The influence of an interorganisational network associated with a large-scale sport event on sport development legacies : a case study of the Sydney 2009 world masters games

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Business.This thesis investigates how the inter-organisational network (ION) of a large-scale sport event influences sport development legacies from a large-scale sport event. This thesis responds to a lack of research regarding how the relationships and interactions among stakeholders participating in an ION influence event leverage activities and the securing of sport development legacies. A qualitative case study of the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games (SWMG) was conducted. The criterion for an organisation to be included in the research sample was that they had to be a key stakeholder that participated in the delivery of the SWMG. Stakeholders included the event bid committee, the event organising committee, the event governing body, the state sport agency and the government department that oversees sport in New South Wales, the state event agency and the contracted sport organisations delivering the multiple sport program. In total, thirty-two organisations were involved in the case study. The research design for the case study involved document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and event observation. Based on Benson’s (1975) ION Theory, the premise underlying this thesis was that an effective ION of sport development stakeholders could work towards a common goal and secure sport development legacies. As such, the case study seeks to understand interactions among organisational stakeholders participating in the SWMG ION, identify factors influencing coordination and cooperation in the ION, and determine how sport development legacies are conceptualised and operationalised in the ION. The findings show that there was limited coordination and cooperation among stakeholders towards securing sport development legacies. Three themes were identified in the SWMG case study that explains why this occurred. The first theme, ‘ION Development and Structure’ reveals that the SWMG ION was developed and structured with commitments to tourism and economic objectives, not to securing legacies for masters sport. The second theme, ‘Context of Sport Development’ demonstrates that government priorities and existing approaches to masters sport inhibit sport development legacy objectives. The third theme, ‘Legacy ‘Consensus’ highlights there is no shared conceptualisation of sport development legacies due to a lack of agreement regarding how to secure legacies and who should be responsible for doing so. This thesis finds that sport development legacies from large-scale sport events will not be secured automatically. The sport development context, characterised by government dependencies and reliance on volunteers, is fundamentally different to the economically driven and entrepreneurial context of tourism, and hence requires a strategic approach to secure legacies. For sport development legacies to be secured, strategies need to be implemented to encourage sport development stakeholders to work collaboratively and cooperatively. These strategies include: 1) Develop and structure an ION to be conducive to securing sport development legacies; 2) Engage with the context of sport development; and 3) Collectively conceptualise sport development legacies. Based on these key findings, this thesis concludes with a proposed Model to Leverage an Event for Sport Development Legacies and suggestions for future research

Examining rationales for government involvement in sport events

It is recognised that government involvement in sport events is based on various rationales, and these rationales influence the potential outcomes a city may experience from hosting such an event (Gleeson & Low, 2000; Searle & Bounds, 1999; Veal, 2002). Over the last few decades, the economic potential that sport events offer a city has seen increased government interest and governments have been criticised for neglecting the social outcomes (Carrière & Demazière, 2002; Misener & Mason, 2006; Searle, 2002). Yet there is limited research that has empirically investigated government involvement in sport events. This paper aims to address two main objectives: to develop an understanding of rationales for government involvement in sport events and to understand how these rationales influence subsequent event outcomes

The legacy-factor: Towards conceptual clarification in the sport event context

Public policy planners and event organisers are increasingly promoting potential economic, tourism, social, and/or environmental legacies to justify significant investments required to host special events. Within the context of special events, legacy is recognised as the long-term outcomes for a host city from staging an event (Hiller, 2003; Preuss, 2007). The notion of legacy has emerged in the events field surrounding the strategic use of events in achieving outcomes for host cities. However, this is complicated by inconsistent conceptualisations of legacy across academic and industry practice

Beyond anecdotes: The development of social capital through inter-community sport events

Sport events are believed to promote dialogue, integration and peaceful understanding among groups, even when other forms of negotiation have not been successful (Croft, 2005; Sugden, 2006). At the same time, sport events are thought to play a role in the construction, reproduction or consolidation of social identities in politically, socially or ethnically divided societies. Better publicised events, such as the Olympics, may demonstrate this social utility of sport, where diverse communities stand and feel together as one. However, the social outcomes from sport events are largely anecdotal. This paper argues that for disparate communities to experience lasting benefits from sport events there is the need to move beyond symbolism and anecdotes. There is a need to examine the active engagement of groups with `others in participatory sport event projects where they experience first hand the impacts of cooperation and diversit

Lack of seroresponse to SARS-CoV-2 booster vaccines given early post-transplant in patients primed pre-transplantation

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are recommended pre-transplantation, however, waning immunity and evolving variants mandate booster doses. Currently there no data to inform the optimal timing of booster doses post-transplant, in patients primed pre-transplant. We investigated serial serological samples in 204 transplant recipients who received 2 or 3 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines pre-transplant. Spike protein antibody concentrations, [anti-S], were measured on the day of transplantation and following booster doses post-transplant. In infection-naïve patients, post-booster [anti-S] did not change when V3 (1st booster) was given at 116(78-150) days post-transplant, falling from 122(32-574) to 111(34-682) BAU/ml, p=0.78. Similarly, in infection-experienced patients, [anti-S] on Day-0 and post-V3 were 1090(133-3667) and 2207(650-5618) BAU/ml respectively, p=0.26. In patients remaining infection-naïve, [anti-S] increased post-V4 (as 2nd booster) when given at 226(208-295) days post-transplant, rising from 97(34-1074) to 5134(229-5680) BAU/ml, p=0.0016. Whilst in patients who had 3 vaccines pre-transplant, who received V4 (as 1st booster) at 82(49-101) days post-transplant, [anti-S] did not change, falling from 981(396-2666) to 871(242-2092) BAU/ml, p=0.62. Overall, infection pre-transplant and [anti-S] at the time of transplantation predicted post-transplant infection risk. As [Anti-S] fail to respond to SARS-CoV-2 booster vaccines given early post-transplant, passive immunity may be beneficial to protect patients during this period

Does shear wave ultrasound independently predict axillary lymph node metastasis in women with invasive breast cancer?

Shear wave elastography (SWE) shows promise as an adjunct to greyscale ultrasound examination in assessing breast masses. In breast cancer, higher lesion stiffness on SWE has been shown to be associated with features of poor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to assess whether lesion stiffness at SWE is an independent predictor of lymph node involvement. Patients with invasive breast cancer treated by primary surgery, who had undergone SWE examination were eligible. Data were retrospectively analysed from 396 consecutive patients. The mean stiffness values were obtained using the Aixplorer(®) ultrasound machine from SuperSonic Imagine Ltd. Measurements were taken from a region of interest positioned over the stiffest part of the abnormality. The average of the mean stiffness value obtained from each of two orthogonal image planes was used for analysis. Associations between lymph node involvement and mean lesion stiffness, invasive cancer size, histologic grade, tumour type, ER expression, HER-2 status and vascular invasion were assessed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. At univariate analysis, invasive size, histologic grade, HER-2 status, vascular invasion, tumour type and mean stiffness were significantly associated with nodal involvement. Nodal involvement rates ranged from 7 % for tumours with mean stiffness <50 kPa to 41 % for tumours with a mean stiffness of >150 kPa. At multivariate analysis, invasive size, tumour type, vascular invasion, and mean stiffness maintained independent significance. Mean stiffness at SWE is an independent predictor of lymph node metastasis and thus can confer prognostic information additional to that provided by conventional preoperative tumour assessment and staging

Inhibition of activin/nodal signalling is necessary for pancreatic differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells

Peer reviewedPublisher PD