Efficiency and Inefficiency in the Ranking in Competitions: the Case of the Queen Elisabeth Music Contest

The Queen Elisabeth Contest is one of the most prestigious competitions in classical music. For both the artists who participate and for the public, it is important that the ranking of the finalists be affected as little as possible by exogenous factors relating to the organisation of the competition. Still, it is impossible to control for all contingencies. Thus, the ranking can be expected to deviate from that obtained in a hypothetical full-information assessment process. As such, the ranking may be unfair to the candidates and inefficient in providing information to the consumer. Deviations from the full-information ideal may result from self-selection of candidates, from positive information at the margin, and from differences in circumstances. Analysing data on all piano and violin versions of the Contest over the period 1956–1999, we find strong evidence of biases in the rankingprocess. Confirming previous research, we find that musicians who perform later in the final week or later on a given day in this week (on average) obtain a better classification. Further, in the piano competitions women obtain lower rankings and, prior to 1990, finalists from the Soviet Union obtained higherrankings than average. The jury appreciates innovation in the sense that musicians who perform a more recently composed concerto obtain a higher rank. Finally – especiallyfor violin – the candidate's decision to perform a popular concerto leadsto a lower ranking.     

赛艇运动的项目特性及训练指导思想

通过对赛艇运动项目决定成绩的因素,如供能系统、专项素质、生理特性的分析,确定了赛艇运动的特性及规律,并据此特性科学地提出了该项目的训练指导思想.     

浅谈大学生数学竞赛在大学数学公共课教学中的作用

本文探讨大学生数学竞赛对大学数学公共课教学的促进作用,指出一些利用数学竞赛活动破解课堂教学困境的方法。     

The Role of Endurance Contests in the Construction of Authority and Social Order in Rural China: Cases in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China

By investigating four cases from the Qing Dynasty (1622–1911) and from the Republic of China (1911–1949), it was found that inter-village disputes normally arose because of uneven distribution of public resources in China's rural society. To settle the disputes, villagers tended to apply civil mediation, normally conducting endurance contests, rather than seek governmental arbitration. The authority and social order was thereby based on endurance contests. Conducting such contests was certainly advantageous to larger villages in their quest for more public resources. However, it simultaneously restricted their privatization of public resources, as the smaller villagers were able to equally raise their voices to resist them and to obtain their own public resources by proposing and participating in endurance contests. Although originally it was an unfair way of settling the disputes over uneven distribution of public resources in rural China, it gave hope to the disadvantaged to protect their own rights and interests at a time when governmental arbitration could not be relied upon.     

"双百"大赛对提高学生微生物学实验课兴趣的作用

微生物学实验课是微生物学的重要组成部分,同时也是微生物学教学的重要环节.针对部分学生对微生物学实验课缺乏兴趣,笔者通过教学改革和实践,尝试把"双百"大赛与微生物学实验课相结合. 通过分析两个具体设计方案,发现在设计"双百"大赛作品的过程中,学生对微生物学实验课的兴趣显著提高. 这种教学改革和实践有利于教学质量的提高,为后续课程学习打下良好基础,值得进一步推广.     

从伦理学视角论运动竞赛存在的自足性价值

运动竞赛作为一种特定的竞技文化生活方式,因有其"自足性价值"而存在于人类社会当中。以价值论的视角审视,任一文化现象的存在都有其价值论上的依据。问题在于,价值既有类别的不同又有优先性上的差异,这就要求人们在"类别"和"优先性"这些更深层的维度上来考虑一种文化现象健康发展的价值问题。以"服用违禁药物"(Doping)为例,表面上来看,它对当事者的身体健康甚至是心理健康带来较大的危害,实质上,作为竞技场上的一种欺骗行为,"服用违禁药物"的根本破坏力在于它整个地铲除了运动竞赛得以存在的竞技道德根基。     

Motivations and solution appropriateness in crowdsourcing challenges for innovation

Crowdsourcing challenges are fast emerging as an effective tool for solving complex innovation problems. The main strength of the crowdsourcing model is that it brings together a large number of diverse people from all over the world to focus on solving a problem. This openness, however, results in a large number of solutions that are not appropriate, and this inhibits organizations from leveraging the value of crowdsourcing efficiently and effectively. It is therefore essential to identify ways to increase the appropriateness of solutions generated in a crowdsourcing challenge. This paper takes a step towards that by exploring what motivates the crowd to participate in these challenges and how these motivations relate to solution appropriateness. Drawing on data from InnoCentive, one of the largest crowdsourcing platforms for innovation problems, this paper shows that the various types of motivation driving crowd members to participate were related in different ways to the appropriateness of the solutions generated. In particular, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were positively related to appropriateness whereas for learning and prosocial motivation the relationship was negative. The association between social motivation and appropriateness was not significant. The results have important implications for how to better design crowdsourcing challenges.     

竞技体育中的人际关系

在社会交往中，建立良好的人际关系对于事业和生活都是很有必要的。本文以竞技体育中的人际关系模式，以及竞技体育在建立良好的人际关系中所起的作用等问题进行了探讨。     

“What are you Representing?” Contesting Identities of Incarcerated Youth

This article explores how incarcerated youth and adult supervisors contest claims to identity via language of “representing”. Comparing how youth and adults “represent” in discussions of their own past and future selves sheds light on the constrained universe of discourse within which both groups work to express identities and on the basis of which we counsel, mentor, and educate young people. Acknowledging these constraints can contribute to understanding what I call exceptionalism—the idea that only exceptional poor and raced young men, through great personal effort and sacrifice, may resist the lure of the “street”. I conclude by discussing implications of this work for education and youth development work both inside and beyond the juvenile justice system as well as for research across lines of difference by committed “outsiders”.

System approach to games and competitive playing: Reply to Lebed (2006)

Abstract

The maximal step length test has been proposed to evaluate the risk of falls among the elderly, although the test is confusing and prone to errors due to two types of test methods. The maximal double-step length test may be used to evaluate both leg function and the functional difference between the left and right legs, but its measurement and evaluation methods have not been studied extensively. The aims of the present study were to compare the maximal single- and double-step length tests, and to highlight differences between the sexes and between the dominant and non-dominant legs. Fifty healthy adults free from lower-limb disorders conducted the above step tests twice, once with the dominant and once with the non-dominant leg. The former test requires individuals to return the stepping leg to the original position or to draw the other leg to the step leg after stepping out maximally with either leg from a standing posture while maintaining body stability with the supporting leg. The latter test requires individuals to step forward with either leg maximally, after similarly stepping with the other leg and to draw the first stepping leg to the second stepping leg. The above tests are defined as the single- and double-step length test, respectively. Step lengths were measured in both tests, and these values were used for analysis. Correlations among step length tests conducted with the dominant and non-dominant legs were very high (r=0.82–0.97). Significant sex differences were found in all step length tests, and males were superior to females. No significant difference between legs was found in any test. In summary, the relationship between the maximal single- and double-step length tests was very high and step lengths showed a significant sex difference.