Thomas Peeters

Financial Fair Play in European Football

In 2010 UEFA, the governing body of European football, announced a set of financial restraints, which clubs must observe when seeking to enter its competitions, notably the UEFA Champions League. We analyze the financial and sporting impact of these “Financial Fair Play” (FFP) regulations in four major European football leagues. We first discuss the details of FFP and frame these regulations in the institutional setup of the European football industry. We then show how the break-even constraint imbedded in FFP could substantially reduce average payrolls and wage-to-turnover ratios, while strengthening the position of the traditional top teams. Since the benefits of the break-even rule to consumers remain unclear, we argue that these rent-shifting regulations might fall foul European competition law.

Vibrotactile feedback as a tool to improve motor learning and sports performance: a systematic review

Background Evidence concerning the use of vibrotactile feedback for acquiring and learning new motor skills is limited. Although various concepts and applications for tactile feedback have been proposed, little is known about the suitability of this feedback mechanism in sports training. Aim The goal of this systematic review was to gather knowledge on the efficacy of the use of vibrotactile feedback in improving sports performance skills. Design Systematic review. Methods Comprehensively searched databases were: PubMed, Cochrane and Web of Science. Studies investigating the effects of using vibrotactile feedback in sports training in healthy subjects were included in this review. Results No consensus was found regarding the positive effectiveness on performance using vibrotactile feedback in a sports context. No evidence was found that the addition of tactile feedback is effective for acquiring new motor skills. None of the studies show a significant learning effect.

Full Body Three Dimensional Joint Angles Validation Using TEA Ergo Inertial Measurement Units

Current literature shows the interesting opportunities of inertial measurement units (IMUs) for outdoor motion capturing. This study validated the accuracy of the TEA ergo IMU for full body joint angles tracking in diverse activities. One subject performed three exercises, consisting of a gait pattern, limb movements and cyclical arm movements. Comparison is Vicon infrared markers. For walking, the average root mean square error (RMSE) is 1.9° for flexion/extension, 2.6° for abduction/adduction and 3.7° for rotation angles. The accuracy of the IMU decreases for fast and complicated limb movements (RMSE ≤8.0°). However, these values are still acceptable, which demonstrates the applicability of the IMUs for use in various domains.

Assessment of Forces in Intradermal Injection Devices: Hydrodynamic Versus Human Factors

PurposeThe force that has to be exerted on the plunger for administering a given amount of fluid in a given time, has an important influence on comfort for the subject and usability for the administrator in intradermal drug delivery. The purpose of this study is to model those forces that are subject-independent, by linking needle and syringe geometry to the force required for ejecting a given fluid at a given ejection rate.Material and MethodsWe extend the well-known Hagen-Poiseuille formula to predict pressure drop induced by a fluid passing through a cylindrical body. The model investigates the relation between the pressure drop in needles and the theoretic Hagen-Poiseuille prediction and is validated in fifteen needles from 26G up to 33G suited for intradermal drug delivery. We also provide a method to assess forces exerted by operators in real world conditions.ResultsThe model is highly linear in each individual needle with R-square values ranging from 75% up to 99.9%. Ten out of fifteen needles exhibit R-square values above 99%. A proof-of-concept for force assessment is provided by logging forces in operators in real life conditions.ConclusionsThe force assessment method and the model can be used to pinpoint needle geometry for intradermal injection devices, tuning comfort for subjects and usability for operators.

A Test Setting to Enhance Bobsled Performance at Start Phase

This paper focuses on a test setting that could be used to enhance performance of bobsleigh teams. The collaboration of the teams plays an important role to maximize the performance during bobsleigh runs. We introduce a method to log forces at the start of the run. The setting is validated for 10 runs of nine pilot and brakeman duos. Runs with synchronized force peaks exhibit slight improvements in start speed (0.07 m/s) and start time (52 ms). These improvements are not significant. We provide recommendations for an improved test setting that could be used to collect data to retrieve those factors that mostly influence athletes’ performance in starting bobsleigh runs.

Custom Made Cycling Jerseys Prediction Based on Kinect Analysis for Improved Performance

Human factors of cycling jerseys allow supporting the performance of cyclists in terms of aerodynamics, biomechanics and physical comfort. Within this research, it is aimed to evaluate three contactless methods for predicting body measurements that allows selecting the size of a cycling jersey. The accuracy of 2D images, 3D markers and a 3D scan technique are compared to hand measurements. With respect to shoulder width, RSME is 2.8 cm for 2D images, 15.1 cm for markers and 8.5 cm for the full body scanner. The results suggest that 2D images may be a useful, low-cost and accurate method for predicting body size measurements of cycling clothing. A careful selection of body sizes or a combination thereof, can aid to enhance the accuracy of a contactless body size prediction for selecting the appropriate cycling jersey size.

The Inefficient Advantage of Experience in the Market for Football Managers

We study hiring in a labor market where worker ability can only be observed on-the-job, but quickly becomes public information after labor market entry. We show that firms in these markets have a socially inefficient incentive to hire low talented, experienced workers instead of more promising labor market entrants, either when an extremely poor hire may bankrupt the firm, or when workers cannot commit to long-term contracts. In a dataset covering 38 years of hiring in the English labor market for football managers, we find that in around one quarter of all cases, where a firm hires an experienced worker, this experienced worker has an estimated ability below the average ability of recent labor market entrants. We argue this hiring behavior is inefficient, because it has persistently depressed the average ability of the active manager labor force over our sample period.

Human Capital, Firm Capabilities, and Innovation

In this study, we empirically assess the contributions of inventors and firms for innovation using a 37-year panel of U.S. patenting activity. We estimate that inventors’ human capital is 5-10 times more important than firm capabilities for explaining the variance in inventor output. We then examine matching between inventors and firms and find highly talented inventors are attracted to firms that (i) have weak firm-specific invention capabilities, and (ii) employ other talented inventors. A theoretical model that incorporates worker preferences for inventive output rationalizes our empirical findings of negative assortative matching between inventors and firms, and positive assortative matching among inventors.

Accuracy and Efficiency Validation of a Helmet Mounted Vibrotactile Feedback System for Aerodynamic Head Position During Cycling

A pilot is presented to evaluate a helmet mounted vibrotactile feedback system (VFS) for managing head position during cycling by feedback to a subject when its head deviates from a preset aerodynamic position. The VFS measurements are validated with a Vicon motion capturing system. The effect of the VFS is compared with verbal instructions only. In 89.66% (P = 0.15) of all measurements, the VFS value is in accordance with the Vicon system. In 83.33% of the cases, the sensor correctly leads the subject to the predefined position after perturbation of the position. Changing the margin of error of VFS has little influence on the improvement of attaining the predefined position. The sensor accuracy and efficiency of retaining or resumption the predefined reference position indicates that it can be usable for time trialists, triathletes and track cyclists in attaining their aerodynamic head position.