Image quality optimization, via application of contextual contrast sensitivity and discrimination functions

What is the best luminance contrast weighting-function for image quality optimization? Traditionally measured contrast sensitivity functions (CSFs), have been often used as weighting-functions in image quality and difference metrics. Such weightings have been shown to result in increased sharpness and perceived quality of test images. We suggest contextual CSFs (cCSFs) and contextual discrimination functions (cVPFs) should provide bases for further improvement, since these are directly measured from pictorial scenes, modeling threshold and suprathreshold sensitivities within the context of complex masking information. Image quality assessment is understood to require detection and discrimination of masked signals, making contextual sensitivity and discrimination functions directly relevant. In this investigation, test images are weighted with a traditional CSF, cCSF, cVPF and a constant function. Controlled mutations of these functions are also applied as weighting-functions, seeking the optimal spatial frequency band weighting for quality optimization. Image quality, sharpness and naturalness are then assessed in two-alternative forced-choice psychophysical tests. We show that maximal quality for our test images, results from cCSFs and cVPFs, mutated to boost contrast in the higher visible frequencies.

Symmetry and order parameter dynamics of the human odometer

Bipedal gaits have been classified on the basis of the group symmetry of the minimal network of identical differential equations (alias cells) required to model them. Primary bipedal gaits (e.g., walk, run) are characterized by dihedral symmetry, whereas secondary bipedal gaits (e.g., gallop-walk, gallop- run) are characterized by a lower, cyclic symmetry. This fact has been used in tests of human odometry (e.g., Turvey et al. in P Roy Soc Lond B Biol 276:4309–4314, 2009, J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 38:1014–1025, 2012). Results suggest that when distance is measured and reported by gaits from the same symmetry class, primary and secondary gaits are comparable. Switching symmetry classes at report compresses (primary to secondary) or inflates (secondary to primary) measured distance, with the compression and inflation equal in magnitude. The present research (a) extends these findings from overground locomotion to treadmill locomotion and (b) assesses a dynamics of sequentially coupled measure and report phases, with relative velocity as an order parameter, or equilibrium state, and difference in symmetry class as an imperfection parameter, or detuning, of those dynamics. The results suggest that the symmetries and dynamics of distance measurement by the human odometer are the same whether the odometer is in motion relative to a stationary ground or stationary relative to a moving ground.

The effects of moisture, cation concentration, temperature, density and composition of soils on their electrical resistivity

The effects. of moisture, cation concentration, dens ity , temper~ t ure and grai n si ze on the electrical resistivity of so il s are examined using laboratory prepared soils. An i nexpen si ve method for preparing soils of different compositions was developed by mixing various size fractions i n the laboratory. Moisture and cation c oncentration are related to soil resistivity by powe r functions, whereas soil resistiv ity and temperature, density, Yo gravel, sand , sil t, and clay are related by exponential functions . A total of 1066 cases (8528 data) from all the experiments were used in a step-wise multiple linear r egression to determine the effect of each variable on soil resistivity. Six variables out of the eight variables studied account for 92.57/. of the total variance in so il resistivity with a correlation coefficient of 0.96. The other two variables (silt and gravel) did not increase the · variance. Moisture content was found to be - the most important Yo clay. variable- affecting s oil res istivi ty followed by These two variables account for 90.81Yo of the total variance in soil resistivity with a correlation ~oefficient ·.of 0 . 95. Based on these results an equation to ' ~~ed{ ct soil r esist ivi ty using moisture and Yo clay is developed . To t est the predicted equation, resistivity measurements were made on natural soils both in s i tu a nd i n the laboratory. The data show that field and laboratory measurements are comparable. The predicted regression line c losely coinciqes with resistivity data from area A and area B soils ~clayey and silty~clayey sands). Resistivity data and the predicted regression line in the case of c layey soils (clays> 40%) do not coincide, especially a t l ess than 15% moisture. The regression equation overestimates the resistivity of so i l s from area C and underestimates for area D soils. Laboratory prepared high clay soils give similar trends. The deviations are probably caused by heterogeneous distribution of mo i sture and difference in the type o f cl ays present in these soils.

