Browsing by Author "Baker, Robert"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Analytics and Free Throw Shooting: Perception vs. Reality
    Johnson, Bryson; Johnson, Bryson; Baker, Robert
    Free throw shooting is one of the simplest skills in basketball and yet one of the most complex and overlooked aspects of the game. Crucial free throws have resulted in a team winning a championship but also a team losing at the highest level. In fact, players at all levels have experienced the harsh reality of missing these crucial free throw attempts. This study focuses on developing a uniform method of improving free throw shooting that can be taught to all genders and ages. Using techniques that help reduce anxiety, establish physical and mental routine, as well as monitor sleep and hydration coaches can assist in helping players become better free throw shooters. The men’s basketball team at George Mason University participated in the study and saw their free throw shooting rise form the 2015/16 season to the 2016/17 season. It appears that there is a correlation between this uniform methodology and improved free throw shooting. However, other variables may have contributed to this improvement as well.
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    Measuring the Effectiveness of NBA Marketing Techniques: A Comparison between Small and Large Market Teams
    Ronkartz, Kyle; Ronkartz, Kyle; Baker, Robert
    This thesis focused on comparing the differences of NBA marketing directors’ perceived values of marketing techniques. NBA teams are constantly looking for the best way to market their team to the fans in the area. In the process of researching and writing this thesis, the author conducted a survey finding the perceived values of a list of marketing techniques by NBA marketing directors. The survey consisted of 20 NBA marketing techniques that the marketing directors rated on a scale 1-5 in relation to their effectiveness. All 30 marketing directors received the questionnaire and all 30 directors completed the survey. This survey is similar to the Dick and Sack (2003) study in which they also surveyed the 29 marketing directors in the NBA at the time. This thesis focused on finding similarities and differences of the marketing directors’ perceived values while centering on the difference in market size.
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    Motivators for NCAA Division I Basketball Coaches
    Thibodeau, Vincent J., Jr.; Thibodeau, Vincent J., Jr.; Baker, Robert
    Most of the motivational research in sport focuses on motivational techniques for coaches in regard to working with athletes or what motivates athletes. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the motivators for NCAA Division I basketball coaches. A qualitative case study was used to identify motivators that NCAA Division I basketball coaches believed best described what motivated them. Semi-structured inter-views were used to collect data from a purposeful sample of NCAA Division I coaches. Using the information gathered, responses were thematically coded to identify motivators for coaches.
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    Motivators for Social Media Engagement with Official NFL Team Twitter Accounts
    Czarda, Stephen M; Czarda, Stephen M; Baker, Robert; Atwater, Christopher
    Generating nearly $10 billion in revenue during the 2012 season, the National Football League (NFL) has been shown to be, by data, to be by far the most popular and profitable professional sports league in the United States of America (“Why Football Is Still A Money Machine,” 2013). Dominating attention both during its season, and even during its offseason, fans ingest material around the clock from the league and its teams. The purpose of this thesis is to explore why consumers follow official NFL team Twitter accounts; what keeps them engaged with those accounts; and what types of content create positive long-term relationships. One of Twitter’s operational functions from a sports-level is producing stories, intensifying and spreading this content and information available in a public setting, and in turn, creating new ways of thinking about the interaction between sport and digital media by organizations, athletes, journalists, publicists, and fans among others (Hutchins, 2011). A quantitative methodology was used to identify fan motivators for following an official NFL team’s Twitter account and also finding reasoning behind why certain content tends to be more engaging. Through regression analysis, content from eight NFL teams’ official Twitter accounts was gathered over a two-week period. Twitter content was analyzed to identify fan engagement based on specific categories compared against an average number of “retweets” to determine which fans were most motivated to engage with both instantly and long-term.
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    Neoliberalism in Professional Work: An Analysis of Private and Public Sector Police Professionalism
    (2014-03-15) Baker, Robert; Baker, Robert; Baxter, Ralph C.
    Many variables coalesce to create a professional organization and professionalism in general. Two primary variables responsible in forming a professional organization are is the perceived abstract nature of intellectual attributes that surrounds its work concentration; and the second, created by the first, is the exclusivity that sets this socioeconomic group apart from nonprofessionals and other professions (Abbott 1988). Generally, exclusivity resides in the nucleus of professionalism’s distinctive knowledge and its dynamic professionalization process. This paper explores the unique character of the professional as a deterrent to neoliberal privatization of public policing. The problem with neoliberal privatization is it devalues the function of labor and places the emphasis on profit. The question for this paper is Are professionals, as a socioeconomic group, best suited to deter the aggressive efforts of neoliberal privatization? To answer that question, this study will focus on professional police. The effort will be to reveal the ways professional public police deal with the challenge of privatization of public policing. This paper argues that public policing cannot be privatized and therefore is a deterrent to capitalist neoliberal efforts.
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    Neoliberalism in Professional Work: An Analysis of Private and Public Sector Police Professionalism
    (2013-12-03) Baker, Robert; Baker, Robert; Baxter, Ralph C.
    Many variables coalesce to create a professional organization and professionalism in general. Two primary variables responsible in forming a professional organization are is the perceived abstract nature of intellectual attributes that surrounds its work concentration; and the second, created by the first, is the exclusivity that sets this socioeconomic group apart from nonprofessionals and other professions (Abbott 1988). Generally, exclusivity resides in the nucleus of professionalism’s distinctive knowledge and its dynamic professionalization process. This paper explores the unique character of the professional as a deterrent to neoliberal privatization of public policing. The problem with neoliberal privatization is it devalues the function of labor and places the emphasis on profit. The question for this paper is Are professionals, as a socioeconomic group, best suited to deter the aggressive efforts of neoliberal privatization? To answer that question, this study will focus on professional police. The effort will be to reveal the ways professional public police deal with the challenge of privatization of public policing. This paper argues that public policing cannot be privatized and therefore is a deterrent to capitalist neoliberal efforts.
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    Volunteer Motivations and Determinants of Success in Dig Pink Events
    (2013-09-13) Mueller, Shannon; Mueller, Shannon; Baker, Robert
    This study investigates how participants of The Side-Out Foundation’s Dig Pink events are motivated and the impact their motivation type has on their individual and team success. Dig Pink events raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research through the sport of volleyball. Players and coaches from two Department of Defense high school volleyball teams participated in the study by completing a modified version of the Volunteer Motivation Inventory (VMI) (Esmond & Dunlap, 2004). Those with a strong connection to breast cancer were more likely to be more cause and socially motivated than those without a personal connection.