The Economic Impact of a Sporting Event: A Regional Approach

This paper aims to estimate the economic impact of a large one-day international sporting event on both a regional and a city economy. In addition, it seeks to investigate the regional origins of visitors to the event, and investigates the relationship between residence and expenditure. The importance of sporting events to regional economies is recognised, but can be difficult to quantify due to the scale and nature of the data required. This analysis draws on over 5,000 spectator interviews conducted at the five one-day rugby internationals (Scotland versus England, France, Romania, South Africa and Fiji) held in Edinburgh, Scotland, during 2002. As such it represents one of the largest databases of its kind in Europe. Spectators were asked about their expenditure, residence, accommodation and attitudes to future visits. Findings were triangulated using a parallel survey of business turnover. The survey data is used to estimate the economic impact on both the wide region (Scotland) and the city region (Edinburgh). Our findings indicate that each match may be worth around £20m to the Scottish economy and £12m to the city of Edinburgh economy. We argue that although this appears large, the methodology used may have resulted in an estimate that is slightly conservative if anything. This points to a greater need for local, regional and national government to exploit the potential that such events can have. We also found that the origin profile of spectators differs between matches, naturally reflecting the origins of the visiting crowd, but more importantly there are also notable regional differences in expenditure patterns among visitors from each nation. We examine the possible reasons for this and the implications for regional and city tourism marketing strategies.

Characterisation and correction of respiratory-motion artefacts in cardiac PET-CT

Respiratory motion during cardiac Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Computed Tomography (CT) imaging results in blurring of the PET data and can induce mismatches between the PET and CT datasets, leading to attenuation-correction artefacts. The aim of this project was to develop a method of motion-correction to overcome both of these problems. The approach implemented was to transform a single CT to match the frames of a gated PET study, to facilitate respiratory-matched attenuation-correction, without the need for a gated CT. This is benecial for lowering the radiation dose to the patient and in reducing PETCT mismatches, which can arise even in gated studies. The heart and diaphragm were identied through phantom studies as the structures responsible for generating attenuation-correction artefacts in the heart and their motions therefore needed to be considered in transforming the CT. Estimating heart motion was straight-forward, due to its high contrast in PET, however the poor diaphragm contrast meant that additional information was required to track its position. Therefore a diaphragm shape model was constructed using segmented diaphragm surfaces, enabling complete diaphragm surfaces to be produced from incomplete and noisy initial estimates. These complete surfaces, in combination with the estimated heart motions were used to transform the CT. The PET frames were then attenuation-corrected with the transformed CT, reconstructed, aligned and summed, to produce motion-free images. It was found that motion-blurring was reduced through alignment, although benets were marginal in the presence of small respiratory motions. Quantitative accuracy was improved from use of the transformed CT for attenuation-correction (compared with no CT transformation), which was attributed to both the heart and the diaphragm transformations. In comparison to a gated CT, a substantial dose saving and a reduced dependence on gating techniques were achieved, indicating the potential value of the technique in routine clinical procedures

Supply-side ecology of the brown mussel, Perna perna: an investigation of spatial and temporal variation in, and coupling between, gamete release and larval supply

Sampling of recruitment-associated variables of Perna perna was done approximately monthly for 14 months at intertidal locations 500 m apart, nested within sites 25 km apart. Paired with intertidal locations were nearshore locations, 600 m to sea. Sampling assessed spawning, densities of larvae in the water column and densities of late plantigrades and juveniles on the shore. Major events in each variable were synchronous over larger scales (10s of kilometres) while subsidiary events were synchronised at smaller scales, varying within sites (100s of metres) or even within locations (metres). This suggests that the processes driving major events operated over large scales while processes operating at much more local scales drove less intense, more localised events. A major spawning event occurred at all locations in May–June 1998. Weaker spawning events occurred at different times in different locations. Larvae were found on 80% of sampling occasions, densities peaking in January–March 1998 and 1999 at all locations. Plantigrades and juveniles showed less clear patterns, with considerable residual variation. There was no sign of strong coupling among variables with few significant direct or cross correlations. The major sources of variability shifted from time to space as one progressed from spawning, to plantigrade density to juvenile density. For spawning, time was the most important source (58%) of heterogeneity and space accounted for little (8%) of the total variance. For larvae and late plantigrades, time was still the most important source of variability (41% and 33%, respectively), but space was a much more substantial component. For juveniles, small-scale (residual) spatial variability dominated total variability (75%). This strongly suggests the importance of hydrography and its effects on variation in delivery of larvae to the intertidal from offshore. These findings also indicate greater spatial heterogeneity as recruits age, reflecting small-scale variations in larval delivery and the increasing importance of post-settlement mortality

