Movimientos nacionalistas en el fútbol: de las paredes a las canchas. estudio de caso: F.C Barcelona y Plataforma Som una Nació 1982 – 1996

El Catalanismo es un fenómeno sociopolítico que ha sido analizado por académicos de todos los niveles, documentado de manera mediática y debatido en múltiples espacios multidimensionales; pero las relaciones entre el nacionalismo catalán con espacios alternativos como el Fútbol, su posterior transformación del escenario deportivo, aterrizándolo en un escenario con dimensiones y unidades típicas de una arena sociopolítica convencional, es un tema que carece de profusión académica. Es en esta penumbra cognoscitiva, donde este trabajo recurre a las definiciones multidisciplinares alrededor de espacios de Baja Cultura como el Fútbol, conjugándolas con las teorías de creación de movimientos sociopolíticos excluidos como el separatismo catalán, existentes en las perspectivas teóricas de Ernesto Laclau, Jacob Torfing y Armando Durán. Dicho ejercicio permitirá el entendimiento de cómo la lucha identitaria, la acción política no violenta y la reivindicación nacionalista en Cataluña colonizó un escenario incluyente, hasta los días que se viven hoy.

Nuevo medio de comunicación: D.C Fútbol

Nuestros principales objetivos a la hora de crear D.C. Fútbol, se fundamentaron en la importancia que tiene para nosotras lograr que los bogotanos con gusto y pasión por un equipo capitalino, pudieran acceder a un medio de comunicación capaz de mostrar los acontecimientos que giran en torno al fútbol profesional bogotano (FPB)

Engagement y productividad en las empresas

El presente trabajo pretende mostrar algunos avances en el término “engagement”, y como puede ser implementado en las organizaciones, teniendo en cuenta los diferentes factores que intervienen, para que los trabajadores se sientan “engaged” dentro de la organización. Además busca relacionar las diferentes habilidades y tipos de liderazgo que los altos mandos utilizan con sus empleados y como éste afecta la productividad de los trabajadores en las organizaciones. Para esto, se realizó una investigación de las clases de liderazgo y los comportamientos de los altos mandos, que pueden afectar positiva y negativamente el vínculo y sentido de pertenencia que tienen los trabajadores con la empresa en la que trabajan. Considerando importante las habilidades del liderazgo transformacional, para lograr desarrollar algún grado de engagement en los trabajadores, lo cual genera a su vez, un alza en la productividad de sus resultados dentro de la organización.

La pelota no se mancha: Un estudio histórico sobre el desarrollo y la política en FIFA

Esta investigación se centra en la Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) como organización política. Intenta responder dos interrogantes primordiales: 1) ¿cómo la FIFA ha constituido el poder que tiene actualmente y, así, hacerse del monopolio indiscutido del fútbol? Y 2) ¿cómo ha cambiado en el tiempo la política interna de FIFA y su vínculo con la política internacional? Para lograr esto, se realiza un estudio histórico, basado principalmente en documentos, que intenta caracterizar y analizar los cambios de la organización en el tiempo. Se enfatizan las últimas dos presidencias de FIFA, de João Havelange y Joseph Blatter, como casos de estudio.

A formalization for multi-agent decision support in cooperative environments. A framework for situated agents