Grounds for telling it : transnational feminism and Canadian women's writing

Cette thèse explore les connections entre la littérature canadienne contemporaine féminine et le féminisme transnational. Le « transnational » est une catégorie qui est de plus en plus importante dans la critique littéraire canadienne, mais elle n’est pas souvent evoquée en lien avec le féminisme. À travers cette thèse, je développe une méthodologie de lecture féministe basée sur le féminisme transnational. Cette méthodologie est appliquée à la littérature canadienne féminine; parallèlement, cette littérature participe à la définition et à l’élaboration des concepts féministes transnationaux tels que la complicité, la collaboration, le silence, et la différence. De plus, ma méthodologie participe à la recontextualisation de certains textes et moments dans l’histoire de la littérature canadienne, ce qui permet la conceptualisation d’une généalogie de l’expression féministe anti-essentialiste dans la littérature canadienne. J’étudie donc des textes de Daphne Marlatt, Dionne Brand, et Suzette Mayr, ainsi que le périodique Tessera et les actes du colloque intitulé Telling It, une conférence qui a eu lieu en 1988. Ces textes parlent de la critique du colonialisme et du nationalisme, des identités post-coloniales et diasporiques, et des possibilités de la collaboration féministe de traverser des frontières de toutes sortes. Dans le premier chapitre, j’explique ma méthodologie en démontrant que le périodique féministe bilingue Tessera peut être lu en lien avec le féminisme transnational. Le deuxième chapitre s’attarde à la publication editée par le collectif qui a été formé à la suite de la conférence Telling It. Je situe Telling It dans le contexte des discussions sur les différences qui ont eu lieu dans le féminisme nord-américan des dernières décennies. Notamment, mes recherches sur Telling It sont fondées sur des documents d’archives peu consultés qui permettent une réflexion sur les silences qui peuvent se cacher au centre du travail collaboratif. Le trosième chapitre est constitué d’une lecture proche du texte multi-genre « In the Month of Hungry Ghosts, » écrit par Daphne Marlatt en 1979. Ce texte explore les connexions complexes entre le colonialisme, le postcolonialisme, la complicité et la mondialisation. Le suject du quatrième chapitre est le film Listening for Something… (1994) qui découle d’une collaboration féministe transnationale entre Dionne Brand et Adrienne Rich. Pour terminer, le cinquième chapitre explore les liens entre le transnational et le national, la région – et le monstrueux, dans le contexte du roman Venous Hum (2004) de Suzette Mayr. Ces lectures textuelles critiques se penchent toutes sur la question de la représentation de la collaboration féministe à travers les différences – question essentielle à l’action féministe transnationale. Mes recherche se trouvent donc aux intersections de la littérature canadienne, la théorie féministe contemporaine, les études postcoloniales et la mondialisation. Les discussions fascinantes qui se passent au sein de la théorie transnationale féministe sont pertinentes à ces intersections et de plus, la littérature contemporaine féminine au Canada offre des interventions importantes permettant d’imaginer la collaboration féministe transnationale.

Caring at a distance: Gift Theory, aid chains and social movements

This paper takes as its starting point recent work on caring for distant others which is one expression of renewed interest in moral geographies. It examines relationships in aid chains connecting donors/carers in the First World or North and recipients/cared for in the Third World or South. Assuming predominance of relationships between strangers and of universalism as a basis for moral motivation I draw upon Gift Theory in order to characterize two basic forms of gift relationship. The first is purely altruistic, the other fully reciprocal and obligatory within the framework of institutions, values and social forces within specific relationships of politics and power. This conception problematizes donor-recipient relationships in the context of two modernist models of aid chains-the Resource Transfer and the Beyond Aid Paradigms. In the first, donor domination means low levels of reciprocity despite rhetoric about partnership and participation. The second identifies potential for greater reciprocity on the basis of combination between social movements and non-governmental organizations at both national and trans-national levels, although at the risk of marginalizing competencies of states. Finally, I evaluate post-structural critiques which also problematize aid chain relationships. They do so both in terms of bases-such as universals and difference-upon which it might be constructed and the means-such as forms of positionality and mutuality-by which it might be achieved.

