The topic of this essay is the expected effects that can come during and after a mega event and how the local impact may affect the local community and the citizen. This essay concerns a forthcoming mega event, the Olympic Games that will be held in London 2012. The area that the Olympics will be held in is Stratford that is located about twenty minutes from the central of London by the underground. The Olympic Games is one of the largest mega events with its millions of visitors. The purpose of this essay is to study what is expected after the mega event has taken place in London. This is done through observation and through contact with one of the key members in the project team for the planning around the Olympics 2012. The authors of this essay have also had contact with Björn Folin who is the press officer for the Swedish Olympic Committee. To gain an insight into what might happen, the authors of this essay has also examined what happened after the previous Olympic Games. The result of this study is shaped by what has happened in cities that have arranged the Olympic Games previous years. Since this essay is to examine expectations of what might happen after the Olympic Games in London 2012, much of the outcome of what happened after the Olympics is based on what the outcome have been in previous host cities.

There is an increasing interest in studying the concentration of the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA), both in the healthy and diseased brain by using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). Recent studies have shown correlations between an abnormal GABA concentration in certain regions of the brain and disorders as e.g. Parkinson’s disease and depressive disorders. There are presently many technical difficulties with the absolute quantification of GABA and the method MEGA-PRESS is currently the standard technique used in data acquisitions and processing of spectra. In this thesis, different techniques of GABA quantification have been evaluated and the most important aspect was to explore the precision of the method for further usage as a clinical tool. This project involved the exploration of data acquisitions by using a MEGA-PRESS sequence on a 3 T MR-system, processing of the resulting datasets using different methodologies, GABA quantification by using linear combination of model spectra (LCModel), and interpretation of the results by performing statistical analyses. The thesis resulted in a low resolution GABA-atlas of the brain which did not indicate any significant differences in the GABA concentration within the healthy subject group. However, a significant regional difference was observed in the brain. The main uncertainties arose mainly due to the relatively small subject groups and the large measurement error. Future measurements will require improvements both in the data acquisition and in analyzing these with an improved method of processing. The final conclusion was that the GABA quantification sequence MEGA-PRESS is useful both in diagnosis and as a research tool, although further improvements are required.

Begreppet hållbarhet definieras som ”en utveckling som tillfredställer dagens behov utan att äventyra kommande generations möjligheter att tillfredställa sina behov”. Inom företagsvärlden blir det allt mer vanligt att hållbarhetsrapportera vilket även organisationer tagit efter. Mycket forskning har bedrivits inom hållbarhetsormrådet, dock har författarna sett att det saknas forskning kring hur mega-event ställer sig till begreppet. Detta resonemang har lett författarna till följande problemformulering:   Hur har utvecklingen av hållbarhetsrapportering sett ut över tid i mega-event?   Studiens teoretiska ramverk inleds med en historisk utveckling av CSR från 1950-talet fram tills idag samt hur det används i mega-event. Vidare diskuteras Intressentteorin och Legitimitetsteorin. Detta följs av gemenemans definition av CSR vilket är hållbarhet. Slutligen presenteras hållbarhetsrapportering och olika ramverk som används. Framförallt fokuserar studien på GRI vilket är de ramverk som används flitigast bland företag och organisationer för att mäta hållbarhet. Hållbarhet mäts genom tre olika teman: miljö, social och ekonomisk.   Författarna har genomfört studien i form av en kvantitativ innehållsanalys där officiella rapporter från OS har kodats. Valet av OS grundas i att de klassas som typexempel av mega-event. Innehållsanalysens kodningsmanual är utformad med hjälp av riktlinjer från GRI samt kompletterat med branschspecifika indikatorer från OGI. Totalt sett har 30 officiella rapporter kodats, från 1952-2010, om 57 olika indikatorer indelade i de olika temana för att ta reda på hur hållbarhetsrapporteringen har utvecklats över tid.  En jämförelse har gjorts mellan sommar- och vinter-OS för att urskilja om det funnits några skillnader.   Vad studien kan visa på för resultat är att utvecklingen inom hållbarhetsrapporteringen i mega-event över tid har haft en positiv utveckling. Vad gäller rapporteringen av sommar- respektive vinter-OS kan studien konstatera att skillnader likväl som likheter funnits. Detta trots att ett sommar-OS är ett betydligt större arrangemang än vad ett vinter-OS är. Studien kan vidare fastställa att de tre olika temana har utvecklats i olika takt. Temat ekonomi har haft den mest horisontella utvecklingen och temat miljö har stått för den mest radikala utvecklingen.     Författarna anser att utvecklingen beror på den ökade efterfrågan och medvetenheten hos dess intressenter. Samhället har blivit bättre på att göra sin röst hörd samtidigt som företag har blivit bättre att lyssna på vad som efterfrågas. Dock belyser författarna på utvecklingsområden då resursutbytet inte är komplett.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is currently in the midst of extraordinary period of mega-event hosting. Central to the preparation and hosting of such mega-events are the issues of infrastructure and image. While a large number of articles have been keen to illustrate the transformative potential (and dilemmas) of utilizing mega-events to advance an urban agenda, less understood is role that citizen journalists and traditional media journalists play in the construction of the "media geography" of mega-events. This research examines the dominant narratives in the international media coverage of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, specifically the 12 months leading up to that event starting with the 2013 Confederations Cup Riots. Data was derived from a content analysis of 5 western, international media outlets, as well as interviews with international and new media journalists from the New York Times, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Midia NINJA, and several other media organizations. These journalists were questioned about the dominant media narratives, as well as the role of new media, not only in reporting news on the ground in Rio de Janeiro, but also in how their presence helped shape the media's representation of Rio and perhaps construct a new "point of reference" for the city. The results of the quantitative and qualitative data suggest a couple of clear narratives. The first questioned whether or not the event's infrastructure projects would be ready in time for the start of the games. The second focused on reporting of the protests in Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere, attempting to give meaning to protests and the array of grievances that sparked those demonstrations. Additionally, this research examined how traditional and new media journalists leveraged social media to mobilize and facilitate the various contestations of Rio de Janeiro's mega-events. / Master of Science

