The Motivational Factors that Influence Rugby Fandom in The United States

The purpose of this research was to understand the different factors that affect varying levels of rugby fandom. Rugby is currently very popular worldwide but faces extreme competition in the United States, especially from football. This research is important because it will help marketers and sport managers better understand fan motivation in rugby. This will allow them to better market and grow the sport in the United States to compete with American sports. A sample of 111 participants from a small private college in New York was surveyed for this study. The survey contained primarily quantitative questions, with one open ended quantitative question to end the survey. Participants were asked about the factors that motivate them to follow sport in general and what factors might lead them to follow rugby if they don’t already. Socialization and excitement of the game were found to be the highest rated motivational factors. It was also found that there was a significant difference in how men rated violence and sport higher than women, implying that rugby may struggle generating a female fanbase because of its physical and violent nature. In the analysis of the qualitative data one of the most common themes was that American sports fans compare rugby to football which reinforces the heavy competition from football in the United States. Many fans also commented on the physicality of the game, for some it was a turnoff to the sport and to others it made the sport more exciting. Other fans felt that, while expressing some interest in the sport, it was confusing and difficult to follow as well as hard to gain access to. These results show that the biggest challenge to rugby will likely be competition from other sports. As of right now there is no significant outlet for rugby in the US which makes it hard to find for potential fans. American audiences will need greater exposure to the sport in order to develop a better understanding of the game and generate fandom

After-School Programs for High School Students: An Evaluation of After School Matters

Evaluates outcomes for teens in Chicago's After School Matters apprenticeship-like program, finding statistically significant benefits on some measures of youth development and reduced problem behaviors but not in job skills or school performance

Identification of cellular automata based on incomplete observations with bounded time gaps

In this paper, the problem of identifying the cellular automata (CAs) is considered. We frame and solve this problem in the context of incomplete observations, i.e., prerecorded, incomplete configurations of the system at certain, and unknown time stamps. We consider 1-D, deterministic, two-state CAs only. An identification method based on a genetic algorithm with individuals of variable length is proposed. The experimental results show that the proposed method is highly effective. In addition, connections between the dynamical properties of CAs (Lyapunov exponents and behavioral classes) and the performance of the identification algorithm are established and analyzed

On the He II Emission In Eta Carinae and the Origin of Its Spectroscopic Events

We describe and analyze Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of transient emission near 4680 {\AA} in Eta Car, reported earlier by Steiner & Damineli (2004). If, as seems probable, this is He II $\lambda$4687, then it is a unique clue to Eta Car's 5.5-year cycle. According to our analysis, several aspects of this feature support a mass-ejection model of the observed spectroscopic events, and not an eclipse model. The He II emission appeared in early 2003, grew to a brief maximum during the 2003.5 spectroscopic event, and then abruptly disappeared. It did not appear in any other HST spectra before or after the event. The peak brightness was larger than previously reported, and is difficult to explain even if one allows for an uncertainty factor of order 3. The stellar wind must provide a temporary larger-than-normal energy supply, and we describe a special form of radiative amplification that may also be needed. These characteristics are consistent with a class of mass-ejection or wind-disturbance scenarios, which have implications for the physical structure and stability of Eta Car.Comment: 47 pages (including all appendices, tabs, & figs), 9 figures, 3 tables; submitted to Astrophysical Journal (2005 March 29), accepted for publication in Ap