Sports mega-events as part of a nation's soft power strategy: The cases of Germany (2006) and the UK (2012)

The potential positive impact on a nation's image has moved from being a welcome consequence to a significant justification for investing in hosting sports mega-events. Mobilising Joseph Nye's concept of 'soft power' we empirically investigate Germany's strategic use of a sports 'mega' (the 2006 FIFA World Cup) to successfully alter their image among 'foreign publics'. We then analyse the example of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for Britain's international prestige. For both cases we draw on and analyse official government documents and newspaper sources written before and after the Games. The findings reveal the stark contrast between Germany's and Britain's sport and 'soft power' strategies: the former undertook a long-term, well-planned and resourced approach to altering its poor international image; the latter appeared far less concerned about capitalising on the Olympics to enhance Britain's (seemingly robust) international image

Fouling mussels (Dreissena spp.) colonize soft sediments in Lake Erie and facilitate benthic invertebrates

1. We conducted survey and transplant studies to determine whether colonization and residency on soft sediments by introduced, fouling mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis) were affected by physical disturbance, and whether Dreissena presence in turn influenced the diversity and population densities of other benthic invertebrates. Surveys revealed that colony density was typically higher at moderate depths than at shallower and greater ones. However, the largest, midsummer colonies and greatest coverage of sediments by mussels occurred at deeper sites. 2. Disturbance of transplanted colonies varied by depth and colony size, with deeper and larger colonies experiencing the lowest destruction rates. Colony destruction rate was positively correlated with current velocity adjacent to the lakebed. 3. Absence of mussel colonies at shallow sites was not determined by recruitment or substrate limitation, as recruit density was higher and sediment characteristics more suitable for postveliger settlement at shallow than at deeper sites. Rather, seasonal storms have much stronger effects in shallow than in deep water. 4. Mussel residency on soft sediment has profound effects on invertebrate biodiversity. Invertebrate species (taxon) richness and total abundance were positively correlated with mussel colony area. Mussel-sediment habitat supported between 462 and 703% more taxa, and between 202 and 335% more individuals (exclusive of Dreissena) than adjacent soft-sediment lacking mussels. 5. Results from this study illustrate-that physical disturbance directly limits the distribution of mussels on soft sediments, and the diversity and abundance of other benthic invertebrates in consequence

Elderly Living in Sweden : Present solutions and future trends

The amount of people retiring in Sweden is increasing and will continue to do so in the future. Politicians have recognized a challenge in this demographic development and it is important that they act in time and in a way that satisfies the need. The disposable income for people above the age of 65 has increased the past years and continues to increase according to the Swedish Statistics forecast, this indicates that the retired people will have more money to spend on housing in the future. There are different types of living for elderly in Sweden; staying at home, senior living, secure living and nursing homes and an interesting question is if these will be adoptable in the future. New solutions, which address the demands for higher standards, will ease the social and security aspects for the residents as well as improve the work environment for the employees in the home care service business. These different solutions are not yet implemented in a large scale, but development show that they are influencing the future direction of building senior residencies. Retired couples who get ill at different times might not get to live together or near each other when they require different levels of assistance to manage daily life. Moving away from a familiar area, family and friends can be stressful. By placing different types of elderly living close to each other is a solution that might help decrease that stress. There are some solutions like this already on the market today and it is a solution worth investigating more. We believe that the availability of new and refurbished buildings needs to be more focused on easing the living for elderly people and may be achieved by implementing a certification system. Implementation and use of this certification system may create goodwill for investors and therefore force construction companies to build according to it. However a certification has to be requested by residents, municipalities and tenants, to be considered by the investors