Physical interpretation of the spectral radiative signature in the transition zone between cloud-free and cloudy regions

One-second-resolution zenith radiance measure- ments from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement pro- gram’s new shortwave spectrometer (SWS) provide a unique opportunity to analyze the transition zone between cloudy and cloud-free air, which has considerable bearing on the aerosol indirect effect. In the transition zone, we find a re- markable linear relationship between the sum and difference of radiances at 870 and 1640 nm wavelengths. The intercept of the relationship is determined primarily by aerosol prop- erties, and the slope by cloud properties. We then show that this linearity can be predicted from simple theoretical con- siderations and furthermore that it supports the hypothesis of inhomogeneous mixing, whereby optical depth increases as a cloud is approached but the effective drop size remains un- changed.

Education and Earnings for Poverty Reduction : Short-Term Evidence of Pro-Poor Growth from the Mexican Oportunidades Program

Education, as an indispensable component of human capital, has been acknowledged to play a critical role in economic growth, which is theoretically elaborated by human capital theory and empirically confirmed by evidence from different parts of the world. The educational impact on growth is especially valuable and meaningful when it is for the sake of poverty reduction and pro-poorness of growth. The paper re-explores the precious link between human capital development and poverty reduction by investigating the causal effect of education accumulation on earnings enhancement for anti-poverty and pro-poor growth. The analysis takes the evidence from a well-known conditional cash transfer (CCT) program — Oportunidades in Mexico. Aiming at alleviating poverty and promoting a better future by investing in human capital for children and youth in poverty, this CCT program has been recognized producing significant outcomes. The study investigates a short-term impact of education on earnings of the economically disadvantaged youth, taking the data of both the program’s treated and untreated youth from urban areas in Mexico from 2002 to 2004. Two econometric techniques, i.e. difference-in-differences and difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach are applied for estimation. The empirical analysis first identifies that youth who under the program’s schooling intervention possess an advantage in educational attainment over their non-intervention peers; with this identification of education discrepancy as a prerequisite, further results then present that earnings of the education advantaged youth increase at a higher rate about 20 percent than earnings of their education disadvantaged peers over the two years. This result indicates a confirmation that education accumulation for the economically disadvantaged young has a positive impact on their earnings enhancement and thus inferring a contribution to poverty reduction and pro-poorness of growth.

Digestibility and metabolizable energy of maize gluten feed for dogs as measured by two different techniques

Maize gluten feed (MGF) is a co-product of wet milling of maize, and is composed of structures that remain after most starch, gluten and germ has been extracted from the grain. Although currently used in dog foods, its digestibility and energy values have not been documented. Two techniques were used to determine nutrient digestibility of MGF for dog foods. Both techniques used extruded diets fed to Beagle dogs, with six replicates per diet. The first study used a difference method in which 300 g/kg of a reference diet was replaced by MGF. Based on the difference method, the coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) of MGF was 0.53 for dry matter (DM), 0.69 for crude protein (CP), 0.74 for fat, 0.99 for starch, and 0.55 for gross energy (GE). The calculated metabolizable energy (ME) of MGF was 7.99 MJ/kg (as-fed). The second study used a regression method and included a basal diet and a basal diet with 70, 140 and 210 g MGF/kg of diet (as a substitute for maize starch). Maize gluten feed inclusion resulted in a linear reduction of CTTAD of DM (R(2)=0.99; P<0.001), CP (R(2)=0.95; P=0.002), fat (R(2)=0.87; P=0.009). starch (R(2)=0.81; P<0.001), and GE (R(2)=0.99; P<0.001). Faecal production increased linearly from 56 g to 107 g/dog/d (R(2)=0.99; P<0.001), with a linear reduction of faecal DM (R(2)=0.99: P<0.001) and a linear increase in faecal lactic acid concentration (P<0.02). Both urine (R(2)=0.77; P=0.029) and faeces (R(2)=0.92: P=0.019) showed a linear reduction in pH. Results of ingredient MAD obtained by the regression and difference methods were close (6% or less of variation) for CP, fat, and starch, and also for ME content (1.4% higher for the difference method), but the two methods disagreed on calculated CTTAD of DM and organic matter. The high dietary fiber content of MGF (382 g/kg) may explain the low digestibility of this ingredient. Maize gluten feed could be a useful ingredient for formulations designed to have low energy or reduce the urine pH of dogs. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis, characterization and molecular structures of the pyridinium trans-bis(pyridine)tetrachlororuthenate(III) and pyridinium trans-(carbonyl)(pyridine)tetrachlororuthenate(III)

