Salary determination in the National Hockey League: The development of an equitable player compensation model.

Nowhere else in North America is the performance of an employee so readily visible and so easily measured than in the sport of professional ice hockey (Banister, 1997). Although the performance of professional athletes may be objectively measured and compared by the vast quantities of statistics compiled by sports analysts, controversy still surrounds whether their individual efforts justify their salaries (Banister, 1997, p. 47). NHL salaries have become so disparate in recent years that it is quite common for certain \u27marquee\u27 players to earn 10--20 times the salary of other players competing on the same team (Banister, 1997). With 50% of the salary money being claimed by the top 10% of players (Hale, 1994), one must question the effectiveness of the current NHL compensation system in terms of its ability to distribute players\u27 earnings in an objective and equitable manner. This study utilized a modified Delphi methodology to elicit participation from a panel of 16 hockey experts in as to what variables should be important in determining the salary of a NHL forward. Based on these results, the researcher proposed a compensation model that is predicated upon the theoretical underpinnings of Employee Equity. The implementation of an objective and equitable means of determining a player\u27s economic livelihood may have considerable implications for improved labour relations, cost-containment, competitive parity, and resultantly, fan support in the National Hockey League.Dept. of Kinesiology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2003 .D59. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 42-02, page: 0433. Adviser: Robert L. Boucher. Thesis (M.H.K.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2003

Evaluation of the Effects of Single Season Wild-Strain Mallard Releases on Local Breeding Population Densities

In 1993, to determine if wild-strain mallard releases could be used as a management practice to increase local mallard breeding populations, I released 2,344,4.5- week-old mallard ducklings (1,200 females and 1,144 males) to wetlands on 12,10.4-km2 sites (approximately 200 per site, 100 females, 100 males) in the North Dakota Prairie Pothole Region. I monitored the release sites to determine if any relationship existed between site characteristics and time of release to duckling survival estimates. I conducted breeding pair surveys during 1994 and 1995 on treatment and paired control sites to compare post-release population levels. Lastly, I analyzed return data and habitat use, and conducted behavioral experiments to determine if wild-strain mallards experienced higher mortality rates and if any observed differences could be explained by behavior. In 1994,1 observed 55 of the nasal saddled ducklings returning as adult fem ale to the release sites. In 1995, only 5 nasal saddled females were observed, both on treatment and control sites. No difference was observed hi breeding pair populations on treatment and control sites in 1994 (P = 0.18) and 1995 (P = 0.59). Hard-released wild-strain mallard females had lower survival rates than wild (P = 0.01) and modified gentle-release wild-strain females (P = 0.05). Ail wild-strain females were virtually eliminated from the population by year 4. This suggests that these buds may have been more vulnerable to predation and other mortality factors than wild females. Breeding wild and wild-strain mallard females reacted similarly to human approach, but when flushed, wild females flew farther than wild-strain females (P = 0.0002). Wetlands used by wild-strain females differed from wild females during breeding by type (P \u3c 0.0001) and cover (P = 0.0003) classification. Wild-strain females selected larger, more permanent wetlands exhibiting less emergent vegetation than did wild counterparts. These differences may help to explain why wiki-strain mallard releases did not increase local breeding populations. The lack of band recoveries for wild-strain females during the latter years when viewed in the context of the observed behavioral differences suggests that these birds were unable to adapt to conditions in the wild

"New" and distributed leadership in quality and safety in healthcare, or "old" and hierarchical? : An interview study with strategic stakeholders

Peer reviewedPostprin

ANALYSIS OF BORROWER AND LENDER USE OF INTEREST ASSISTANCE ON FSA GUARANTEED FARM LOANS

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 made permanent the interest assistance program for the Farm Service Agency's guaranteed loans, authorized a significant increase in funding for the program, and targeted funding for beginning farmers and ranchers. The research presented here provides a basic descriptive analysis of past use. In particular, borrower data for Federal fiscal years 1985 through 2002 are examined in several dimensions. These dimensions include geographic, borrower type, lender type, interest rate differentials, percent guarantee, and the status of the loan as to whether a loss claim was paid or the loan remained active. Even though the program has been in existence for more than 15 years, little is known about its impact and utilization. This research is an initial step in documenting usage of the program.Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance,

