurance sport also shows that an external focus of attention is better than an internal focus in terms of the physiological performance measure of oxygen consumption.     

Age and gender interactions in short distance triathlon performance

Abstract

This study investigated the participation and performance trends as well as the age and gender interaction at the Olympic distance ‘Zürich Triathlon’ (1.5?km swim, 40?km cycle and 10?km run) from 2000 to 2010 in 7,939 total finishers (1,666 females and 6,273 males). Female triathletes aged from 40 to 54 years significantly (P?<?0.05) increased their participation while the participation of younger females and males remained stable. Males of 50–54 years of age and females of 45–49 years of age improved their total race time. For elite top five overall triathletes, mean gender differences in swimming, cycling, running and overall race time were 15.2?±?4.6%, 13.4?±?2.3%, 17.1?±?2.5%, and 14.8?±?1.8%, respectively. For both elite and age group athletes, the gender difference in cycling time was significantly (P?<0.001) lower than for swimming and running. The gender difference in overall Olympic distance triathlon performance increased after the age of 35 years, which appeared earlier compared to long distance triathlon as suggested by previous studies. Future investigations should compare gender difference in performance for different endurance events across age to confirm a possible effect of exercise duration on gender difference with advancing age.     

The Managerial Turn in Higher Education? On the Interplay of Organizational and Occupational Change in German Academia

The managerial turn in academia is currently broadly discussed. Based on empirical data gathered from a sample that includes all German universities, we can give a broad and fine-grained account of this turn. What we can clearly see is that whole new categories of administrative management positions have been created over the last years. Furthermore, within the non-academic staff we can see a profound restructuration. Lower-level positions like those for clerical work decreased, while higher-level positions in the administration increased. However, and in contrast to studies of countries, we do not observe a general shift from academic to non-academic positions. In addition to the statistical analysis of survey data and personnel data, we conducted seventy in-depth interviews with heads of administrative management units, in particular those being created over the last two decades, for example, on quality control, technology transfer, and career service. Although we clearly see important changes indicating a managerial turn in higher education, core characteristics of a professional organization whose basic processes are ultimately controlled by academics and not by administrators or managers have been retained. These findings call for further cross-national research.     

Basic values predict doping likelihood

ABSTRACT

Basic values, defined as trans-situational goals that vary in importance and act as guiding principles in life, have been linked with unethical cognitions, emotions and actions. Their roles in doping, a form of cheating in sport, have yet to established. College athletes reported doping likelihood in hypothetical scenario-based situations and completed measures of basic values, moral disengagement, and anticipated guilt. Correlation analysis showed that doping likelihood was positively associated with self-enhancement values but negatively associated with self-transcendence values and conservation values. Moral disengagement correlated positively with self-enhancement values and negatively with self-transcendence values, whereas guilt correlated positively conservation values and negatively with self-enhancement values and openness to change values. Regression analyses showed that self-enhancement values positively predicted doping likelihood directly, self-transcendence values negatively predicted doping likelihood indirectly via moral disengagement and guilt, and conservation values negatively predicted doping likelihood indirectly via guilt. In line with theory and evidence concerning the relationship between basic value systems and moral thought and action, we found that the values of athletes are directly (self-enhancement) and indirectly (self-transcendence, conservation) linked with likely use of banned performance enhancing substances, an expression of cheating in sport.     

A two‐sided medal: On the complexity of international comparative and collaborative team research

In recent years, more and more international comparative research has been conducted in internationally and geographically spread project teams and international research networks, and comparative research has become a fundamentally collaborative effort. Accordingly, research in such projects has to cope with a higher level of methodological complexity than non‐comparative research as well as with a particular sociocultural complexity. This complexity can have an influence on the research process and therefore on the quality and validity of the results, an issue that has so far not been discussed much, either in Higher Education research or beyond. Thus, this article refers to studies that provide empirical insights into comparative collaborative research teams and illuminates why international collaboration in comparative research projects is both a source of better solutions and of amplified complications and how they are interrelated. On this basis it provides a conceptual reflection and delineates dimensions of task‐related, methodological complexity and team diversity. While comparative research has specific methodological challenges that can be alleviated by international team collaboration, collaborative research has particular social challenges that can be aggravated in comparative research. The conclusion makes propositions for further analyses, discusses lessons for comparative Higher Education research and sets out implications for its institutional development.     

A Taxonomy of Newspapers based on Multi-Platform and Paid Content Strategies: Evidences from Spain

This article examines Spanish newspapers’ means of digital distribution and their adoption of paid content strategies. To that end, the article employs a quantitative, explorative approach with data collected from 88 Spanish newspapers in November 2012. Using a hierarchical cluster analysis four types of newspapers can be differentiated by their utilization of specific means of digital distribution of content. The four distinct clusters differ in their organizational background and their average net circulation. The results of the article highlight the increasing role of digital kiosks for digital distribution in Spain and indicate a high influence of publishing groups on paid content strategies.     

The Role of Motor Competences in Predicting Working Memory Maintenance and Preparatory Processing

The purpose of the study was the examination of the longitudinal association between motor competences and changes in preparatory processing during a task requiring working memory maintenance. At baseline, 52 Caucasian children aged 10–12 years completed the MOBAK-5 test battery and a Sternberg task, whereas the cue-P300 and the initial contingent negative variation (iCNV) were recorded via electroencephalography. After 9 months, the Sternberg task was administered again to assess changes in these neurophysiological indices and behavioral performance. Path analyses revealed that motor competences predicted the change in cue-P300 and iCNV from baseline to follow-up. The present findings indicate that the cognitive control strategy during a task demanding working memory maintenance changes as a function of children's baseline motor competences.