Centennial Olympic Games Research Articles

Experience of corporate medical assistance clinics during the Centennial Olympic Games, Atlanta, 1996.

The health of travelers returning home from developing countries has received increased attention in recent years. Much of this attention has centered on immunizations, malaria chemoprophylaxis and treatment of traveler's diarrhea. In contrast, there are very few data on the health problems of international travelers to developed countries such as the United States. We studied the experience of two corporate medical assistance clinics established for both national and international travelers to Atlanta, Georgia during the Centennial Summer Olympic Games in 1996.

Atlanta–Discover the Possibilities Of the `Athens of the South'

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article APA InstituteFull AccessAtlanta–Discover the Possibilities Of the `Athens of the South'Patrice Harris, M.D., Patrice HarrisSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., local arrangements consultantPublished Online:16 Jul 2004https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.39.14.0390036In Atlanta the possibilities are endless. The city, which will host this year's Institute on Psychiatric Services from October 6 to 10, is known as a prime site for meetings, conventions, and trade shows and is consistently ranked as one of the top five convention cities in the country.,Visitors view Martin Luther King's tomb, which is located in the center of the fountain at the King Center in downtown Atlanta.Atlanta earned this reputation with its first-class hotels and transportation and meeting facilities, but the city is much more than a meeting destination. The city has developed into the entertainment and cultural center of the South, with more than 18 million visitors arriving each year to experience Atlanta's abundant attractions.World-class restaurants, festive nightlife, exciting sports teams, and a wealth of cultural attractions and events help make Atlanta the center for entertainment in the South.Diverse restaurants feature cuisine prepared by world-renowned chefs and served amid any ambiance and décor you can imagine. From Thai food to French delicacies, the culinary riches of almost any culture can be found in Atlanta.Culture and history are front and center in Atlanta. Visitors to the city's many theaters, museums, galleries, concert halls, and family attractions can enjoy a wide array of art, drama, dance, and music. Visitors in town for APA's institute may want to see “The Color Purple” at the Alliance Theater or take in the exquisite glass exhibit by Dale Chihuly at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.The Fernbank Museum of Natural History offers culture with a twist at“ Martinis at Imax,” and on the first Thursday of each month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., in an event called Turner First Thursday, visitors can take a self-guided tour of downtown art galleries, tour the historic districts of downtown, and enjoy various discounts at restaurants.Like most leading cities, Atlanta has many interesting neighborhoods worth exploring. Buckhead, the “Beverly Hills of the South,” features luxurious homes, upscale shopping, and the finest dining and entertainment. Virginia Highlands, a young professionals' hot spot, is a quaint neighborhood of renovated 60- to 80-year-old homes, unique shops, art galleries, and restaurants. Other neighborhoods noted for eclectic shops and vintage boutiques, unique dining, and beautiful homes include Midtown and Little Five Points.Discover the neighborhood that Fortune magazine called the richest black street in America at “Sweet Auburn: Where the Dream Began,” an exhibit at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, which details the vital role this historic Atlanta corridor played throughout the civil rights movement.Atlanta has been called the “Sports Capital of the World,” a fitting term for a city with successful professional sports teams and state-of-the-art sports facilities. The city has hosted some of the world's most prestigious sporting events, including Super Bowl XXVIII, the World Series, and the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. While at the institute, meeting goers can catch local NFL action as Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons take on the Detroit Lions at the Georgia Dome on Sunday, October 10.With more than 700 hotels offering 90,000 hotel rooms that can accommodate any budget, Atlanta's hotels offer the finest in service and amenities. Atlanta is nearer than you think: 80 percent of the U.S. population is within a two-hour flight of the city. From the heart of downtown, visitors can quickly reach Atlanta's many attractions, entertainment venues, restaurants, and neighborhoods by cab, bus, or rail. Atlanta's rapid rail and bus system, MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority), has 38 stations and 154 bus routes covering the metropolitan area at a cost of $1.75 a ride.▪IPS Scientific Program Committee. ISSUES NewArchived

