November 26, 2022 - Audio long read: Science and the World Cup ' how big data is transforming football

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Audio long read: Science and the World Cup — how big data is transforming football Big data is playing an increasingly important role in football, with technologies capturing huge amounts of information about players' positions and actions during a match. To make sense of all this information, most elite football teams now employ data analysts plucked from top companies and laboratories. Their insights are helping to steer everything from player transfers to the intensity of training, and have even altered how the game is played. Continued here

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How to Make Your Matrix Organization Really Work Much has been written about why matrix organizations are needed and what they look like at a surface level. Far less advice is available about what it takes to make them work. This information gap sets many teams up for disappointment because matrix organizations flourish or fail based on attention to their design and dynamics. Consider the case of Juan, a regional supply chain leader in a large health care system who was caught between competing agendas from multiple bosses in his organization. Juan reports to Brenda, his enterprise-level boss in the supply chain organization, but he also has a reporting relationship to Steve, a regional operations executive. (Note: All names have been changed for anonymity.) Brenda’s goals for Juan included implementing a new supplier network model with ambitious timelines. Meeting her goals would require a substantial time investment for Juan and his small team. Meanwhile, Steve was grappling with critical materials and staffing shortages and had asked Juan to optimize workforce and supply costs. Steve expected Juan to meet a tight schedule for opening a new clinical facility to help reach regional volume targets. Continued here � S34 Qatar's death row and the invisible migrant workforce deemed unworthy of due process Qatari authorities are ignoring international law by failing to inform embassies when their citizens are arrested, detained or are pending trial for a death sentence. Our new data reveals that between 2016 and 2021 at least 21 people were under sentence of death in Qatar. Of the 21, only three cases involved Qatari nationals and only one involved a woman (who was accused of murder). The remaining 18 were made up of foreign nationals: seven from India, two from Nepal, five from Bangladesh, one Tunisian and three Asians of unknown nationality. Continued here S27 Labour sounds like the Tories on immigration – but its policy goes back to its trade union roots Keir Starmer has given a glimpse of what immigration policy could look like under a Labour government. Speaking to the Confederation for British Industry, the party leader’s key message was about reducing the UK’s dependency on migrant labour. Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, known for his headline-making commentary, has claimed that Labour is now to the right of Conservatives on immigration. In terms of broad rhetoric, Starmer and the current government aren’t dissimilar on the basic point of ending what they call Britain’s dependence on migrant labour. Continued here � S20 Refugees who set up businesses enrich NZ financially, culturally and socially – they deserve more support Associate professor, Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Canterbury Zhiyan Basharati is a former refugee and a member of the External Steering Group for the New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy (NZRRS), and the New Zealand Migrant Settlement and Integration Strategy (NZMSIS). Continued here S18 M25 journalist arrests: the four points when officers got it wrong – a policing expert explains The arrest of LBC radio reporter Charlotte Lynch on November 8, while covering a story about environmental protests is contributing to a debate about declining trust and confidence in the police. Lynch was covering a Just Stop Oil protest from a road bridge above the M25 motorway, near London when she was approached by police officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary. Continued here � S12 How well connected are the world’s leading science cities? Although many cities boast multiple research institutions that readily collaborate with each other, research is rarely confined by city limits. The frequency and depth of collaborations between scientists who live and work in different places helps to create strong hubs of research and innovation. When mapping out which cities are collaborating with which, clear differences emerge between China and the United States. The United States has a much more complex network of collaborations between its cities whereas China’s network is heavily centralized around Beijing and Shanghai. Continued here S21 Amazon's resuscitation of Neighbours: can Aussie TV become good friends with streaming? Many were shocked by the announcement last Friday that Australian soap opera Neighbours would return to screens in 2023, courtesy of a new deal between production house Fremantle Australia and multinational digital streamer