Scales of mussel bed complexity: structure, associated biota and recruitment

Hierarchically scaled surveys were carried out on beds of the brown mussel Perna perna (Linnaeus) on the South coast of South Africa. The object was to assess spatial and temporal variations in the complexity of mussel beds and to investigate relationships between mussel bed complexity and mussel recruitment. Complexity was divided into three components: physical complexity; demographic complexity; associated biota. A series of variables within each component were recorded at two different scales (10 and 50 cm) within nested quadrats on three separate occasions. The nested ANOVA design explicitly incorporated spatial scale as levels of the ANOVA. These scales were: shores (areas 1 km in length separated by 25 km); transects (areas 20 m in length separated by 100s of meters); 50×50-cm quadrats separated by meters and 10×10-cm quadrats separated by cm) This approach was intended to generate hypotheses concerning direct associations between recruitment and complexity versus co-variation due external processes. Three main questions were addressed: (1) At what scale does each variable of complexity exhibit greatest significant variation? (2) At these scales is there similar ranking of variables of complexity and recruitment? (3) Within this/these scales, is there any significant relationship between the variables measured and mussel recruitment? On two occasions (Nov. 97 and Mar. 98) the majority of variables showed greatest significant variation at the transect-scale. On a third occasion (Oct. 97) most variables showed greatest significant variation at the quadrat-scale and the site-scale. On all occasions a markedly high percentage of the variation encountered also occurred at the smallest scale of the study, i.e., the residual scale of the ANOVA analyses. Some similarity in the ranking of variables occurred at the transect scale. Within the transect-scale, there was little indication of any relationship between variables of complexity and recruitment. Relationships were inconsistent either among transects or among sampling occasions. Overall, the results suggest that a high degree of variation in mussel bed complexity consistently occurs at very small scales. High components of variance generally also occur at one or more larger scales; however, these scales vary with season. Mussel recruitment does not appear to be directly affected by complexity of mussel beds. Instead it appears external factors may influence both complexity and recruitment independently. In addition recruitment may influence complexity rather than vice versa

The Economic Impact of a Sporting Event: A Regional Approach

This paper aims to estimate the economic impact of a large one-day international sporting event on both a regional and a city economy. In addition, it seeks to investigate the regional origins of visitors to the event, and investigates the relationship between residence and expenditure. The importance of sporting events to regional economies is recognised, but can be difficult to quantify due to the scale and nature of the data required. This analysis draws on over 5,000 spectator interviews conducted at the five one-day rugby internationals (Scotland versus England, France, Romania, South Africa and Fiji) held in Edinburgh, Scotland, during 2002. As such it represents one of the largest databases of its kind in Europe. Spectators were asked about their expenditure, residence, accommodation and attitudes to future visits. Findings were triangulated using a parallel survey of business turnover. The survey data is used to estimate the economic impact on both the wide region (Scotland) and the city region (Edinburgh). Our findings indicate that each match may be worth around £20m to the Scottish economy and £12m to the city of Edinburgh economy. We argue that although this appears large, the methodology used may have resulted in an estimate that is slightly conservative if anything. This points to a greater need for local, regional and national government to exploit the potential that such events can have. We also found that the origin profile of spectators differs between matches, naturally reflecting the origins of the visiting crowd, but more importantly there are also notable regional differences in expenditure patterns among visitors from each nation. We examine the possible reasons for this and the implications for regional and city tourism marketing strategies