Newspaper Coverage of Female Athletes Competing in Selected Sports in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games: The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

This study was a comparison of how selected newspapers from Canada, Great Britain, and the United States reported on female athletes competing in four “gender-appropriate” sports with female athletes competing in four “gender-inappropriate” sports at the Centennial Olympic Games. The liberal feminist theoretical framework underpinning this study views equality of opportunity and individual liberty as an inevitable by-product of political, legal, and educational reform juxtaposed with a gradual social acceptance. Content Analysis was used to examine all the articles and photographs from the front pages and the sports sections of the newspapers. Based upon the data, female athletes competing in the “gender-appropriate” sports of swimming, gymnastics, tennis, and diving received more newspaper coverage than female athletes competing in the “gender-inappropriate” sports of soccer, softball, field hockey, and volleyball in terms of the average number of words per article and the average number of paragraphs per article. In addition, the “gender-appropriate” athletes were over-represented in the average number of photographs, the average number of photographs on the first page, and the average number of photographs on the top of the pages. Qualitative analyses of articles and photographs revealed a subtle but discernable amount of culturally stereotyped coverage.

A Comparison of Selected ‘Serious’ and ‘Popular’ British, Canadian, and United States Newspaper Coverage of Female and Male Athletes Competing in the Centennial Olympic Games

This study compares how selected ‘serious’ and ‘popular’ newspapers from three countries covered female and male athletes during the Centennial Olympic Games, 1996. From Canada, the Globe and Mailand Toronto Star; from Great Britain, The Timesand the Daily Mail; and from the United States, the New York Timesand USA Todaywere examined. Content analysis was used to compare all the articles and photographs of female and male athletes on the front pages and the sports sections of all six newspapers. Although differences were found, generally the results showed that, compared to their respective participation rates, female and male athletes competing in the Centennial Olympic Games received an equitable amount of coverage. Qualitative analyses indicated that female athletes received a comparable coverage with their male peers in article descriptors of their ‘physical appearance/attire’, ‘strength/athleticism’, ‘psychological characteristics’, and ‘family role’, and in ‘competing’, ‘non-competing’, ‘active’, and ‘posed’ photographs. This study confirmed that female athletes receive more newspaper coverage when they compete in major international competitions such as the Olympic Games. Reasons for the reasonably equitable amount of newspaper coverage of female athletes are outlined, with suggestions for improvement of newspaper coverage of female athletes.

A Comparison of Selected 'Serious' and 'Popular' British, Canadian, and United States Newspaper Coverage of Female and Male Athletes Competing in the Centennial Olympic Games: Did Female Athletes Receive Equitable Coverage in the 'Games of the Women'?

A Comparison of Selected 'Serious' and 'Popular' British, Canadian, and United States Newspaper Coverage of Female and Male Athletes Competing in the Centennial Olympic Games: Did Female Athletes Receive Equitable Coverage in the 'Games of the Women'?

Kinematic comparisons of 1996 Olympic baseball pitchers

The aim of this study was to compare and evaluate the kinematics of baseball pitchers who participated in the 1996 XXVI Centennial Olympic Games. Two synchronized video cameras operating at 120 Hz were used to video 48 pitchers from Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Cuba, Italy, Korea, Nicaragua and the USA. All pitchers were analysed while throwing the fastball pitch. Twenty-one kinematic parameters were measured at lead foot contact, during the arm cocking and arm acceleration phases, and at the instant of ball release. These parameters included stride length, foot angle and foot placement; shoulder abduction, shoulder horizontal adduction and shoulder external rotation; knee and elbow flexion; upper torso, shoulder internal rotation and elbow extension angular velocities; forward and lateral trunk tilt; and ball speed. A one-way analysis of variance (P ≪ 0.01) was used to assess kinematic differences. Shoulder horizontal adduction and shoulder external rotation at lead foot contact and ball speed at the instant of ball release were significantly different among countries. The greater shoulder horizontal abduction observed in Cuban pitchers at lead foot contact is thought to be an important factor in the generation of force throughout the arm cocking and arm acceleration phases, and may in part explain why Cuban pitchers generated the greatest ball release speed. We conclude that pitching kinematics are similar among baseball pitchers from different countries.

