Olympic Games In Atlanta Research Articles

The Nobel Literature Prize and Peacebuilding

Abstract Organized as part of the Cultural Olympiad for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, “The Nobel Laureates of Literature: An Olympic Gathering” featured the largest ever assembly of Nobel laureates in literature for a single occasion. It was expected that the eight writers in attendance, namely Joseph Brodsky, Czesław Miłosz, Toni Morrison, Kenzaburō Ōe, Octavio Paz, Claude Simon, Wole Soyinka, and Derek Walcott, would singularly promote the values of peacebuilding. Instead, the laureates demonstrated varying degrees of uneasiness. By close-reading the panel discussion transcript in conjunction with the writers’ Nobel lectures, this paper argues for an alternative reading of the Olympic Gathering as a platform where the artistic visions of the eight writers interacted with each other on topics related to mutual understanding, privacy, and communication. Rather than reinforcing the liturgy of global peacebuilding, the Nobel laureates transformed the Olympic Gathering into a critical space that simultaneously promotes and deconstructs its peacebuilding processes.

The Coca-Cola Games: Marketing Legacies of the Atlanta Olympic Games

Abstract The 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta represented a turning point in the commercial orientation of the Olympics. While arguably a commercial success, the Atlanta Games were, and continue to be, heavily criticized for their overly commercial nature. Now, more than twenty years after the Atlanta Games, this article retrospectively examines their long-term marketing legacies. Employing a qualitative case design built from a detailed document analysis using a combination of historical and contemporary sources, this article identifies key marketing and organizational events, circumstances, strategies, and challenges of the Atlanta Games and discusses how they have arguably impacted the future course of Olympic marketing and sponsorship in an effort to expand knowledge and understanding of event management-related legacies.

The Membership Composition of the Athletes’ Commission of the International Olympic Committee: Between Appointments and Elections, 1981–2000

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Athletes’ Commission (AC) was founded in 1981 following discussions at the XIth Olympic Congress in Baden-Baden. According to protocols, the IOC President decided on the composition of each commission. As to the AC the IOC modified this policy of membership in the mid-1990s. However, since the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games athletes have been able to vote for the majority of their representation on the Commission. Another process of transformation was implemented by the IOC Reform Commission in 1999, leading to the fact that since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games the quota of elected members to the AC has increased and the elected members have been given the chance to become members of the IOC. This study shows that since the foundation of the AC its membership composition has been increasingly dynamic. The reasons for the development from appointed to elected members are analyzed and linked with research on the input of the members of AC to the transformation process. The paper also provides detailed information on the mechanisms associated with elections to the AC, including the formal conditions for eligibility, and the election itself, as well as discussing the relevant persons responsible for these processes.

Organizing committees for the Olympic Games and satellite host local organizing committees: examining their relationships and impact on legacy creation

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the Interorganizational Relationships (IORs) between an Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) and satellite host Local Organizing Committees (LOCs) and to explore how these relationships affected the creation of Olympic legacies in these periphery locations. Methods: An embedded cross-case analysis of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games was built. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) served as the primary case, and related satellite host LOCs (i.e., Athens, Columbus, Conyers, and Savannah) were the multiple units of examination. A content analysis of archival materials, official documents, and transcriptions of stakeholder interviews were conducted. Findings: ACOG engaged in IORs to improve their stability, asymmetry, and legitimacy while enhancing efficiency, reciprocity, and individual-level factors were motives shared by ACOG and the LOCs. Formal controls and informal processes managed these relationships. Consequently, the Games and the IORs acted as a catalyst for legacy creation in the satellite host settings. Practical Implications: Event organizers and stakeholders should consider the implications IORs have on long-term outcomes so host organizing committees and surrounding communities could more strategically implement additional resultant legacies. Research Contribution: The study's findings provide a new understanding of the impacts IORs can have on the longevity of legacy outcomes.

Endgame? Sports Events as Symbolic Targets in Lone Wolf Terrorism

This article explores how terrorists acting alone or in small groups have used sports events as symbolic targets in their performance of terrorism. Drawing on a comparative analysis of the attacks on the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2013 Boston Marathon, it is argued that terrorist target selection of major sports events should be understood in relation to the grievances and desires of the perpetrators. The article finds that rather than being the primary target of their attacks, sports events are among a broader range of densely crowded spaces that terrorist actors may seek to target as part of their violent struggle against their adversaries. The findings are contextualized in relation to broader patterns and trends in lone wolf terrorism, including the significance of a copycat phenomenon and inspiration effect.

