Building brands and fan relationships through social media : the case of the Grand Slam tennis events : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sport and Exercise at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Social media have become pervasive parts of society and modern consumer culture. However, sports scholars have noted a distinct lack of knowledge and understanding related to their use among sports properties. This thesis, through the novel use of a modified circuit of culture framework (du Gay, Hall, Jones, McKay & Negus, 1997) explores how Facebook and Twitter were utilised by the four Grand Slam tennis events (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and U.S. Open) to build their brands and relationships with fans. A unique multi-perspectival, multi-method approach involving semi-structured interviews, a content analysis of Facebook and Twitter posts, and online surveys provided rich sources of data. The findings reveal that these events are deliberately and proactively using social media. It is apparent that social media aid in two key functions: (1) a facilitator of socialisation and emotional connections, and (2) a cultivator of brand image and brand experience. Furthermore, two unique challenges were identified: (1) providing value and meeting fan expectations, and (2) organisational adaptability. Importantly, this research has significant practical and scholarly implications, providing one of the first empirical examinations into how social media assist sports event brands in brand management efforts. Social media are shown to be sites that provide opportunities for practitioners to create a quasi-virtual brand experience, representing an online substitute for the live event. This particular aspect represents a unique finding and an aspect that is of particular relevance for sports event brands. In addition, this study was one of the first to employ a multi-method approach, framed within the circuit of culture, in sports-related social media research. The use of this approach revealed the need to modify the circuit of culture with a centralised moment of “prosumption” for future social media related studies. It is proposed that this approach would be transferable to other sports contexts, advancing the research agenda of sport management scholars

A study of stainless steel as a material of construction for a molten salt reactor

The aim of this work was to investigate the corrosion of stainless steel within a molten salt, with the possibility that it could be used as a construction material within a molten salt fuelled nuclear reactor. Four different metal compositions were used; stainless steel 316L, stainless steel 304L, LDX2101 and iron, and these were tested in two different molten salts, LiCl-KCl-NaCl and KCl-NaCl at 600 and 750°C. Stainless steel 316L was tested for one day, one, three, four and six weeks. The samples were analysed using SEM/EDX and XRD. It was found that in general, a lithium containing spinel formed on the surface of the stainless steel, LiCrO2, with a large percentage coverage. As immersion time increased the bulk also showed signs of attack. The three week test showed the formation of five different corrosion products and analysis suggests they are a combination of numerous mixed oxides. The three week test was subsequently repeated and showed the formation of a lithium containing spinel as observed in the one week test. Further testing investigated the role of lithium in the formation of the protective layer, a LiCrO2 layer formed on stainless steel 316L in the presence of a ternary salt, whereas mixed oxides were generally observed in the binary salt. Again an anomalous result was obtained in the three week binary test, where a tabular crystal containing sodium iron and oxide was formed. Finally compositional changes were examined, and the subsequent effect they had on the corrosion layer. It was found that increasing the chromium content does not necessarily increase the surface coverage and it is likely that other elements aid in the formation of the protective layer. From the results obtained in this work it is possible that with extensive research a stainless steel, which has been specifically designed, could be utilised within a molten salt reactor

The effects of team-skills training on transactive memory and performance

The existence of effective Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) in teams has been found to enhance task performance. Methods of developing Transactive Memory (TM) are therefore an important focus of research. This study aimed to explore one such method, the use of a generic team-skills training programme to develop TM and subsequent task performance. Sixteen three-member teams were all trained to complete a complex collaborative task, prior to which half the teams (n=8), completed a team-skills training programme. Results confirmed that those teams who had been trained to develop a range of team skills such as problem-solving, interpersonal relationships, goal setting and role allocation, evidenced significantly higher team skill, TM and performance than those who were not trained in such skills. Results are discussed with reference to the wider TM literature and the mechanisms through which team-skills training could facilitate the more rapid development of TM

The Hair Dilemma: Conform to Mainstream Expectations or Emphasize Racial Identity

