If you build it,will they come?: A case study of digital spaces and brand in the National Basketball Association

This case addresses the relationship between sport and digital spaces by introducing students to strategic marketing processes related to developing a team-managed fan website. The case was created in conjunction with three former members of the Cleveland Cavaliers who helped create www.cavfanatic.com, the official fan site of the team. Key areas addressed within the case study are brand development, brand communication, and brand extension. The case follows a new hire, Natalie, as she joins the new media team of www.cavfanatic.com. The sport marketers she works with review the development of the website and provide information on the strategic development process they went through. In the end, Natalie is charged with looking forward and developing further strategies to continue to engage the Cavaliers fans and to develop the CavFanatic brand.     

Characterizing the mechanical parameters of forward and backward falls as experienced in snowboarding

Wrist injuries are frequently observed after falls in snowboarding. In this study, laboratory experiments mimicking forward and backward falls were analysed. In six different falling scenarios, participants self-initiated falls from a static initial position. Eighteen volunteers conducted a total of 741 trials. Measurements were taken for basic parameters describing the kinematics as well as the biomechanical loading during impact, such as impact force, impact acceleration, and velocity. The effective mass affecting the wrist in a fall also was determined. The elbow angle at impact showed a more extended arm in backward falls compared to forward falls, whereas the wrist angle at impact remained similar in forward and backward falls. The study results suggest a new performance standard for wrist guards, indicating the following parameters to characterize an impact: an effective mass acting on one wrist of 3-5 kg, an impact angle of 75 degrees of the forearm relative to the ground, and an impact velocity of 3 m/s.     

Response to intervention as a vehicle for distinguishing between children with and without reading disabilities: Evidence for the role of kindergarten and first-grade interventions

Children at risk for early reading difficulties were identified on entry into kindergarten, and half of these children received small-group intervention two to three times a week during their kindergarten year. The other half received whatever remedial assistance was offered by their home schools. These children were again assessed at the beginning of first grade, and those who continued to have difficulties in reading received either one-to-one daily tutoring offered by project teachers from the beginning to the end of first grade or whatever remedial assistance was offered by their home schools over the same time period. All target children were periodically assessed through the end of third grade. Results suggest that either kindergarten intervention alone or kindergarten intervention combined with first-grade intervention are both useful vehicles for preventing early and long-term reading difficulties in most at-risk children.     

Assumptions underlying performance‐based budgeting

Abstract

Interest in ‘performance budgeting’ is growing despite a lack of research on its effectiveness. U.S. states have largely used ‘incremental’ and ‘formula’ budgeting processes to fund higher education. However, more than half of them are experimenting with some form of ‘performance budgeting’. There have been similar attempts to reform budget practices in the U.S. in the past, but most of these processes have been largely abandoned. Governmental ‘performance budgeting’ for higher education assumes policy objectives are stable, complex decisions on budget trade‐offs can be made at governmental levels on the basis of data, institutions operate as bureaucracies, resources can be linked to outcomes, outcomes are identifiable and can be agreed upon, accountability can be achieved through budget policies, and current practices create incentives to enrol unqualified students. These assumptions are not realistic. Consequently, ‘performance budgeting’ will not meet proponents expectations and will suffer the fate of past budget fads.     

The Role of Agricultural Consultants in New Zealand in Environmental Extension

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand the role that agricultural consultants in New Zealand were undertaking in the Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) system—and in particular in relation to environmental extension. New Zealand does not have a public extension service and hence there is a strong reliance on consultants and regional councils for environmental management information and advice. As they are independent of the formal RD&E system there is no guarantee that RD&E outcomes are reaching farmers, nor that effective environmental extension is occurring. The study used a combination of case studies, phone interviews with informed persons and a national web survey to explore the role of the consultant. The study found that agricultural consultants are playing an important role in working with farmers to improve agricultural production. There are, however, indications that gaps have developed over time between agricultural consultants and the agricultural research sector which limit the effectiveness of the RD&E system. Agricultural consultants are playing a minimal role in proactive environmental extension because insufficient market forces are driving this role. The paper suggests that a national database of agricultural consultants could improve the flow of tailored information between research and agricultural consultants and also suggests mechanisms where consultants could be better integrated into the RD&E system and provide feedback to research programs. Market failure in the area of environmental extension could be addressed by publicly funded incentive programs.