Las ciencias del deporte y el ECSS: enfoques y retos

En el siguiente artículo se presenta una reflexión sistemática sobre las limitaciones y las posibilidades de diferentes enfoques de investigación en las ciencias del deporte. Ponemos especial atención en el objetivo y la misión del European College of Sport Science (ECSS) –Colegio Europeo de Ciencias del Deporte–.En el siguiente artículo se presenta una reflexión sistemática sobre las limitaciones y las posibilidades de diferentes enfoques de investigación en las ciencias del deporte. Ponemos especial atención en el objetivo y la misión del European College of Sport Science (ECSS) –Colegio Europeo de Ciencias del Deporte–

Groupwise evacuation with genetic algorithms

In a crisis situation on board a ship, it can be of the utmost importance to have the passengers safely evacuate to the lifeboats in an efficient manner. Existing methods such as marked escape routes, maps and so on are not optimal as pre-planned escape routes may become heavily congested by passengers. The closest lifeboat is not always feasible as lifeboat capacity can be exceeded. Considering that some evacuees are strongly affiliated and would like to evacuate together as a group, it all becomes a very difficult problem to solve. Sub-problems have been modelled, but no existing model combines all of these aspects into account. We proceed by modelling the area to be evacuated as a time-expanded graph, assuming that future development in hazard severity is known in the form of a survivability percentage for each node. Then we apply a multi-objective genetic algorithm with five different fitness functions that use heuristics to maximize overall survivability and reduce the total egress time if possible. A method has been developed to pick the best evacuation plan out of the pool of potential solutions returned by the genetic algorithm. The solution is compared with Dijkstra’s algorithm and randomly generated paths. Experiments are conducted using these algorithms for both predefined and randomly generated graphs using different parameters. In the tested random graph, the genetic algorithm gives on average 24% better survivability and 3 times better grouping Random algorithms. A fixed network with a known solution was solved 100%. This genetic algorithm can be used to generate better routing plans that utilizes multiple evacuation routes and lifeboats while taking into account groups, resulting in smoother evacuations which can save more lives

Principles of Stakes Fairness in Sport

Fairness in sport is not just about assigning the top prizes to the worthiest competitors. It is also about the way the prize structure itself is organised. For many sporting competitions, although it may be acceptable for winners to receive more than losers, it can seem unfair for winners to take everything and for losers to get nothing. Yet this insight leaves unanswered some difficult questions about what stakes fairness requires and which principles of stakes fairness are appropriate for particular competitions. In this article I specify a range of different principles of stakes fairness (ten in total) that could regulate sporting competitions. I also put forward a theoretical method for pairing up appropriate principles of stakes fairness with given sporting competitions. Specifically, I argue that the underlying rationales for holding sporting competitions can provide useful guides for identifying appropriate principles of stakes fairness. I then seek to clarify and work through some of the implications of this method for a sample of real world controversies over sporting prize structures. I also attempt to refine the method in response to two possible objections from indeterminacy and relativism. Finally, I compare and contrast my conclusions with more general philosophical debates about justice

Phenomenology is not phenomenalism. Is there such a thing as phenomenology of sport?

Background: The application of the philosophical mode of investigation called “phenomenology” in the context of sport. Objective: The goal is to show how and why the phenomenological method is very often misused in the sportrelated research. Methods: Interpretation of the key texts, explanation of their meaning. Results: The confrontation of concrete sport-related texts with the original meaning of the key phenomenological notions shows mainly three types of misuse – the confusion of phenomenology with immediacy, with an epistemologically subjectivist stance (phenomenalism), and with empirical research oriented towards objects in the world. Conclusions: Many of the discussed authors try to take over the epistemological validity of phenomenology for their research, which itself is not phenomenological, and it seems that this is because they lack such a methodological foundation. The authors believe that an authentically phenomenological analysis of sport is possible, but it must respect the fundamental distinctions that differentiate phenomenology from other styles of thinking

Geolocalisation of athletes for out-of-competition drug testing: ethical considerations. Position statement by the WADA Ethics Panel