La tesis propone un marco de trabajo para el soporte de la toma de decisiones adecuado para soportar la ejecución distribuida de acciones cooperativas en entornos multi-agente dinámicos y complejos. Soporte para la toma de decisiones es un proceso que intenta mejorar la ejecución de la toma de decisiones en escenarios cooperativos. Este proceso ocurre continuamente en la vida diaria. Los humanos, por ejemplo, deben tomar decisiones acerca de que ropa usar, que comida comer, etc. En este sentido, un agente es definido como cualquier cosa que está situada en un entorno y que actúa, basado en su observación, su interpretación y su conocimiento acerca de su situación en tal entorno para lograr una acción en particular.Por lo tanto, para tomar decisiones, los agentes deben considerar el conocimiento que les permita ser consientes en que acciones pueden o no ejecutar. Aquí, tal proceso toma en cuenta tres parámetros de información con la intención de personificar a un agente en un entorno típicamente físico. Así, el mencionado conjunto de información es conocido como ejes de decisión, los cuales deben ser tomados por los agentes para decidir si pueden ejecutar correctamente una tarea propuesta por otro agente o humano. Los agentes, por lo tanto, pueden hacer mejores decisiones considerando y representando apropiadamente tal información. Los ejes de decisión, principalmente basados en: las condiciones ambientales, el conocimiento físico y el valor de confianza del agente, provee a los sistemas multi-agente un confiable razonamiento para alcanzar un factible y exitoso rendimiento cooperativo.Actualmente, muchos investigadores tienden a generar nuevos avances en la tecnología agente para incrementar la inteligencia, autonomía, comunicación y auto-adaptación en escenarios agentes típicamente abierto y distribuidos. En este sentido, esta investigación intenta contribuir en el desarrollo de un nuevo método que impacte tanto en las decisiones individuales como colectivas de los sistemas multi-agente. Por lo tanto, el marco de trabajo propuesto ha sido utilizado para implementar las acciones concretas involucradas en el campo de pruebas del fútbol robótico. Este campo emula los juegos de fútbol real, donde los agentes deben coordinarse, interactuar y cooperar entre ellos para solucionar tareas complejas dentro de un escenario dinámicamente cambiante y competitivo, tanto para manejar el diseño de los requerimientos involucrados en las tareas como para demostrar su efectividad en trabajos colectivos. Es así que los resultados obtenidos tanto en el simulador como en el campo real de experimentación, muestran que el marco de trabajo para el soporte de decisiones propuesto para agentes situados es capaz de mejorar la interacción y la comunicación, reflejando en un adecuad y confiable trabajo en equipo dentro de entornos impredecibles, dinámicos y competitivos. Además, los experimentos y resultados también muestran que la información seleccionada para generar los ejes de decisión para situar a los agentes, es útil cuando tales agentes deben ejecutar una acción o hacer un compromiso en cada momento con la intención de cumplir exitosamente un objetivo colectivo. Finalmente, algunas conclusiones enfatizando las ventajas y utilidades del trabajo propuesto en la mejora del rendimiento colectivo de los sistemas multi-agente en situaciones tales como tareas coordinadas y asignación de tareas son presentadas.

Computationally reliable approaches of contractive MPC for discrete-time systems

La tesis pretende explorar acercamientos computacionalmente confiables y eficientes de contractivo MPC para sistemas de tiempo discreto. Dos tipos de contractivo MPC han sido estudiados: MPC con coacción contractiva obligatoria y MPC con una secuencia contractiva de conjuntos controlables. Las técnicas basadas en optimización convexa y análisis de intervalos son aplicadas para tratar MPC contractivo lineal y no lineal, respectivamente. El análisis de intervalos clásicos es ampliado a zonotopes en la geometría para diseñar un conjunto invariante de control terminal para el modo dual de MPC. También es ampliado a intervalos modales para tener en cuenta la modalidad al calcula de conjuntos controlables robustos con una interpretación semántica clara. Los instrumentos de optimización convexa y análisis de intervalos han sido combinados para mejorar la eficacia de contractive MPC para varias clases de sistemas de tiempo discreto inciertos no lineales limitados. Finalmente, los dos tipos dirigidos de contractivo MPC han sido aplicados para controlar un Torneo de Fútbol de Copa Mundial de Micro Robot (MiroSot) y un Tanque-Reactor de Mezcla Continua (CSTR), respectivamente.