Key factors influencing the sustained growth of high-tech SMEs in South Korea - the perspectives of founder owner-managers

Purpose This paper explores key factors influencing high performing, sustained growth, high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study is adopted to explore seventeen founder owner-managers of high-tech SMEs who sustained consistent employment growth, greater than the industry average, for 7 years. Within the sample, those with higher (10% or over) employment Compound Annual Growth Rates over this period are also compared to those with lower rates. Findings The study suggests that proactive approaches, such as flexible organization, risk manage-ment, fast decision making, and international market entry, are seen as important contrib-uting factors to sustained growth. These findings contribute to a better theoretical and empir-ical understanding of sustained high-tech SME growth, in a country with a strong entrepre-neurial and internationally competitive Information Technology sector. Also, collaboration across the SME was perceived as making an important contribution to staff growth, con-sistent with stewardship theory. Research limitations/implications The sample is based on successful high-tech SMEs, so there are limitations in extrapolating results to other types of firms, sectors or countries. Practical implications Key factors identified in this study can be considered by entrepreneurs seeking to achieve sustainable business. These also provide improved understanding for policy makers into the complexity of factors related to sustained and high growth of technology-based SMEs, which many countries are keen to foster to aid national economic growth. Originality/value The research provides new evidence exploring the diverse perspectives of founder owner-managers, on the sustained growth and failure in South Korean high-tech SMEs, and how these have changed since the inception of their business

Temporal scales of variation in settlement and recruitment of the mussel Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758)

Population dynamics of many intertidal organisms are strongly affected by the abundance and distribution of larvae arriving on the shore. In particular, not only absolute numbers of settlers but also the degree of synchronisation of settlement can have a strong influence on whether density-dependent or density-independent processes shape adult shape populations. Temporal variation in rates of settlement and recruitment of the mussel Perna perna on the south coast of South Africa was investigated using a nested spatial design at different temporal scales. Variability in settlement at spring tides was examined at two temporal scales: lunar (to investigate the effect of state of the moon on settlement) and tidal (to investigate the influence of state of the tide on mussel settlement). Recruitment over neap tides was examined at one temporal scale, fortnight (to investigate the effect of date on mussel recruitment). Strong temporal variation was evident for both settlement and recruitment, but not at all time scales. Distinct peaks of settler/recruit abundance were observed during the lunar and neap tide studies. Recruitment intensity differed over the course of the year, and pulsing of recruitment was generally synchronised among locations. However, the strength of pulsing differed dramatically among locations, giving a significant interaction between fortnight and location. The finest temporal scale, investigated in the tidal study, did not reveal a significant effect of the state of the tide on settlement. The state of the moon (new or full) was not significant as a main factor (p = 0.052), although generally more settlers arrived on the shore during new moon. Phase of the moon appeared to have an effect on settler abundances, but only when and where densities were high

The diversity of ice algal communities on the Greenland Ice Sheet as revealed by oligotyping

The Arctic is being disproportionally affected by climate change compared with other geographic locations, and is currently experiencing unprecedented melt rates. The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) can be regarded as the largest supraglacial ecosystem on Earth, and ice algae are the dominant primary producers on bare ice surfaces throughout the course of a melt season. Ice-algal-derived pigments cause a darkening of the ice surface, which in turn decreases albedo and increases melt rates. The important role of ice algae in changing melt rates has only recently been recognized, and we currently know little about their community compositions and functions. Here, we present the first analysis of ice algal communities across a 100 km transect on the GrIS by high-throughput sequencing and subsequent oligotyping of the most abundant taxa. Our data reveal an extremely low algal diversity with Ancylonema nordenskiöldii and a Mesotaenium species being by far the dominant taxa at all sites. We employed an oligotyping approach and revealed a hidden diversity not detectable by conventional clustering of operational taxonomic units and taxonomic classification. Oligotypes of the dominant taxa exhibit a site-specific distribution, which may be linked to differences in temperatures and subsequently the extent of the melting. Our results help to better understand the distribution patterns of ice algal communities that play a crucial role in the GrIS ecosystem