Reevaluation of the Employment Impact of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games

Using empirical methods published more recently than our earlier analysis found in this journal, we continue to find a statistically significant and substantial employment impact of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Post‐Olympics versus pre‐Olympics employment gains in counties affected by the Olympics exceeded employment gains in the rest of the counties in Georgia by 11% by the end of 2000. In addition, Olympics‐affected counties in the metro Atlanta area experienced employment gains relative to other major Southern metropolitan statistical areas of roughly 5%. These results stand up to robustness and falsification tests.

Educating the Podiatric Physician in Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

Even before 9/11 there had been increased incidents and threats of domestic terrorism in the United States. Among these incidents were the 1993 bombing at the New York City World Trade Center parking lot, the bombing in 1995 at the Oklahoma City federal building (killing 168 people, 19 of whom were children), and the pipe bombing at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. In addition, in 1996 there were the deaths and injuries resulting from the release of the toxic nerve agent sarin in a crowded Tokyo subway. Bioterrorism also has occurred in the United States and globally. In 1763 at Fort Pitt on the Pennsylvania frontier, British General Lord Jeffery Amherst obtained blankets and handkerchiefs from patients with smallpox to be given to Delaware Indians at an alleged peacemaking event. In the 1980s, a cult used Salmonella to poison citizens living in a small town in Oregon. More than 700 individuals became ill, and more than 40 required hospitalization. Historical documents record biological agents that have been studied or deployed as weapons since the 14th century and continuing to the present. In 1340, attackers catapulted dead horses and other animals at the castle Thun-l’Eveque in Hainault in what is now northern France. The defenders reported that ‘‘the stink and the air were so abominable. . .. They could not long endure’’ and negotiated a truce. Scientists of the infamous Unit 731, a bioweapons project of the 1930s, used human subjects, mostly Chinese and political prisoners, to test the lethality of various disease agents, including anthrax, cholera, typhoid, and plague. As many as 10,000 people were killed. During a variety of military campaigns, several hundred thousand people, mostly Chinese civilians, fell victim. In October 1940, the Japanese dropped paper bags filled with plagueinfested fleas over the cities of Ningbo and Quzhou in Zhejiang province. Other attacks involved contaminating wells and distributing poisoned foods. By the end of the Gulf War in 1991, Iraq possessed an impressive bioweapons arsenal that included anthrax, botulism, and other lethal weapons. Although Iraq is known to have used chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war and against the Kurds in northern Iraq, their use of bioweapons is unknown. However, it took Americans witnessing the loss of more than 3,100 lives on national television for the entire population to appreciate that the potential for bioterrorism and weapons of mass destruction is real and no longer only a theme for science fiction novels and movies. Even after 9/11, it is still questionable whether health professional schools place a high enough priority on the importance of education and training in all-hazards preparedness at the undergraduate and graduate medical levels. An Internet-based survey was sent to 48 undergraduate and fellowship representatives, with receipt of 24 responses. The survey outcome demonstrated that 22 programs before 9/11 and 14 programs after 9/11 taught principles of disaster medicine concepts. The conclusion was that there has been a decline in the number of programs offered after 9/11. Most hospitals in urban, suburban, and rural areas have well-organized disaster preparedness planning projects in accordance with city planning efforts. Many hospitals, including government institutions, such as Veterans Affairs medical centers, county health affiliates, and medical schools, collectively engage in exercises to demonstrate proficiency for public safety reasons in the skills of appropriate disaster preparedness programs. However, it was demonstrated after Hurri*Office of Education, Planning, and Research; Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness; Department of Family Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL. †College of Podiatric Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA. Corresponding author: Lester J. Jones, DPM, MS, College of Podiatric Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E Second St, Pomona, CA 91766. (E-mail: ljones@ westernu.edu)

Welcome to Atlanta!

Welcome to Atlanta!

