The greatest enjoyment for spectators occurs when "opponents are perceived as hated foes, rather than as good friends or as neutral opponents."Sports commentators frequently publicize upcoming sports contests and add "color" to the play-by-play coverage of televised sportscasts by highlighting relationships of amity or, more characteristically, of enmity between opposing players or teams. Animosity, if not plain hatred, is apparently seen as an especially strong drawing card, and bitter team rivalry is traditionally flaunted in sportscasts and in the sports press alike when, for example, Alabama plays Auburn in college football, Kentucky plays Indiana in college basketball, the Oakland Raiders play the New England Patriots in professional football, or when the Philadelphia Flyers play the Boston Bruins in professional hockey. Interpersonal animosity also rates headlines, as the promotion or coverage of numerous classic" confrontations amply illustrates. One is reminded of Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston or Joe Frazier in boxing, Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Bruno Sammartino in wrestling, Jimmy Connors vs. Ilie Nastase in tennis, or A1 Cowens vs. Ed Farmer in baseball.

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Near misses and losses disguised as wins have been of interest to gambling researchers and policymakers for many years (e.g., Griffiths in J Gambl Stud 9(2):101–120, 1993). This systematic literature review describes the behavioural, psychological, and psychobiological effects of near misses and losses disguised as wins (LDWs) in an effort to evaluate their precise influence on the player and to highlight areas requiring further investigation. A systematic search for relevant studies was conducted using Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, ProQuest Sociology databases, and the Gambling Research Exchange Ontario Knowledge Repository. A total of 51 (from an initial pool of 802) experimental peer-reviewed studies using human participants were found between 1991 and 2015. The systematic review revealed that near misses motivate continued play, but have varying effects on the emotional state or betting behaviour of the player. Near miss events were also shown to be associated with elevated skin conductance levels and diffuse activity across the brain, most consistently in areas processing reinforcement and reward. Re-examination of the studies of near misses events after classifying the type of game feedback suggested that the effectiveness of near misses is related to the phenomenology of a near miss itself rather than as a response to auditory or visual feedback provided by a slot machine. In contrast to near misses, the presence of LDWs was found to relate to an overestimation of how much a player is actually winning and was consistently viewed as an exciting event. The effect of LDWs appears to be driven by the presence of visuals and sounds most often associated with a true win. Practical implications and directions for future research are also discussed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10899-017-9688-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Noise from auxiliary power units (APU) is an important contributor to the overall level of ramp noise. Currently, ramp noise is regulated by international governing bodies as well as by individual airport. A significant component of APU noise is combustion noise. In this study, the unique spectral shape of APU combustion noise is identified. It is found that the spectral shape is the same regardless of engine size, power setting and directivity. Also, it is practically the same as that of open flame combustion noise. The frequency at the peak of the combustion noise spectrum is found to lie in the narrow range between 250 to 350 Hz. The peak sound pressure level of a given APU varies as the square of the fuel consumption rate. In the literature, suggestions have been made concerning a second combustion noise mechanism arising from the passage of hot entropy spots through the exhaust nozzle or constriction. In this investigation, no evidence has been found to indicate the existence of a second APU combustion noise component.

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