Social media use in local government: Linkage of technology,task, and organizational context

Social media technologies have begun to enter the governmental workplace as tools to accomplish improved public service and engagement. Widespread recognition of the potential of social media technology for achieving public outcomes does not match our understanding about how and why specific tools are being used for specific purposes. This paper makes use of newly collected national survey data from local government managers in five different agencies to address the questions: which social media tools are being used, for which tasks or purposes; and what organizational characteristics influence the coupling of task and technology. Findings reveal patterns of social media tool application for particular purposes, although organizations do not all use social media tools in the same way. Moreover, regression analysis shows that different organizational factors – work characteristics, innovativeness, technology and management capacity and stakeholder influence – predict each of the four technology–task couplings — social media for dissemination, social media for feedback on service quality, social media for participation, and social media for internal work collaboration. This study demonstrates that social media tools are not a monolithic group and calls for greater research attention to the complex interactions among social media technology, task and organizational context.     

高水平乒乓球运动员正手回击不同状态来球时动作的调整

本研究旨在调查当高水平乒乓球运动员被要求对付不同状态来球时,如何调整他们的动作.研究对象与方法前巴西国家队高水平乒乓球男女运动员7名,均为右手持拍.运动员(平均年龄27.85±5.36岁、训练年限平均为19.14±5.24年,运动员身体状况良好,每周训练3次.运动员分别在4种状况下,对发球机发出的乒乓球进行正手击球(1)两次反弹(一次过网前一次过网后)的上旋球;(2)两次反弹的侧旋球;(3)一次反弹(过网后)的上旋球;(4)一次反弹的侧旋球.研究结果(1)乒乓球运动员采用包括动作的绝对和相对的修正以促进正手对击球的适应;(2)动作修正的本质受不同状况的约束;(3)细微动作(触球和随拍)比宏观动作(准备姿态和向前挥拍)更容易受外界状况的影响.分析与讨论(1)回击一次和两次反弹的侧旋球,运动员几乎不用调整,但侧旋球会造成成功率不高.在引拍、迎球挥拍阶段动作模式没有改变,但球拍触球、随势挥拍阶段稍有不同,此动作有利于还原部分;(2)击球动作前的选位和对手的动作趋势也会影响动作模式,但变化却是使整个动作结构的改变.     

Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations

This paper relates and analyses the experience of various Brazilian institutions organized in a consortium with the aim of providing integration and unified access, via a web gateway, to full-text electronic theses already available at different Brazilian universities. The rise and impact of free electronic academic publishing on scientific communication and the development of science is analyzed. The results of a pilot programme, developed under the coordination of IBICT, as well as technical and technological aspects of information system models adopted, are presented. Aspects such as metadata sets and formats, protocols for automatic gathering of metadata, union catalogue databases, user interfaces and integration with other Brazilian STI systems, are analyzed. Finally, future developments and the enlargement of the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations are discussed.     

Effect of strength training on rate of force development in older women

We analyzed the effect of an 8-week strength training (ST) program on the rate of force development (RFD) and electromyographic activity (EMG) in older women. Seventeen women (M age = 63.4 years, SD = 4.9) without previous ST experience were randomly assigned to either a control (n=7) or training (n=10) group. A leg-press isometric test was used for assessment. ST (three sessions/ week, three sets of 10-12 repetition maximum, five different exercises) induced significant increases (p < .05) on peak RPD (48.4%) and on RFD) and EMG of vastus medialis at time intervals of 0-50, 0-100, 0-150, and 0-200 ms (41.1-69.2% and 43.8-64.3%, respectively). Therefore, ST resulted in favorable changes in neuromuscular responses in older women.     

Analysis of the interplay between knowledge and performance management in industrial clusters

The concept of industrial clustering has been studied in-depth by policy makers and researchers from many fields, mainly due to the competitive advantages it may bring to regional economies. Companies often take part in collaborative initiatives with local partners while also taking advantage of knowledge spillovers to benefit from locating in a cluster. Thus, Knowledge Management (KM) and Performance Management (PM) have become relevant topics for policy makers and cluster associations when undertaking collaborative initiatives. Taking this into account, this paper aims to explore the interplay between both topics using a case study conducted in a collaborative network formed within a cluster. The results show that KM should be acknowledged as a formal area of cluster management so that PM practices can support knowledge-oriented initiatives and therefore make better use of the new knowledge created. Furthermore, tacit and explicit knowledge resulting from PM practices needs to be stored and disseminated throughout the cluster as a way of improving managerial practices and regional strategic direction.     

Quantitative analysis of Brazilian football players' organisation on the pitch

The purpose of this study was to characterise Brazilian teams' coverage area and spread on the pitch while attacking and defending and to analyse the teams' organisation in tackle and shot on goal situations. We obtained the trajectories of 223 players in eight games with a tracking method. Team area was defined as the area of the convex hull formed by players' positions. Team spread was defined as the Frobenius norm of the distance-between-player matrix. We calculated teams' area and spread over time and in situations of shots on goal (n = 233) and tackles (n = 1897). While the players attacked, spread and area (median +/- confidence interval) ranged from 322.9 +/- 0.8 to 387.8 +/- 1.0 m and from 905.4 +/- 4.4 to 1407.6 +/- 5.5 m2, respectively. On defence, the values were smaller (p < 0.05) and ranged from 283.4 +/- 0.9 to 325.8 +/- 0.9 m and from 773.8 +/- 4.6 to 1158.4 +/- 5.5 m2 for the spread and the area. In defending circumstances, the teams presented a greater area and spread when they suffered shots on goal than when the teams performed tackles. In attacking situations, the teams presented a greater area and spread when they suffered tackles than when they performed shots on goal. The results allowed showing the attacking-defending interaction between Brazilian teams.     

Semiotics as a basis for educational software design

Semiotics has recently been used to support formalisms for software design. On the other hand, every program has a certain educational potential as it exposes the user to a world of entities with which to interact. In this paper, we present a group of semiotic principles for software design and use them to show how they explain different educational possibilities. Our approach is illustrated by Theatre in the Computer: a software environment for children to experience the theatre.