Warning Operations in Support of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games

During the summer of 1996, the National Weather Service (NWS) provided weather support for the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. This weather support effort presented many challenges, particularly in the area of providing short-term forecast (watch) and warning support. Topping the list of challenges was working with a customer with different weather information needs than the general public. The needs of the venue and competition management were much more detailed than the NWS traditionally is accustomed to and the thresholds for various phenomena were very low (e.g., warnings for the occurrence of any rain were issued rather than the more traditional NWS severe thunderstorm warning). This paper discusses many of the challenges faced and met by the Olympic Weather Support Office (OWSO). Details are provided on the weather warning requirements of the Olympic venue and competition management, the watch/warning strategy utilized by the OWSO, and the resulting performance of the office. More than 1200 watches and warnings were issued during the period of Olympic weather support. These bulletins were for phenomena ranging from dew formation and low visibility to lightning and heavy rain. Several emerging technologies were employed for warning operations in the OWSO, including the Warning Decision Support System and the Watch/Warning/Advisory package. These hardware/software solutions appear to have made a positive impact on the performance of the office in meeting the challenges of this unique warning situation.

The Global Village in Atlanta: A Textual Analysis of Olympic News Coverage for Children in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Newspaper reporting aimed at children has proliferated yet children's news has seldom been the subject of study. This project begins to fill that void by examining the “News for Kids” (NFK) section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It examines international news reporting for children and specifically the representations of international others as they were portrayed in reporting on the centennial Olympic games. Does news for children structure the “other” into a hierarchy of difference from “us ?” Our findings suggest that powerful dominant discourses emerge which form a systematic strategy of representation. Since representation is one of the ways in which social meanings (e.g., preconditions for the functioning of social practices) are produced and circulated in society, this textual analysis helps break into over-determined discourses by identifying ideological constructions within the news reporting.

Nationalistic feelings and sports: The incident of the overseas Chinese protest against NBC's coverage of the centennial Olympic games

In NBC's coverage of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, Bob Costas’ remarks about Team China invited furious and persistent protests from the overseas Chinese. The protests, which were chiefly based on situational ethics, garnered an extensive grassroots support and continued for weeks after the Atlanta Olympics had finished. Under pressure from the protestors, NBC made a public apology. In response to the protests and NBC's apology, the US media expressed strong discontent. The arguments were basically supported by political correctness. Thus, situational ethics collided with political correctness. Although the protest against NBC appeared to be an accidental incident, a careful review of the incident and the opinions voiced by both sides reveals that the anger of the overseas Chinese with NBC, which justified itself in a number of ways, bears a variety of social and political implications, and that the US media's position has also been justified by the norms that have been formed over the past few years and accepted by the media and the majority of the American public alike. An explanation for the causes of the protest incident begs an in‐depth analysis of broad social and political factors.

A Descriptive Analysis of NBC’s Coverage of the Centennial Olympics

This study examines the amount of coverage given to women’s events and female athletes by NBC at the Centennial Olympic Games. Content analysis showed that women were covered extensively, but that coverage of women concentrated on individual sports such as swimming, diving, and gymnastics to the exclusion of team events. Men’s team competitions received substantially more coverage than did women’s team events, and women in sports that involved power or hard physical contact between athletes received almost no attention. Additionally, many more men were used as on-camera sources and most event announcers were male.