Kinanthropometric profile of cuban women olympic volleyball champions

Athletes' kinanthropometric profiles are widely addressed in the scientific literature. Such profiles are particularly important in volleyball because absolute size contributes a significant percentage of total variance associated with athletic success. As in other team sports, volleyball players' kinanthropometric attributes correlate with the game's tactical demands. From 1992 through 2000, the Cuban women's volleyball team achieved top global performance, winning first place in three successive Summer Olympic Games. Describe the kinanthropometric profiles of Cuban women Olympic volleyball champions during 1992-2000 and compare these by position played. Measurements were taken of body composition, somatotype, proportionality and several anthropometric indicators in 41 Cuban women volleyball players, grouped by playing position. All were members of the national team that participated in the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000). Mean and standard deviations were calculated for all study variables. Analysis of variance was used to compare means for different positions for the variables weight; height; percent adipose, muscle and bone mass; body mass index; and muscle-to-bone ratio. Discriminant analysis was performed to identify anthropometric dimensions differentiating playing positions (center, spiker and setter), using p<0.05 as significance threshold. Results were presented in tables and figures. Centers presented greater absolute size and higher average adipose (22.8±1.7 kg) and bone (7.1±0.6 kg) mass. The mean somatotype of all volleyball players was balanced mesomorphic (2.7-3.6-2.9). Classified by position, centers (2.9-3.4-3.4) and spikers (2.8-3.6-2.9) presented an average mesomorphic-ectomorphic somatotype, and setters (2.6-3.7-2.6) were balanced mesomorphic. On assessing Somatotype Attitudinal Mean (SAM), centers and spikers showed more intrapositional homogeneity than that of setters. Centers were significantly taller (187.1±2.5 cm) than players in other positions. Centers' percent adipose tissue mass (28.9±2.7%) was significantly higher than that of setters (24.3±2.7%), who were leanest of all positions. The kinanthropometric profile of Cuban women Olympic volleyball champions was defined by considerable muscular-skeletal development, with a predominantly mesomorphic somatotype and low endomorphy. Height and body composition varied significantly by playing position.

From Marin County's Seventies Clunker to the Durango World Championship 1990: A History of Mountain Biking in the USA

Between the 1970s, during which several enthusiastic cyclists rode off-road, and the 1990s, during which the first Union Cycliste Internationale World Championship took place in Durango (Colorado), different steps contributed to the success of mountain bike in the US. Inventions took place throughout the period from Gary Fisher's mechanical improvements in 1975 to Joe Breeze's first specialized frames made in 1977. In the same fashion, the ‘Stumpjumper’ was sold on a large scale in 1982, making it the first industrially-produced mountain bike, which led to a new stage in terms of commercialization. The mountain bike opened a new market in the cycling industry and certainly became more financially accessible to a large number of people. This sport, which began in the US, became a worldwide outdoor sport in the last decade of the twentieth century when the Olympics welcomed it with open arms at the Atlanta Olympic Games.

Mega-Events and Sectoral Employment: The Case of the 1996 Olympic Games

This paper contributes to the analysis of large sporting events using highly disaggregated data. We use the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, which are also outstanding as one of the very few large sporting events where ex post academic analysis found significant positive effects. This paper extends earlier studies in several ways. First, monthly rather than quarterly data will be employed. Second, the impact of the 1996 Olympics will be analyzed for 16 different sectors or subsectors. Third, in addition to standard DD models, we use a non-parametric approach to flexibly isolate employment effects. Regarding the Olympic effect, hardly any evidence for a persistent shift in the aftermath of or the preparation for the Olympic Games is supported. We find a significant positive employment effect in the monthly employment statistics exclusively during the staging of the Olympic Games (July 1996). These short-term effects are concentrated in the sectors of “retail trade”, “accommodation and food services”, and “arts, entertainment, and recreation”, while other sectors showed no such effects.

Wage and Employment Effects of the Olympic Games in Atlanta 1996 Reconsidered

We estimate the economic effects of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Our difference in difference model checks for serial correlation and allows for a simultaneous test of level and trend effects, but otherwise follows HOTCHKISS, MOORE, & ZOBAY (2003) in this journal. We were not able to reconfirm their finding that the Games had significant positive employment effects. We do, however, reaffirm their result of no significant wage effects.

