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Signal occlusion by building blockages is a doubleedged sword for the performance of millimeter-wave (mmW) communication networks. Buildings may dominantly attenuate the useful signals, especially when mmW base stations (BSs) are sparsely deployed compared to the building density. In the opposite BS deployment, buildings can block the undesired interference. To enjoy only the benefit, we propose a building-aware association scheme that adjusts the directional BS association bias of the user equipments (UEs), based on a given building density and the concentration of UE locations around the buildings. The association of each BS can thereby be biased: (i) toward the UEs located against buildings for avoiding interference to other UEs; or (ii) toward the UEs providing their maximum reference signal received powers (RSRPs). The proposed association scheme is optimized to maximize the downlink average data rate derived by stochastic geometry. Its effectiveness is validated by simulation using real building statistics.Index Terms-Millimeter-wave communications, building blockages, base station association, load balancing, average data rate, stochastic geometry.

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Over the past 30 years, researchers studying group dynamics in sport have provided insight regarding the importance of considering a team’s environment, structure, and processes for its effective functioning. An emergent property resulting from activities within the group is cohesion. Cohesion is a dynamic property reflecting members’ perceptions of the unity and personal attractions to task and social objectives of the group. Generally speaking, cohesion remains a highly valued group property, and a strong body of evidence exists to support positive links to important individual and group outcomes such as adherence and team performance. Given the importance attached to cohesion and other group variables for sport teams, coaches and athletes often attempt to engage in activities that facilitate group functioning. Team building is a specific approach designed to facilitate team effectiveness and individual members’ perceptions of their group. Cohesion has been the primary target of team-building interventions in sport, although recent work on team-building outcomes suggested that the effects of these interventions on cohesion may be limited. The most effective team-building approaches include a goal setting protocol, last at least two weeks in duration, and target a variety of outcomes in addition to cohesion, including individual cognitions and team performance. There is a clear need to identify a team’s requirements prior to intervening (i.e., a targeted approach), consider a variety of approaches to team building, and investigate the effects of team building via more stringent research methods.

University student-athletes have reported difficulties balancing the rigors of academics, athletics, and their personal lives (Heller, Bloom, Neil, & Salmela, 2005). These challenges may be exacerbated for first-year athletes who are transitioning from high school and often living away from home for the first time. Given that coaches significantly influence their athletes' experiences (Bloom, Falcão, & Caron, 2014), their coaching styles and support may ease this transition process. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to investigate university coaches' perceptions, experiences, and strategies used with first-year university student-athletes. Eight highly successful and experienced Canadian university coaches were individually interviewed. The interview data was analyzed with thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The results revealed that coaches' ultimate goal of helping their athletes succeed in life after university influenced their coaching practices throughout the athletes' entire university experience from first year to graduation. Coaching first-year athletes started with recruiting individuals who were highly skilled and who would fit in with the other athletes on their team both on and off the field. Once selected, coaches began building trusting relationships with their first-year athletes that were supported by the leadership skills of their senior athletes and by incorporating team building activities into training. Coaches developed their first-year athletes' athletic skills by creating training programs that addressed each players' weaknesses. At the same time, coaches ensured their academic success by monitoring their progress and encouraging the use of academic resources that were available from their university. The coaches also attended to their athletes' personal needs which resulted from coaching individuals who were living away from home for the first time and who were susceptible to social opportunities that could distract them from their academic and athletic responsibilities if not carefully monitored by the coaches. In sum, this study adds to the body of literature of effective coaching practices for university coaches by providing one of the first empirical accounts of coaching first-year student-athletes. The current results benefit both coaches and athletes by highlighting the common challenges of a first-year university athlete, as well as by offering useful strategies that can help resolve such challenges and ease this transition process.iii Résumé Les étudiants-athlètes universitaires ont de la difficulté à équilibrer les rigueurs associées aux études, aux sports et à leurs vies personnelles (Heller, Bloom, Neil, & Salmela, 2005). Ces défis peuvent être exacerbés pour les étudiants-athlètes de première année qui sont en transition du secondaire à l'université et qui vivent souvent loin de leur domicile pour la première fois. É tant donné que les entraîneurs influencent l'expérience de leurs athlètes (Bloom, Falcão, & Caron, 2014), leurs styles d'entraînement et de...