An Examination for the Marketing Strategy of the World Rally Championship

In 2000, International Sportsworld Communicators Ltd. (ISC) acquired a ten year exclusive commercial rights agreement for the World Rally Championships. Previously the sport attracted a low level of media exposure. ISC planned to market the WRC with the intention of gaining a top five position as a global sports television brand. The main aim of the present study is to examine the marketing strategy of the WRC by ISC. In particular, this study focuses on the strategies taken to increase the Pan European TV coverage for the WRC. ISC identified television as the priority channel for building audience and the brand. The study is a ‘live case study’ that allowed the researcher to monitor and evaluate the process on site, and on an onging basis over a three-year time frame, 2001-2003. The data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with representatives from 5 different groups, namely ISC Management, Broadcasters, Key Teams, FIA and Event Organisers. Analysis of the interviews found the ISC marketing strategy to be broken down into four phases (a) Research (b) Development and planning (c) Execution and (d) Evaluation and revised strategy. Four meta-themes, Television, Management, Global Entertainment Brand and other media also emerged from the analysis. The strategic phases and meta-themes are discussed in relation to the successes and failures of the ISC and the future of the WRC

The Tree of Life and Courageous: Comparative Analysis on Faith-Based Filmmaking

This thesis analyzes the story structure of two films, The Tree of Life (2011) and Courageous (2011), and their similarities and differences in storytelling and Christian themes. Using screenwriting scholar Robert McKee’s theories on story structure, this comparative analysis highlights the plot elements, conflicts, dialogue, and overall execution of the two films in order to identify their agreement or disagreement with establishing screenwriting theory. By providing a specific example of analysis between two films, this thesis provides insight as to how Christian faith can be portrayed in films produced by non-Christian and evangelical filmmakers. This insight bridges a divide in the faith-based film industry between mainstream and evangelical filmmakers seeking to ask spiritual questions in their work. In this time period in particular, as both filmmakers are finding critical and financial success with films dealing with Christian faith, this insight presents a standard for using established story structure to tell compelling spiritual stories

Identifying Factors That Influence the Continuing Education Choices of Municipal Police Officers

This study was conducted in an attempt to identify factors that influence the continuing education choices of municipal police officers. By examining factors such as tuition reimbursement, educational incentive pay, CEO education level, higher education standards for promotion and hiring, rank, and length of service, policy recommendations can be made to positively impact education levels among municipal police officers. In phase one of analysis, levels of organizational education were presented along with each variable’s presence in each department. Aggregate data is provided to give the reader an overview of higher education incentives and attainment within the County. In phase two, data related to officers education levels (current and upon hiring) was used to conduct a binary logistic regression, which shed light on how independent predictor variables influenced the officers who continued their education during their employment and those who did not. These sub groups were then compared to several independent variables which may or may not influence continuing education. Each factor’s influence was determined using binary logistic regression. Factors positively influencing continuing education in municipal police officers were identified, while controlling for other variables, and recommendations were made regarding best practices for creating an environment that facilitates continuing education

Using Maximum Power as a Variable for 1RM Prediction in the Squat and Bench Press

Many Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coaches utilize a one-rep max (1RM) exercise test to gauge the maximal strength of athletes, and then prescribe resistance training programs based on a relative percentage of 1RM to obtain strength or power adaptations. However, many S&C coaches have raised questions regarding the safety and necessity of a 1RM test. Attempts to mitigate the weaknesses of 1RM testing have led to other methods of testing including repetition max testing (3RM, 5RM, 10RM, etc.) as well as load/velocity profiling. The main purpose of this study is to determine if 1RM can be accurately estimated from maximal power outputs at submaximal loads. This study consisted of 28 Division I athletes (male=18, female=10). Subjects were tested for 1RM in the squat (S) and bench press (BP) exercises and followed up with maximal power testing at a range of submaximal loads. Power outputs and velocities were measured using a Tendo® Power Analyzer V-316 electronic device. Significant correlations were found between average power (AP) and 1RM for both males and females in both exercises. Percent 1RM (%1RM) intensities had stronger correlations to actual 1RM (r=0.93, 0.92, 0.91, 0.88) than percent bodyweight (%BW) intensities (r=0.90, 0.87, 0.86, 0.73). However, %BW intensities still possessed adequate correlations to use in the model to predict 1RM with good accuracy. The results from this study indicate that 1RM’s can be accurately predicted from AP measures at submaximal intensities. This method of estimating 1RM may be optimal for athlete safety and most practical for use by S&C coaches