Amazon. Significantly, this announcement overturns many expectations about television in the age of streaming. When news of Neighbours’ cancellation broke earlier this year, streamers declined to offer a lifeline, with veteran cast member Stefan Dennis (aka Paul Robinson) lamenting that soaps seemed out-of-kilter with the demands of streaming. Continued here � S19 Ukraine recap: targeting power supply earns Russia new title of 'state sponsor of terror' as winter begins to bite Temperatures are falling steadily across Ukraine. The UK’s Met Office forecasts light (but pretty cold) rain in Kyiv for the next day or two followed by snow, snow, snow, as the mercury drops steadily into minus numbers next week. Large areas of Ukraine, including the capital, are now without power much of the time. And still Moscow persists with its strategy of targeting Ukraine’s power supply. It’s hard to argue – as the Kremlin continues to insist – that these are military targets. Continued here S29 Namibia pulls down German colonial statue after protests – who was Curt von François? Anti-colonial activists in Namibia – calling themselves A Curt Farewell – have scored a victory after a statue of a colonial German officer, Curt von François, was removed from outside the Windhoek City Council in the country’s capital. Namibia was under German colonial rule before being governed by apartheid South Africa, gaining independence in 1990. We asked Namibian political scientist Henning Melber what all the fuss is about – and who the officer was. The statue was erected in 1965 outside the Windhoek municipality’s new headquarters at Kaiserstreet (now Independence Avenue), the main street in the capital city. It recognised a German officer and administrator of the 1890s, who played a decisive local role in the early German colonial occupation. Namibia was declared a protectorate in 1884 and occupied for 30 years. Between 1904 and 1908, Germany launched genocidal warfare against the local Ovaherero and Nama communities (decimating the Damara and San in similar ways), who resisted colonial expropriation. Continued here � S5 How to sleep well and be happy at home It's no secret that the spaces we inhabit affect the way we feel. From feng shui to the Scandinavian pursuit of hygge, designing the look and layout of your abode to further a sense of wellbeing is a long-established idea. Yet, environmental psychology – the study of the human relationship to surroundings – was not recognised as an academic field until the late 1960s, and is an even more recent consideration when it comes to domestic interior design. "The idea of improving wellness through our indoor spaces is something that has burgeoned," Jean Whitehead, senior lecturer in Interior Design at Falmouth University and author of Creating Interior Atmosphere: Mise-en-scène and Interior Design, tells BBC Culture. "It was already prevalent in healthcare interiors, but now it's crossing over into hospitality and leisure spaces, as well as how we think about our homes." Continued here S6 Suavecito: The love song that became an anthem On Cinco de Mayo, 1980, Latino-American singer and songwriter Richard Bean joined Jorge Santana, Carlos Santana's younger brother, on stage at an outdoor concert in Los Angeles. Years before, Bean had written a song called Suavecito, and he never realised how iconic it had become until the two began playing it. As its slow groove flowed over the loudspeakers, the 20,000-person crowd in the city's Lincoln Park erupted in a roar. "As I was singing to the crowd, four huge Chicano (Mexican-American) guys marched behind the band on stage and unfurled a giant green, white and red Mexican flag," Bean tells BBC Culture. The flag was so large it took all four men to hold it, he explains. "Get them off the stage," the roadies began shouting, according to Bean. "Get them off." But the four stood proud. "No, not until the song is over," they said. "Not until Suavecito is done." When he looked behind him at the huge flag, and looked out at the all-Latinx audience, Bean began to tear up. It wasn't until that moment, he said, that he knew Suavecito, informally called the "Chicano National Anthem" by some, lived up to that name as a true symbol of America's Mexican-Americans and Latinx people. Continued here � S4 The mums who are ambivalent about motherhood Even before having her first child, Libby Ward knew what kind of mother she wanted to be. Patient. Loving. Intentional. But her hopes went beyond that, especially when she looked at the mothers in her social circle. She wanted to emulate them in other ways, too: home-made meals, pristine houses, nap schedules. When she had her daughter in 2014, Ward found herself, for the most part, able to mother how she had hoped. Two years later, she had her son. They had problems breastfeeding. He didn't sleep for more than two hours in a row. He seemed to be in pain. Continued here S15 Why there's no 'Dijon' in Dijon mustard Take a wander down any condiment aisle in France these days, and you'll notice a pervasive absence between la mayo and le ketchup. Since this May, France has faced a widespread dearth of Dijon mustard, leading one French resident to advertise two jars for sale to the tune of €6,000 