Cyril, Author at searchfortruth.info

Casting Credibility: Patterns of Audience Assessment of TV News Programs

February 14, 2019August 31, 2017 by Cyril

In 2010 the annual survey of Nielsen Media Research reported that 91% of 2,000 polled respondents obtained information from television (TV), compared to only 65% from radio, 58% from outdoor advertising, 15% for print media, and 9% from magazines. Further, an estimated one-fi fth did not read newspapers because TV was their preferred medium. Six years earlier, a Pulse Asia survey reported that 63% considered TV the most credible source of news and information, leaving behind radio (20%) and newspaper (5%). In 1999, TV’s credibility rating was only at 53%, with radio at 35%, and newspaper at 27% (as cited by Arao, 2004). Television (TV) continues to be the preferred source of information in the Philippines.  e technological features of a media channel are among the key factors that affect its credibility. Studies have shown that TV’s visual nature enhances the audience’s perceived trustworthiness, compared to...

Symbiotic Acquisitions: The Drawbacks of a Rational Approach

February 13, 2019August 26, 2017 by Cyril

Despite their popularity, acquisitions have proved disappointing. The reason for this is that economic analyses have prevailed over the managerial dimension of the acquisitions. Although there is currently some agreement about the importance of post-acquisition management, divergences remain as to what the guiding principles should be. Our work, based on the case study method, tests the relevance of competing propositions when the acquiring firm adopts a symbiotic type of insertion policy. The proposition that a rational approach is unsuitable for managing symbiotic acquisitions is corroborated. This result can be explained by the nature of symbiosis policies, which are aimed at developing innovative practices and/or product lines in a cooperative framework. In the cases observed, such joint innovation has an emerging character which is inconsistent with a rational approach.

Although situations differ from one industry and one country to another, it is possible to distinguish several waves of acquisitions during the...

Can’t Give it Away: Statutory Prohibitions that Protect Franchisees from Releases

February 13, 2019August 20, 2017 by Cyril

Most states regulate the relationship between manufacturers and distributors in certain industries, such as motor vehicle or petroleum product sales, and many regulate the relationship between franchisors and franchisees in other businesses as well. Legislatures enacting franchise and distribution laws act on the basis of a shared recognition that prospective franchisees often face significant initial investment decisions without adequate information and come from a position of little, if any, meaningful bargaining power. As a result, registration and disclosure requirements exist in many states to protect prospective franchisees at the outset of the franchise relationship. Most of these laws require franchisors to disclose specific information directly to prospective franchisees, and many additionally direct franchisors to register and file documents with the appropriate state agency or authority. Some states also regulate the franchise or distribution relationship after its inception because legislatures perceive that the inequities of the franchise relationship extend beyond initial disclosures. Statutes requiring franchisors to...

Panduit StructuredGround™ Grounding System for Data Center Grounding

February 17, 2019August 15, 2017 by Cyril

The Purpose of Grounding

The grounding system is not just an insurance policy against a lightning strike. It is an active, functioning system that provides protection for personnel and equipment. Proper grounding is essential for efficient network performance. The purpose of the grounding system is to create a low impedance path to earth ground for electrical surges and transient voltages. Lightning, fault currents, circuit switching (motors turning on and off), and electrostatic discharge are the common causes of these surges and transient voltages. An effective grounding system minimizes the detrimental effects of these electrical surges. A properly designed grounding system is one that is intentional, visually verifiable, adequately sized to handle expected currents safely, and one that directs these potentially damaging currents away from sensitive communication equipment. Any metallic component that is part of the data center infrastructure (such as equipment, racks, ladder racks, enclosures, cable trays, etc.) must be bonded to the grounding system....

Arc Flash Analysis: IEEE Method versus the NFPA 70E Tables

February 13, 2019August 15, 2017 by Cyril

1.0 Abstract

Recent changes in workplace safety regulations have heightened the awareness of hazards associated with electrical arcs. The hazard level must be quantified and workers properly protected before entering proximity of exposed energized conductors. National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) standard 70E provides the guidelines for work involving electrical hazards and the selection of arc flash protective equipment. In order to properly select the protective gear one must have knowledge of the potential thermal energy of the electric arc. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1584 has been the de facto standard for calculating the arc energy levels at different points in the electrical power system.

However, NFPA 70E also provides the option of using the Hazard/Risk Category (HRC) task tables for personal protective equipment (PPE) selection. These tables provide pre-defined levels of PPE, which are based on the available short circuit current and the speed of the overcurrent protective device...

