DO INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS SUBSIDIES CORRELATE WITH EDUCATIONAL SPENDING? AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF PUBLIC DIVISION-I COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Intercollegiate athletics are a prominent feature of American higher education. They have been characterized as the “front door” to the university due to their unique ability to draw alumni and other supporters to campus. It is often supposed that the exposure from high-profile athletics produces a number of indirect benefits including greater institutional prestige. Such exposure comes at a cost, however, as most Division I athletics programs are not financially self-sufficient and receive institutional subsidies to balance their budgets. At present, it is unclear how institutions budget for athletics subsidies or whether the recent increases in subsidies have impacted the overall financial picture of colleges and universities. Prior research has shown that athletics subsidies and student tuition and fees are not significantly correlated for public Division I institutions, which suggests the possibility that institutions have reallocated funds from other core areas to athletics. In this dissertation, the relationship between athletics subsidies and one of the most important core areas of the university – education and related activities – was examined. This relationship was investigated using fixed-effects structural equation models to analyze a panel dataset of public Division I institutions. It was found that total athletics subsidies (school funds and student fees) per student and education and related spending per student were positively correlated. This suggests that rather than decrease educational spending, institutions that increase total athletics subsidies have simultaneously increased their educational expenditures. However, in the analyses involving the more restrictive definition of athletics subsidies, it was shown that athletics subsidies from school funds was not correlated with educational spending. The results also provided some evidence that differences in the relationship between athletics subsidies and educational spending exist according to Carnegie classification and level of athletics competition. The findings from this study have a number of implications for higher education policy and future research. The absence of a negative relationship between athletics subsidies and educational spending suggests that athletics subsidies are not associated with decreases in educational spending that could ultimately harm the quality of education provided by colleges and universities. Furthermore, the existence of a positive correlation between athletics subsidies and educational spending and the fact that core revenues were controlled for in the models suggest the possibility that institutions have redirected funds from other areas to support education and athletics

Sizes of Order Statistical Events of Stationary Processes

Given a process {X1}, any permutation δ : [1, n] → [1, n] determines an order statistical event A(δ) are needed to form a union whose probability exceeds 1 - ε? This question is answered in the case of stationary ergodic processes with finite entropy

A Growth Curve Analysis of Mandatory Student Athletics Fees

This study used growth curve modeling to estimate the growth trajectory of mandatory student athletics fees at public NCAA Division I universities from 2004–2016. We specifically focused on three measures of athletics fees; total athletics fees, athletics fees per FTE, and athletics fees as a percentage of total student costs. We found that in general the growth trajectory of athletics fees was positive, but that the rate of growth has declined over the years. We also found that on average less than 5% of student costs are directly attributable to athletics fees and that the growth trajectory of athletics fees differs significantly based on NCAA Division I subdivision affiliation. These findings have implications for policymakers and commentators interested in the role athletics fees play in college student costs

Loss tolerant linear optical quantum memory by measurement-based quantum computing

We give a scheme for loss tolerantly building a linear optical quantum memory which itself is tolerant to qubit loss. We use the encoding recently introduced in Varnava et al 2006 Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 120501, and give a method for efficiently achieving this. The entire approach resides within the 'one-way' model for quantum computing (Raussendorf and Briegel 2001 Phys. Rev. Lett. 86 5188–91; Raussendorf et al 2003 Phys. Rev. A 68 022312). Our results suggest that it is possible to build a loss tolerant quantum memory, such that if the requirement is to keep the data stored over arbitrarily long times then this is possible with only polynomially increasing resources and logarithmically increasing individual photon life-times

Cascading parallel fractures on Enceladus

Active eruptions from the south polar region of Saturn's small (~500 km diameter) moon Enceladus are concentrated along a series of lineaments known as the `tiger stripes', thought to be partially open fissures that connect to the liquid water ocean beneath the ice shell. Whereas aspects of the tiger stripes have been addressed in previous work, no study to date simultaneously explains why they should be located only at the south pole, why there are multiple approximately parallel and regularly spaced fractures, and what accounts for their spacing of ~35 km. Here we propose that secular cooling and the resulting ice shell thickening and global tensile stresses cause the first fracture to form at one of the poles, where the ice shell is thinnest due to tidal heating. The tensile stresses are thereby partially relieved, preventing a similar failure at the opposite pole. We propose that subsequent activity then concentrates in the vicinity of the first fracture as the steadily erupted water ice loads the flanks of the open fissure, causing bending in the surrounding elastic plate and further tensile failure in bands parallel to the first fracture, leading to a cascading sequence of parallel fissures until the conditions no longer permit through-going fractures.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