Poison center planning for mass gatherings: the Georgia Poison Center experience with the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

The host city for the Olympic Games needs to prepare for "the world" to visit. This article is the first published report describing the impact of an event such as the Olympics on poison center services. We evaluated our operations and identified potential new demands. Operational aspects reviewed included: staffing; communication with foreign language callers; knowledge of international drug products; telephone access; procedures for disaster response and recovery; poison treatment protocols; and handling of hazardous material releases. We collaborated with local, state, and federal planners to delineate the poison center role and to develop protocols for use in a poisoning, including a hazardous material's release at a densely populated site. We enhanced our capability to respond to unusual incidents by forming new alliances. Fortunately, no such events occurred; these plans were therefore not tested. The Georgia Poison Center developed and implemented new capabilities for the Centennial Olympic Games. Immediate access to poison center resources would have facilitated the care of poisoned patients at multiple hospitals if this had become necessary. Communities preparing for mass gatherings should capitalize on the common interests of poison centers, hazardous materials specialists, and public safety agencies. Preparations should emphasize the most likely events, while recognizing the possibility of the unexpected. Planning an integrated response allows the talents and resources of participating agencies to be maximally utilized.

Marine Forecasting at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games

A team of meteorologists from the United States, Canada, and Australia provided marine weather support to the sailing events of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, held in Wassaw Sound near Savannah, Georgia. The team conducted research on the weather and climate and developed a set of forecast products designed to inform athletes, volunteers, and race managers of the wind, tidal current, wave, and weather behavior expected each day during the pre-Olympic and Olympic periods. The Olympic period proved to be a challenge with thunderstorms delaying, abandoning, or postponing races on half of the days. Thunderstorm development and movement was linked to the timing and strength of the sea breeze as well as the direction and speed of the gradient wind. Numerous thunderstorm warnings were issued with the assistance of the WSR-88D radar and the Warning Decision Support System. Frequent lightning was a legitimate safety concern due to the long distances between race courses and lack of suitable shelter; fortunately no one was injured during the lightning episodes. Forecasters benefited from access to a variety of monitoring tools and models including real-time Olympic buoy wind and current time series displays; satellite and radar imagery animation; 2-, 8-, and 10-km resolution mesoscale models; a live video feed of race coverage; and communications with forecasters aboard patrol craft offshore. Official wind forecasts, mesoscale models, and a simple vector addition model performed better than climatology and persistence as defined by mean vector error and rms wind direction error. Climatology was difficult to beat on the basis of wind speed error.

Medical Preparedness for a Terrorist Incident Involving Chemical and Biological Agents During the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games

During the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, unprecedented preparations were undertaken to cope with the health consequences of a terrorist incident involving chemical or biological agents. Local, state, federal, and military resources joined to establish a specialized incident assessment team and science and technology center. Critical antimicrobials and antidotes were strategically stockpiled. First-responders received specialized training, and local acute care capabilities were supplemented. Surveillance systems were augmented and strengthened. However, this extensive undertaking revealed a number of critical issues that must be resolved if our nation is to successfully cope with an attack of this nature. Emergency preparedness in this complex arena must be based on carefully conceived priorities. Improved capabilities must be developed to rapidly recognize an incident and characterize the agents involved, as well as to provide emergency decontamination and medical care. Finally, capabilities must be developed to rapidly implement emergency public health interventions and adequately protect emergency responders. [Sharp TW, Brennan RJ, Keim M, Williams RJ, Eitzen E, Lillibridge S: Medical preparedness for a terrorist incident involving chemical and biological agents during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Ann Emerg Med August 1998;32:214-223.]

Public health response for the 1996 Olympic Games.

Extensive planning and preparation by public health agencies were required for the provision of public health services during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, which brought together more than 10000 athletes from 197 countries and more than 2 million visitors. Public health activities included the development and use of an augmented surveillance system to monitor health conditions and detect disease outbreaks; creation and implementation of 6 environmental health regulations; establishment of a central Public Health Command Center and response teams to coordinate response to public health emergencies; planning for potential mass casualties and the provision of emergency medical services; implementation of strategies for the prevention of heat-related illness; and distribution of health promotion and disease prevention information. Public health agencies should take the lead in organizing and implementing a system for preventing and managing public health issues at future large-scale public events such as the Olympics.