Collapsible Corporations in a Nutshell

February 14, 2019August 13, 2017 by Cyril

INTRODUCTION

SECTION 331(a) (1) of the Internal Revenue Code provides that a complete liquidation of a corporation is to be treated by a shareholder as a sale of his stock, and section 334(a) provides that a shareholder's basis for property acquired on a liquidation is its fair market value at the time of distribution. These long-established rules led to the tax avoidance device known as the "collapsible corporation" with which the Treasury Department has long been concerned.! In 1950, Congress enacted a provision designed to deal with this form of tax avoidance,2 the predecessor of section 341 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. This article will examine the device known as the" collapsible corporation, " the manner in which section 341 has been used to prevent the conversion of ordinary income into capital gain, and the problems flowing from this provision. As will be seen, section 341 reaches a good many corporations besides those at...

The Role of Intermediaries in Electronic Marketplaces: Assessing Alternative Hypotheses for the Future

February 13, 2019August 12, 2017 by Cyril

Abstract

Early research in electronic markets seemed to suggest that E-Commerce transactions would result in decreased costs for buyers and sellers alike, and would therefore ultimately lead to the elimination of intermediaries from electronic value chains. However, a careful analysis of the structure and functions of electronic marketplaces reveals a different picture. Intermediaries provide many value-adding functions that cannot be easily substituted or ‘internalised’ through direct supplier-buyer dealings, and hence mediating parties may continue to play a significant role even in the E-Commerce world. In this paper we provide an analysis of the potential roles of intermediaries in electronic markets and we articulate a number of hypotheses for the future of intermediation in such markets. Three main scenarios are discussed: the disintermediation scenario where market dynamics will favour direct buyer-seller transactions, the reintermediation scenario where traditional intermediaries will be forced to differentiate themselves and reemerge in the electronic marketplace, and the cybermediation scenario where wholly new markets for...

Sport Sponsorship As An Image Development Opportunity For New Brands

February 16, 2019August 11, 2017 by Cyril

Abstract

Brand managers are increasingly using sport sponsorships as a marketing communications vehicle. While brand exposure to a target audience is a primary sponsorship goal, many firms also believe a sport association can be an effective way to enhance brand image. This paper attempts to add to our understanding of this topic by examining the role that sponsorships may play in helping to establish the identity of a brand that is new to the marketplace. Specifically, image transfer effects from sport to brand in the case of a new brand were explored. A second goal of the study was to assess the moderating effect that sponsorship level may have on potential image transfer. With the assistance of previous research in the area of brand associations, schema theory, and congruity theory, hypotheses were developed and tested via two experiments. The experimental results indicated that an announced sponsorship possesses the ability to influence initial image perceptions for a new brand.

Who Sponsors Whom and Why? An Empirical Investigation of Sports Sponsorships

February 19, 2019August 11, 2017 by Cyril

Abstract

This paper applies a two-sided matching model to investigate the formations of sports sponsorships using a dataset containing the shirt sponsorships from 43 English football clubs during the period from 1990 to 2010. We find that sponsorships become less valuable as the distance between the club and the sponsor’s head office grows and that better-performing clubs can attract more distant sponsors. In addition, there is an assortative matching between a club’s attendance and a sponsor’s revenue. Based on the estimates from the two-sided matching model, we simulate the counterfactual matching outcomes if sponsorships on alcohol and gambling are banned. Our estimates suggest that such bans will not have the biggest impact on the (relatively successful) clubs that currently have alcohol and gambling sponsors. Instead, it is clubs with low attendance and clubs in low income, less populated areas will be most affected.

Managing Intellectual Property in the Book Publishing Industry

February 19, 2019August 10, 2017 by Cyril

INTRODUCTION

At the heart of the book publishing industry lies the ability of a publisher to select or commission content that the reading public will be ready to purchase, which will satisfy their interests in a variety of thematic areas. Book publishers produce this content in print and/or in other formats (electronic versions of books, periodicals, websites, blogs, etc.) and use sales and marketing skills to sell this content to readers. Book publishers are creators, acquirers, custodians, and managers owners and users of intellectual property rights. They possess certain rights in the books they produce and sell, and they hold other rights on behalf of third parties. Their business involves exploiting the rights of others, just as they equally seek to defend and protect what is theirs and what they have been entrusted to defend. Publishers therefore have a professional interest in exploiting these rights to the best advantage of their authors as well as themselves. They are thus obliged to treat the rights of others with respect....

