Title: Doping and management in elite sport Objectives: The main aim of this diploma thesis is to find the opinions of the cardinal representatives from professional sport, i.e. top sports officials and elite sportsmans, to doping, who may have the different attitudes to this issue from their position and roles. Methods: In this diploma thesis were used two methods for collection of data. Specifically, the method of questionnaires and semi-structured interview method. Mixed type of research was selected due to deeper into the issue. In the diploma thesis was also used the method of analysis or comparison, mostly to gather sufficient information for the development of theoretical foundations of work. Results: Results of mixed research are interpreted in the research of this diploma thesis. The results of this study found the opinion of the cardinal representatives from professional sport, sports managers and the elite sportsmans, to doping. The results can serve as a basis for future research in this area, for example, when comparing the sports company to the general public, as to whether individuals who show more willingness in the use of doping, they have a different attitude to their body and health than individuals who do not want to show this willingness. Keywords: doping, management, sports...

O termo talento esportivo é utilizado comumente para descrever pessoas que possuem grande aptidão para o desempenho em determinada modalidade esportiva. Com isso, tem-se a ideia de que o talento diz respeito a o potencial para o desenvolvimento e a parte inata do sujeito ao manifestar determinada habilidade. O tema talento esportivo é bastante estudado no cenário mundial, tendo em vista que presume quais seriam as circunstâncias ideais para o desenvolvimento de atletas talentosos. Contudo, por ser um tema abrangente, há dificuldade em sumarizá-lo e estabelecer um consenso quanto ao que, de fato, pode intervir no desenvolvimento de um atleta talentoso. Desta forma, os objetivos do presente estudo foram: levantar o estado da arte dos artigos que abordam o talento esportivo que foram publicados no biênio de 2017 e 2018, sumarizar as principais características, contribuições e as modalidades esportivas mais abordadas pelas pesquisas disponíveis e ajudar no desenho de futuros estudos, identificar potências e fragilidades sobre o TE. Para isto, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática nas bases de dados: Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, Google Scholar e Pubmed em busca de artigos que tratem sobre talento esportivo. Espera-se que as sínteses das informações contribuam para o debate, no sentido de oferecer uma compreensão global e comparativa quanto ao assunto. Através do processo de revisão, foram selecionados 75 artigos os quais garantiram grande variedade de informações, 44 deles abordavam estudos relacionados ao desenvolvimento do talento; 23 artigos tratavam sobre a detecção do talento; 07 artigos referiam-se à seleção do talento e finalmente, 1 artigo abordou a identificação e desenvolvimento do talento. Concluí-se que os aspectos fisiológicos, psicológicos, bem como fatores intrínsecos se correlacionam nos processos de seleção, detecção e desenvolvimento do talento esportivo, sendo necessários mais estudos com ideal epistemológico que abordem o assunto / The term sports talent is used to describe people who have great fitness for performance in some sporting modality. With this, one has the idea that talent refers to the potential for the development of a part of the subject when manifesting a skill. The sport talent theme is well studied on the world stage, in order to presume which are the ideal circumstances for the development of a sport talent. Why, a comprehensive problem, a difficulty in summarizing and establishing a consensus as to what, in fact, can be a problem of developing a skill. In this way, the objectives of this study were: Raise the state of the art to approach the sports talent that was published in the biennium of 2017 and 2018, to help the project of an future studies, identify potencies and fragilities in the sport talent. To that purpose, was made an systematic review on some databases: Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, Google Scholar and Pubmed searching for articles about sport talent. It is hoped that the sintesis of the information can help on the academic discussions, there is a sense of global and comparative understanding of the subject. Through the review process, 75 articles were selected that guaranteed a wide variety of information, 44 had their studies related to the development of talent; 23 articles dealt with the detection of talent; 07 articles referred to the selection of talent and finally, 1 article addressing the identification and development of talent. Finally, it is concluded that the physiological, psychological, and intrinsic factors are related in the process of selection, detection and development of sports talent. More studies with an epistemological ideal are needed

Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation may improve recovery from competitive endurance training by reducing symptoms of central and peripheral fatigue. The purpose of this dissertation was to provide evidence for the use of BCAAs as a training nutrition strategy in order to improve recovery from training and further drive adaptive processes to training by increasing readiness to train. Collegiate distance runners undergoing intense competitive endurance training were monitored for symptoms of muscular soreness and psychological stress through a rated soreness chart and the Daily Analysis of Life Demands for Athletes Survey (DALDA) while taking either a BCAA supplement or a placebo. When on the BCAA supplement, athletes reported significantly fewer symptoms of psychological stress and reduced muscular soreness. These results point to the importance of nutrient bioavailability, specifically BCAAs, on recovery parameters when undergoing intensive training. This concept was also demonstrated in a case study on a trained distance runner who underwent intensive training for an ultra-endurance marathon. Running kinematics were assessed using Kinovea open-sourced software (Version 0.8.15) during a series of constant-paced endurance runs while on the BCAA supplement or a placebo. We observed a reduction in vertical oscillation when the runner was on the BCAA supplement, indicating improved muscle recovery and therefore efficiency of movement. Improving recovery by reducing global central and peripheral fatigue symptoms may increase readiness to train and further promote desired training adaptations.

