The beautiful game? an econometric study of audiences, gambling and efficiency in English football

Football is the world's most watched sport. This thesis investigates three related aspects of football in England using econometric techniques. An investigation of the reasons why people watch football, both live and televised matches is undertaken. Particular attention is paid to outcome uncertainty, both match and seasonal. Two equations are developed to explain match attendance and BSkyB television audiences for the 1993/94 English Premier League season. In the match attendance equation capacity constraints are accounted for by use of the Tobit model. It is found that quality factors, outcome uncertainty and supporter loyalty are all important determinants of football attendances but that televising a match on BSkyB does not significantly affect audiences. The second study focuses on the efficiency of the fixed odds betting market for football in England. It is the efficiency of how market participants utilise available information that is tested. A model of bookmaker behaviour is presented in which the bookmaker maximises their expected share of the total amount bet. It is found that an expected profit maximising bookmaker could set market inefficient odds. Several empirical tests using the ordered probit model with data on prices, publicly available information and experts' predictions are carried out. Evidence of market inefficiency is identified offering profitable betting opportunities. Productive efficiency of football clubs is the focus of the third study. It investigates how efficiently clubs utilise their inputs to produce playing success. Unlike most previous sports productive efficiency studies, true inputs (i.e. playing ability proxied by wages) and not intermediate outputs (e.g. goals scored) are used in the efficiency estimations. Two techniques, econometrics and Data Envelopment Analysis are used, allowing a useful comparison of their relative benefits. Efficient clubs are identified and the features which make them efficient discussed

George W. Bush, the American Press, and the Initial Framing of the War on Terror after 9/11

President George W. Bush\u27s speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations on November I 0, 200 I, marks an important moment in the history of the War on Terror. 1 It followed closely upon the joint U.S.-Northern Alliance military capture of Mazari Sarif, Afghanistan, which significantly disrupted the Taliban\u27s operations and arguably marked the official beginning of America\u27s War on Terror. As President Bush stated, The time for sympathy has now passed; the time for action has now arrived. 2 In some ways, the speech offered nothing new. It reiterated words and ideas that the president frequently used to label elements of the situation following the 9/11 attacks

Surgery for local recurrence of rectal carcinoma

PURPOSE: This study was designed to evaluate results, especially mortality and morbidity, of surgical resection with curative intent for patients with a l

Direct cell mass measurements expand the role of small microorganisms in nature.

Microbial biomass is a key parameter needed for the quantification of microbial turnover rates and their contribution to the biogeochemical element cycles. However, estimates of microbial biomass rely on empirically-derived mass-to-volume relationships and large discrepancies exist between the available empirical conversion factors. Here we report a significant non-linear relationship between carbon mass and cell volume (mcarbon = 197 × V0.46.; R2 = 0.95) based on direct cell mass, volume and elemental composition measurements of twelve prokaryotic species with average volumes between 0.011 – 0.705 μm3. The carbon mass density of our measured cells ranged from 250 to 1800 fg C μm-3 for the measured cell volumes. Compared to other currently used models, our relationship yielded up to 300 % higher carbon mass values. A compilation of our and previously published data showed that cells with larger volumes (> 0.5 μm3) display a constant (carbon) mass-to-volume ratio whereas cells with volumes below 0.5 μm3 exhibit a nonlinear increase in (carbon) mass density with decreasing volume. Small microorganisms dominate marine and freshwater bacterioplankton as well as soils and marine and terrestrial subsurface. The application of our experimentally-determined conversion factors will help to quantify the true contribution of these microorganisms to ecosystem functions and global microbial biomass

Carbon, nitrogen and O(2) fluxes associated with the cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena in the Baltic Sea

Photosynthesis, respiration, N2 fixation and ammonium release were studied directly in Nodularia spumigena during a bloom in the Baltic Sea using a combination of microsensors, stable isotope tracer experiments combined with nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) and fluorometry. Cell-specific net C- and N2-fixation rates by N. spumigena were 81.6±6.7 and 11.4±0.9 fmol N per cell per h, respectively. During light, the net C:N fixation ratio was 8.0±0.8. During darkness, carbon fixation was not detectable, but N2 fixation was 5.4±0.4 fmol N per cell per h. Net photosynthesis varied between 0.34 and 250 nmol O2 h−1 in colonies with diameters ranging between 0.13 and 5.0 mm, and it reached the theoretical upper limit set by diffusion of dissolved inorganic carbon to colonies (>1 mm). Dark respiration of the same colonies varied between 0.038 and 87 nmol O2 h−1, and it reached the limit set by O2 diffusion from the surrounding water to colonies (>1 mm). N2 fixation associated with N. spumigena colonies (>1 mm) comprised on average 18% of the total N2 fixation in the bulk water. Net NH4+ release in colonies equaled 8–33% of the estimated gross N2 fixation during photosynthesis. NH4+ concentrations within light-exposed colonies, modeled from measured net NH4+ release rates, were 60-fold higher than that of the bulk. Hence, N. spumigena colonies comprise highly productive microenvironments and an attractive NH4+ microenvironment to be utilized by other (micro)organisms in the Baltic Sea where dissolved inorganic nitrogen is limiting growth

Carbon and nitrogen fluxes associated with the cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon sp. in the Baltic Sea