Impact of Improved Air Quality During the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games on Cardiovascular and Respiratory Emergency Department Visits

Impact of Improved Air Quality During the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games on Cardiovascular and Respiratory Emergency Department Visits

For the Cinderella of the New South, the Shoe Just Didn’t Fit: The “Most Exceptional” Games of 1996

The 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games was a sporting and financial success, yet an international image disaster. Atlanta’s goal to shine on a global stage was met with harsh criticism and stereotypical portrayals by media nationally and around the world. What happened? Using a multimethod approach, including content analyses of print and broadcast media in 27 countries, review of institutional reports, and observation of media operations during the Games, this study identifies four key factors largely responsible for Atlanta’s image disaster as Olympic host. In doing so, it provides an exemplar case study of the complex challenges faced by hosts of global media events in their efforts to garner favorable international media coverage. A secondary purpose of this case study is to summarize the preparations, process, and innovations related to media use in the Atlanta Games. Such an account of Atlanta 1996 is missing in the current Olympics literature.

Asthma, allergy, the athlete and the Olympics

As the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing approach, both the general public and health care professionals are gaining interest in the potential health implications of sport. When asthma and allergy are present in athletes, this may affect their performance and achievements and justify the special attention of health care professionals who specialize in taking care of top athletes. However, the impact of allergy and asthma on sport and exercise goes further than just top athletes. The Editors of Allergy decided that in this issue they would focus the attention of allergy and asthma specialists by presenting a series of articles on the relationship between sport, asthma and allergy in the hope that an increased awareness of these problems would be highlighted not only for sports medicine doctors but also for all practicing allergists. Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is a general concern for growing children and adolescents. In most international guidelines, one of the main objectives of treating asthma during childhood is for the child to be able to master EIA. Also among athletes, and especially elite athletes, EIA and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) have become major problems with regard to the correct diagnosis and to treatment. EIA is increasingly common among the top athletes of several different types of sport. Traditionally this has been reported mainly in athletes competing in endurance sports in cold climates, especially among crosscountry skiers (1, 2) and swimmers (3, 4), but also among endurance athletes in summer sports (5). A surprisingly high prevalence of asthma (56%) diagnosed by the reversibility of lung function to inhaled s2-agonists (56%) was reported among professional Canadian football players (6). The prevalence of EIA among top athletes has increased over the past decades. Weiler et al. reported 11% prevalence of EIA among American athletes participating in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games (7) and an increase to a prevalence of more than 20% was noticed among American participants in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta (8).

‘Cells or soaring?’: Historical reflectons on ‘visions’ of body, athletics, and Modern Olympism*

In 1996 Life Magazine produced a special issue dedicated to the Atlanta Olympic games that contained photographs of mesomorphic males and females and the message: by means of intense training Olympic athletes have reached the limits of human endurance and attained ‘the skills and muscles that effect a transformation from mortal to machine’. ‘Mortal into machine’ is quite a different ‘vision’ than the one Pierre de Coubertin aspired to in creating the modern Olympic games. Different, yet co-existing views of athletes appear in scores of publications such as The Olympic Book of Sports Medicine (1984), which contains photographs of graceful skaters and of runners ‘soaring’ over hurdles that are interspersed with schematic representations of myofibrils, axons and motor neurons. By 1887, when the young de Coubertin began his ‘campaign of 21 years’, experimental physiology and other biological sciences were on their way to becoming established disciplines and earlier ways of viewing the body that were grounded in external form were being challenged by mechanistic approaches that delved ever deeper into the body's structures and functions. In 1865 Adolf Fick and Johannes Wislicenus had used a mountain ascent to test German chemist Justus von Liebig's theory of metabolism. Nitrogen balance, cardiac function and other studies of men engaged in a variety of athletic performances soon followed. Writings about ‘the physiology of exercise’ followed two paths: (a) journal articles and monographs such as George Kolb's Beiträge zur Physiologie maximaler Muskelarbeit besonders des modernen Sports (1887) – translated into English as Physiology of Sport (1893); and (b) books such as Fernand Lagrange's Physiology des Exercises du Corps (1888), which is substantially a hygiene text. These differing orientations were fully evident at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, where the Fédération Internationale de Médicine Sportive's gathering focused upon physiological and other investigations of participating athletes. The separate international congress organized by the Dutch Society for Physical Education was planned to include much broader participation. [1]

