Latest film for the #media2012 project, makes a new argument.
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Olympic Games
Dr Beatriz Garcia and I have just launched the website of our new book, due for publication by Taylor and Francis in February 2012. It is titled 'The Olympics: The Basics' and features within the renowned Routledge series 'The Basics'. The website to the book is a unique attempt to build content around the Subject Index for the book. On the months leading up to publication, we will add resources that complement discussions in the book, providing fascinating insights into the Olympic movement and Games. You can also follow the book on Twitter, where we wil post new resources from the site.
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The Vancouver 2010 Games has delivered a massive programme of digital art work. take a peek at some photos starting here.
Last week, I was back in Lausanne and spent a couple of days in the Olympic Studies Centre at the International Olympic Committee Museum. I first visited the Olympic Studies Centre in Lausanne during the Winter of 2001, when I was researching the International Olympic Committee’s Medical Commission and Ethics Commission. The Ethics Commission had only just been established and I was able to attend its first press conference at the IOC HQ, which is a couple of miles west from the museum in Vidy. The OSC consists of a library where a wide range of Olympic related publications are held, along with the IOC’s archive, which provides access to its meeting minutes, correspondence and multimedia documentation. It’s such a beautiful location and an optimal working condition. If ever you get a chance to visit, take it.
The trip was pretty useful, managed to progress a lot of the research on Computer Games and Sport, which was v helpful. Also managed to catch up with Dick Pound briefly, who was in the museum's Olympic Studies Centre researching his latest book.
In case you’re wondering what the totem is all about in the picture above, they’ve just installed their Vancouver 2010 exhibition, which foregrounds the ‘four host nations’ dimension of their Games. This photograph is taken at the entrance to the museum. More photos here:
London 2012 Creative & Digital IndustriesManchester, 2009.06.19
Paul Newman Media City
5 BBC depts., 1600 jobs BBC Five Live BBC Childrens BBC Sport
Local radio, comedy, some news and current affairs
Peter Salmon, BBC North - chief commissioner of Media City
Anne Thompson NWDA, Sector Leader Sport
Scale of Olympics ME: numbers of media are inaccurate. These are the IOC and Organizing Committee accredited figures 13k broadcast, 7k print. But in Beijing, you had another 11000 media present and many more without accreditation from the official broadcasters.
CompeteFor - main mechanism to receive contract opportunities - must be registered and published
Claire Stocks (Editor, Olympics, Sport Interactive) & Tim Plyming, Chief Executive, Digital Olympics BBC Sport
Beijing 2008
Digital Olympics
4.5million visitors to website each day 2million of them looking at clips
2004 – Athens 2.5million live streams
2008 - Beijing 38-40 million live streams
Digital Olympics - bring all parts of technical development to crecendo in 2012 last 3 Olympics have been described as a digital games, but nobody has really delivered this yet
we have a unique timing clash – switch off of analogue
Digital Britain provision of 2mbps broadband in every homoe by 2012 raise awareness of digital content
30% of population happy wth analogue signal
audience expectation - extended choice, immediacy, interactivity
Beijing Tv – 74% Online – 31% Radio – 15% Mobile – 2%
aspiration for 70% online reach
nbc Beijing 2008 - first time they developed rich video services - Beijing was biggest event in us history - But rich digital services were complimentary
Sold out advertising target within a week of Games
Hours BBC put in can at last games Sydney – 300hrs Athens – 1250hrs, 4000 HD Beijing, 2750hrs, 4000 HD London – 5000hrs, 5000 HD
How connect audiences across all platforms to this HD content?
3 phases towards 2012 1. build up: news stories 2. 2011: countdown phase – cultural Olympics, torch relay, music festivals 3. 2012: programme of events leading to games time. ME: but what about Games time as a distinct phase? How can you integrate non-sporting dimensions? How involved with non sport depts. Of bbc be with other content
Pulling all content together ME: but people don't want a distinct platform, they want you to allow them to pull it into something else, like Facebook
Legacy from Olympics – an integrated platform for post Games events
IPTV - 2012 first IPTV Olympics
Mobile - in Beijing, followed live text commentary
ME: what about street reporters?
Unless got a high end unlimited device, you’re not really using mobile for video
Audio might be the main story for mobile, not video
Radio (DAB)
Live Sites - interactive services, interact with mobile, Bluetooth download zones
ME: are there plans to deliver navigation and orientation content to mobiles, rather than produce print material?
Alex Balfour
25% of world online by 2012 (+44%) 17 countries will have > 60% broadband penetration by 2012, uk 58% to 74%
people having conversations online Mobile trends: - mobile penetration 100% in Western Europe
early adoption 13.5% vs innovators 2.5%
8 yr cycle to get to 60% penetration
simple new media model 1. new media products and services (help efficiency or cost effective) (eg. ticketing, education programme) 2.
put out on YouTube, Flickr
ME: if you are in the 2.5% of innovators, what platforms are you looking at for use in 2012? Is Twitter a clear commitment for instance? Are there others that you think people here should be working with, developing the applications, etc.
If not on Facebook, then we’re invisible.
ME: Can we engage people in Olympic park using digital? Eg. harnessing the Sponsors venues, which are the most prominent – or around pin trading, the other major games time cultural experience.
ME: how are you working with Olympic park infrastructure to make it more interesting?
Cultural Olympiad – artists taking the lead
ME: What are you not yet into, but which you have plans to be involved with?
Opportunities around venues, dressing buildings etc
Bring together digital content.
ME: you talk about dressing venues, have you found that you can talk to the individual sponsors who will be in the venue to build digital into their programmes?