Through the widespread availability of location-identifying devices, geolocalisation could potentially be used to place athletes during out-of-competition testing. In light of this debate, the WADA Ethics Panel formulated the following questions: (1) should WADA and/or other sponsors consider funding such geolocalisation research projects?, (2) if successful, could they be proposed to athletes as a complementary device to Anti-Doping Administration and Management System to help geolocalisation and reduce the risk of missed tests? and (3) should such devices be offered on a voluntary basis, or is it conceivable that they would be made mandatory for all athletes in registered testing pools? In this position paper, the WADA Ethics Panel concludes that the use of geolocalisation could be useful in a research setting with the goal of understanding associations between genotype, phenotype and environment; however, it recognises that the use of geolocalisation as part of or as replacement of whereabouts rules is replete with ethical concerns. While benefits remain largely hypothetical and minimal, the potential invasion of privacy and the data security threats are real. Considering the impact on privacy, data security issues, the societal ramifications of offering such services and various pragmatic considerations, the WADA Ethics Panel concludes that at this time, the use of geolocalisation should neither be mandated as a tool for disclosing whereabouts nor implemented on a voluntary basis

Integration of professional judgement and decision-making in high-level adventure sports coaching practice

This study examined the integration of professional judgement and decision-making processes in adventure sports coaching. The study utilised a thematic analysis approach to investigate the decision-making practices of a sample of high-level adventure sports coaches over a series of sessions. Results revealed that, in order to make judgements and decisions in practice, expert coaches employ a range of practical and pedagogic management strategies to create and opportunistically use time for decision-making. These approaches include span of control and time management strategies to facilitate the decision-making process regarding risk management, venue selection, aims, objectives, session content, and differentiation of the coaching process. The implication for coaches, coach education, and accreditation is the recognition and training of the approaches that“create time” for the judgements in practice, namely“creating space to think”. The paper concludes by offering a template for a more expertise-focused progression in adventure sports coachin

Morgan, the ‘Gratuitous’ Logic of Sport, and the Art of Self-Imposed Constraints

I Brage finner du siste tekst-versjon av artikkelen, og den kan inneholde ubetydelige forskjeller fra forlagets pdf-versjon. Forlagets pdf-versjon finner du på tandfonline.com / In Brage you'll find the final text version of the article, and it may contain insignificant differences from the journal's pdf version. The definitive version is available at tandfonline.comSport occupies a significant role in modern society and has a wide following. In his Leftist Theories of Sport (LTS), Morgan examines what he considers to be a degradation of modern sport and the lack of proper critical theory to address this challenge. In the latter part of LTS, Morgan presents a reconstructed critical theory with ‘a liberal twist’ in terms of an analysis of what he sees as the internal ‘gratuitous’ logic of sport, and a call for critical deliberation in sporting practice communities. I depart from Morgan’s ideas of the ‘gratuitous’ logic of sport which, I believe, has significant potential and operative force. I interpret the logic of sport as forms of self-imposed constraints at three levels: in the logic of the rules, in norms for fair play, and in a particular interpretation of sporting excellence as a form of human excellence. Using the practical case of performance-enhancing drugs, I demonstrate how this interpretation can exert operative power. I conclude by pointing to the internal ‘gratuitous’ logic of sport as cultivating what Goethe classically defined as a sign of mastery: the art of limitation and self-imposed constraints.acceptedVersionSeksjon for kultur og samfunn / Department of Cultural and Social Studie

Caster Semenya, athlete classification, and fair equality of opportunity in sport

Free BMJ article. No commercial re-use.According to the Differences of Sex Development (DSD) Regulations of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Caster Semenya and other athletes with heightened testosterone levels are considered non-eligible for middle distance running races in the women's class. Based on an analysis of fair equality of opportunity in sport, I take a critical look at the Semenya case and at IAAF's DSD Regulations. I distinguish between what I call stable and dynamic inequalities between athletes. Stable inequalities are those that athletes cannot impact or control in any significant way such as inequalities in biological sex, body size and chronological age. Dynamic inequalities, such as inequalities in strength, speed and endurance, or in technical and tactical skills, can be impacted and to a certain extent controlled by athletes. If stable inequalities exert significant and systematic impact on performance, they provide a rationale for classification. If high testosterone level is an inborn, strong and systemic driver of performance development, inequalities in such levels can provide a rationale for classification. As is emphasised by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), this leads to a dilemma of rights: the right of Semenya to compete in sport according to her legal sex and gender identity, and the right of other athletes within the average female testosterone range to compete under fair conditions. I conclude with providing conditional support of the CAS decision in the Semenya case and of IAAF's DSD Regulations.publishedVersionInstitutt for idrettsmedisinske fag / Department of Sports Medicin