The pyH[trans-RuCl4(py)2](1) and pyH[trans-RuCl4(CO)(py)](2) complexes were synthesized and found to crystallize in space group P21/n, Z = 4 with a = 8.080(7), b = 22.503(7), c = 10.125(6) Å, β = 93.19(6)° for (1) and a = 7.821(1), b = 10.337(3), c = 19.763(3) Å, β = 93.07(1)° for (2). The structures were solved by Patterson and difference Fourier techniques and refined to R = 0.062 for (1) and R = 0.038 for (2). In both cases the Ru(III) ion is octahedrally coordinated to four co-planar chlorine atoms, the nitrogen of the pyridine rings or carbon from the carbon monoxide. Another protonated pyridine group, which forms the counter-cation completes the crystal structures. The UV-Vis absorption spectra show three bands: (1) 360 (ε = 1180 M-1 cm-1), 441 (ε = 3200 M-1 cm-1) and 532 nm (ε = 400 M-1 cm-1); (2) 315(ε = 1150 M-1 cm-1), 442 (ε = 3170 M-1 cm-1) and 530 nm (ε = 390 M-1 cm-1). The two higher energy bands were associated with ligand-to-metal charge transfer transitions and a third band at lower energy was assigned to a d-d transition. Low temperature EPR data confirmed the presence of the paramagnetically active Ru(III) and it is consistent with axial symmetry of the complexes. The position of the stretching CO band in complex (2) is discussed in terms of metal-CO backbonding.

Combined characterisation of GOME and TOMS total ozone measurements from space using ground-based observations from the NDSC

Several years of total ozone measured from space by the ERS-2 GOME, the Earth Probe TOMS, and the ADEOS TOMS, are compared with high-quality ground-based observations associated with the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC), over an extended latitude range and a variety of geophysical conditions. The comparisons with each spaceborne sensor are combined altogether for investigating their respective solar zenith angle (SZA) dependence, dispersion, and difference of sensitivity. The space- and ground-based data are found to agree within a few percent on average. However, the analysis highlights for both GOME and TOMS several sources of discrepancies: (i) a SZA dependence with TOMS beyond 80° SZA; (ii) a seasonal SZA dependence with GOME beyond 70° SZA; (iii) a difference of sensitivity with GOME at high latitudes; (iv) a difference of sensitivity to low ozone values between satellite and SAOZ sensors around the southern tropics; (v) a north/south difference of TOMS with the ground-based observations; and (vi) internal inconsistencies in GOME total ozone. © 2001 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modal hedges in para-pharmaceutical product instructions: some examples from English and Serbian

[EN] The paper investigates how modal hedges (Coates 1983) understood as expressions of procedural meaning , i.e. expressions which instruct the addressee/reader how to process the propositional content of an utterance/statement (Watts 2004) are used in product descriptions, advertisements and consumer instructions leaflets for a number of products belonging to the Consumer Health Care category for the purposes of complying with consumer protection laws on the one hand and serving as an implicit disclaimer of manufacturer’s responsibility on the other. The analysis is carried out contrastively for two languages, English and Serbian. The results obtained are discussed and viewed as a matter of cultural variety and difference, especially taking into consideration the fact that consumer protection laws seem to be equally strict in US, UK and Commonwealth, Europe and Serbia.