STING at the nuclear envelope: novel partners contribute to innate immune responses

The innate immune response (IIR) is the first line of defence against pathogen infection and relies on the recognition of pathogen associated molecules by host cell sensors. STING (STimulator of INterferon Genes) is the essential adaptor protein in IIRs triggered by the recognition of cytoplasmic double-stranded DNA, a potent signal of pathogen infection or host cell DNA damage. Most STING resides in the endoplasmic reticulum and propagates IIR signalling cascades upon binding the second messenger, cGAMP, produced by the upstream cytosolic DNA sensor, cGAS. However, STING was initially identified as a nuclear envelope transmembrane protein and yet the function of STING within the nuclear envelope has been relatively understudied. Therefore, in this study I sought to investigate STING localisation and functions within the nuclear envelope. The nuclear envelope is a double membrane system comprising inner and outer nuclear membranes and, in this thesis, I present work showing for the first time that STING is present in both the inner and outer membranes by immunogold electron microscopy. Moreover, live-cell microscopy of GFP-tagged STING reveals that it increases mobility and redistributes to the outer nuclear membrane upon IIR stimulation by transfected dsDNA or the dsRNA mimic poly(I:C). Previously, immunoprecipitation of STING from isolated nuclear envelopes coupled with mass spectrometry identified a nuclear envelope-STING proteome consisting of known nuclear membrane proteins and enriched in DNA- and RNA-binding proteins. Seventeen of these nuclear envelope STING partners are known to bind direct interactors of the immune transcription factors, IRF3/7, and so it was hypothesised that these proteins could contribute to IIR through STING at the nuclear envelope. Therefore, I interrogated a subset of these for a role in IIR, finding that STING partners SYNCRIP, MEN1, DDX5, SNRNP70, RPS27A, and AATF are novel modulators of dsDNA triggered IIR. Moreover, through siRNA-mediated knockdown and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing I found that SYNCRIP is a novel antagonist of the RNA virus, influenza A virus, potentially shedding light on reports of STING-mediated inhibition of RNA viruses. Thus, the work presented in this thesis expands our knowledge of STING’s role in IIR and adds to a growing literature which shows that STING’s functions are more extensive than its role in the cytoplasmic DNA sensing pathway

Picoradian deflection measurement with an interferometric quasi-autocollimator using weak value amplification

We present an "interferometric quasi-autocollimator" that employs weak value amplification to measure angular deflections of a target mirror. The device has been designed to be insensitive to all translations of the target. We present a conceptual explanation of the amplification effect used by the device. An implementation of the device demonstrates sensitivities better than 10 picoradians per root hertz between 10 and 200 hertz.Comment: To be published in Optics Letter

AN APPROACH TO THE QUANTITATION OF IMMUNOGENIC ANTIGEN

Using passively administered isotope-labeled anti-KLH to suppress the antibody response of rabbits to KLH, we have attempted to estimate the amount of antigen actually involved in stimulating antibody formation. Single and paired label tracer studies of passively administered anti-KLH IgG indicated that from 0.7 to 2.9 µg were utilized or involved by the antigen in the course of a 90% suppression of the response to 2 mg KLH. Tracer studies of labeled anti-KLH F(ab')2 fragments revealed the retention of from 2 to 3 µg of these fragments in the entire rabbit during a 60% suppression of the response to 1 mg KLH. Based on previously determined ratios of mixtures of KLH and suppressive amounts of anti-KLH in adjuvant, the antibody utilization data were converted to the probable amount of antigen or immunogen involved. It appears that after an injection of 2 mg of KLH approximately 0.2–0.5 µg of antigen persisted and reacted with antibody given 24 hr later. Since all of this persisting, reactive antigen may not be immunogenic, the above estimate of immunogen is probably high, but may serve to establish upper limits for the amounts of immunogen involved in stimulating antibody formation and provide a meaningful frame of reference for antigen tracer studies