The Use of MTAs to Control Commercialization of Stem Cell Diagnostics and Therapeutics

The recent focus on patents as a hindrance to stem cell research may turn out to be a red herring. The real culprits are material transfer agreements (MTAs), which govern the transfer of cell lines and other biological materials. The MTA’s primary purpose in life sciences research is to set contractual rights and obligations between parties where one party transfers biological materials to the other. For example, MTAs often focus on the physical handling, use, and distribution of the materials by the recipient, ensuring that the recipient complies with regulations for research involving humans or animals. Although these interests are legitimate, evidence indicates that owners of important biological research materials use their non-patent property rights to require recipient consent to arguably onerous MTAs, which include provisions governing intellectual property rights (IPR). When an intended recipient’s institution refuses to sign the MTA, the researcher cannot access the biological materials, and in some cases cannot pursue her research. One must understand the interaction between physical property rights and IPR in MTAs to achieve a proper balance among (1) rewarding innovators, (2) reducing obstacles to next generation innovators, and (3) ensuring that the public receives benefits in exchange for public research funding. Part II of this Article works through the details of this interaction by placing life sciences MTAs in the context of a broader technology distribution model that I call the “lease-license model.” Part III examines Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation’s (WARF) and WiCell Research Institute’s (WiCell) current dominant control of the stem cell research environment as a case study in the power of MTAs to control life sciences research. Part III also discusses some of the important counterbalancing government rights that can be used to provide for relatively unfettered research. Part IV subsequently analyzes the impact that the current WARF/WiCell legal position will have on research funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). In conclusion, Part V suggests legal strategies for moving beyond the current WARF/WiCell controlled research environment

The Tree of Life and Courageous: Comparative Analysis on Faith-based Filmmaking

This thesis analyzes the story structure of two films, The Tree of Life (2011) and Courageous (2011), and their similarities and differences in storytelling and Christian themes. Using screenwriting scholar Robert McKee’s theories on story structure, this comparative analysis highlights the plot elements, conflicts, dialogue, and overall execution of the two films in order to identify their agreement or disagreement with established screenwriting theory. Results from this analysis indicate how both films align with and diverge from McKee’s theories, finding in conclusion that these motion pictures not only provide insight on differences in portraying Christian faith in film but also the importance of dramatizing conflict in filmmaking. This insight bridges a divide in the faith-based film industry between mainstream and evangelical filmmakers seeking to ask spiritual questions in their work

The Evolution and Future of E-Books: A Major Shift In Technology

Since their creation in 1971 by Michael Hart, e-books have steadily progressed into a major part of our technological landscape through the diffusion of innovations. The technology of e-books and e-readers has only further progressed into the current media landscape of how we read books. The e-book and e-reader technology will only continue at a more rapid pace of heavily impacting the future of book reading exponentially with further adaption of this technology

Hired to Invent vs. Works Made for Hire: Resolving the Inconsistency Among Rights of Corporate Personhood, Authorship, and Inventorship