or about £5,000 (since revealed to be merely in jest). The shortage has incited expats (this author included) to not-at-all-jokingly smuggle squeeze bottles of Maille back into the country from places like the US to get their fix, while author and Paris resident David Lebovitz even resorted to hunting his jars down at a local gardening store, of all places. While French news outlets wasted no time in attributing the shortage to the war in Ukraine, the real story is a whole lot spicier than that. Continued here � S31 Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio review: this tale of a lost child is the filmmaker’s destiny That Guillermo del Toro would eventually create a version of Pinocchio feels something like cinematic destiny. The overriding theme of his cinematic vision is, afterall, a love for those others would see as freaks, outcasts or misfits. The Mexican-born filmmaker began work as a special effects illustrator and make-up designer before making his first feature film, Cronos, in 1993 – a fable about a girl’s deep bond with her vampiric grandfather. Continued here S9 Leading science cities by the numbers Beijing and Shanghai have made considerable progress since 2015, gaining on and overtaking some of the United States’ top science cities. Boston, New York and San Francisco have meanwhile fallen slightly in their output of science papers within the Nature Index. Changes to each of the leading five science cities’ adjusted Share since 2015 are shown below, along with a breakdown of the top collaborating institutions within each city. Because large network organizations, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, span multiple cities, we have counted their constituent bodies instead when calculating the number of institutions in the top 500 of the Index. All population statistics date from 2020. GDP per capita figures in Chinese cities date from 2021 and in US cities date from 2019. All currency data expressed in US dollars. Sources: Nature Index, National Bureau of Statistics of China, Statista, Science Cities (Savills, 2021), US Census Bureau; data analysis: Bo Wu; infographic: Tanner Maxwell, Simon Baker and Benjamin Plackett Continued here S23 James Webb space telescope uncovers chemical secrets of distant world – paving the way for studying Earth-like planets Since the first planet orbiting a star other than the Sun was discovered in 1995, we have realised that planets and planetary systems are more diverse than we ever imagined. Such distant worlds – exoplanets – give us the opportunity to study how planets behave in different situations. And learning about their atmospheres is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Nasa’s James Webb space telescope (JWST) is the largest telescope in space. Launched on Christmas Day 2021, it is the perfect tool for investigating these worlds. Now my colleagues and I have used the telescope for the first time to unveil the chemical make-up of an exoplanet. And the data, released in preprint form (meaning it has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal), suggests some surprising results. Continued here S11 Women and LGBTQ+ people aren’t tokens — don’t treat them as such Gwen Grinyer is an associate professor of physics at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. Conferences need to be more diverse — but organizers must be cautious about how they achieve diversity.Credit: Getty Continued here S28 Afghanistan: after a year of Taliban government, women are more oppressed than ever The recent announcement that women and girls in Afghanistan have been banned by the Taliban government from visiting parks and gyms – even if accompanied by a male “chaperone” – has understandably been greeted with outrage. The UN special representative in Afghanistan for women, Alison Davidian, said it was “yet another example of the Taliban’s continued and systematic erasure of women from public life,” adding, “We call on the Taliban to reinstate all rights and freedoms for women and girls.” Continued here S26 'This case has made legal history’: young Australians just won a human rights case against an enormous coal mine In a historic ruling today, a Queensland court has said the massive Clive Palmer-owned Galilee Basin coal project should not go ahead because of its contribution to climate change, its environmental impacts, and because it would erode human rights. The case was mounted in 2020 by a First Nations-led group of young people aged 13 to 30 called Youth Verdict. It was the first time human rights arguments were used in a climate change case in Australia. Continued here S8 Tackle systemic racism to diversify health care and clinical research Health-equity researcher Tung Nguyen guides several anti-racism efforts at the University of California, San Francisco.Credit: Susan Merrell Science is steeped in injustice and exploitation. Scientific insights from marginalized people have been erased, natural-history specimens have been taken without consent and genetics data have been manipulated to back eugenics movements. Without acknowledgement and redress of this legacy, many people from minority ethnic groups have little trust in science and certainly don’t feel welcome in academia — an