Studies of dynamics of physical agent ecosystems

This thesis addresses the problem of learning in physical heterogeneous multi-agent systems (MAS) and the analysis of the benefits of using heterogeneous MAS with respect to homogeneous ones. An algorithm is developed for this task; building on a previous work on stability in distributed systems by Tad Hogg and Bernardo Huberman, and combining two phenomena observed in natural systems, task partition and hierarchical dominance. This algorithm is devised for allowing agents to learn which are the best tasks to perform on the basis of each agent's skills and the contribution to the team global performance. Agents learn by interacting with the environment and other teammates, and get rewards from the result of the actions they perform. This algorithm is specially designed for problems where all robots have to co-operate and work simultaneously towards the same goal. One example of such a problem is role distribution in a team of heterogeneous robots that form a soccer team, where all members take decisions and co-operate simultaneously. Soccer offers the possibility of conducting research in MAS, where co-operation plays a very important role in a dynamical and changing environment. For these reasons and the experience of the University of Girona in this domain, soccer has been selected as the test-bed for this research. In the case of soccer, tasks are grouped by means of roles. One of the most interesting features of this algorithm is that it endows MAS with a high adaptability to changes in the environment. It allows the team to perform their tasks, while adapting to the environment. This is studied in several cases, for changes in the environment and in the robot's body. Other features are also analysed, especially a parameter that defines the fitness (biological concept) of each agent in the system, which contributes to performance and team adaptability. The algorithm is applied later to allow agents to learn in teams of homogeneous and heterogeneous robots which roles they have to select, in order to maximise team performance. The teams are compared and the performance is evaluated in the games against three hand-coded teams and against the different homogeneous and heterogeneous teams built in this thesis. This section focuses on the analysis of performance and task partition, in order to study the benefits of heterogeneity in physical MAS. In order to study heterogeneity from a rigorous point of view, a diversity measure is developed building on the hierarchic social entropy defined by Tucker Balch. This is adapted to quantify physical diversity in robot teams. This tool presents very interesting features, as it can be used in the future to design heterogeneous teams on the basis of the knowledge on other teams.

Zambujeira e Serra do Calvo: uma equipa júnior de futsal em evolução

RESUMO: O Futsal é uma modalidade em plena ascensão e com crescente popularidade em Portugal e no Mundo, com a particularidade de ser a modalidade com mais praticantes femininos em Portugal. Neste relatório pretendo apresentar a forma como interpreto o jogo e o treino de Futsal, aplicando os conhecimentos alcançados ao longo de dois anos de estudo da modalidade, no meu percurso académico e nos seis anos como treinador principal. Ao longo do relatório irei evidenciar os aspectos fundamentais da minha visão sobre o processo de treino através da elaboração de um Modelo de Jogo coerente e adequado à realidade do Grupo Desportivo Cultural e Recreativo Zambujeira e Serra do Calvo, no escalão de Júnior “A”. Cabe ao treinador a criação de um Modelo de Jogo a atingir, em que este irá direccionar todo o processo de treino através de intervenções ajustadas à jogadora de acordo com situação em que está inserida. Ao longo do processo de treino, o treinador tem que saber observar e analisar os contextos em que o clube, equipa e competição se inserem, de modo a que consiga elaborar e dotar o planeamento de uma flexibilidade desejável. ABSTRACT: The Futsal is a sport booming in popularity in Portugal and the World, with the distinction of being the sport with more female athlete’s in Portugal. In this report, I intend to present the way I play the game of Futsal, by training and applying the knowledge, achieved over two years of studying the sport during my academic background and over six years as head coach. Throughout the report will highlight the fundamental aspects of my vision of the training process by developing a coherent model of game and suitable for the reality of the Cultural and Recreational Sports Group Zambujeira E Serra do Calvo in Junior "A" team. It is the coach responsibility to create a game model to be achieved this is the model that will direct the entire training process through adjusted interventions to the player according to the situation in which it operates. Throughout the training process, the coach has to know how to observe and analyze the contexts in which the club, team and competition is been held, so he can prepare and provide the planning of a desirable flexibility if necessary the possible changes.