This Essay focuses on the interrelation of three legal doctrines that affect the allocation of ownership and attribution of products of the human mind. The first, corporate personhood, grants corporations rights of personhood similar to those of natural persons. The second, the work-made-for-hire doctrine (WMFH) under copyright law, allocates ownership and attribution for copyrightable works to the employer of the natural-person author—even where that employer is a nonnatural, legal person such as a corporation. And the third, shop rights and the hired-to-invent exception, permits courts to grant equitable licenses or assignments to employers for their employees’ inventions. These three doctrines have very different backgrounds and rationales. Yet, they are increasingly brought to bear simultaneously in innovative firms where creative works are developed that include copyrightable and patentable elements. The inconsistency in these doctrines and their application, even when written agreements between creators and corporate persons exist, is leading to uncertainty and litigation. This problem is likely to get only worse as corporations develop more “convergence” products that contain copyrightable and patentable elements, such as video games and smartphone applications. Accordingly, this Essay argues that Congress should amend both the Copyright Act and the Patent Act to harmonize the ownership and attribution allocation rules, while expressly preempting shop rights and the hired-to-invent exception under state common law. This harmonization would center on allocating ownership of inventions and works of authorship to corporations, while still allocating attribution inalienably to inventors and authors. In this way, firms would get the ownership rights they need to justify investment in the inventions and works, as well as to facilitate orderly development, manufacturing, and distribution of products embodying the inventions and works. At the same time, creators would be able to retain attribution rights crucial for their professional development and credentials. The Essay briefly reviews corporate personhood in Part II. It then outlines the background context and current state of the law governing authorship in Part III and inventorship in Part IV. Finally, Part V proposes that: (1) the WMFH provision in the Copyright Act be amended to grant inalienable attribution rights to the natural-person creators of copyrightable works; and (2) the Patent Act be amended to add a WMFH provision for patentable inventions that expressly preempts shop rights and the hired-to-invent exception under state common law, while also granting inalienable attribution rights to natural-person inventors of patentable inventions

Strengthening Auditor Independence: Reestablising Audits as Control and Premium Signaling Mechanisms

As recent scandals have demonstrated, ensuring the independence of auditors from the publicly traded clients whose books they inspect is one of the most vexing problems in the financial world today. Arguably, the imposition of a mandatory audit system through the 1930s federal securities laws created the modern problem of auditor independence. The core issue is that the statutory audit is simply a commodified cost of doing business for issuers that imposes an impossible obligation to serve an unspecified “investing public” on the auditors. Yet, this investing public neither hires, fires, nor controls the auditors. Instead, the audit relationship is managed by the board of the company being audited. The resultant conflict of interest has proven to be insurmountable even after multiple reform efforts. The conceptual solution is to both “decommodify” the audit and place control of it squarely in the hands of shareholders. To achieve this, the author proposes a tripartite remedy: first, the SEC should retire its “statutory audit” rules under the 1934 Securities Exchange Act (while retaining the public offering audit requirements of the 1933 Securities Act) in favor of market-driven private audits; second, state corporations law or federal securities law should be altered to give an express audit right to shareholders that they would exclusively control, with expenses reimbursed by the company; and third, the licensing and regulation of CPAs must be strengthened and either harmonized or unified

The Overlooked French Influence on the Intellectual Property Clause

The Intellectual Property Clause (“IP Clause”) of the US Constitution has long been a puzzle for courts and commentators. It authorizes Congress to secure exclusive property rights for authors and inventors, but it does not use the terms “patent” or “copyright,” and its objects of “Science” and “useful Arts” do not cleanly map onto the subject matter of current patent and copyright systems. As the Supreme Court has noted, under popular usage of the terms “arts” and “science,” one would expect patents to promote science and copyrights to promote arts, yet we know from the historical record that exactly the opposite is the case. Other terms, such as “progress” and “discoveries,” remain contested. IP Clause interpretations to date rely exclusively on British legal and intellectual antecedents. I argue that the great French Encyclopédie project—a landmark of the mid-eighteenth-century Enlightenment—provides crucial context to the IP Clause. James Madison, a drafter of the IP Clause, owned and approvingly cited the work. Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were enthusiastic advocates of the Encyclopédie. The Encyclopédie has as its twin goals the promotion of progress in science and in mechanical (useful) arts. I argue that the reliance of early courts and commentators on British antecedents to interpret the federal patent and copyright statutes led to an improperly narrow sense of the context of the IP Clause. Using entries from the Encyclopédie on “art,” “science,” “discoveries,” “inventions,” “writers/authors,” and other relevant topics, I propose a new interpretation of the IP Clause that is more coherent and compelling than existing accounts