Mimicking Web search engines for expert search

Many enterprise employees may publish content outside their corporate intranet, making the Web a valuable source for identifying company experts. In this article, we thoroughly investigate the usefulness of Web search engines (WSEs) for expert search. In particular, we claim that the ranking of documentary expertise evidence provided by a WSE should also give an indication of the importance of such evidence. To investigate this, we mimic the rankings of seven different WSEs by trying to reproduce their underlying ranking mechanisms in order to search for candidate experts in the TREC CERC collection. Experimental results show that our approach is effective for expert search, and can significantly improve an intranet-based expert search engine. Moreover, when the mimicking of WSEs is further improved by training, expert search performance is also generally enhanced. Finally, we show that WSEs can be mimicked as effectively using only titles and snippets instead of the full content of WSEs’ results, while drastically reducing network costs.     

如何确定外观设计专利侵权判定中的“一般消费者”

外观设计专利侵权司法审判实践中,如何确定作为侵权判断主体的“一般消费者”,一直存在争议。本文此较了美国法院和中国法院的做法,并就如何进一步完善我国外观设计专利侵权判断主体提出了建议。     

Revisiting School Mathematics in Pre-service Secondary Teacher Education: Purposes,Opportunities and Challenges

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Despite compelling arguments for the importance of revisiting school mathematics in pre-service mathematics teacher education, there is...     

The associations between fast bowling technique and ball release speed: A pilot study of the within-bowler and between-bowler approaches

Abstract

The inability of the between-bowlers methodology to control parameters external to technique could lead to erroneous significant and non-significant associations being reported between fast-bowling technique and ball release speed. Using Pearson's product – moment correlation, we first examined the effectiveness of a within-bowler methodology to identify associations between technique and ball release speed of an elite semi-open fast bowler over 20 deliveries. These results were compared with associations identified from a between-bowlers methodology in which 20 single-performance trials bowled by elite fast bowlers adopting a semi-open shoulder alignment were collated. Sufficient variation was observed in within-bowler ball release speed to allow f relationships to be identified between technique and ball release speed. Although greater variation in bowling technique parameters was observed in the between-bowlers methodology, no associations were identified between technique and ball release speed. Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that 87.5% of the within-bowler variation in ball release speed can be attributed to run-up velocity, angular velocity of the bowling arm, vertical velocity of the non-bowling arm, and stride length. The within-bowler methodology provided significant detailed information about the individual bowler that the between-bowlers methodology overlooked, forming the basis of a performance enhancement programme. It is recommended that within-bowler methodology be used in future investigation of technique relationships.     

Playing with confidence: The relationship between imagery use and self-confidence and self-efficacy in youth soccer players

Abstract

Confidence has been one of the most consistent factors in distinguishing the successful from the unsuccessful athletes (Gould, Weiss, & Weinberg, 1981 Gould, D., Weiss, M. and Weinberg, R. 1981. Psychological characteristics of successful and non-successful Big Ten wrestlers. Journal of Sport Psychology, 3: 69–81.  [Google Scholar]) and Bandura (1997 Bandura, A. 1997. Self-efficacy. The exercise of control, New York: W. H. Freeman.  [Google Scholar]) proposed that imagery is one way to enhance confidence. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between imagery use and confidence in soccer (football) players. The participants included 122 male and female soccer athletes ages 11–14 years participating in both house/recreation (n = 72) and travel/competitive (n = 50) levels. Athletes completed three questionnaires; one measuring the frequency of imagery use, one assessing generalised self-confidence, and one assessing self-efficacy in soccer. A series of regression analyses found that Motivational General-Mastery (MG-M) imagery was a signifant predictor of self-confidence and self-efficacy in both recreational and competitive youth soccer players. More specifically, MG-M imagery accounted for between 40 and 57% of the variance for both self-confidence and self-efficacy with two other functions (MG-A and MS) contributing marginally in the self-confidence regression for recreational athletes. These findings suggest that if a youth athlete, regardless of competitive level, wants to increase his/her self-confidence or self-efficacy through the use of imagery, the MG-M function should be emphasised.     

The impact of 100 hours of exercise and sleep deprivation on cognitive function and physical capacities

Abstract

In this study, we examined the effect of 96–125 h of competitive exercise on cognitive and physical performance. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Stroop test (n = 9) before, during, and after the 2003 Southern Traverse adventure race. Strength (MVC) and strength endurance (time to failure at 70% current MVC) of the knee extensor and elbow flexor muscles were assessed before and after racing. Changes in vertical jump (n = 24) and 30-s Wingate performance (n = 27) were assessed in a different group of athletes. Complex response times were affected by the race (16% slower), although not significantly so (P = 0.18), and were dependent on exercise intensity (less so at 50% peak power output after racing). Reduction of strength (P < 0.05) of the legs (17%) and arms (11%) was equivalent (P = 0.17). Reductions in strength endurance were inconsistent (legs 18%, P = 0.09; arms 13%, P = 0.40), but were equivalent between limbs (P = 0.80). Similar reductions were observed in jump height (?8 ± 9%, P < 0.01) and Wingate peak power (?7 ± 15%, P = 0.04), mean power (?7 ± 11%, P < 0.01), and end power (?10 ± 11%, P < 0.01). We concluded that: moderate-intensity exercise may help complex decision making during sustained stress; functional performance was modestly impacted, and the upper and lower limbs were affected similarly despite being used disproportionately.     