ongoing barrier to the levels of diversity that many universities claim to pursue. Continued here S22 Groceries delivered in 60 minutes: it's on the cards but just not yet From the food replicator in Star Trek to Dumbledore summoning food in Hogwarts’ banquet hall, we love the idea of instant food on demand. This week, Australian supermarket giant Coles appealed to that love by announcing a pick-and-collect service that takes less than 60 minutes, shaving 30 minutes off its existing promise. Continued here S17 The Wagyu Olympics: The quest for the world's best beef There's a unique competition in Japan that's reminiscent of the Westminster Dog Show, where animals are celebrated for their beauty, breeding and other attributes. But unlike their canine comrades, this contest is about food, these animals are cows, and the winning breeders get the opportunity to sell their cattle and carcasses to the best restaurants and butchers in the world at the highest price. This is the Japanese Wagyu Olympics, and these are high "steaks". But that's only half of the story. Continued here S3 Why indecision makes you smarter In the TV series The Good Place, the character Chidi Anagonye is defined by his inability to make even the simplest of decisions – from choosing what to eat, to proclaiming love for his soulmate. The very idea of making a choice often results in a serious stomach-ache. He is stuck in continued ‘analysis paralysis’.  We meet Chidi in the afterlife, and learn that his indecisiveness was the cause of his death. While standing in the street, endlessly equivocating on which bar to visit with his best friend, an air-conditioning unit from the apartment above falls on his head, killing him instantly.  Continued here S35 World Cup 2022: heat on Qatar diverts attention from Fifa's failure to tackle proven corruption Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 men’s football World Cup has provoked a fair degree of anger and confusion. Why, many have asked, was the tournament awarded to a country with such a poor record on human rights in general and LGBTQ+ rights in particular? Allegations of corruption within the process by which Qatar was awarded the tournament have also been much discussed. However, with all the heat Qatar is taking, there’s a danger that proven corruption at Fifa and its subsequent failure to reform may not receive the attention it deserves. Continued here S33 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reclaims the myth of an African utopia Black Panther is set in the fictional country of Wakanda. The creation of the Wakandan African identity has been a contentious issue. Borrowing aspects of cultures from around Africa, it presents the world with a confusing sense of “Africaness”. Wakanda is an amalgamation of African ethnic groups, with its “indigenous” outfits and symbols: cowry shells adornments, grass skirts, decorative scarring and lip plates. The average viewer won’t know that the language being spoken is Xhosa, a South African language, or that some of the garments are made with Ghanaian Kente cloth and designs. Continued here S30 Banksy’s copyright battle with Guess – anonymity shouldn’t compromise his legal rights Fresh from providing war-torn Ukraine with a series of murals, Banksy recently used his Instagram account to channel frustrations with a more domestic concern. The elusive artist has accused fashion retailer Guess of exploiting his artwork without consent. He posted a picture of the brand’s flagship store, which showcased clothes incorporating some of his iconic pieces (including the Flower Thrower and Flying Balloon Girl), and invited shoplifters to attack it, saying, “They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?” Continued here S16 Four health-conscious cities putting pedestrians first When the initial wave of Covid prevented indoor gatherings in most countries around the world, many cities responded by quickly reimagining what life could look like outside. Some introduced pedestrian-only streets, turned parking spots into pop-up restaurants and added more bike lanes – transforming once car-filled areas into walking- and cycling-friendly spots. The changes paid dividends, not just in increased economic activity, but studies also showed the virus may spread less quickly in highly walkable neighbourhoods. And while many places have now rolled back these initiatives as life returns to the new normal, some cities have held fast to their pedestrian improvements and have been pushing for even more car-free spaces. Continued here S25 View from The Hill: The Bell report on Morrison's multi-ministries provides a bad character reference Former High Court judge Virginia Bell does not describe Scott Morrison as a megalomaniac. But the picture she paints neatly fits the dictionary definition of “someone who has an unnaturally strong wish for power and control”. Bell’s report into Morrison’s extraordinary action of installing himself into five portfolios reinforces what has already been the general condemnation of his contempt for political conventions, and his reprehensible behaviour towards colleagues. Continued here S2 The rising curiosity behind open relationships Dedeker Winston has been in non-monogamous relationships for more than a decade, yet she has never seen such keen interest in open relationships. The subject has traditionally been very taboo in many places, including the US, where Winston is based. In 2014, when she started the Multiamory podcast, she and her co-producers had to decide whether to use their real names on the ethnical non-monogamy show. “At that point, there was pretty much only one or two other podcasts actually broaching this subject,” says the dating coach. “And the people who were producing and hosting those podcasts used pseudonyms.”  