My2012 - technology platform and sponsor already - channelled through social networks
Inspire Mark programme
Sponsors have expressed interest in digital
ME: Is digital the first way in history that sponsorship will enter Olympic venues?
To contact me: 200 word email
Debbi Lander
SKV Equivalent Advertising Cost
Q and A
www.londonolympics2012.com - how can we get support?
Brand protection - have been looked at and we’ve approved or raised questions
jean-loup chappelet tale of two cities
winter olympics in the alps
only 4 alpine cities
innsbrock 1964 and 1976 grenoble torino
compare legacy of t three cities,
grenoble 1968 - develop fench ski industry - catch up w growing popn - spread out - fist antidoping tests for winter - first mascot - first colour tv broadcast - 3alpine gold
innsbruck - replaced denver in 76 (which renounced) - saved winter games - brundage wanted rid of the winter games - wanted die einfachen spiele - compact games, short distances - furthest venue only 33 km away - first heavy security games after munich - first combined artificial bob and luge runs
30-40 yrs later - legacy?
sport - grenoble: all facilities destroyed or abandoned except one 10000 seat arena and small ski jump - almost no large sacpe sport event after - not a cause of t rise of cross-country skiing in france - innsbruck -- all facilities used,etc --- olympia world innsbruck
urban - grenoble -- totally transformed city in less than 4yrs -- many new landmarks: city hall, terain station, post office, hospital, cultural center, campus ,monumental sculptures -- olmpic village becomes new toan innsbruck76 -- few changes
infrastruct grenoble - new transport and telecom innsburck - some changes, ski lifts, etrrtc
economic - grenoble: low tourism innsvburck: high tourist, low industrial
grenoble and innsbruick - two v diff legacies, each worthy
2006
torino legacy - probably besrt of Grenoble - infrastruct and economic - c ity tranformed - prob not a winter sport city like innnsbruck, but new mega events likely - cultural tourism
Economic Analysis of Berne 2010 - formercandidate ctiy c stofer
bid stopped by democratic bid - not wwilllingto bid then and not willing to fund
framework -sports event as part ofsport industry -- not like other industries - not calculated by gov --- makes diffi for sports to be accepted in pujblic opinion
starting posn - missing basic info on economic impact of 2010 - mising basc of political debate in berne - missing info to generate t canddature file
objectives -qualitative analysis of t economic effects of berne 2010 - quant analysis of t economic effects of berne2010
method - lit - key factors - expert workshops 3 - estimatiom of economic key factors
google www.event-scorecard.ch
online sport communication alma mater studiorum
27 italian sport teams websites
communicative capabilities
comparative analysis
hyp: most imp teams of each sports use more efficiently the web
theoretical foundations - alexander, lazarsfeld, talcott parsons, donati
multidimensional communication -
how can i measure t comm capability orf asport website
recog dimensions
4 dimensions - persuasive, knowl, communitarian, identitarian (parsons) sub-dimensions
AM: are all parts of italy equally well serviced for web? broadband, wireless? mobile access
REsnicks hypothesis: - normalization of cyberspace
sponsorship and wog: t digital era chris and josep
Manuel Castells info soc did not go unnoticed new ways of connecting communities
analysis of sponsors display to customer
kodak provided revenue for athens 1896 TOP programme from 1985 -TOP VI: Turin to Beijing (2005-2008) - US$886m
OG in Internet Era - Tokyo 1964 - watershed - first satellite and compujtes - First internet exp: atlanta1996 --11m hits per dy for web - ibm tackled probs of nagano 998 - conflict in sydney2000 -- first game w imopact in devel countries -- over 11,000m hits during 16 days , 100m for atlanta - merge nbcolympics.com and olympics.com in SLC2002 -- 3m unique visitors per day -- wk before, ioc launched olympic.org
analysis of comparative matrix
all top partners had own website
AM: people dont use websites anymore
only 3 of top had mascots
no ioc web until 1995
AM: where do people go for their Olympic info?
only coca cola created a specific site
AM: what did people use it for?
only 5 top offer ablog for athlettes
AM: what was the nature of this blog?
increased role of internet providers
role of nbcolympics.com- - 3 top partners
IOC World Congress on Sport Science, Oct, 2003 Genes and Performance Wednesday, 1030am, Chair: Bengt Saltin
Genes and Health Greg collier, AGT Biosciences, LTD, Deakin Uni, International Diabetes Institute and South West foundation Texas
PARL a new gene involved in muscle function and type 2 diabetes
Literature is full of candidate gene studies – not worth the paper their written on
Unique DNA collection
AGT Biosceince cetre for Stat Genomics
Outbread Israeli Sand Rat Colony
Ezpress Technology Platform
AGT Biosceinces has access to number of human DNA sample collections
Access to unique DNA collections from worldwide populations
Major Collaborators
Dr. John Blangero, Texas - analysis of genetics of many complex diseases - devel opf new stat software - SOLAR
Native habitat is semi-arid regions of middle east
Israeli sand Rat develops diabetes and obesity in manner similar to humans
PARL – Preseneilins-associated rhomboid-like protein
7 transmembrane protein
predicted was located in mitochondria – regulating basic muscle function
Located at chromosome 3q27
Reduced gene expression in muscle of diabetic P. obesus
PARL gene expression was increased after exercise-training
Human gene expression data - Eric Ravussin, Anthony Civitarese (Pennington Biomedical Research Center)
Discovered by microarrary….