Changes in pre-pregnancy weight and weight gain during pregnancy: retrospective comparison between 1986 and 2004

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY: To compare the incidence of pre-pregnancy overweight, obesity, and difference in weight gain during pregnancy in the years 1986 and 2004, in women delivered at the maternity unit of our hospital. METHODS: Retrospective study. Maternity records of patients delivered in the years 1986 and 2004 were compared. Data extraction included booking weight, height, weight gain, birth weight as well as information on mode of delivery and gestational age at delivery. RESULTS: During the year 1986 and 2004 a total of 690 and 668 patients respectively were included in the analysis. The pre-pregnancy BMI > or =25 doubled over the 18-year period (from 15.9 to 30.1%). In 1986 only 2.6% of all pregnant women gained more than 20 kg, while in 2004 14.2% (p <0.0001) did so. The caesarean section rate was significantly higher in 2004 than 18 years earlier (28.3 and 9.3%, p <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant increase in all parameters between these two groups. Pregnant women are today heavier at the booking visit, are more overweight, and gain more weight during pregnancy. A similar trend is seen in the newborn babies, who have a higher birth weight than those born 18 years ago.

Agency and ownership are independent components of 'sensing the self' in the auditory-verbal domain

'Sensing the self' relies on the ability to distinguish self-generated from external stimuli. It requires functioning mechanisms to establish feelings of agency and ownership. Agency is defined causally, where the subjects action is followed by an effect. Ownership is defined by the features of the effect, independent from the action. In our study, we manipulated these qualities separately. 13 right-handed healthy individuals performed the experiment while 76-channel EEG was recorded. Stimuli consisted of visually presented words, read aloud by the subject. The experiment consisted of six conditions: (a) subjects saw a word, read it aloud, heard it in their own voice; (b) like a, but the word was heard in an unfamiliar voice; (c) subject heard a word in his/her own voice without speaking; (d) like c, but the word was heard in an unfamiliar voice; (e) like a, but subjects heard the word with a delay; (f) subjects read without hearing. ERPs and difference maps were computed for all conditions. Effects were analysed topographically. The N100 (86-172 ms) displayed significant main effects of agency and ownership. The topographies of the two effects shared little common variance, suggesting independent effects. Later effects (174-400 ms) of agency and ownership were topographically similar, suggesting common mechanisms. Replicating earlier studies, significant N100 suppression was observed, with a topography resembling the agency effect. 'Sensing the self' appears to recruit from at least two very distinct processes: an agency assessment that represents causality and an ownership assessment that compares stimulus features with memory content.

Penetrating keratoplasty and graft rejection in eight horses

The aim of this study was to describe long-term follow-up and difference in immune reactions in the tear film following penetrating keratoplasty (PK) in horses when differently preserved corneas were utilised. This report describes for the first time the use of corneal grafts preserved in tissue culture media in equine PK. Eight experimental horses with normal eyes were included and freshly harvested, frozen or preserved corneal grafts were used for the PK. The graft-taking technique and storage, PK surgery, postoperative treatments and complications are described. The mean postoperative follow-up time was 286 days. Tear film samples taken before and periodically after surgery were measured for IgM, IgG and IgA contents by direct ELISA. All grafts were incorporated into the donor horse but were rejected to some degree. The differently harvested corneal grafts healed in the same manner and looked similar. Preoperatively, the clear corneas meant low risk for graft failure, and the fresh or stored tissues provided intact endothelium, although there were no clear graft sites postoperatively. The presence of IgA, IgG and IgM was demonstrated in the tear film from the early postoperative period. IgG levels were lower than IgA or IgM and had a constant baseline in every case, as IgA and IgM had great variability with time and an individual pattern in each eye.

