Assessing collective defensive performances in football: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of central back pairs

Ahead of the World Cup in Brazil the crucial question for the Swiss national coach is the nomination of the starting eleven central back pair. A fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis assesses the defensive performances of different Swiss central back pairs during the World Cup campaign (2011 – 2014). This analysis advises Ottmar Hitzfeld to nominate Steve von Bergen and Johan Djourou as the starting eleven central back pair. The alternative with a substantially weaker empirical validity would be Johan Djourou together with Phillippe Senderos. Furthermore, this paper aims to be a step forward in mainstream football analytics. It analyses the undervalued and understudied defense (Anderson and Sally 2012, Statsbomb 2013) by explaining collective defensive performances instead of assessments of individual player or team performances. However, a qualitatively (better defensive metrics) and quantitatively (more games) improved and extended data set would allow for a more sophisticated analysis of collective defensive performances.

Pulmonary fat embolism - a prospective study within the forensic autopsy collective of th eRepublic of Iceland

In the last century, studies established the origin of pulmonary fat embolism (PFE) and identified mechanical trauma as main source for PFE. This prospective study focused on determining a possible influence of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), in the context of an aging population, on the occurrence of PFE. Lung tissue samples from 256 bodies were examined using the twin-edged knife technique without preliminary fixation but after staining with Sudan III. PFE grading was determined according to Falzi and performed at a 10× magnification. For statistical analysis, bodies were grouped by age, gender, and putrefaction and categorized following whether they had experienced trauma, CPR, the combination of both, or no mechanical impact. There was a significant correlation of trauma, CPR, and the combination of both to PFE but no noticeable influence of gender or putrefaction. An age over 70 years promotes a PFE due to resuscitation.

Institutions as key drivers of collective action in WUAs [Water User Associations] of Uzbekistan

This paper presents a multifactor approach for performance assessment of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in Uzbekistan in order to identify the drivers for improved and effi cient performance of WUAs. The study was carried out in the Fergana Valley where the WUAs were created along the South Fergana Main Canal during the last 10 years. The farmers and the employees of 20 WUAs were questioned about the WUAs’ activities and the quantitative and qualitative data were obtained. This became a base for the calculation of 36 indicators divided into 6 groups: Water supply, technical conditions, economic conditions, social and cultural conditions, organizational conditions and information conditions. All the indicators assessed with a differentiated point system adjusted for subjectivity of several of them give the total maximal result for the associations of 250 point. The WUAs of the Fergana Valley showed the score between 145 and 219 points, what refl ects a highly diverse level of the WUAs performance in the region. The analysis of the indicators revealed that the key points of the WUA’s success are the organizational and institutional conditions including the participatory factors and awareness of both the farmers and employees about the work of WUA. The research showed that the low performance of the WUAs is always explained by the low technical and economic conditions along with weak organization and information dissemination conditions. It is clear that it is complicated to improve technical and economic conditions immediately because they are cost-based and cost-induced. However, it is possible to improve the organizational conditions and to strengthen the institutional basis via formal and information institutions which will gradually lead to improvement of economic and technical conditions of WUAs. Farmers should be involved into the WUA Governance and into the process of making common decisions and solving common problems together via proper institutions. Their awareness can also be improved by leading additional trainings for increasing farmers’ agronomic and irrigation knowledge, teaching them water saving technologies and acquainting them with the use of water measuring equipment so it can bring reliable water supply, transparent budgeting and adequate as well as equitable water allocation to the water users.

Wanting to Get More or Protecting One's Assets: Age-Differential Effects of Gain Versus Loss Perceptions on the Willingness to Engage in Collective Action

OBJECTIVES: The present research examined motivational differences across adulthood that might contribute to age-related differences in the willingness to engage in collective action. Two experiments addressed the role of gain and loss orientation for age-related differences in the willingness to engage in collective action across adulthood. METHOD: In Experiment 1, N = 169 adults (20-85 years) were confronted with a hypothetical scenario that involved either an impending increase or decrease of health insurance costs for their respective age group. In Experiment 2, N = 231 adults (18-83 years) were asked to list an advantage or disadvantage they perceived in being a member of their age group. Subsequently, participants indicated their willingness to engage in collective action on behalf of their age group. RESULTS: Both experiments suggest that, with increasing age, people are more willing to engage in collective action when they are confronted with the prospect of loss or a disadvantage. DISCUSSION: The findings highlight the role of motivational processes for involvement in collective action across adulthood. With increasing age, (anticipated) loss or perceived disadvantages become more important for the willingness to participate in collective action.

Collective Referential Intentionality in the Semantics of Dialogue

The concept of a dialogue is considered in general terms from the standpoint of its referential presuppositions. The semantics of dialogue implies that dialogue participants must generally have a collective intentionality of agreed-upon references that is minimally sufficient for them to be able to disagree about other things, and ideally for outstanding disagreements to become clearer at successive stages of the dialogue. These points are detailed and illustrated in a fictional dialogue, in which precisely these kinds of referential confusions impede progress in shared understanding. It is only through a continuous exchange of question and answer in this dialogue case study that the meanings of key terms and anaphorical references are disambiguated, and a relevantly complete collective intentionality of shared meaning between dialogue participants is achieved. The importance of a minimally shared referential semantics for the terms entering into reasoning and argument in dialogue contexts broadly construed cannot be over-estimated. Where to draw the line between referential agreement and disagreement within any chosen dialogue, as participants work toward better mutual understanding in clearing up referential incongruities, is sometimes among the dialogue’s main points of dispute.