REF: McQuibban, Nature 423, 534 (2003) - in mitochondria, yeast equivalent…. - if knock gene out, mitochondria shrink and don’t function correctly
PARL cleaves human equivalent of OPA1… - in diabetic muscle, where decreased expression of PARL, this is a problem
Mitochondrial defects in genes occur before diabetes occurs
Dgene expression I skeletial musc asso with
REF: Kissebah, AH PNAS 97, 14478 (2000)
Genotyping 50 individuals, XXX
Association studies
Look at relationship of XXX
Responsible for about 5% of variation in insulin levels
Largest yet genetic variation causing insulin resistance
Discovered in muscle of animals
Leu26Val variant of parl asso with plasma insuli, with a strong genotype-by-age variant
Finding genes like this is not simple
Need to combine human linkage studies with expression
Not a worthwhile task to identify a gene and find an association
Brain health, and voluntary running Frank Booth
Epidemiological reports indicate that physically active elderly humans have less cognitive dystnfunction
Laurin Arch Neurol. 58:498, 2001 - women 65 yars or older, evaluated - highlevel of phys activ corresponsed to exercise
What is the mechanism? How phys activ tie into brain disfunction
Brain derived neuro..factor (BDNF)
Lu Learn, Mem. 2003, 10: 83-85
Wifdenfalk Neurosci Res 34 125: 1999 - animals running more had increase in XXX (i.e.
Located in hippocampus - Hippocampus is highly plastic structure normally asso with cog function, rather than motor
Malcangio Trends Pharmacol Sci 24:116, 2003-10-08
Increase in neurogenesis in hippocampus in animals that are running, compared to animals who are not running
Running primes t brain to enhance neuronal health
It is dogma in medicine that health indivs are the control group and t sick patients are treatment group
It is dogma in exercise that healthy indivs are t treatment group and t sicker population is t control group
Nby calling t phyaically active group t treatment, some others outside of exercise believe that being sedentary is health and thus see no reason to further supp exercise research
Carro, J. Neurosci. 21, 5678, 2001 Carro Mol Neurobi9ol 27, 153, 2003-10-08 - Increased sendetarism, contributes to an increasing incidence of neurological diseases - Sedentary life is a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease
What genese are changing in brain that will protect you from neural degeneration
(Saltin: Have identified candidate genes, now how activate?)
Kinetic Consideration of endurance training adaptations Name?
Approx 4 weeks before protein increase, through training
In 1980s, mRNA increase detected after 2 weeks
How do muscle cells adapt to exercise?
Metabolic genes: at transcription or mRNA (transient response)
Measure mRNA increases (transient) 48hrs after exercise – inc in protein concentration
Stress genes Priority Genes Metabolic/Mitochondrial Genes
Adaptations from training have to stem from acute stimulus (exercise bout)
Trying to indicate different categories of genes
Example: PDK4
protoocal after 4 weeks of one-legged knee extensor exercise train
24 hrs after exercise bout, mRNA back to basel levels
during exercise, why would muscle want to shut of a gene that produces carbohydrates? - hyp: as glucose ….muscle no longer want to use…
Endurance (PGC-1) David Hood, York University, Toronto
Endurance = high capacity of mitochondrial enzyme activity Not only applicable to endurane athletes, but also sedentary individuals – no exercise, low mitochondrial content and endurance capacity)
Ageing and low physical activity, bring mitochon down
Changes in energy status and calcium,. XXXX l
Leads to change of nucleus – transcription factors
Stimuli that affect transcription of nuclear genes
Mitochondria has its own genome - very limited, only codes for 13 genes (and 100s of genes reqd for mitochondrial function) - transcription factor for 13 genes is TFAM
Studied with animal model - chronic stimulation
typical marker for mitochondria (cytochrome C) - Freyseeenet, et al AJP 277, E26, 1999
Performance change - muscle force greater fatigue resistance (40% improvement)
PGC-1alpha - popular due to widespread effects in cell biology - mediates thyroid - influ on muscle fibre type - affects mitochondrial biogenesis
co-activator not a transcrioption factor not binding DNA, but binding transcritpopn factors - e.g. NRF-1, thyroid receptors (can enhance)
with chronic stim model, looked at PGC-1 level - nothing happened after 3 days, but by 5, 7, 10, increase in PGC-1 protein by 50% (Irrcher et al AJP 2003, 284)
used cells for better control induce to fuse together - immature muscle cell. Can make contract, or treat with drug - not physiological, but useful - is calcium important in mitochondrial biogenesis
number of transcriptors that could be involved in calcium response - 2.5x inc in PGC-1
effects of exercise on PGC-1 might be mediated by calcium
stimulation model - cells stimulated in disk - compared to non stimulated - looked at factors o PGC-1 coactives NRF-1 o NRF-1 transcriptionally activates Tfam and Cyto c) o Tfam imported to mito and inc mtDNA transcption and copy number o P38 MAP kinases phosphorylation stablizes PGC-1 protein o Irrcher et al AJP… (as abobe)
Effect of altering AMPKalpha activity with AICAR - inc in PGC-1 levels - which will ultimately affect mito levels
if understand PGC-1, can understand what affects mitochondrial levels
thyroid hormone is another potent stimulator of metabolism - high thyroid, high mito - hypo-thyroid is opposite - also acts by PGC-1
Conclusion
Contractilve activity-endurance signalling of mito bigenesis involves both calcium signals and changed I ATP turnove and is mediated by PGC-1alpha
Important role of PGC-1 in mataining normal levels…
How neuronal activity controls muscle fiber type and fiber size S. Schiuaffino, Padova
Dissecting signalling pathways involved in activity-dependant muscle gene regulation
Fiber types in skeletal muscle Genetics important, but other factors can modulate fibers - motorneuron activity is major factor
motorneuron modulate fibre size and fibre type
mechanical effects also important, and one of less explored areas - sports that generate tension in muiscle (e.g. weightlifting) can induce muscle hypertrophy metabolic changes - exercise can inc AMP and can activate…?