The role of brand marketing in snowboarding: A comparative study of Switzerland and New Zealand

Introduction: Brands play an essential role in the organizational structure of snowboarding by sponsoring athletes, arranging events, contributing to product development and developing long-term partnerships with other key actors. However, the specialities of their role in scene sports, such as creating identities, networking and brand marketing strategies, have not been extensively researched. This study aims to provide an analysis of the function of brands within the snowboarding subculture by comparing how the sport is organized in Switzerland and New Zealand. Sociological theories of subcultures (Hitzler & Niederbacher, 2010) and social networks (Stegbauer, 2008) are used to defi ne the structures of the sport, whereas marketing and branding theories (Adjouri & Stastny, 2006) help to understand the role of the brands. Snowboarding will be defi ned as an alternative sports subculture based on characteristics such as aesthetics, adventure and new resources of performance (Schwier, 2006). Such a defi nition also begs for a novel form of analyzing its organization. Unlike more conventional structures, the organization of snowboarding allows a variety of actors to get involved in leading the sport. By portraying and encouraging differentiated identities and lifestyles, athletes provide a space for other actors to fi nd their place within the sport (Wheaton, 2005). According to Stegbauers network theory, individual actors are able to obtain high positions and defi ne their identity depending on their ties to actors and networks within the subculture (Stegbauer, 2008). For example, social capital, contacts within the sport and insider knowledge on subculture-related information enable actors to get closer to the core (Hitzler & Niederbacher, 2010). Actors who do not have close networks and allies within the subculture are less likely to engage successfully in the culture, whether as an individual or as a commercial actor (Thorpe, 2011). This study focuses on the organizational structure of snowboarding by comparing the development of the sport in Switzerland and New Zealand. An analysis of snowboarding in two nations with diverse cultures and economic systems allows a further defi nition of the structural organization of the sport and explains how brands play an important role in the sport. Methods: The structural organization of the sport will be analyzed through an ethnographic approach, using participant observation at various leading events in Switzerland (Freestyle.ch, European Open) and New Zealand (World Heli Challenge, New Zealand Open, New Zealand Winter Games). The data is analyzed using grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss 1967) and gives an overview of the actors that are playing an important role in the local development of snowboarding. Participant observation was also used as a tool to get inside the sport culture and opened up the possibility to make over 40 semi-structured qualitative expert interviews with international core actors from 11 countries. Obtaining access to one actor as a partner early on helped to get inside the local sport culture. The ‘snowball effect’ allowed the researcher to acquire access, build trust and conduct interviews with experts within the core scene. All the interviewed actors have a direct infl uence on the sport in one or both countries, which permit a cross-analysis. The data of the interviews was evaluated through content analysis (Mayring 2010). The two methods together provided suffi cient data to analyze the organizational structure and discuss the role of brand marketing within snowboarding. Results: An actors mapping by means of a center-periphery framework has identifi ed fi ve main core groups: athletes, media representatives, brand-marketing managers, resort managers and event organizers. In both countries the same grouping of actors were found. Despite possessing different and frequently multiple roles and responsibilities, core actors appear to have a strong common identifi cation as ‘snowboarders’, are considered to be part of the organizational elite of the sport and tend to advocate similar goals. The author has found that brands in Switzerland tend to have a larger impact on the broader snowboarding culture due to a number of factors discussed below. Due to a larger amount of snowboarders and stronger economic power in Europe, snowboarders are making attempts to differentiate themselves from other winter sports, while competing with each other to develop niche markets. In New Zealand, on the other hand, the smaller market enables more cooperation and mutual respect within snowboarders. Further they are more closely linked to other winter sports and are satisfi ed with being lumped together. In both countries, brands have taken up the role of supporting young athletes, organizing competitions and feeding media with subculture-related content. Brands build their image and identity through the collaboration with particular athletes who can represent the values of the brand. Local and global communities with similar lifestyles and interests are being built around brands that share a common vision of the sport. The dominance of brands in snowboarding has enabled