Cognitive and affective components of challenge and threat states

Abstract

We explored the cognitive and affective components of the Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA) using a cross-sectional design. One hundred and seventy-seven collegiate athletes indicated how they typically approached an important competition on measures of self-efficacy, perceived control, achievement goals, emotional states and interpretation of emotional states. Participants also indicated to what extent they typically perceived the important competition as a challenge and/or a threat. The results suggest that a perception of challenge was not predicted by any of the cognitive components. A perception of threat was positively predicted by avoidance goals and negatively predicted by self-efficacy and approach goals. Both challenge and threat had a positive relationship with anxiety. Practical implications of this study are that an avoidance orientation appeared to be related to potentially negative constructs such as anxiety, threat and dejection. The findings may suggest that practitioners and researchers should focus on reducing an avoidance orientation, however the results should be treated with caution in applied settings, as this study did not examine how the combination of constructs exactly influences sport performance. The results provided partial support for the TCTSA with stronger support for proposed relationships with threat rather than challenge states.     

The effect of short-duration sprint interval exercise on plasma postprandial triacylglycerol levels in young men

Abstract

It is well established that regular exercise can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, although the most time-efficient exercise protocol to confer benefits has yet to be established. The aim of the current study was to determine the effects of short-duration sprint interval exercise on postprandial triacylglycerol. Fifteen healthy male participants completed two 2 day trials. On day 1, participants rested (control) or carried out twenty 6 s sprints, interspersed with 24 s recovery (sprint interval exercise – 14 min for total exercise session). On day 2, participants consumed a high-fat meal for breakfast with blood samples collected at baseline, 2 h and 4 h. Gas exchange was also measured at these time points. On day 2 of control and sprint interval exercise trials, there were no differences (P < 0.05) between trials in plasma glucose, triacylglycerol, insulin or respiratory exchange ratio (RER). The area under the curve for plasma triacylglycerol was 7.67 ± 2.37 mmol · l^–1.4 h^–1 in the control trial and 7.26 ± 2.49 mmol · l^–1.4 h^–1 in the sprint interval exercise trial. Although the sprint exercise protocol employed had no significant effect on postprandial triacylglycerol, there was a clear variability in responses that warrants further investigation.     

A three-season comparison of match performances among selected and unselected elite youth rugby league players

Abstract

This study compared technical actions, movements, heart rates and perceptual responses of selected and unselected youth rugby league players during matches (under-15 to under-17 age groups). The players’ movements and heart rates were assessed using 5 Hz Global Positioning Systems (GPSs), while their technical actions were analysed using video analysis. The maturity of each player was predicted before each season for statistical control. There were no differences (P > 0.05) between selected and unselected players in the under-15 or the under-17 age group for any variables. However, in the under-16 age group, the selected players (57.1 ± 11.9 min) played for longer than the unselected players (44.1 ± 12.3 min; P = 0.017; ES = 1.08 ± CI = 0.87), and covered more distance (5181.0 ± 1063.5 m cf. 3942.6 ± 1108.6 m, respectively; P = 0.012; ES = 1.14 ± CI = 0.88) and high-intensity distance (1808.8 ± 369.3 m cf. 1380.5 ± 367.7 m, respectively; P = 0.011; ES = 1.16 ± CI = 0.88). Although successful carries per minute was higher in the selected under-15 age group, there were no other differences (P > 0.05) in match performance relative to playing minutes between groups. Controlling for maturity, the less mature, unselected players from the under-16 age group performed more high-intensity running (P < 0.05). Our findings question the use of match-related measurements in differentiating between selected and unselected players, showing that later maturing players were unselected, even when performing greater high-intensity running during matches.     

Application of geographic information technologies to historical landscape reconstruction and military terrain analysis of an American Revolution Battlefield: Preservation potential of historic lands in urbanized settings,Boston, Massachusetts,USA

Through funding from the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program, geographic information technologies were employed to create a high resolution, spatially accurate representation of the 1775 landscape of Boston's Inner Harbor and to conduct a geospatial and temporal assessment of the location, extent, and preservation potential of an American Revolutionary War battlefield and its associated cultural resources. Geographic information technologies provide the tools and methodologies to accurately create digital representations of historical landscapes. These tools enable the visualization and geospatial analysis of landscapes and significant historical events, greatly enhancing the understanding of temporal and spatial interactions between these events and the physical landscape upon which they occurred. Data sources include historical bibliographic and cartographic records, high resolution orthophotographs, constant value raster grids, and LIDAR data. A military terrain model was created utilizing American Battlefield Protection Program's KOCOA system categories, in order to identify defining features of the battlefield. KOCOA is an acronym which stands for Key terrain, Obstacles, Cover and Concealment, Observation and Fields of Fire, and Avenues of Advancement and Withdrawal. The KOCOA analysis provides an established method for identifying critical defining features of the battle and determining the influence of the landscape on the ephemeral battle events. The base map was created utilizing U.S. Navy Coast Survey maps dating from the mid-19th century. A digital elevation model was created to represent the 1775 topography, utilizing LIDAR data and constant value raster layers. The military terrain analysis provided valuable insights into battlefield events and decisions. Defining features of the battle were also identified and mapped. A detailed Environmental Systems Research Institute's ArcGIS Citation Data Model was used to link landscape and KOCOA features to the historical sources they were derived from. A comprehensive source table was created as part of this effort. The results of this investigation have provided a high resolution dataset of Boston's historical landscape during the time of the American Revolution. The geospatial analysis will aid in the development of long-range management strategies for the Chelsea Creek Battlefield and facilitate the assessment of threats to cultural resources posed by both anthropogenic activities and environmental change. The methodologies and interdisciplinary approach will also be applicable to other investigations seeking to recreate historical landscapes within a geographic information system.