A Path to Peace: Thoughts on Olympic Revenue and the IOC/USOC Divide

U.S. Public Law 95-606 (otherwise known as the Amateur Sports Act), passed in 1978, has contributed significantly to the relationship between the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the past thirty years. Exclusive rights to the use of Olympic marks and emblems in the U.S. territory granted to it in the Amateur Sports Act were leveraged by the USOC to obtain amounts of Olympic generated revenue from the sale of television rights fees and major corporate sponsorships far larger than any of the other National Olympic Committees (NOCs) recognized by the IOC. This privileged financial position has become a divisive issue for the USOC, IOC, and the world’s 204 other NOCs. The IOC and USOC have agreed to commence discussions towards the establishment of a revised method to distribute Olympic revenue to members of the Olympic Tripartite (IOC, NOCs, and International Sport Federations). We suggest broadening this discussion to include a move to increase the amount of money from these sources transferred to Olympic Organizing Committees (OCOGs) to support a more formalized legacy plan for Olympic athletic facilities in host cities, and adding a new sponsor category to the existing corporate sponsorship program, The Olympic Partners (TOP), to enhance the IOC’s commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. We also propose a new formula for the distribution of Olympic television and corporate sponsorship revenue as a means of contributing to this dialogue that must target a mutually acceptable resolution in order to foster a more harmonious working relationship between the IOC and USOC

Perceptions of OUA men\u27s basketball coaches on the value of intercollegiate athletics and their role as educators.

This study utilized qualitative methods to examine the perceptions of twelve Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men\u27s head basketball coaches. The value of intercollegiate athletics, and the coach\u27s role as an educator were the subjects\u27 perceptions under inquiry. Using qualitative interviews as the data collection method, the researcher attempted to provide the coaches with a voice to express their experiences as the gatekeeper of the intercollegiate athletic experience. Coaches\u27 perceived that both the academic institution and the student-athlete were beneficiaries of the OUA intercollegiate athletic system. They also universally identified a commitment to fulfill a role as an educator to enhance this value to both their school and their players. Finally, the coaches identified the types of obstacles that exist within the OUA coaching environment, and potential solution\u27s to these problems. The discussion centres around the demonstrated uniqueness, complexity and diversity among the coaches with respect to the job that they performed, as well as in their philosophical approach to the educator role. A continuum representing the amount of personal responsibility assumed by each coach in their student-athletes\u27 educational endeavours was created by the researcher. The twelve coaches under study were represented by four levels identified within the central portion of the continuum, while a literature review identified two extremes that exist within the intercollegiate coaching profession. These findings further supported the use of qualitative methods as a reasonable and viable means of research protocol in coaching studies. The researcher then critically examined the implications of future directions intercollegiate athletics in Ontario may undertake, and the approaches that could be utilized to maintain the focus on the educational experience of the student-athlete.Dept. of Kinesiology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1998 .E42. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-02, page: 0333. Adviser: John Corlett. Thesis (M.H.K.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1998

The impact of realistic environmental chemical exposure on male gonadal development and reproductive health

Continuing declines in human male reproductive health are of increasing concern. Many believe low-dose exposure to vast numbers of chemicals through the environment, particularly during fetal development, are a contributary factor in this decline. To address limitations with traditional, component-based methodologies of assessing chemical mixtures, this research utilised a unique, ovine based, whole-mixture exposure model. This model was used to investigate the impact of gestational exposure to realistic numbers of chemicals, at appropriately low doses, on male reproductive development. The research detailed herein characterises exposure-induced changes to the testes of neonatal, pre-pubertal, and adult male offspring of mothers exposed to an environmental chemical mixture prior to and during pregnancy. A testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS)-like phenotype was described in neonatal and prepubertal testes. This TDS-like phenotype was complemented by transcriptomic analyses which showed an extremely high degree of similarity between the testicular transcriptome of the affected pre-pubertal male offspring and those of human TDS patients. While this phenotype was not apparent in the same manner by adulthood, morphological and transcriptomic alterations were still apparent. This both exemplifies the potential for xenobiotic exposure during fetal development to impact reproductive health in later life, despite the cessation of exposure at birth, and indicates periods of post-partum vulnerability to xenobiotic exposure crucial to the persistence of or recovery from the TDS-like phenotype. Further investigations following transcriptomic analyses identified perturbations in the transcription, activation, and/or nuclear localisation of various transcription factors. Of these, there is supporting evidence that one (HIF1α) may have an important role in the pathogenesis of the TDS-like phenotype, while another (CREB1) may facilitate an amount of post-exposure recovery and might also be important in determining susceptibility or resistance to developing the TDS-phenotype. Overall, these findings strengthen the increasing evidence that gestational exposure to realistic levels and mixtures of environmental chemicals can have a negative impact on male reproductive health and provides leads for future investigations into the pathogenesis of TDS

Caring for Infants in Out-of-Home Care in New South Wales: Carers' Perspectives

This report presents the findings of an online survey and individual interviews which explored the experiences of carers providing out-of-home care to infants in New South Wales. While there is increasing research related to the care of children and young people requiring OOHC, there is comparatively less specifically related to the care of infants. Survey data was collected from 142 carers in NSW providing OOHC to infants, and 13 individual interviews were conducted to gain insight to their experiences

Pragmatic Conventionalism and Sport Normativity in the Face of Intractable Dilemmas

We build on Morgan’s deep conventionalist base by offering a pragmatic approach (‘transitionalism’) for achieving normative progress on sports most intractable problems (e.g. performance enhancement restrictions, collision sport dangers, competitive classification discord). Our account picks up where Morgan suggests disparate normative communities 'default' to inferior yet functionally 'pragmatic' resolutions to conflict. Pragmatic resolutions, we contend, offer normative substance by providing the means to move beyond intellectual stalemates by re-orientating our normative efforts relative to the three cornerstones of Morgan’s deep conventionalism: the nature and status of different sporting conventions; the difference between conflicts of an ‘intramural’ and ‘extramural’ kind; and what constitutes a resolution to sporting disagreements

Use Case and Application Requirements for a Protocol Lifecycle Tracking Tool, with a Focus on the Trial Initiation Phase

The time required to initiate clinical trials, from declaration of the investigator’s intent to opening of the study for participant accrual, is cited as often being so long that clinical research is seriously impeded. Efforts to improve operational efficiency of trial initiation are confounded by the work flow complexity and the variations encountered with different types of trials and institutional environments. A computer Protocol Lifecycle Tracking (PLT) tool would enable study initiation staff to manage the process, and the various clinical research stakeholders to monitor the progress of a study’s initiation, as well as obtain data on the work flow to identify those activities that are in need of operational efficiency improvement. The objective of our work was to develop use cases and system requirements for a PLT tool. The result of our study is a use case document that can serve as the specifications for developing a PLT application