them with the power to organize and rule the sport through its fan base and supporters. Brands were defi ned by interviewees as independent institutions led by insiders who know the codes and symbols of the sport and were given trust and credibility. The brands identify themselves as the engines of the sport by providing the equipment, opportunities for athletes to get exposure, allowing media to get exclusive information on activities, events and sport-related stories. Differences between the two countries are more related to the economic system. While Switzerland is well integrated in the broader European market, New Zealand’s geographical isolation and close proximity to Australia tends to limit its market. Further, due to different cultural lifestyles, access to resorts and seasonal restrictions, to name a few, the amount of people practicing winter sports in New Zealand is much smaller than in Switzerland. However, this also presents numerous advantages. For example, the short southern hemisphere winter season in New Zealand enables them to attract international sports athletes, brands and representatives in a period when Europe and North America is in summer. Further, the unique snow conditions in New Zealand and majestic landscape is popular for attracting world renowned photo- and cinematographers. Another advantage is the less populated network as it provides the opportunity for individuals to gain easier access to the core of the sport, obtain diverse positions and form a unique identity and market. In Switzerland, on the other hand, the snowboarding network is dense with few positions available for the taking. Homegrown brands with core recognition are found in both countries. It was found that the Swiss brands tend to have a larger impact on the market, whereas in New Zealand, the sport is more dependent on import products by foreign brands. Further, athletes, events and resorts in New Zealand are often dependent on large brand sponsorships from abroad such as from brand headquarters in the Unites States. Thus, due to its location in the centre of Europe, Swiss brands can take advantage of brands which are closer in proximity and culture to sponsor athletes and events. In terms of media coverage, winter sports in New Zealand tend to have a minor coverage and tradition in local mass media, which leads to less exposure, recognition and investment into the sport. This is also related to how snowboarding is more integrated into other winter sports in New Zealand. Another difference is the accessibility of the ski resort by the population. While in Switzerland the resorts are mostly being visited by day-travelers, ‘weekend warriors’ and holiday makers, the location of the resorts in New Zealand make it diffi cult to visit for one day. This is in part due to the fact that Swiss ski resorts and villages are usually the same location and are accessible through public transportation, while the ski resorts in New Zealand have been built separately from the villages. Further, the villages have not been built to accommodate to high tourist arrivals. Thus, accommodation and food facilities are limited and there is a lack of public transportation to the resorts. Discussion: The fi ndings show that networks and social relations combined with specifi c knowledge on scene-related attributes are crucial in obtaining opportunities within the sport. Partnerships as well as competition between these different actors are necessary for core acceptance, peer credibility and successful commercial interests. Brands need to maintain effective marketing strategies and identities which incorporate subcultural forms of behavior and communication. In order to sustain credibility from its fans, athletes and other snowboarding actors, brands need to maintain their insider status through social networks and commercial branding strategies. The interaction between all actors is a reciprocated process, where social capital, networks and identities are being shared. While the overall structure of snowboard subcultures in Europe and New Zealand are similar, there are some distinct characteristics which make each one unique. References Adjouri, N. & Stastny, P. (2006). Sport-Branding: Mit Sport-Sponsoring zum Markenerfolg. Wiesbaden: Gabler. Glaser, B. & Strauss, K. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine. Hebdige, D. (2009). Subculture; The meaning of style. New York: Routledge. Hitzler, R. & Niederbacher, A. (2010). Leben in Szenen: Formen juveniler Vergemeinschaftung heute. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Mayring, P. (2010). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse: Grundlagen und Techniken. Weinheim: Beltz. Schwier, J. (2006). Repräsentationen des Trendsports. Jugendliche Bewegungskulturen, Medien und Marketing. In: Gugutzer, R. (Hrsg.). body turn. Perspektiven der Soziologie des Körpers und des Sports. Bielefeld: transcript (S. 321-340). Stegbauer, C. (2008). Netzwerkanalyse und Netzwerktheorie. Ein neues Paradigma in den Sozialwissenschaften. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Thorpe, H. (2011). Snowboarding bodies in theory and practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Wheaton, B. (2005). Understanding lifestyle sports; consumption, identity and difference. New York: Routledge.