Try to identify important transaction pathways (activate and block) - How? o Pharma not helpful o Need a genetic approach • Somatic transgenesis • Transgenic mice: long procedure • Instead make transgenic muscles o Inject foreign DNA through plasmid o In few days, see effect in muscle phenotype e.g. Changes in MyHC gene expression inducaed by slow motor neuron…
injected mutant transducers to see if can block effect of nerve or to induce denervated muscle
Murgia et alNature Cell Biol, 2000 Serrano el al PNAS 2001 Pallafaccihna et al PNAS ,2002
Effects: two fibres (injected with foreign DNA) do not express slow myocin
More recently identify transcription factor - NFAT (transcip factor, protein binding DNA o Known to translocate o This translocation been able to….directly, linkd to GFP (fluorescent protein)
Same approach can be used to study muscle hypertrophy
(Saltin: people are on path to find out how performance is regulated)
An overwall enlargement of skeletal muscles is obtained by training and enhanced by anabolic steroids Name? (Female, Paris)
What’s important in skeletal muscle is, as muscle grows, inc proteins, mitochondria, and myonuclei and satellite cells are controlling this
What happens to nuclei in muscle that accompanies growth of muscle fibre As indiv trains (power train), is inc in myonuclear number, and anabolic steroids increase myonuclear number - amount of cytoplasm remains constant
if inc in no. of nuclei, means that cells have to be added in and must come from myonuclear component
skeletal muscle has cell, reserve cell
satellite cells can proliferate, to allow muscle to grow - also used to repair muscle
sat cells can be isolated from muscle and grow from biopsy
sat cells isol from human muscle fibres, have ltd capacity to cell
from birth can make 60-70 divisions - most of these lost during rapid growth
then, muscles stop growing - from 20-90yrs, maintain capacity to grow and repair skel muscle
Mitotic Clock - this is why there is a limited capacity, limited by Telemere (on each chromosome, is a piece of redundant DNA, each time cell divides, small part of this DNA will be lost, after while, signals to stop cells from further division, protects cells from cancer, but limits no. times can divide)
in athletes, no. of satellite cells increase on muscle fibre - to inc muscle mass, to repair muscle
same biopsies – look at telemere length, compared to sedentary - in elite pro athletes, is small decrease in Tele DNA, muscle is turning over much more than in sedentary population
Athletes with FAMS (Fatigued Athlete Myopathic Syndrome - Noakes) - suffering from chronic fatigue - connective tissue abundant - inc internal nuclei - abnormal mito nuclei
compared with control group of sports people
in this syndrome, where overtrain and genetic background, where cannot replenish sat cells, is pathologic – comparable to genetic disease
similar decrease in sat cells in weightlifters with large doping history
lose telemetric DNA each time cell divides
in cell culture, when isolated from elite athletes, compared to sedentary, doing small amount of regular activity is beneficial, because amateurXXXXX? - what level of activity is beneficial, compared to excessive exercise
Muscle satellite cells activation and skeletal muscle mass recognition Geoff Goldspink
Muscle mass muss be regulated locally and systemically - must be local growth factors
Alterantive Splicing of Human IGF-1 gene - now call mechano growth factor (only detected in ?) o derived from IGF-1 • IGF-1 genereal growth factor that makes cells inc in size
Normally think of IGF-1 as produced in liver
But MGF has different sequence and different action to systemic factor Activated by chemical signals quickly after exercise?
49 base insert - ie. Downstream shifts
put cDNA into different plasmids using same techniqe as earlier paper (inject to muscle of mouse)
made some constructs for in vitro when pt into mouse, found that a group of fibres that hve been tranZZ have inc in size within 2 weeks (25% larger) - potent growth factor)
how was it doing this? - looked at cells in culture - put interest into C2C12 cells o saw effects of systemic IGF-1, increased in mass, but …?
Subjected rat to mechanical damage, put in myotoxin agent - to see repair, etc
if look at marker for sat cell activation - sat cells inc in numbers quickly after injury - what sort is activating? o Discovered that shortly after injury MGF is expressed • Chief contender as major factor activiating sat cells Need to replenish pool of cells, but not too much
Muscles respond to mechanical signals – how? - not enough sat cells - seems that they are not activated - all muscles do not respond to exercise as well, since do not prod enough MGF
(Saltin: now health subject)
Muscle Contraction Febbraio?, Female, Brown hair
Plasma IL-6 - Ostrowksi et al J. Physiol 1998 - Ostrowski,
Is IL-6 produced during exercise? - yes, by working muscles, when it is released into circulation
role of muscle glycogen? - systemic vs. local effects - transcription rate inc with exercise, but further enhanced when muscle glycogen is XXX?
What does it mean to feed athletes carbohydrates during exercise? - IL-6 is inhibited
Febbraio et al 2003
If IL-6 was being produced to signal to liver to produce glucose? - not clear from findings
Febbraio hiscock, fischer, sachetti, Pederson - 2hrs cycling, at 40% VO2max….etc - IL-6 can influence glucose production, but co-factor is required
Does IL-6 induce lipolysis? - yes. Van hall, et al J clin endorcinol metab june 2003-10-08
Keller, FASEB, J, December, XXXX?