Throughout American history, skin color, eye color, and hair texture have had the power to shape the quality of Black people\u27s lives, and that trend continues today for Black women in the workplace

Implementing School-Based Services: Strategies From New Mexico's School-Based Health and Extended Learning Services

Based on discussions with policy makers and educators, outlines strategies for providing family supports, health care, and extended learning activities in schools. Suggestions include enhancing behavioral and mental health programs and staff support

Being first matters: topographical representational similarity analysis of ERP signals reveals separate networks for audiovisual temporal binding depending on the leading sense

In multisensory integration, processing in one sensory modality is enhanced by complementary information from other modalities. Inter-sensory timing is crucial in this process as only inputs reaching the brain within a restricted temporal window are perceptually bound. Previous research in the audiovisual field has investigated various features of the temporal binding window (TBW), revealing asymmetries in its size and plasticity depending on the leading input (auditory-visual, AV; visual-auditory, VA). We here tested whether separate neuronal mechanisms underlie this AV-VA dichotomy in humans. We recorded high-density EEG while participants performed an audiovisual simultaneity judgment task including various AV/VA asynchronies and unisensory control conditions (visual-only, auditory-only) and tested whether AV and VA processing generate different patterns of brain activity. After isolating the multisensory components of AV/VA event-related potentials (ERPs) from the sum of their unisensory constituents, we run a time-resolved topographical representational similarity analysis (tRSA) comparing AV and VA ERP maps. Spatial cross-correlation matrices were built from real data to index the similarity between AV- and VA-maps at each time point (500ms window post-stimulus) and then correlated with two alternative similarity model matrices: AVmaps=VAmaps vs. AVmaps≠VAmaps. The tRSA results favored the AVmaps≠VAmaps model across all time points, suggesting that audiovisual temporal binding (indexed by synchrony perception) engages different neural pathways depending on the leading sense. The existence of such dual route supports recent theoretical accounts proposing that multiple binding mechanisms are implemented in the brain to accommodate different information parsing strategies in auditory and visual sensory systems

Sleep and Stress Management in Enlightenment Literature and Poetry

‘Sleep and Stress Management in Enlightenment Literature and Poetry’ argues that the stresses known to disrupt sleep were often associated with unhealthy lifestyles and pressures of fashionable people of the upper classes, with the lower orders thought to be less susceptible to broken sleep because of their healthier modes of living. Highly popular poems such as Dr Edward Baynard’s comical Health, A Poem (1719), and Dr John Armstrong’s The Art of Preserving Health: A Poem (1744) gave medical lifestyle advice in an entertaining literary form that sugared the pill of dull lifestyle recommendations and treatments

Dual-beam interference from a lensed multicore fiber and its application to optical trapping

A multicore all-fiber probe is demonstrated that has been fabricated using an electric arc fusion splicer. Interference of the fiber output when coherent light is coupled into two cores is investigated. The properties of the fringes created when the fiber is probing different media were found to be in general agreement with a beam propagation method simulation. Optical manipulation of microspheres near to the end of the probe is examined and the potential for controlled trapping explored. Polymer microspheres with diameters of 2 microns were formed into regular patterns due to the presence of the interference fringes. (C)2012 Optical Society of America</p

Deaths in custody in Australia: National Deaths in Custody Program 2011–12 and 2012–13

Abstract: The data presented in this report include frequencies of deaths in prison and police custody and information regarding the deceased, including demographic information and cause of death. Long term trends are also presented. In 2011–12 and 2012–13, there were 144 deaths in custody, 73 in 2011–12 (42 prison custody; 31 police custody and custody-related operations) and 71 in 2012–13 (53 prison custody; 18 police custody and custody-related operations). At June 30 2013 the total prison population in Australia was 30,775 (including 8,430 Indigenous prisoners; 27%). More than two-thirds of deaths in prison were due to natural causes (n=64), most commonly cancer. Hanging deaths accounted for 19 percent (n=17) of prison custody deaths. The number of police custody deaths in 2012–13 dropped significantly from 2011–12 and is the lowest recorded since the definition of police custody deaths was expanded in 1990