Causas de abandono do desporto escolar

RESUMO: Numa sociedade cada vez mais exigente, onde o acesso a estudos e estatísticas se torna cada vez mais fácil, deve consciencializar-se os intervenientes no contexto desportivo para a falta de actividade física e desportiva dos nossos jovens no seu dia-a-dia, bem como o seu abandono precoce da prática desportiva. Esse abandono apresenta-se como um fenómeno multifactorial, na medida em que são diversos os contextos e motivos que o determinam. Na actividade diária de professores/treinadores, os aspectos relacionados com os factores que conduzem ao abandono dos praticantes devem merecer uma atenção permanente. Torna-se importante responder às perguntas “o abandono surge porquê?”; “Quais as causas?” ou “Quais os factores?”, sendo esse o principal objectivo deste estudo. A amostra foi constituída por alunos de ambos os sexos, de diversas escolas de Lisboa, num total de 174 inquiridos dos ensinos básico e secundário, que abandonaram a prática do desporto escolar durante o ano lectivo 2011/2012. Foi aplicado como instrumento de medida o Questionário de Razões para o Abandono da Prática do Desporto Escolar – QRAPDE versão adaptada para o desporto escolar com base num instrumento similar desenvolvido por Cruz e colaboradores (1988; 1995). Os resultados evidenciam como causas mais importantes para o abandono as questões relacionadas com a dimensão “Falta de tempo” com média de 1,84, seguida da dimensão “Orientação desportiva” apresentando uma média de 1,44 e, como causa menos importante, a dimensão “Indicadores de treino e competição” (1,26). A todos os intervenientes desportivos, especialmente professores, cabe uma introspecção sobre os factores de abandono. Acreditamos que com uma orientação consciente e sustentada será possível inverter o abandono do desporto escolar pelos alunos.ABSTACT: In an increasingly demanding society, where access to studies and statistics is becoming rather easy, all subjects for sport activities must be aware concerning the lack of physical and sports activity of our young people in their day-to-day life, as well as the early withdrawn. This dropout mus be presented as a multifactorial phenomenon, as there are several contexts and motives which determine it. In daily work of teachers/coaches, aspects related to the factors that lead to the abandonment of the youngsters deserve continued attention. Therefore, it is important to answer the questions "Why does abandonment arises?" "What are the causes?" or "What are the factors? This is the key issue and the goal of this study. The sample was 174 students of both genders, of elementary and secondary school grade, from several schools in Lisbon, who had abandoned the practice of school sports during the academic year 2011/2012. To determine the reasons of dropout we use the Questionnaire of Reasons for the Abandonment of School Sports – QRAPDE, version adapted for school sports based on a similar instrument developed by Cruz et al (1988; 1995) The results show that the most important causes for the abandonment are related to the dimension "lack of time" with an average of 1.84, followed by the dimension "Sports Guidance" with an average of 1.44, and, as the less important cause, the "Indicators of training and competition" (1.26). All responsible intervenients, namely teachers, should thoroughly reflect about the factors of dropout. We believe that with a conscious and sustainable guidance it will be possible to reverse the abandonment of school sports by students.

Motivação e adesão ao exercício físico : um estudo sobre o papel dos treinadores pessoais

Introdução: Procuramos analisar a associação entre a frequência/adesão ao exercício físico (FAEF) em contexto de ginásios e health clubs (GHC) e os constructos previstos pela Teoria da Auto Determinação (TAD) em indivíduos que treinam com Treinador Pessoal (TP)e indivíduos que não treinam com TP. Método: Efetuámos uma revisão sistemática da literatura (RSL), seguida de um estudo observacional onde aplicámos questionários psicométricos para avaliar o clima da sessão de treino, resposta psicológica global, regulação motivacional, satisfação das necessidades psicológicas (NPB), escolha percebida sobre o desempenho em exercício. Foi controlada a FAEF durante 3 meses. A amostra consistiu em 88 clientes (Midade = 41.35, SD = 12.22, MIMC = 25.10, SD = 14.52) Resultados: Na RSL encontrámos 10 estudos, nenhum em contexto de TP. No nosso estudo não se registaram diferenças na FAEF, nem nas regulações motivacionais entre os grupos. No grupo com TP a competência associou-se à FAEF (p=.017) e a autonomia associou-se a menores níveis de mau estar psicológico e de fadiga (p=.032). O Clima de Tratamento do Programa não influenciou nenhum dos outcomes estudados. No grupo sem TP, quanto mais Autonomia (p=.038) e Motivação Intrínseca (p=.001) maior a FAEF. Regulações mais autodeterminadas estão associados a maiores valores de FAEF (p=.009). A motivação intrínseca associou-se positivamente (p=.014) com a FAEF em toda a amostra. Discussão: O suporte das NBP origina uma motivação mais auto regulada o que se reflete numa maior FAEF e bem estar psicológico. No grupo com TP a competência teve um maior contributo para a FAEF, no grupo sem TP a autonomia registou o valor mais elevado. Não se observaram diferenças entre os grupos na regulação motivacional e na FAEF. O suporte de autonomia dado pelo TP não apresentou resultados significativos na FAEF, o que contraria o esperado pela TAD. Estes dados são, por si só reveladores da importância de se aprofundar conhecimentos que auxiliem os TP’s a a motivarem com mais qualidade os seus alunos.

