Governance, sport and the city: realising mega sporting events in London.

Mega sports events have become important tools for cities seeking to enhance their global position, undertake regeneration and promote tourism and there is intense competition to win the rights to host events, particularly the Olympics, World Athletics Championships and FIFA World Cup. Using the case of the abandoned Lee Valley National Athletics Centre (LVNAC) project and the loss of the rights to stage the 2005 World Athletics Championships in London as a case study, this thesis sets out. To explore the inter-relationships between governance, sport and the city, with a particular focus on mega sports events. .A qualitative approach was adopted to enable processes to be explored and to tease out linkages between different aspects of governance, levels of governance, sport and governance and the various interested parties. This thesis is multi-disciplinary in its approach, using concepts from a variety of disciplines including social policy, geography, urban studies and politics. It is underpinned by an integrative theoretical framework drawing elements primarily from urban regime theory, theories of policy networks and multi-level governance. This thesis is based on the premise that the key to understanding the failure of the LVNAC project as well as the development of other mega sporting projects lies in understanding the prevailing governance arrangements. A working hypothesis was developed to guide the thesis, which is that the relative failure of the UK to bid for, and stage mega-sports events in the recent past is rooted within aspects of the network style of governance that evolved in London and other UK cities. In order to explore this proposition and to more fully understand the failure of the LVNAC project this thesis compares how other nations and cities (both within the UK and abroad) approach mega sports events and their experiences of staging mega sports events. Drawing on documentary sources and semi-structured interviews with key players involved with the LVNAC project, the 'story' of the Lee Valley National Athletics Centre is told. The analysis of the LVNAC project locates the project within the evolving governance arrangements for London- the re-instatement of city-wide government and election of the Mayor in 2001. Comparison is made with the subsequent successful London bid for the 2012 Olympics. This thesis demonstrates the importance of governance issues throughout the whole mega sports events process and at all levels of governance. In particular this thesis has shown that three elements of governance -leadership, vision and strategy -play a critical role in securing and delivering successful mega sports events. The failure of the LVNAC project was the result of failures on all these fronts whilst the success of the London Olympic bid was largely because these elements were in place. This thesis highlights the critical role played by cities but also the continuing importance of central government in the mega sporting events process. Furthermore, this thesis has demonstrated the value of studying an apparent failure. So often the emphasis within policy and political arenas is on learning from success and consequently failures are often overlooked as a source of positive knowledge

Governance, sport and the city : realising mega sporting events in London

Mega sports events have become important tools for cities seeking to enhance their global position, undertake regeneration and promote tourism and there is intense competition to win the rights to host events, particularly the Olympics, World Athletics Championships and FIFA World Cup. Using the case of the abandoned Lee Valley National Athletics Centre (LVNAC) project and the loss of the rights to stage the 2005 World Athletics Championships in London as a case study, this thesis sets out. To explore the inter-relationships between governance, sport and the city, with a particular focus on mega sports events. .A qualitative approach was adopted to enable processes to be explored and to tease out linkages between different aspects of governance, levels of governance, sport and governance and the various interested parties. This thesis is multi-disciplinary in its approach, using concepts from a variety of disciplines including social policy, geography, urban studies and politics. It is underpinned by an integrative theoretical framework drawing elements primarily from urban regime theory, theories of policy networks and multi-level governance. This thesis is based on the premise that the key to understanding the failure of the LVNAC project as well as the development of other mega sporting projects lies in understanding the prevailing governance arrangements. A working hypothesis was developed to guide the thesis, which is that the relative failure of the UK to bid for, and stage mega-sports events in the recent past is rooted within aspects of the network style of governance that evolved in London and other UK cities. In order to explore this proposition and to more fully understand the failure of the LVNAC project this thesis compares how other nations and cities (both within the UK and abroad) approach mega sports events and their experiences of staging mega sports events. Drawing on documentary sources and semi-structured interviews with key players involved with the LVNAC project, the 'story' of the Lee Valley National Athletics Centre is told. The analysis of the LVNAC project locates the project within the evolving governance arrangements for London- the re-instatement of city-wide government and election of the Mayor in 2001. Comparison is made with the subsequent successful London bid for the 2012 Olympics. This thesis demonstrates the importance of governance issues throughout the whole mega sports events process and at all levels of governance. In particular this thesis has shown that three elements of governance -leadership, vision and strategy -play a critical role in securing and delivering successful mega sports events. The failure of the LVNAC project was the result of failures on all these fronts whilst the success of the London Olympic bid was largely because these elements were in place. This thesis highlights the critical role played by cities but also the continuing importance of central government in the mega sporting events process. Furthermore, this thesis has demonstrated the value of studying an apparent failure. So often the emphasis within policy and political arenas is on learning from success and consequently failures are often overlooked as a source of positive knowledge.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Technology Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control