Nutrition – supplementation and sports performance
Ergogenic aids:food for performance or food for thought
Diet, training and ergogenic aids: t evidence from antiquity Louis Grivetti
Examples of
Doping Substances in Nutritional Supplements: Results of an IOC study Hans Geyer
Since 1996, Prohormones available over counter
Prohormones of Testosterone - DHEA
Prohormones of Nandrolone
Labelling of preparations does not reflect actual content
Parasrampuria M. et al 1998
Insufficient urveyence of prohormones
Now analyse non hormonal
Broad based study of international market
634 nutritional supplements purchased from Oct2000 – Nov 2001
in 13 countries
mainlybourght in shops (91.2%) and internet
289 supplements (49%) from prohorone selling companies
Results: 15% of nutritional supp,ements contained anaboligc androgenic not on label
most of positive nutritional included DHEA andendion
most positive products came from US companies (about 90%!)
do only prohormone companies have positive samples?
10% of products from non pro-hormone also positive
does application of such contamination of substances, lead to positive doping results - Yes, especially if prohormone of nandrolone
Many victims of contaminated substance? - Christie, ottie, etc
Conclusion
Problem of non-hormonal nutritional supplements containing prohibited anabolic-androgeneic is international problem
Consumption can lead to positive doping
Minimize risk, athletes should only buy nutritional supplements from companies which perform qualiy check for prohormones that guaranteee
In germany have companies that
www.osp-koeln.de - low risk suppplments (cannot excp
www.dopinginfo.de
in this study, cases were too low to have a physiological affect
example from Belgium where athlete has managed to gain compensation from
Muscle Glycogen: train low – compete high
Carbo ingestionduring exercise of longdurationin c performance
High muscle glycogen enhances time to exhaustion
What are infol of CHO ingestion and uiscle glycogen on training??
Training adaptation: what is influ of training at low versus high XXX
Training adaptation - what is that? - Molecular mechanisms? o Accumulation of proteins o How accumulate protein in muscle?
Prof. Choulis,
Framing it as a problem.
Number of durugs see
Questions
Randy Welberg, USOC presentations
Goldspink - china, factor 8 - haemophilia
Olympia 2003: 6th Joint International Meeting of leaders from Higher Education Institutes. Doug Brown
Life histories on Olympians in and around Calgary, to assess the legacy of the Calgary Games.
Gertrud Pfister – gender and the Olympics
Problem of resources – poverty linked to lack of representtion (Jennifer Hargreaves)
2 of 1999 NOCs with female president
5% females in 13,000 top positions in sport world wide
1981 IOC ‘men only’ 1981 2 women in the IOC 2002 8.7% women Exec board 14m to 1 women President, vice presidents make Presidents NOCs, 197 men, 2 women
Concern for athletes posing nude for Playboy - is this a sporting concern about gender? Is it even a concern about gender? Or do we care more generally about people posing nude for magazines? If the latter, then do we merely assert a conservatism, when we assert a concern for this phenomenon? Why are we concerned about the sexualisation of ‘people’?
Deadline for applications is 12 January, 2009: http://www.uws.ac.uk/research/MediaStudentships.asp
Finally, here are the project outlines:
Blogging the Vancouver 2010 Olympics (Ref.PHDMLM003) Director of Studies: Dr Andy Miah Research into the new media dimensions of an Olympic Games has become a focal point for researchers in recent years. Sports governing bodies have also responded to the rise of new media, as a distinct reporting form within the organizational framework of a mega-event. For instance, for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the television rights contracts were separated from internet broadcast rights for the first time in history. Also, in February 2008, the International Olympic Committee provided extensive blogging guidelines for the first time, which affect all accredited persons at the Games, including athletes. Additionally, a remarkable number of citizen journalists is visible at recent Games and their capacity and entitlement to report on the proceedings is a much more contested set of circumstances. As traditional media outlets rush to converge and consolidate their online presence, questions arise as to the contribution of dominant social networking platforms to the construction of the Games-time narrative. Evidence suggests that organizations are making strategic decisions to affect these conditions. For instance, in March 2007, the BBC purchased a You Tube Channel. Alternatively, in August 2008, the IOC signed agreements to broadcast parts of the Olympic Games on You Tube to countries where no television broadcast license was in place. This PhD studentship will focus on the Olympic Winter Games of Vancouver 2010 to study how a range of new media is infiltrating the Olympic infrastructure. It will seek to contextualize the new media culture of Vancouver 2010 within a series of cultural and political issues that have surrounded the lead-up to its Winter Olympics.
Candidates should have a higher degree and particular expertise in qualitative research methods and social media.
Prospects of immortality: public engagement with Biogerontology and life/health span expansion (Ref.PHDMLM004)
Due to its broad application to a number of other sciences, biogerontology is one of the most relevant fields of inquiry today. It speaks to the convergence of the NBIC sciences and to the redefinition of health care that arises by describing ageing as a disease to be cured, rather than a natural process to accept. Biogerontology engages us with the prospect of extending health or life span to an unknown degree and, as such, it is a controversial discipline. Over the last ten years, work in this area has shifted from scientific impossibility to becoming a core part of scientific endeavour. A range of media coverage, from aspersion to fascination, has accompanied this shift. In the literature on public understanding of science, there is no research yet attending to this distinct, but profound area of scientific inquiry. As such, this PhD studentship aims to explore the following questions:
* How has biogerontology been articulated though the media? * What issues surround the political economy of research into life-extension? * How do different research communities orientate themselves around the various media narratives on life-extension? * How do journalists report research on biogerontology? * What can be learned from this subject area to broadly inform work into science communication?