Go with the flow: sympathetic control of blood flow during recovery from heart failure

In 1995 Chad Carvin was a world-class distance swimmer at the University of Arizona training for the Olympic Games in Atlanta when he started to become more and more fatigued. His times in training deteriorated and even mild physical activity left him exhausted. Initially it was thought that this

The Use of Dietary Supplements and Medications by Canadian Athletes at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games

To learn more about the prevalence of dietary supplement and medication use by Canadian athletes in the Olympic Games in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. Data were collected from personal interviews with Canadian athletes who participated at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The athletes were interviewed by Canadian physicians regarding the use of vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements, and prescribed and over-the-counter medications. Of the 271 Canadian athletes who participated at the Atlanta Olympics, 257 athletes were interviewed; at the Sydney Olympics, 300 of 304 Canadian athletes were interviewed. A quantitative and qualitative description of the use of dietary supplements by Canadian athletes at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics. At the Atlanta Games, 69% of the athletes used some form of dietary supplements, whereas 74% of the athletes used dietary supplements at the Sydney Games. Vitamins were taken by 59% of men and 66% of women in Atlanta, and 65% of men and 58% women in Sydney. Mineral supplements were used by 16% of men and 45% of women in Atlanta, and 30% of men and 21% of women in Sydney. Nutritional supplements were used by 35% of men and 43% of women in Atlanta, and 43% of men and 51% of women in Sydney. The most popular vitamins were multivitamins in both Olympics. The most popular mineral supplements were iron supplements. The most commonly used nutritional supplement in Atlanta was creatine (14%), but amino acids (15%) were the most commonly used nutritional supplement in Sydney. In Atlanta, 61% of the athletes were using some form of medication, 54% of the athletes were using medications in Sydney. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) were the most commonly used medications at both Olympic Games. Among all sports, the highest prevalence of vitamin use occurred in boxing (91%) in Atlanta and swimming (76%) in Sydney. Rowers (56%) and cyclists (73%) demonstrated the highest use of mineral supplements. Nutritional supplement use occurred most often in swimming (56%) and cycling (100%). The use of NSAIDs was highest in softball (60%) in Atlanta and gymnastics (100%) in Sydney. This review demonstrates that dietary supplement use was common among Canadian athletes at both the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games. There was a slight increase in total dietary supplement use at the Sydney Games. Widespread use of supplements, combined with an absence of evidence of their efficacy and a concern for the possibility of "inadvertent" doping, underscore the need for appropriately focused educational initiatives in this area.

Modeling wind and altitude effects in the 200 m sprint

A quasi-realistic mathematical model of 100 m sprint performances is modified to simulate the 200 m race, a portion of which is run around a curve. The calculated effects of wind are complex functions of the wind direction and the lane in which the athlete is running. It is shown that wind and altitude-assisted marks for the 200 m are in some cases significantly higher than the corresponding adjustments for the 100 m sprint under similar conditions. The estimated advantage of a 2 m s–1 tail wind is between 0.09–0.14 s, with the greater advantage going to the runner in the outside lane. At higher altitudes (&gt;2000 m), these corrections can rise to over 0.3 s. Crosswinds can further enhance the performance by over 0.5 s due to decreased drag forces around the curve. A consequence of these results suggests that record ratification procedures for such performances be reconsidered. The model is also used to study Michael Johnson's world record race of 19.32 s from the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. PACS No.: 01.80.L

Gender Bias In The 1996 Olympic Games

This study examined the televised coverage of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta to determine the amount of coverage time, quality of coverage devoted to men’s and women’s same sport activities, and to compare this coverage with that of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. Of the more than 150 hours of NBC televised coverage, a total of 60 hours was then randomly selected as an appropriate sample. A content analysis was then performed on those segments that featured same-sport activities for men and women. This included quantitative (e.g., running time, length of segments, number of slow motion replays, and use of onscreen statistics) and qualitative (e.g., the narrative of the commentators) analyses. Although the findings suggest there have been notable improvements in the way female athletes were presented in the 1996 Olympic Games as compared to the 1992 Olympic Games, there are still many disparities in the coverage of women’s sports, especially those that traditionally appeal to the media audience.