Search results

The paper outlines a new approach for positioning a patient on the treatment table for radiation therapy sessions. The vision approach utilizes lasers and cameras for positioning and has several advantages over the conventional methods.

The positioning is accomplished by comparison of a set of computed tomography (CT) contours (acquired from the patient) with a set of corresponding contours acquired by a 3D vision system from the same region of the patient's body. The overall positioning error calculated by the iterative closest point algorithm is used to reorient the treatment table. Various issues related to the acquisition and generation of the 3D spatial data are discussed.

Positioning is accurate and can detect small movement in the patient's position.

Testing was done on a cast of a human torso and additional testing is required on in a hospital environment to fully test the efficiency of the approach.

The method merges data readily available from standard CT imaging systems and 3D imaging systems. Therefore, the additional hardware requirements are minimal. The system integrates well with existing hardware, software and treatment practices.

The method introduces a new approach to patient positioning employing a combination of sensor technologies. The approach is accurate, reliable, consumes less time and most importantly prevents the use of X‐rays for patient positioning.

The economic recession, which began in late 2007 has, and will continue to have, repercussions for the events industry. Unemployment and inflation coupled with shrinking public and private sector budgets have made the operating environment difficult. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the recession and the austerity measures that followed have affected UK events – and will continue to do so.

Some previous research has argued that a downturn in the economy can stimulate creativity and innovation. This paper lends some support to this argument as it examines how the recession has forced the organising committee of one of Europe's most prestigious international youth football (soccer) tournaments to “think beyond the football” and start to look at innovative ways to off‐set the cuts in its funding. The paper focuses on the Northern Ireland Milk Cup Youth Football Tournament, which is regarded as one of the most prestigious youth football tournaments in Europe.

Based on data gathered from various stakeholders via interviews and focus groups the paper discusses how the tournament can generate extra revenue from gate receipts, corporate hospitality, merchandising, programming, sponsorship and marketing.

Event organisers can learn two important lessons from this study: first, the current economic climate is challenging but they should try and think “outside the box” as challenges can present opportunities; and second, consult and collaborate with event stakeholders, as their insight and ideas may prove invaluable in these challenging times.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study the impact of the recession on the events industry.

Purpose – Building on the work of Wenner (2011) and Messner and Montez de Oca (2005), this study provides an updated critical stocktaking of the narrative tendencies in sport-related alcohol advertising on television. Set in contemporary understandings of a ‘crisis of masculinity’ and in the political economy of the alcohol industry, this study anchors a critical reading of masculinity, the sporting context and alcohol advertising in Wenner's (2007, 2013) ‘dirt theory of narrative ethics’.

Design/methodology/approach – Our theoretical and methodological approach is grounded in a dirt theory of narrative ethics. Set at the intersection of reader-oriented literary theory (Iser, 1978) and ethical criticism (Gregory, 1998), we ‘follow the dirt’ to understand how contagion from imported communicative meanings (McCracken, 1990) exerts power (Leach, 1976) by influencing reading and interpretation. We draw upon a diverse sample of 20 television ads representing a balanced cross-section of sport-dirtied beer commercials produced between 2010 and 2019. To balance this sample, we divided the ads by their opposing tendencies to characterize men as either ‘real men’, drawn in mythical masculinity terms, or ‘himbos’, drawn as ‘losers’ or slackers. To address the dominance of Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) in the American market, we further divided our ‘real men’ and ‘himbo’ samples, contrasting five ads produced for ABI brands with five ads produced for beer brands not held by ABI.

Findings – We contend that contemporary sports-dirtied beer ads combine to form a schizophrenic picture of American manhood. Male sports fans are alternatively hailed through mocking and misandry, through playfully saluting the norms of ‘bro culture’, and through encouraging men to understand themselves as proud keepers of tradition. We critically consider the ethical implications of building brand affinities through staking disparate positions in contemporary cultural and political debates about the place of men and masculinity in contemporary society.

Research limitations/implications – We discuss the difficulties involved in holding advertisers accountable for balancing ethical and market demands. Nevertheless, we call on the industry to engage in a more reflexive and responsible approach to crafting sports-dirtied alcohol advertising.

In 2005 Manchester United was taken over by US businessman Malcolm Glazer, in part because of the club's brand name prominence in the global sport of soccer. This paper examines how Manchester United rose to a pre-eminent position in world football through its on-field performances and its off-the-field management strategies. It shows how the club took its storied history into world markets to take full advantage of globalisation, the opportunities extended through the English Premier League's reputation and developments in global media technologies. Astute management of club resources is identified as the major factor in global brand management.

With retailers selling products to and even opening stores for metrosexuals, they are now well recognised in many western countries; however, market sizing, measurement and understanding their psychology remain understudied. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and operationalise the metrosexual lifestyle and examine a number of its psychological correlates.

Using a survey with two samples, a scale is developed to measure metrosexuality and validated using structural equation modelling.

Metrosexuality was found to have three dimensions: trendiness, concern with appearance, and use of grooming practices, while its antecedents of gender-identity confusion and narcissism are mediated by masculinity and vanity. Metrosexuality is associated with lower levels of masculinity, but not with increased femininity and is slightly associated with homosexual orientation.

One of the theoretical implications of the new metrosexuality scale is that it may be incorporated in the general theories of lifestyle and consumption, extended self-concept as well as aesthetic motivations of consumption.

On a practical level, a scale to measure their metrosexuality can be used to help retailers to measure and track the size for forecasting and targeting purposes as well as allowing retailers to better design environments and products for this market.

No study has previously attempted to devise a scale to measure metrosexuality nor seek to establish if there is any psychological substance behind the media hype by looking quantitatively at its psychological antecedents. This study is the first to define, measure and validate a scale for metrosexuality and contributes to an understanding of individuals who are an increasing part of society.

Football, or soccer as it is known in the United States, is one area in which managerial positions are hugely volatile with what is often called a ‘merry-go-round’ of managers sacked for poor performance at their club and reemployed by another club. Not only does this practice often not increase performance but it is also very costly. Considering the nature of football, that is, the relatively high impact of chance on the rare events that goals are, and the high correlation between success and the wage bill, the influence of managers on performance is often over-estimated. However, potentially better preparation of future managers might help to increase competitive advantages. In this chapter, we are looking in depth at leadership in the context of football and the lessons we can draw for other contexts.

As social theorists propose that there has been an intensification of social and commercial pressures on men to become fashion consumers, this paper sets out to examine the proposition by investigating fashion consciousness of Generation Y male consumers.

Data were gathered from a survey of 346 male respondents aged between 18‐25 who completed a fashion consciousness questionnaire, which was then factor‐analysed.

Relatively high levels of fashion consciousness were found, but not necessarily fashion adoption. Factor analysis showed that men view fashion in highly simplistic terms and there is still a strong “anti‐fashion” dimension to the average young male consumer.

Drawing on the fields of psychology and sociology, it is argued that “anti‐fashion” fashion consumption creates the distinction necessary for men to create a defensible masculine practice.

The “anti‐fashion” motivation is of interest to marketers and provides a basis for planning retailing and branding approaches. The key to fashion marketing for men would be to show how clothing could overcome some of these fears, e.g. not earning or achieving enough.

Being such a nascent potential market segment, there are no empirical studies that specifically focus on male Generation Ys.