Bakgrund Så kallat femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) är en överbelastningsskada som är vanligare hos idrottande individer jämfört med icke idrottande individer. Huruvida individer diagnosticerade med FAI enligt riktlinjerna från The Warwick agreement uppvisar lägre muskulär styrka jämfört med kontralateral sida eller kontrollgrupp är i dagsläget inte utforskat. Syfte Syftet med den här studien är att klargöra huruvida individer med FAI uppvisar lägre muskulär styrka eller inte. Metod En systematisk review i enlighet med PRISMA-guidelines genomfördes. Studier som undersökt muskelstyrka med antingen handhållen dynamometer eller motordriven dynamometer och uppfyllde inklusionskriterierna inkluderades. Kvalitén på studierna och den samlade evidensen bedömdes utifrån GRADE-systemet. Resultat Detta arbete inkluderar sex studier och visar att individer med FAI uppvisar lägre isometrisk höftstyrka i samtliga rörelseriktningar för höftleden jämfört med kontrollgrupp. Inom individer med FAI är den affekterade sidan svagare vid isometrisk höftstyrka i flexion, extension, adduktion och inåtrotation. Avseende isokinetisk höftstyrka är individer med FAI svagare i koncentrisk/excentrisk flexion, koncentrisk/excentrisk extension, inåtrotation och utåtrotation jämfört med kontrollgrupp. Inom individer med FAI är den affekterade sidan svagare vid isokinetisk höftstyrka i koncentrisk/excentrisk flexion och i koncentrisk extension, men starkare i excentrisk extension. Konklusion Individer med FAI uppvisar lägre höftstyrka jämfört med asymtomatisk kontralateralsida och med kontrollgrupp både vid isometriska och isokinetiska mätningar av höftstyrka. Graden av patofysiologi och ålder på forskningspersonerna påverkar resultatet vid mätning av muskelstyrka inom denna population.

This thesis investigated pupil and staff experiences of a curricular sports programme known as the Scottish School of Sport (SSoS). Participation in these types of sports programmes is a promising avenue to foster what is known as Positive Youth Development (PYD; Holt, 2008). PYD is based on a strengths-based model, in which youth are seen as having the ability to develop and enhance socially desirable characteristics. As greater responsibility is placed within the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) for enhancing aspects commonly associated with PYD such as social and emotional well-being, it is essential to understand how school provision may develop these characteristics. The majority of research involving sport and youth development is cross-sectional and quantitative in nature, with very few studies drawing on qualitative evidence. In addition, research involving curricular sports programmes such as the SSoS, and their ability to foster aspects of PYD is limited. This research employed a sequential multi-phase mixed methods design consisting of three phases (QUAL→QUAN→QUAL). The three phases of research began with an exploratory design, which sought to understand the research context through documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with associated SSoS staff (Phase 1) and then to investigate pupil PYD reports with a longitudinal quantitative design that was comprised of two survey questionnaires (Phase 2). The final phase (Phase 3) was explanatory in nature and utilised semi-structured interviews with pupils both enrolled and not enrolled in the SSoS; these interviews sought explanations for the results which emerged from the previous two phases. A further extension phase, which analysed Tweets and the physical environment of the school, was devised to add further depth to findings from the earlier data collection. Findings overall indicated that while participation in the SSoS was a positive and engaging experience for most pupils, it was unclear if the pupils perceive the positive outcomes to be transferrable to other contexts, which was a key overarching aim of the SSoS. Programme ‘selection’ appeared to be a self-validating factor for increases in pupils’ confidence in their athletic ability. With recent requirements such as ‘playing for the school team’ added to the programme documentation, the SSoS has, perhaps unwittingly, taken on a ‘sports-plus’ approach, where the developmental aims have become secondary to sport performance. This research adds to the continuing conversation regarding the possible developmental nature of sport programmes and the continued search for positive avenues in which to enhance social and emotional development and HWB in the school context.

Title: Methods of artificial intelligence and their use in prediction Author: Lubomír Šerý Department: Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics Supervisor: Ing. Marek Omelka, Ph.D., Department of Probability and Mathe- matical Statistics Abstract: In the presented thesis we study field of artificial intelligence, in par- ticular we study part dedicated to artificial neural networks. At the beginning, concept of artificial neural networks is introduced and compared to it's biological base. Afterwards, we also compare neural networks to some generalized linear models. One of the main problems of neural networks is their learning. Therefore biggest part of this work is dedicated to learning algorithms, especially to pa- rameter estimation and specific computational aspects. In this part we attempt to bring in an overview of internal structure of neural network and to propose enhancement of learning algorithm. There are lots of techniques for enhancing and enriching basic model of neural networks. Some of these improvements are, together with genetic algorithms, introduced at the end of this work. At the very end of this work simulations are presented, where we attempt to verify some of the introduced theoretical assumptions and conclusions. Main simulation is an application of concept of neural...