Dans cette thèse, nous analysons comment les commissions d’organisation de la Coupe du Monde de la FIFA 2014 et des Jeux olympiques d’été 2016 ont utilisé ces mégaévénements pour négocier l’image du pays et de ses habitants en utilisant la tension entre les récits historiques nationaux et les modèles idéalisés de ce qu'on attend d’un pays moderne et de sa position sur la scène internationale. Premièrement, nous avons identifié et discuté une série de récits nationalistes qui - au cours de différentes périodes de l’histoire du Brésil - ont été élaborés comme des moyens de contextualiser le Brésil et les Brésiliens au sein de ce que l’Occident considérait comme moderne. Cependant, sachant qu'il existe de nombreuses façons différentes de vivre et de représenter une nation continentale regorgeant de contrastes régionaux comme le Brésil, nous contextualisons également la représentation des cultures de différents Brésils dans les récits dominants de la brésilité. Une fois ces récits nationalistes et régionalistes définis, nous avons pu les identifier dans l'analyse du contenu du matériel audiovisuel de la Coupe du monde de 2014 et des Jeux olympiques de 2016 - par example, dans les affiches, des logos, des mascottes, des cérémonies, etc. L’adoption, le rejet ou la négociation de ces récits dans les cérémonies mentionnées nous indique non seulement comment les architectes de ces événements ont compris et projeté l’image de la nation à l’étranger, mais aussi comment ils ont révélé leurs perceptions à propos de la brésilité et aussi de la modernité. En outre, l’analyse a également exposé les points de vue des comités d’organisation sur le rôle que jouent les cultures des différentes régions du Brésil dans leurs idées sur la nation, ainsi que leur compréhension de la façon dont différents peuples qui habitent le pays - tels que les descendants de portugais, africains, amérindiens, etc. – ont contribué à la formation de la nation. / In this thesis, we have analysed how the organising committees of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics have used these mega-events to negotiate the image of the country and its inhabitants through the tension between historical national narratives and idealised standards of what is expected from a modern nation in relation to the world scene. To do it so, firstly, we have identified and discussed a series of nationalistic historical core narratives which - in different periods of Brazilian history - were crafted to contextualise Brazil and Brazilians within western modernity. Nonetheless, as we understand that there is a myriad of different ways of experiencing and representing a continental nation filled with regional contrasts as Brazil, we also have contextualised the representation of the cultures of different Brazils within dominant narratives of Brazilian-ness. Once we have delineated such nationalist and regionalist narratives, we were able to identify them in the content analysis of the audiovisual material of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics such as posters, logos, mascots, ceremonies and so on. The adoption, rejection or negotiation of these narratives in the aforementioned ceremonies do not only tell us how the architects of these events understood and projected the nation’s image abroad, but also unveiled their perception of Brazilian-ness and modernity. What is more, the analysis has also exposed the organising committees’ judgment of the role that the cultures of different regions play in their idea of the nation as well as their understanding of how different peoples – as the Luso-Brazilians, the Afro-Brazilians, the Amerindians, etc - have contributed to the formation of the nation. / Nesta tese, analisamos como as comissões organizadoras da Copa do Mundo FIFA 2014 e os Jogos Olímpicos de verão de 2016 usaram esses megaeventos para negociar a imagem do país e seus habitantes utilizando da tensão entre narrativas nacionais históricas e padrões idealizados do que se espera de uma nação moderna e da sua relação com a cena internacional. Para tanto, em primeiro lugar, identificamos e discutimos uma série de narrativas nacionalistas que - durante diferentes períodos da história brasileira - foram elaboradas como formas de contextualizar o Brasil e os brasileiros dentro do que o ocidente considerava moderno. No entanto, como entendemos que há uma infinidade de diferentes formas de vivenciar e representar uma nação continental repleta de contrastes regionais como o Brasil, também contextualizamos a representação das culturas de diferentes Brasis dentro narrativas dominantes da brasilidade. Uma vez delineadas tais narrativas nacionalistas e regionalistas, pudemos identificá-las na análise de conteúdo do material audiovisual da Copa do mundo de 2014 e dos Jogos Olímpicos de 2016 – tais como cartazes, logotipos, mascotes, cerimônias e assim por diante. A adoção, rejeição ou negociação dessas narrativas nas cerimônias mencionadas não só nos dizem como os arquitetos desses eventos entenderam e projetaram a imagem da nação no exterior, mas também como revelaram as suas percepções de brasilidade e de modernidade. Além disso, a análise também expôs as visões das comissões organizadoras sobre qual é papel que as culturas de diferentes regiões brasileiras desempenham nas suas idéias a respeito da nação, bem como os seus entendimentos de como diferentes povos que habitam o país – como os descedentes de portugueses, africanos, ameríndios, etc. - contribuíram para a formação do Brasil