Carbon and nitrogen fluxes in Aphanizomenon sp. colonies in the Baltic Sea were measured using a combination of microsensors, stable isotopes, mass spectrometry, and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS). Cell numbers varied between 956 and 33 000 in colonies ranging in volume between 1.4 × 10−4 and 230 × 10−4 mm−3. The high cell content and their productivity resulted in steep O2 gradients at the colony–water interface as measured with an O2 microsensor. Colonies were highly autotrophic communities with few heterotrophic bacteria attached to the filaments. Volumetric gross photosynthesis in colonies was 78 nmol O2 mm−3 h−1. Net photosynthesis was 64 nmol O2 mm−3 h−1, and dark respiration was on average 15 nmol O2 mm−3 h−1 or 16% of gross photosynthesis. These volumetric photosynthesis rates belong to the highest measured in aquatic systems. The average cell-specific net carbon-fixation rate was 38 and 40 fmol C cell−1 h−1 measured by microsensors and by using stable isotopes in combination with mass spectrometry and nanoSIMS, respectively. In light, the net C:N fixation ratio of individual cells was 7.3±3.4. Transfer of fixed N2 from heterocysts to vegetative cells was fast, but up to 35% of the gross N2 fixation in light was released as ammonium into the surrounding water. Calculations based on a daily cycle showed a net C:N fixation ratio of 5.3. Only 16% of the bulk N2 fixation in dark was detected in Aphanizomenon sp. Hence, other organisms appeared to dominate N2 fixation and NH4+ release during darkness

Temperature response of denitrification and anammox reveals the adaptation of microbial communities to in situ temperatures in permeable marine sediments that span 50° in latitude

Despite decades of research on the physiology and biochemistry of nitrate/nitrite-respiring microorganisms, little is known regarding their metabolic response to temperature, especially under in situ conditions. The temperature regulation of microbial communities that mediate anammox and denitrification was investigated in near shore permeable sediments at polar, temperate, and subtropical sites with annual mean temperatures ranging from -5 to 23 degrees C. Total N-2 production rates were determined using the isotope pairing technique in intact core incubations under diffusive and simulated advection conditions and ranged from 2 to 359 mu mol N m(-2) d(-1). For the majority of sites studied, N-2 removal was 2-7 times more rapid under simulated advective flow conditions. Anammox comprised 6-14% of total N-2 production at temperate and polar sites and was not detected at the subtropical site. Potential rates of denitrification and anammox were determined in anaerobic slurries in a temperature gradient block incubator across a temperature range of -1 degrees C to 42 degrees C. The highest optimum temperature (T-opt) for denitrification was 36 degrees C and was observed in subtropical sediments, while the lowest T-opt of 21 degrees C was observed at the polar site. Seasonal variation in the T-opt was observed at the temperate site with values of 26 and 34 degrees C in winter and summer, respectively. The T-opt values for anammox were 9 and 26 degrees C at the polar and temperate sites, respectively. The results demonstrate adaptation of denitrifying communities to in situ temperatures in permeable marine sediments across a wide range of temperatures, whereas marine anammox bacteria may be predominately psychrophilic to psychrotolerant. The adaptation of microbial communities to in situ temperatures suggests that the relationship between temperature and rates of N removal is highly dependent on community structure

Parachute payments in English football: Softening the landing or distorting the balance?

This paper examines the impact of parachute payments in English league football in relation to the competitive balance of the second tier (the Championship). League results and parachute payment fees data were collected for the 11 seasons between 2006/07 and 2016/17. Overall competitive balance was analysed as well as specific aspects of competition that are fundamental to the league - promotion, survival and relegation. Our results show that an increase in the number of clubs with parachute payments and the overall value of these payments coincides with a reduction in competitive balance in the Championship. Furthermore, clubs with parachute payments are twice as likely to be promoted to the English Premier League and considerably less likely to suffer further relegation to the third tier (League 1). The paper therefore proposes either a re-distribution of parachute payments, the abolition of them completely, or a handicap points system to improve competitive balance

Microbial community in a sediment-hosted CO2 lake of the southern Okinawa Trough hydrothermal system

Increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are expected to cause climatic change with negative effects on the earth's ecosystems and human society. Consequently, a variety of CO2 disposal options are discussed, including injection into the deep ocean. Because the dissolution of CO2 in seawater will decrease ambient pH considerably, negative consequences for deep-water ecosystems have been predicted. Hence, ecosystems associated with natural CO2 reservoirs in the deep sea, and the dynamics of gaseous, liquid, and solid CO2 in such environments, are of great interest to science and society. We report here a biogeochemical and microbiological characterization of a microbial community inhabiting deep-sea sediments overlying a natural CO2 lake at the Yonaguni Knoll IV hydrothermal field, southern Okinawa Trough. We found high abundances (>109 cm−3) of microbial cells in sediment pavements above the CO2 lake, decreasing to strikingly low cell numbers (107 cm−3) at the liquid CO2/CO2-hydrate interface. The key groups in these sediments were as follows: (i) the anaerobic methanotrophic archaea ANME-2c and the Eel-2 group of Deltaproteobacteria and (ii) sulfur-metabolizing chemolithotrophs within the Gamma- and Epsilonproteobacteria. The detection of functional genes related to one-carbon assimilation and the presence of highly 13C-depleted archaeal and bacterial lipid biomarkers suggest that microorganisms assimilating CO2 and/or CH4 dominate the liquid CO2 and CO2-hydrate-bearing sediments. Clearly, the Yonaguni Knoll is an exceptional natural laboratory for the study of consequences of CO2 disposal as well as of natural CO2 reservoirs as potential microbial habitats on early Earth and other celestial bodies