Research@Lincoln

Recent Submissions

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    Challenges for international sport events in the pursuit of population physical activity legacies
    (2021) Annear, Mike; Shimizu, Yasuo; Kidokoro, Tetsuhiro
    The pursuit of population physical activity (PA) legacies as an outcome of hosting international sports event is a subject of academic and policy debate. This presentation considers emerging and existential challenges in the pursuit of such public health goals in the 21st century based on a recent systematic review, international Delphi study and environmental audit completed by a multinational research team. The forthcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have already been disrupted by an unprecedented confluence of negative impacts related to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing effects of climate change. Added to these environmental challenges are a range of ongoing organizational and research problems that continue to hamper long-term legacy planning and evaluation related to international sport events. The challenges associated with hosting the Tokyo Olympics provide context for considering the changing nature of international events and their contested public health impacts. A recent systematic review considered the dual threats of infectious diseases and climate change, which have intersected dramatically with the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games leading to a one-year postponement and relocation of long-distance running and race-walking events to the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. Environmental threats challenge the capacity of event organizers to effectively leverage hosting in the pursuit of legacy objectives, including the promotion of population PA. A series of environmental audits were also conducted in the vicinity of Tokyo’s Olympic and Paralympic venues to ascertain levels of support for community PA using observational methods, including the validated Irvine-Minnesota Inventory. Several issues were identified during the pre-COVID-19 build-up, including accessibility challenges, lack of amenities, environmental nuisance (tobacco smoke, heat island effects and vegetation overgrowth), and disaster risk. Finally, an international Delphi study was undertaken to consolidate expert consensus relating to organizational, policy and research challenges associated with the pursuit of population PA outcomes associated with event hosting. Experts were pessimistic about the capacity of event hosting to achieve population PA increases and noted limited tangible outcomes beyond infrastructure and facilities. Opportunities were identified in relation to long-term legacy planning, funding, stakeholder involvement, and research and evaluation. Based upon the tripartite assessment of the extant literature, Tokyo-based environmental audits, and international expert consensus, this presentation offers a range of strategies across policy, research, environmental development to address potential existential challenges for international sports mega events that seek to leverage hosting to achieve population PA legacies.
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    Healthy and active aging in place in urban Japan and Sweden
    (2022) Annear, Mike; Fristedt, Sophie; Fischl, Caroline; Fischl, Geza
    Presentation given at Mirai 2.0 TEG symposium - Aging in a Sustainable Future, 8 June, 2022.
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    Active aging and the Olympic Games: A public health legacy lost?
    (2021) Annear, Mike
    Presentation given at MIRAI 2.0 Research and Innovation week, June 2021.
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    Physical activity behaviors and intentions among middle-aged and older Japanese across the COVID-19 pandemic
    (2022) Annear, Mike
    Presentation given at the International Symposium on Contemporary Issues in Exercise Science: from Sports Performance to Disease Prevention, 12 October, 2022.
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    One bad rainstorm away from disaster: Why proposed changes to forestry rules won't solve the 'slash' problem
    (2025-06-26) Bloomberg, Mark; Urlich, Stephen
    The biggest environmental problems for commercial plantation forestry in New Zealand's steep hill country are discharges of slash (woody debris left behind after logging) and sediment from clear-fell harvests. During the past 15 years, there have been 15 convictions of forestry companies for slash and sediment discharges into rivers, on land and along the coastline. Such discharges are meant to be controlled by the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry, which set environmental rules for forestry activities such as logging roads and clear-fell harvesting. The standards are part of the Resource Management Act (RMA), which the government is reforming. The government revised the standards' slash-management rules in 2023 after Cyclone Gabrielle. But it is now consulting on a proposal to further amend the standards because of cost, uncertainty and compliance issues. We believe the proposed changes fail to address the core reasons for slash and sediment discharges.