Smoke-Control Systems

February 17, 2019August 10, 2017 by Cyril

Smoke-Control System Defined

A smoke-control system can be defined as an engineered system that uses mechanicalfans to produce pressure differences across smoke barriers to inhibit smoke movement. A smoke-control system is used to achieve one or more of the following design objectives:

● Inhibit smoke from entering stairwells, means of egress, areas of refuge, elevator shafts, or similar areas

● Maintain a tenable environment in areas of refuge and means of egress during the time required for evacuation

● Inhibit the migration of smoke from the smoke zone

● Provide conditions outside the fire zone that enable emergency response personnel to conduct search-and-rescue operations and to locate and control the fire

● Contribute to the protection of life and to the reduction of property loss

The document used for the design of smoke-control systems is NFPA 92, Standard for Smoke-Control Systems. It is important that the RDP and owner establish the desired performance characteristics for these systems in

Labor Contract Negotiations In The Airline Industry

February 14, 2019August 9, 2017 by Cyril

In the wake of a sizable slump in demand driven by the confluence of economic downturn, terrorism, war, and disease, as well as increased competition from low-cost carriers, many incumbent U.S. airlines have been attempting a fundamental restructuring of their operations. Arguably, a central element in this restructuring involves labor contract negotiations. Yet, even before the events of September 11, 2001, observers perceived strains in the industry’s labor relations system, claiming that contracts were taking longer to negotiate, rank-and-file rejections of tentative agreements were more frequent, and job actions were on the rise. Not surprisingly, then, calls for reform of the Railway Labor Act—the law that has governed airline collective bargaining since 1933 have gained momentum. Recent work has demonstrated that carrier-level differences in the duration of contract negotiations are associated with the quality of the labor management relationship and, consequently, with airline productivity, customer service, and profitability. Although the mechanisms of cause and

Comparison of Engine Power Correction Factors for Varying Atmospheric Conditions

February 14, 2019August 9, 2017 by Cyril

Introduction

The atmospheric conditions are known to affect the performance of internal combustion engines. A different engine performance from that specified by the manufacturer can be observed when the engine is working under an atmospheric condition different from that at which the engine data was collected by the manufacturer. The influence of the atmospheric condition on the performance of an engine can especially be observed through variations on the vehicle acceleration time and on fuel consumption. Correction factors are available to predict the power developed by the engine under distinct ambient conditions from the engine power curve obtained in laboratory tests at a standard condition. However, the many correction factors proposed often lead to different results for a same atmospheric condition considered. These non uniform results from correction factors motivates this investigation on which one better predicts the engine performance on the road. Many works which are dedicated to verify the influence of the

Illegal Sports Bookmakers

February 14, 2019August 9, 2017 by Cyril

Abstract

This paper provides an economic analysis of illegal sports bookmaking using detailed records from six bookmakers who operated in the 1990s. These operations are structured like standard firms and utilize incentive contracts to induce appropriate employee behavior. The bookmakers offer prices which closely follow the geographically separated legal market, but larger operations price discriminate based on individual betting patterns. Despite the availability of inexpensive hedging instruments, all operations take on substantial financial risk. This implies the bookmakers cannot be risk-averse and must hold large cash reserves. The risk-adjusted profit rate is lower than in legal financial markets. These results and behaviors are consistent with standard models of economic self interest

1 Introduction

Gambling is ubiquitous in the United States. Due to the spread of state lotteries and casinos, legalized gambling is currently available in all but two states. In 1998 sixty-eight percent of Americans reported gambling at least once, and in total they lost over $50 billion to legal gambling operations

Enforceability of Civil Liability Release Agreements

February 16, 2019June 28, 2017 by Cyril

1. Introduction.

Civil lawsuits against police officers, supervisory personnel, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors all grow out of the same activities which result in the filing and pursuing of criminal charges against arrestees. In some instances, “release-dismissal” agreements are entered into in which criminal charges against a particular defendant are dismissed in exchange for them executing a release of possible civil liability claims, whether federal or state or both, against governmental employees or entities. There are also instances when, after criminal charges against them are dropped, and they are not longer in jeopardy of prosecution, such defendants attempt to change their minds as to the release part of the agreement, and proceed to file and attempt to pursue civil lawsuits concerning their arrest, the use of force against them, the search of their home or business, or other aspects of their treatment by the criminal justice system When are such “release-dismissal” agreements enforceable? What factors will courts look at to determine whether they are constitutional? What are some....