Several high-profile academic articles and reports claim to have identified important gaps in current merger enforcement rules, particularly with respect to tech and pharma acquisitions involving nascent and potential competitors—so-called “killer acquisitions” and “kill zones.” As a result of these perceived deficiencies, scholars and enforcers have called for tougher rules, including the introduction of lower merger filing thresholds and substantive changes, such as the inversion of the burden of proof when authorities review mergers and acquisitions in the digital platform industry. Meanwhile, and seemingly in response to the increased political and advocacy pressures around the issue, U.S. antitrust enforcers have recently undertaken several enforcement actions directly targeting such acquisitions. As this paper discusses, however, these proposals tend to overlook the important tradeoffs that would ensue from attempts to decrease the number of false positives under existing merger rules and thresholds. While merger enforcement ought to be mindful of these possible theories of harm, the theories and evidence are not nearly as robust as many proponents suggest. Most importantly, there is insufficient basis to conclude that the costs of permitting the behavior they identify is greater than the costs would be of increasing enforcement to prohibit it

Programming Languages and Systems

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 29th European Symposium on Programming, ESOP 2020, which was planned to take place in Dublin, Ireland, in April 2020, as Part of the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software, ETAPS 2020. The actual ETAPS 2020 meeting was postponed due to the Corona pandemic. The papers deal with fundamental issues in the specification, design, analysis, and implementation of programming languages and systems

IFPOC Symposium:Discovering antecedents and consequences of complex change recipients' reactions to organizational change.

IFPOC symposium: Discovering antecedents and consequences of complex change recipients' reactions to organizational change Chairs: Maria Vakola (Athens University of Economics and Business) & Karen Van Dam (Open University) Discussant: Mel Fugate (American University, Washington, D.C) State of the art Organisations are required to continuously change and develop but there is a high failure rate associated with change implementation success. In the past two decades, change researchers have started to investigate change recipients' reactions to change recognizing the crucial role of these reactions for successful change. This symposium aims at identifying and discussing the complex processes that underlie the relationships among antecedents, reactions and outcomes associated with organizational change. New perspective / contributions This symposium consists of five studies that extend our knowledge in the field by (i) providing an analysis of change recipients' reactions going beyond the dichotomous approaches (acceptance or resistance) (ii) revealing understudied antecedents-reactions and reactions-consequences patterns and relationships (iii) shedding light on the role of contextual factors i.e team climate and individual factors i.e emotion regulation on the adaptation to change. This symposium is based on a combination of both quantitative (i.e diary, survey) and qualitative (i.e interviews) research methodology. Research / practical implications This symposium aims to increase our understanding of the complex processes associated with change recipients' reactions to change. Discovering how these reactions are created and what are their results may reveal important contingencies that can explain how positive organizational outcomes during times of change can be stimulated which is beneficial for both researchers and practitioners

Qigong at Work: Where East Meets West

State of the Art Qigong is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TMC) and aims to balance body and mind. The roots of Qigong lie in China, where Confucian and Daoist scholars (500-400 B.C.) noted that one must learn to balance and relax one’s thoughts and emotions to avoid illness (Yang, 1997). In the Western world, Qigong is best known for its slow and coordinated movements. According to TCM, these movements will help regulate one’s ‘qi’, or life energy, through the body to improve the health and harmony of mind and body. During the practice of Qigong, one’s breathing, attention and movement are aligned. As such, Qigong is sometimes considered Mindfulness in movement (although there are many important differences). New perspectives / contributionsQigong has many positive outcomes on health and wellness. In both patient groups and healthy individuals, Qigong has been shown to improve psychological well-being, quality of life, immune function, balance and related risk-factors, and bone density (Jahnke et al., 2010). As such, Qigong offers a validated way to reduce the physical and mental activation that results from a person's work. While recent research has demonstrated how important it is to take short breaks at work, there is still little attention for Qigong exercises as a means to recover at work.Practical Implications In this presentation, we will explain and practice several Qigong exercises. These movements can be used at work (and at home) to recover from (hormonal) activation, ‘empty’ one’s head, and restore the body-mind balance. <br/

Soviet conceptions of coexistence and detente : a study in international theory

The thesis is concerned primarily with the objective credibility or realism of the official Soviet account of Peaceful Coexistence, detente and related issues. This question of credibility is regarded as methodologically prior to the question of the reliability or otherwise of Soviet doctrine as an index of Soviet intentions. But the concern of the current American debate on Soviet doctrine has been overwhelmingly with the second question, reflecting an apparent consensus among otherwise opposed groups that Soviet doctrine does not provide a realistic perspective on the problems of the contemporary great power relationship. The epistemological and substantive assumptions implied in such a consensus are considered and rejected; and it is argued that the 'schizophrenic' Soviet account, with its combination of a limited commitment to stable great power coexistence and a continuing expectation of revolutionary ferment in the Third World, does provide a generally realistic perspective on the problems in question. It is further argued that the process of adaptation to the unique features of international relations is continuing in Soviet doctrine} and that arguments which seek to demonstrate on doctrinal grounds a clear Soviet rejection of stable great power coexistence are untenable

Collaboration, competition and conflict: social movement and interaction dynamics of London's environmental movement

There is a wide variety of types of environmental movement organisations (EMOs) in London, ranging from relatively small direct action networks and Friends of Parks groups, to EMOs of international significance such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace. Although there is a degree of conflict and competition between some of London's EMOs, there is sufficient networking to label London's environmentalism as a 'movement'. Especially at critical campaign times, the movement's ideological and spatial divisions join together to form dynamic campaigns that are difficult for decision-makers to ignore. This thesis explores the conflict, collaboration and competition within the movement using an integrated social movement theory approach. Resource mobilization, political opportunity, and new social movement theories are critiqued and scaled