Continued here S10 A guide to the Nature Index The Nature Index is a database of author affiliations and institutional relationships. The index tracks contributions to research articles published in 82 high-quality natural-science journals, chosen by an independent group of researchers. The Nature Index provides absolute and fractional counts of article publication at the institutional and national level and, as such, is an indicator of global high-quality research output and collaboration. Data in the Nature Index are updated regularly, with the most recent 12 months made available under a Creative Commons licence at natureindex.com. The database is compiled by Nature Portfolio. Continued here S24 Coalitions, kingmakers and a Rugby World Cup: the calculations already influencing next year’s NZ election Winston Peters has declared New Zealand First won’t join a governing coalition with Labour after the 2023 election. He wants to win back those who abandoned him in 2020 by effectively saying a vote for him isn’t a vote for another Labour-led government. But he didn’t explicitly back National either. In reply, National leader Christopher Luxon was evasive but didn’t rule out working with Peters. As in 2017, when Bill English led National, Luxon may be willing to negotiate. He may have to. Continued here S7 Melbourne’s science output will take time to recover from the pandemic Daniel Pejic is a research fellow in international urban migration, and a PhD researcher in the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne. Melbourne has an international reputation for food, culture, sport and as a great place to live. The Australian city was ranked 10th in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index 2022, a list it topped between 2011 and 2017. But perhaps less recognized is its position as one of Asia-Pacific’s leading science cities. According to an analysis of author affiliations in Nature Index, which measures output in 82 high-quality natural-science journals, it has retained its spot as Australia’s highest ranked city for scientific research, ahead of Sydney and Brisbane. Continued here S32 The best fiction of 2022: Zoe Gilbert’s Mischief Acts and reclaiming the myths of the natural world Every culture, by and large, has its myths of the natural world. There are myths of the forests, myths of the seas and rivers, myths of the deserts, mountains and jungles. Some of these myths, like some of the ancient creation stories, predate culture as we currently understand it. They are stories through which we, the dominant species on this planet, negotiate our relationship with the plants and animals we share this space with. They lend the natural world a sense of enchantment – a sense that the world is a place of magic and mystery. Continued here S13 Specialized cities The ability of researchers to move between institutions, especially across borders, is a key driver of success for many nations. This is especially salient with regard to early-career researchers, who often cut their teeth as PhD students abroad before pursuing work elsewhere. Sometimes these scientists return home after establishing careers elsewhere and China in particular is seeing increasing numbers returning. Its cities, with their clusters of research and industrial expertise, are reaping the benefits. An analysis of output in 2021 by leading cities and metropolitan areas in the 82 selected natural-sciences journals tracked by the Nature Index shows Beijing maintaining its position as the world’s leading science city. Beijing’s strong performance in areas such as physical sciences and chemistry could now be helping other Chinese hubs to increase their output of high-quality science through intra-city research collaboration. Continued here Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Followers Blog Archive ►  2024 (7) ►  August (1) ►  May (2) ►  April (3) ►  March (1) ►  2023 (432) ►  December (9) ►  November (25) ►  October (20) ►  September (33) ►  August (72) ►  July (6) ►  June (77) ►  May (12) ►  April (2) ►  March (8) ►  February (85) ►  January (83) ▼  2022 (115) ►  December (13) ▼  November (10) November 30, 2022 - In praise of research in funda... November 27, 2022 - Media go for drama on Victoria... November 27, 2022 - Forward Thinking on the fragil... November 26, 2022 - Audio long read: Science and t... November 26, 2022 - The 2022 Bali G20 declaration:... November 25, 2022 - Al-Shabaab: sensational media ... November 7, 2022 - The blind skateboarder challeng... Nightmares Can Be Silenced With a Single Piano Cho... Nightmares Can Be Silenced With a Single Piano Cho... 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