The Kasparov-World Match

The Kasparov-World match was initiated by Microsoft with sponsorship from the bank First USA. The concept was that Garry Kasparov as White would play the rest of the world on the Web: one ply would be played per day and the World Team was to vote for its move. The Kasparov-World game was a success from many points of view. It certainly gave thousands the feeling of facing the world’s best player across the board and did much for the future of the game. Described by Kasparov as “phenomenal ... the most complex in chess history”, it is probably a worthy ‘Greatest Game’ candidate. Computer technology has given chess a new mode of play and taken it to new heights: the experiment deserves to be repeated. We look forward to another game and experience of this quality although it will be difficult to surpass the event we have just enjoyed. We salute and thank all those who contributed - sponsors, moderator, coaches, unofficial analysts, organisers, technologists, voters and our new friends.

A netball specific fitness test.

Performance analysis has been used for many applications including providing feedback to coaches and players, media applications, scoring of sports performance and scientific research into sports performance. The current study has used performance analysis to generate knowledge relating to the demands of netball competition which has been used in the development of a Netball Specific Fitness Test (NSFT). A modified version of the Bloomfield movement classification was used to provide a detailed analysis of player movement during netball competition. This was considered during a needs analysis when proposing the structure of the NSFT. A series of pilot versions were tested during an evolutionary prototyping process that resulted in the final version of the NSFT, which was found to be representative of movement in netball competition and it distinguished between recreational club players and players of university first team level or above. The test is incremental and involves forward, backward and sideways movement, jumping, lunging, turning and choice reaction.

The effect of learning condition on perceptual anticipation, awareness, and visual search

The efficacy of explicit and implicit learning paradigms was examined during the very early stages of learning the perceptual-motor anticipation task of predicting ball direction from temporally occluded footage of soccer penalty kicks. In addition, the effect of instructional condition on point-of-gaze during learning was examined. A significant improvement in horizontal prediction accuracy was observed in the explicit learning group; however, similar improvement was evident in a placebo group who watched footage of soccer matches. Only the explicit learning intervention resulted in changes in eye movement behaviour and increased awareness of relevant postural cues. Results are discussed in terms of methodological and practical issues regarding the employment of implicit perceptual training interventions. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coaching SME managers: business development or personal therapy? A mixed methods study

While a growing number of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are making use of coaching, little is known about the impact such coaching has within this sector. This study sought to identify the factors that influence managers' decision to engage with coaching, their perceptions of the coaching ‘journey’ and the kinds of benefits accruing from coaching: organisational, personal or both. As part of a mixed methods approach, a survey tool was developed based upon a range of relevant management competencies from the UK's Management Occupational Standards and responses analysed using importance-performance analysis, an approach first used in the marketing sector to evaluate customer satisfaction. Results indicate that coaching had a significant impact on personal attributes such as ‘Managing Self-Cognition’ and ‘Managing Self-Emotional’, whereas the impact on business-oriented attributes was weaker. Managers' choice of coaches with psychotherapeutic rather than non-psychotherapeutic backgrounds was also statistically significant. We conclude that even in the competitive business environment of SMEs, coaching was used as a largely personal, therapeutic intervention rather than to build business-oriented competencies.

A five-dimensional model of attributes: some precursors of executive coach selection

The purpose of this study was to specify a set of attributes, identified as important precursors to coach selection. Executive coaching has grown exponentially, but there have been few studies as to the efficacy of coaching, including the factors that influence a manager's choice of coach. This study sought to identify these factors. The 45-item, online survey produced 267 useable responses. Results of the principal component analysis suggested a five-factor solution, with women showing a statistically significant preference over men for coaches who have the Ability to Develop Critical Thinking and Action, the Ability to Forge the Coaching Partnership and Coach Experience and Qualifications. The impact of coachee age was not significant in selecting executive coaches. The findings show a statistically significant relationship between coach attributes and the intention to continue with coaching. The implications of these findings for the selection of coaches, and for the coaching profession are discussed.