An Overview of NWS Weather Support for the XXVI Olympiad

The 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, received weather support from the National Weather Service (NWS). The mandate to provide this support gave the NWS an unprecedented opportunity to employ in an operational setting several tools and practices similar to those planned for the “modernized” era of the NWS. The project also provided a glimpse of technology and practices not planned for the NWS modernization, but that might be valuable in the future. The underlying purpose of the project was to protect the life and property of the two million spectators, athletes, volunteers, and officials visiting and/or participating in the games. While there is no way to accurately account for lives and property that were protected by the NWS support, the absence of weather-related deaths, significant injuries, and damaged property during the games despite an almost daily occurrence of thunderstorms, high temperatures, and/or rain indicates that the project was a success. In fact, popular perception held that weather had no effect on the games. The 2000+ weather bulletins issued during the 6-week support period suggest otherwise. The authors describe the many facets of this demanding and successful project, with special attention given to aspects related to operational forecasting. A postproject survey completed by the Olympics forecasters, feedback provided by weather support customers, and experiences of the management team provide the bases for project observations and recommendations for future operational forecasting activities.

Tough calls to make: Contingency theory and the Centennial Olympic Games

This paper offers a quick overview of Cameron's contingency theory of conflict management in public relations. It then applies the theory to three cases that occurred during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games that were taken from the policy position papers, notes, diaries and tape recordings of C. Richard Yarbrough, Managing Director‐Communications of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG). The areas analysed include: the moving of preliminary volleyball matches from one venue to another which was forced by conflict between gay activists and local politicians who passed an anti‐gay resolution — a sustained effort at accommodation that shifted to advocacy; conflict between the ACOG board of directors and the media resulting from the disclosure of ACOG executive salaries — a strong advocacy stance that led to compromise; and conflict threatened between ACOG and a minority minister who was disgruntled about an Olympic sponsor — a case of marginality too insignificant to bother with. The cases not only illustrate and support factors in the contingency theory, but highlight the impracticality and inflexibility of two‐way symmetrical or mixed‐motive public relations as models of choice.

Local-Domain Mesoscale Analysis and Forecast Model Support for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games

Abstract The National Weather Service (NWS) developed the Olympic Weather Support System (OWSS) to provide specialized operational weather support for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. Operational implementation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Forecast Systems Laboratory’s Local Analysis and Prediction System (LAPS) was a key element of the OWSS. LAPS is a complete, three-dimensional data assimilation system that produced subhourly atmospheric analyses on an 8-km grid covering all the Olympic venues. The LAPS analyses also provided initial conditions to the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) mesoscale forecast model. RAMS forecasts were generated at least every 3 h using 8- or 2-km grids. For the first time, a comprehensive operational analysis and forecast system operated in a local NWS forecast office to support meso-β-scale forecasts and warnings. Numerous benefits of LAPS–RAMS to the local forecast office were demonstrated. The OWSS, with LAPS–RAMS included,...

The centennial olympic games and massage therapy: the first official team

The centennial olympic games and massage therapy: the first official team

Southern Culture at the Crossroads: Presenting the South at the Centennial Olympic Games

Southern Culture at the Crossroads: Presenting the South at the Centennial Olympic Games

Performance-Enhancing Drugs, Fair Competition, and Olympic Sport

Drug control has become an important component of Olympic sport. At the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games, urine samples will be tested for prohibited substances, including stimulants, narcotics, anabolic agents, diuretics, peptides, and glycoprotein hormones as well as prohibited methods of enhancing performance, including blood doping and pharmacological, chemical, and physical manipulation of the urine. Drug testing programs must address short-acting stimulants, beta-blockers, and diuretics; training drugs such as anabolic steroids; and drugs affecting the detectability of other drugs. Programs include short- or no-notice testing during training periods, testing at qualifying competitions, and testing at the Olympic Games. Procedures and disposition that occur when a prohibited substance is found in an athlete competing in an Olympic sport are discussed. An analysis of the ethics of the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports and of drug control in terms of fair competition and the impact of enhancement technologies of the meaning of sports also is presented.