There is a growing field of literature concerning the staging, management and planning for large scale sports events; the evaluation of these events and the reasons why nations, but more recently cities, attempt to host these events, but few studies have attempted to provide a theoretically informed analysis of the processes by which these decisions are made. This study builds upon those existing studies in this area which outlined a method for exploring decisions to host, but furthers the analysis through the consideration of policy models, most notably the Multiple Streams Framework (Kingdon, 1984), in order to provide a sophisticated understanding of how such policy decisions are taken at the local level. Within the context of a critical realist epistemology, case studies of three United Kingdom bids (Sheffield s bid for the 1991 Universiade; Manchester s bid for the 2000 Olympic Games and Glasgow s bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games) were undertaken. Content analysis of documents, triangulated with semi-structured interviews with the majority of key actors involved in, and excluded from, the processes were carried out in order for geographical, methodological and theoretical triangulation to be undertaken. The three bids were selected from across a twenty year period in order to test the hypothesis that the decision-making process for events would had become more and centrally-led over time. The results indicate that, while no analytical framework provides a perfect fit , the Multiple Streams Framework and its focus on policy entrepreneurialism is highly useful in explaining the elevation of these events onto local political agendas. Despite the increased centralisation of United Kingdom sport policy, local/regional actors were able to operate with surprising freedom and take advantage of apparent coincidences in order to achieve their objectives. The wider implications of these results include providing a stimulus for researchers to build upon the limited body of literature that applies policy theory to sports policy issues and also to stimulate research in the international context.

Mega-retailers are widely criticized as causing devastation among smaller retailers, particularly in mid-sized markets in the United States. Others argue that small retailers can survive “in the shadow of the retail giants,” by offering levels of customer service that the mega-retailers can’t provide due to their very size. This paper reports the findings of an empirical study of the perceived impact of the recent opening of box-retailers, such as Costco and Home Depot on locally owned/operated small retailers in the northeastern Ontario city of Greater Sudbury, Canada from 1999 to 2003. The sample included 78 smaller store owners, on average in operation for the last 21 years. Aggregate results confirmed the hypotheses that small retailers suffered lower sales and clientele since the arrival of mega-retailers, and could clearly identify their and mega-retailers’ respective competitive advantages and disadvantages as compared to each other. Respondents had a significant perception of having an advantage over their mega-competitors in the areas of Store Cleanliness, Value for the Customer, Products’ Quality, and Store Layout. While a number of respondents suffered lower sales, about one-third of them (the Resisting Retailers) had average sales growth of over 21%. Differentiation and Niche Marketing were the main aspects of a successful competing strategy adopted by resisting retailers against mega-retailers. Some of the strategic moves adopted by resisting retailers amounted to a “Vacuum Strategy,” which includes the refusal to carry brands available at mega-stores, and the refusal to service such brands or to have anything to do with megaretailers, refusing any alliance with them and making it known to customers.