Classification in sport: A question of fairness

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.Competitor classification schemes have been a part of sport since its origins. Eligibility criteria have developed towards inclusion and increasing diversity. The pool of competitors has expanded from the ancient Olympic Games, eligible only to free Greek men, via nineteenth-century English sport favouring primarily the upper class of so-called gentlemen amateurs, to the current global and diverse pool of men, women, children, and able-bodied as well as disabled persons. Hence, the challenge of sound classification schemes has increased. This article examines the principles of fair classification of athletes. With the help of normative theory as well as practical examples, a fair equality of opportunity principle for sport (FEOPs) is formulated. It is demonstrated how sound classification schemes combine the normative backing from FEOPs with relevant scientific insights. Current classification challenges and possibilities for change are discussed. It is suggested that in several sports, biological sex classes can be abandoned, and that in some sports, sex classes can be replaced by body size classes. It is argued, too, that sports in which body height exerts a significant and systematic impact on performance should classify accordingly. In the final part, classification is discussed in light of new techno-scientific possibilities, among them the possibility of innovative performance-enhancing prosthetics.publishedVersionInstitutt for idrett og samfunnsvitenskap / Department of Sport and Social Science

Wind Turbine in Yawed Operation

The task of this project was to investigate the near wake, performance characteristics and yaw moment on a model wind turbine. The test turbine is a horizontal axis three bladed machine with a rotor diameter of 0.9 meter. Initially it is an upwind turbine, but was used for downwind measurements as well by rotating the blades and the entire construction 180^0. For the wake measurements the tip speed ratio was set to be TSR=3, TSR=6 and TSR=9 to describe the different regimes; partly stalled, optimal operation and partly propeller operation. Two different yaw angles, 0^0 and 30^0, was also explored for the near wake measurements. The velocity field was measured at X/D=1, as well as X/D=4 for TSR=6 and the two yaw angles; X/D being the number of rotor diameters downstream from the rotor plane. The performance characteristics and yaw moment were measured for yaw angles 0^0, 10^0, 20^0 and 30^0, and with tip speed ratios from 1 to 11. The power and thrust coefficients were found to decrease with increasing yaw angle. This is due to the reduced projected rotor area and reduced effective wind velocity component interacting with the turbine blades. The loss in power due to the yaw angle of the turbine is approximately 6% for yawAngle=10^0 and 40% for yawAngle=30^0 with upstream configuration. For downstream setup the reduction in power due to the yaw angle was 5.2% and 38% for yawAngle=10^0 and yawAngle=30^0 respectively. The near wake velocity field was strongly influenced by tip speed ratio and yaw angle. At TSR=3 the outer parts of the wake had a velocity close to the freestream velocity. Therefore much of the flow passes through without interacting with the rotor blades. For TSR=6 the velocity deficit was close to uniform in the wake. Most of the turbine blades operate efficiently at the design condition, and gives the peak in the power coefficient curve at this TSR. When TSR=9 the inner part of the blades experience negative angle of attack and provide energy to the wind instead of subtracting it. The outer parts of the blade operate more efficiently, but due to the inner part working as a propeller the power coefficient is low. The thrust coefficient is high for this operating condition. When the turbine is operating in yawed condition, the wake width is reduced and shifted towards the yawed direction. At downstream distance X/D=4 for TSR=6 the wake deficit becomes more uniform for both yawAngle=0^0 and yawAngle=30^0. For the downstream configuration the yaw moment was generally stable at more operating conditions than the upstream setup. Common for both configurations was that the yaw moment tended to rotate the rotor plane out of the wind at low tip speed ratios and yaw angles. The downwind turbine got a stabilizing moment for a lower tip speed ratio than the upwind turbine for all yaw angles. Both upwind and downwind turbine setup had an unconditionally stable yaw moment for yawAngle=30^0