Candidates should have a higher degree in science communication and qualitative research methods in media sociology.
Director of Studies Andy Miah External Adviser: Aubrey de Grey
The ethics of human enhancement in film (Ref.PHDMLM005)
Studies in the ethics of human enhancement have advanced considerably in the last five years through the emergence of new communities of scholarly inquiry. A number of scientific disciplines have been brought under the spotlight due to their likely use for lifestyle, non-therapeutic purposes. The connections between filmic narratives and bioethics are made manifest in recent cultural studies and can be linked to broader, literary origins. Yet, there is very little research that investigates the range of narratives that emerge on the ethics of human enhancement within film. This absence affects the degree of complexity that is brought to how such debates are played out in the media and in policy. This PhD explores the contribution of film to such imaginations and aims to add complexity to our understanding of how film conveys such alterations. It should also help us understand how film functions as a posthuman device of expressing humanly experiences, such as process of remembering, perceiving and the possible disruption of sensory encounters. It also aims to explore the limitations of cultural reference points within scientific policy making on the ethics of human enhancements, exploring the range of metaphors, analogies and stories that contribute to shaping the public understanding of science.
Candidates should have a higher degree and particular expertise in film theory and technological fiction.
Director of Studies: Andy Miah
The Beijing Games starts in a few days and I'll be there developing the work I've pursued at the last four Olympic Games, along with interviewing for various media orgnaizations about the use of human enhancement technologies by athletes. This Games feels as though it's been a long time coming and is certainly one of the highlights of the year for me.
The RSF have been reporting this conference, which took place in Beijing over the last few days.
A BEIJING OLYMPICS CULTURAL PROJECT
National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) No. 1 Wusi Street Dongcheng District Beijing 100010 P.R.ChinaJun 10, 2008 -July 3, 2008
During the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the National Art Museum of China will present “SYNTHETIC TIMES – Media Art China 2008” in its current location at the center of Beijing. NAMOC is the only national art museum in China that is dedicated to research, presentation and promotion of modern and contemporary arts. “SYNTHETIC TIMES – Media Art China 2008”, scheduled from June 10th to July 3rd, will be one of the most important cultural events leading up to the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The exhibition will occupy approximately 4500 square meters (48000 square feet) of the museum gallery space and an additional outdoor area of ca. 2000 square meters (22000 square feet). The internationally recognized Dutch architecture firm NOX/Lars Spuybroek will architecturally transform the entire first floor of the museum in response to the nature of the works on display. A full-color catalogue will be co-published by NAMOC and the MIT Press to accompany the opening (with international distribution). An online forum dedicated to the discourse of the respective exhibition themes and beyond will be created prior to the opening of the event. A pre-Exhibition symposium will be held in New York City in collaboration with MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and other major cultural and educational institutions. The forum and the subsequent symposia will be moderated by a group of distinguished scholars and media arts professionals. Selected discussion essays will be included in the catalogue. Meanwhile, a number of satellite exhibition venues have been planed within the greater Beijing art community, engaging prominent galleries of the booming Beijing art scene. In addition, a number of special evening events during the opening days of the Exhibition are conceived to celebrate countries with significant contribution to the development of media art and culture.
Synthetic Times – Media Art China 2008 will showcase both established and emerging artists from approximately thirty countries, and over fifty media art installation works will be on view along with performances, workshops, presentations and discussion panels. To complement the theme exhibitions, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will contribute a special screening program consisting of seminal video art works. Ars Electronica is set to present the award winning Animation Festival while European Media Art Festival will bring in an edition of International Emerging Video Art. The Exhibition is envisaged as a landmark event in the history of contemporary Chinese art dedicated to embracing the most innovative artistic production and theorization to date, and aspiring to foster and advance new modes of thinking and novel ways of artistic engagement in an increasingly technologically immersed society and global cultural landscape, resonating with the leitmotifs of “Cultural Olympics” and “Hi-Tech Olympics” put forward by the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Supported by the Chinese government, international cultural foundations as well as embassies from the participating countries, renowned museums and media art institutions worldwide will collaborate with NAMOC to produce the Exhibition and its related events.
On Thursday afternoon Josh Neicho from Letters at the Evening Standard asked me for a contribution about the torch relay arriving in London. I was waiting for a flight to Barcelona, but cobbled together something for them. Pasted below are the published version and my full submission. All are free for quoting: Evening Standard published version
"If athletes are thinking of protesting this weekend, as the Olympic flame arrives in London, first they have to decide what they are protesting about - Tibet or wider human rights issues - then, on how their politics square with Olympic values.
There is an argument that the Olympics should be untainted by confrontational politics. In support of this view, one could point to the vast amount of soft diplomacy done at the behest of the Olympic movement: such as the Olympic Truce, which through the UN calls on heads of state to cease conflicts during the competition, or Olympic Solidarity, which enables the participation of many athletes who might not otherwise compete due to financial difficulties or political circumstances.
Athletes are and should be free to express themselves about global issues without intervention from any Olympic authority. They should, however, be cautious about their celebrity being co-opted by well-meaning but aggressive campaigning teams seeking to use them for their own benefit. They should gain inspiration from the quiet protests of Juan Carlos and Tommie Smith in Mexico in 1968; but recall their actions led to their expulsion from the Games.
The arguments used to support demonstrations against the Beijing Olympics, furthermore, might also be advanced by protesters against the 2012 London Games, on account of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war and attacks on civil liberties during the "war on terror".