The role of chair exercises for older adults following hip fracture

Objectives. To examine the influence of regular participation in chair exercises on postoperative deconditioning in respect of selected physiological, psychological and anthropometric variables.Design. Quasi-experimental, non-randornised control group pre-test/post-test design where test group (N = 20) and control group (N = 10) were not equivalent because random selection and assignment were not possible.Subjects. Patients discharged from an orthopaedic ward 8 - 10 days after hip surgery who were cognitively competent (mean score on Mini-Mental State Examination 26 (SO 3.5)), sedentary (mean score on Habitual Physical Activity Questionnaire for the Elderly 7.4 (SO 3.3)) women aged 70 years and above (mean 80 (SO 6.6) years).Setting. Hip fracture patients admitted to a multidisciplinary geriatric hospital for further medical observation.Measurements. Abstraction of medical records provided information about co-morbidities and questionnaires assessed demographic, affective and cognitive function. Physiological, psychological and anthropometric status was measured pre- and post-intervention.Results. Data revealed high variability, suggesting that the effect of the independent variable was obscured by the heterogeneity of the cohort. Both groups improved similarly in grip strength, and in levels of depression and confidence. Body composition data explained the weight maintenance as a consequence of significant gains in fat-free mass in the experimental group. The significant change in systolic blood pressure and heart rate over the exercise and recovery period suggested that the 6-week period of moderate-intensity exercise was adequate to stimulate cardiovascular adaptations.Conclusions. Whether or not the submaximal chair exercise regimen was of optimal benefit remains unclear. However, the intervention did appear to have contributed to the maintenance of the physical condition of older  women temporarily disabled as a result of a fracture and subsequent hip surgery

Optically-pumped dilute nitride spin-VCSEL

We report the first room temperature optical spin-injection of a dilute nitride 1300 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) under continuous-wave optical pumping. We also present a novel experimental protocol for the investigation of optical spin-injection with a fiber setup. The experimental results indicate that the VCSEL polarization can be controlled by the pump polarization, and the measured behavior is in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions using the spin flip model. The ability to control the polarization of a long-wavelength VCSEL at room temperature emitting at the wavelength of 1.3 μm opens up a new exciting research avenue for novel uses in disparate fields of technology ranging from spintronics to optical telecommunication networks. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Gene regulatory networks in lactation: identification of global principles using bioinformatics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The molecular events underlying mammary development during pregnancy, lactation, and involution are incompletely understood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mammary gland microarray data, cellular localization data, protein-protein interactions, and literature-mined genes were integrated and analyzed using statistics, principal component analysis, gene ontology analysis, pathway analysis, and network analysis to identify global biological principles that govern molecular events during pregnancy, lactation, and involution.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Several key principles were derived: (1) nearly a third of the transcriptome fluctuates to build, run, and disassemble the lactation apparatus; (2) genes encoding the secretory machinery are transcribed prior to lactation; (3) the diversity of the endogenous portion of the milk proteome is derived from fewer than 100 transcripts; (4) while some genes are differentially transcribed near the onset of lactation, the lactation switch is primarily post-transcriptionally mediated; (5) the secretion of materials during lactation occurs not by up-regulation of novel genomic functions, but by widespread transcriptional suppression of functions such as protein degradation and cell-environment communication; (6) the involution switch is primarily transcriptionally mediated; and (7) during early involution, the transcriptional state is partially reverted to the pre-lactation state. A new hypothesis for secretory diminution is suggested – milk production gradually declines because the secretory machinery is not transcriptionally replenished. A comprehensive network of protein interactions during lactation is assembled and new regulatory gene targets are identified. Less than one fifth of the transcriptionally regulated nodes in this lactation network have been previously explored in the context of lactation. Implications for future research in mammary and cancer biology are discussed.</p