The architecture of the sports stadium has evolved dramatically throughout its history. From the ancient gladiatorial arenas to the domes and retractable-roof ballparks of the 20th Century, the stadium has become an iconic and integral part of life, in our modern society. Through the globalization of sports and sporting events, such as the Olympics and World Cup, new and more exciting opportunities are being extended to those who, historically, have been without the resources or infrastructural means to support such endeavors. However, for all the excitement and optimism that accompanies the initial design and planning, the actual development of the necessary structures and support systems rarely provides the expected return on what, ultimately, becomes a staggering investment of time, money, and labor. In fact, operators have found it nearly impossible to provide for the continued operation, maintenance, and regular occupation of these facilities, thus resulting in an overwhelming burden on the local community. It is the purpose of this thesis to provide a survey of architectural precedents from selected mega-events of the last 100 years, as well as a number of other contemporary stadium projects, in an effort to fully convey the magnitude and relevancy of this issue, to identify industry trends and practical models, and more definitively present the need for an alternative approach to design. Additionally, a proposal will be put in place for more of a focus on modularity and prefabrication, in order to transform the Olympic or World Cup stadium into a less permanent element within the urban landscape. It is the hope that the systemic issues, currently associated with hosting international sporting events, may be remedied through the architecture, and ultimate disassembly, of the 21st Century stadium. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce the negative impact of such undertakings, and to aid in the realization of the inherent potential for positive change therein.

Building tall has always been an expression of dreams, power and technical advancement. With the greatly increasing urbanization in recent years building tall has become a more viable option for office and residential housing. The Tubed mega frame concept tries to evolve the stabilizing systems of high-rise buildings with its mega frame around the buildings perimeter, created together with a new elevator system; the Articulated Funiculator. This thesis examines the effectiveness of the Tubed mega frame compared to other structural systems. Information and background has been taken from different types of literature, analysis programs and verbally from supervisors; Fritz King and Peter Severin. Using Finite Element Method (FEM-) programs studies on previously used structural systems along with the Tubed mega frame has been made, trying to draw conclusions about its advantages and drawbacks. The examinations have been done using SAP2000and ETABS, both developed by CSI. The tubed mega frame shows to require a large amount of concrete compared to other systems at lower heights, because of its geometry. As the height increases it does show an increase in effectiveness and by the time it reaches 480 meters it is using less materials and still achieving greater stiffness than other systems. Since the geometry of the Tubed mega frame is so flexible a conclusion is also made that the stiffness can be increased by sacrificing façade area or creating longer outriggers.

In the past twenty years an increasing number of Global South nations have vied for the rights to host prestigious and expensive sport mega events. This trend requires significant reflection given the enormous economic costs of these events, which often produce little capital gain for the host nation (Whitson & Horne, 2006). Furthermore, sport mega events are often utilized for their symbolic capital (Belanger, 2009), which sometimes manifests through forcing people from their land for the sake of “beautification” (Davis, 2006). In this project, then, I asked how technologies of power were utilized by FIFA, corporate stakeholders, and the South African government to control people who were marginal to, or impeded the success of, the World Cup in Nelspruit, South Africa. This project consisted of two parts: the first involved constructing a theoretical framework for better understanding power as it operates through sport mega events in general. To this end I employed Marxian notions of the ordering of physical space, Foucauldian conceptions of sovereignty and governmentality, and Agamben’s (1998) state of exception to determine how particular bodies are constituted and controlled through sport mega events. In the second part, I applied this theoretical framework to the events in South Africa to better elucidate how people became displaced and killed because of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I used South African popular news and documentaries as empirical evidence and conducted a discursive analysis of said news media. Through this coverage it became apparent that the mega event created the conditions in which new forms of rogue sovereign partnerships could arise through a historically and spatially contingent process of capitalism. The rogue sovereigns’ para-juridico-political orders, the discourses and practices of accumulation by dispossession as a tactic and effect of govermentality, and other historical non-capital subjectivities such as racial identity, all contributed to constituting Agamben’s state of exception in which people could be displaced, killed or left to die in the events surrounding the World Cup. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-08-25 12:25:02.401