Hypocrisy is rife on this issue, which is why the IOC prefers to portray itself simply as a sporting organization, even though it is clearly more than this."
Dr Andy Miah, andymiah.net
My full submission
The Olympic torch passing through London this weekend
"If athletes are thinking of protesting this weekend, as the Olympic flame relay arrives on its long route to Beijing, then they have first to decide what it is they are protesting about. The interventions - plural and different - at the lighting ceremony in Olympia two weeks ago were characterized as pro-Tibet protests, yet the Reporters without Borders, while Tibet sympathizers, are predominantly concerned about the freedom of Chinese journalists within the mainland. It was the pro-Tibet protestors in the village of Olympia later that day that made particular reference to Tibet. So, will their protest be about media freedom of local or international journalists, or the various campaigns that have been launched in relation to Darfur, via the 'Genocide Olympics' strap line? Alternatively, will the protest be about the people of Tibet and the state of unrest that has been evident?
Their next decision should be about how their politics square with Olympic values. On one view, protest and activism are an integral element of the Olympic ideals, since they can contribute to the achievement of greater intercultural understanding, the core business of Olympism outlined in the Olympic Charter. On another view, the Olympic ideals should be untainted by this sort of confrontational politics, for its potentially destructive potential. Proponents of such views point to the vast amount of soft international diplomacy, which is evident below the surface of the Olympic Movement. For example, the Olympic Truce draws on the IOC's relationship with the United Nations to call upon Heads of States to cease conflicts during the 16 days of competition. Alternatively, Olympic Solidarity has enable the participation of athletes from a vast number of countries that might otherwise be unable to take part, due to financial difficulties or political circumstances. Consider also the moment that North and South Korea entered the stadium at the Opening Ceremony of Sydney 2000.
The fact remains that in 100 years of modern Olympic history, there has never been a non-politicized Games. Yet, each incarnation has had to ensure that the Games are not too political, so as not to disrupt the entire Olympic programme. It is clear that athletes do not want this and the recent calls to boycott only the opening ceremony by Kate Hoey - a politics that gestures towards issues of political sensitivity - is a sensible route for those with strong views on this subject.
Athletes are and should be free to express themselves about global political issues without intervention from any Olympic authority. They should be cautious about their celebrity status being co-opted by well-meaning, but aggressive campaigning teams who seek to draw on an athlete's name for their own good, some of which might have sponsorship tie ins that conflict with the Olympic sponsorship programme. They should gain inspiration from the quiet protests of Juan Carlos and Tommie Smith in Mexico 1968, but recall that their actions led to expulsion from the Olympic Games. Perhaps this is not too great a sacrifice for some athletes, but for others, it would be devastating and perhaps limit their capacity to capitalize on their Olympian status for subsequent purposes.
Finally, one might observe that arguments used to support protests of the Beijing Olympics due to China's political interventions or lack of, might also be used to protest London's Games in 2012, on account of its maneuvers in foreign policy, the Atlantic Alliance and assaults on human rights that have been justified in the context of a war on terror. In short, if athletes protest China, then they should consider whether they are also willing to protest London and, if not, whether this tells us anything about why protest and the Olympics enjoy a very difficult relationship. Hypocrisy is rife on this issue, which is why the IOC prefer simply to remain single minded about being just a sporting organization even if we know they are not."
Dr Andy Miah Reader University of the West of Scotland
Some reflections on why the RSF protest in Ancient Olympia took place and whether we can judge it: It is conceivable that the RSF regard the presence of Chinese authorities in Olympia as a violation of that sacred space. So, in their view it is already a polluted space and their intervention cannot diminish any further what is already a violent assault on the Olympic ideals. Indeed, from this perspective, their protest constitutes a necessary counter-balance to restore the spirit of the Olympic ideals. I note that their protest might have been very different - it could have involved physical violence towards an individual. Instead, it was an act that aimed strictly to gain a presence within a television camera frame and I put it to you that it is this space, rather than Olympia, that they were invading. It also took place during speeches, rather than the lighting ceremony. These are relevant details that should inform our judgment of the specifics of their act.
Equally, the politics of sacred space needs further unraveling here. On what basis should we conclude that Olympia is a sacred space, rather than a space that is historically valued by certain communities? The live broadcast on BBC News 24 (in which I saw Roy!) had commentators speaking throughout the Priestesses performance and, typically, commentators are silent during sacred ceremonies. Also, the priestesses are actresses so, while this should not diminish the value of the proceedings to us, we might not claim it has the gravity of a religious ceremony, for instance.
Additionally, to suggest that what has been achieved by the IOC's negotiations with China is satisfactory does not stand. The RSF's work on China extends well before the Olympics were planned for Beijing and if one looks at their campaigns, most of what they discuss aims clearly to utilize the Olympics as a mechanism for their own campaigns. They trade on the idea that many people care about the Olympics and their utilization of it is necessarily aggressive. Incidentally, their protest was pro-Tibet - especially as foreign journalists were required to leave there recently (now being let back it seems) - but not wholly about Tibet. It seems to me that the bulk of the RSF campaign is about DOMESTIC journalist freedom in mainland China.
Here in the UK, I feel that the intervention by the RSF has set the frame for the entire commentary about the Beijing Olympics. Moreover, I don't think this should trouble us or China greatly. Great Games should be about more than just the results of competition and a trouble free undertaking. However, in pursuing this aspiration, we must engage with the educative process of conflict negotiations. For me, this is the Olympic spirit.
Where is the evidence to support the claim that what the IOC has achieved with media freedom in China is sufficient to allow journalists to undertake their work? My feeling from journalists is that these freedoms to travel and so on are all perfectly fine providing you do not wish to undertake anything that is too critical of the state and I hardly think this is likely to be a satisfactory state of affairs for any journalist. Also, to the extent that the IOC has concerned itself predominantly with the freedom of Olympic journalists ie those that are reporting sports events, this hardly consists of a broad opening up of China to Western media.
If our claim is that the IOC has enabled the door to open, then this certainly has merit, but if what we see is appalling, that merit has limited currency. Moreover, to the extent that the invasion of sacred space has the greatest impact on people's sensibilities, then I see the methods and target of the RSF protestors as completely logical. It is the disruption of ceremony that provides the symbolic impact that protestors seek. We must also recognize that all aspects of the flame relay are concurrently symbolic to certain audiences and underpinned by significant commercial sponsorship. This fact hardly coheres with the view that this journey is strictly, spiritually pure.
I appreciate the long view of international diplomacy, but there are many who believe that the open door to china could shut just as quickly after the closing ceremony and, for them, this is why it is necessary to exert as much pressure now. I also see the acts of organizations as the RSF as constitutive of international diplomatic efforts, in the same way that we might talk of Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth. On this basis, I think we are too close to this situation to adequately judge its long term implications. For now, my eyes and ears in Greece and China tell me that, for the first time in history, journalists were not permitted into the Acropolis for the torch arrival and that Tiananmen Square was also severely restricted in the last few days.
Finally, let's remember that China's new 'Olympic' legislation for foreign media, which began in January 2007, ends in November 2008.
I appreciate these are sensitive issues, but I think this is why we need to pursue different points of view in order to come to terms with what is happening.
In an attempt to start assembling journalists that will be in Beijing, I've put together a Facebook group to share impressions, understanding and knowledge about orientation. If you're going and you're covering the Games as a journalist, please join the group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10776325266&ref=mf
Olympic Legacies 29-30 March 2008
St Antony's College, Oxford
Sponsored by
St Antony's College, Oxford
La Trobe University, Melbourne
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
As London prepares to host the 2012 Olympic Games, the conference brings together leading international social scientists and practitioners to reflect on the critical theme of ‘Olympic Legacies'. The conference's purpose is to enrich our understanding of not only the Olympic movement but also the relationship between sport and modern societies.
There is no registration fee for delegates but registration is mandatory.
For registration and further information please contact:
Jennifer Griffiths, Asian Studies Centre, St Antony's College, 62 Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6JF
tel: (01865) 274559 fax: (01865) 274559 email: jennifer.griffiths@sant.ox.ac.uk
Conference organisers: Boria Majumdar (cristorian@yahoo.com) and Jonathan Manley (jonathan.manley@tandf.co.uk)
A couple of weeks ago, an editor at the Evening Standard asked me to write a letter in relation to the Standard's campaign to have Linford Christie removed from the Olympic torch relay nominations. I think he expected a letter in support of their campaign. He didn't get it. Here's what they didn't publish. I didn't hear back from him after sending it:
Dear Josh, I submit the following. It probably isn't what you expected or, perhaps, wanted....Dear Editor,
The campaign to remove Linford Christie from the Olympic torch relay for Beijing in London later this year highlights one of the longstanding inconsistencies within the Olympic Movement. As an aspiring judicial system - with its own Court to boot - it fails miserably as a mechanism of rehabilitation, since no amount of recompense an athlete makes after a doping infraction is enough to allow them entry back into the social world of athletics. While it might appear to be bad PR to bring Linford into the ceremony, this fact invites further questions over why such a decision was taken. In part, the answer lies in recent years when Linford became a mentor for the British Olympic team. At the same time, he was also a witness for a pioneering British inquiry into developing more robust policies to address doping in sport, especially taking into account claims from athletes, like him, who say that they have ingested banned substances by poorly labeled nutritional supplements. When we see Linford with the torch in April, we should not look upon him as a villain who has been celebrated despite his infractions - not as a bad guy who finished first - but as a symbol of rehabilitation, someone from whom greater achievements are possible by learning the hard way. Much better for London to do this than to utilize a clean athlete who has yet to be found guilty of doping. At least with Linford, we all know where we stand. There can be no subsequent betrayal, which could occur if any, supposedly, clean athlete is asked to perform such duties. London should be different and it is right that the IOC does not intervene on these matters. While it might appear to be consistent with the moral outrage that surrounds doping in sport to request Linford's absence, it is thoroughly inconsistent with the aspirations of achieving justice, which are the deeper values at stake when we appeal to fair play as a guiding norm within competitive performance cultures like sport. So, I say let him carry the torch. His permanent exclusion from the BOA as an athlete is mandatory under its policy, not a definitive statement on his present character. Perhaps his presence will encourage a deeper level of debate about what doping means, why it matters and how we should deal with it. However, any such inquiry is lost if we limit our conversations to the simplistic signifier of Linford Christie as doped athlete.
Dr Andy Miah, Author of 'Genetically Modified Athletes' Reader, University of the West of Scotland.
A couple of days ago, I interviewed for ABC Radio on the recent discussions about blogging at the Beijing Olympics. Here's the transcript: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/sportsfactor/stories/2008/2179195.htm
The pilgrimage to Olympia after the summer fires in Greece was a very special occasion. It was far more severe than could have been imagined, but also quite poigniant to see the monuments remaining strong.
After the fires in Greece this year, an event has been created to support the village of Olympia on its road to recovery. http://www.scholars-for-olympia.com/