Lome Fa'atau (born 23 October 1975 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a rugby union player. The speedy winger is recognisable by his traditional Samoan tattoo (pe'a).
Before his rugby career took off, he attended St. Patrick's College in Wellington, where he was a star basketball player for his college team. It was not until he left college did he begin playing rugby union for the local club Marist St. Pat's, where he made his debut in the third grade division at fullback.

Career
He made his provincial debut in the 1999 season of the National Provincial Championship in New Zealand, playing for Wellington. The next year he joined Taranaki and became the leading try scorer for the province that season. The following year he returned to his old province in Wellington. In 2002 he played for the Hurricanes in the international Super 12 competition. Two years later he joined the Chiefs before returning to the Hurricanes.

He made his debut for Manu Samoa in 2002. Fa'atau played on the wing in all matches for Samoa in the 2003 World Cup in Australia, except for the match against Georgia, Fa'atau scored one try during the World Cup. Fa'atau describes his best rugby memory as making the Manu Samoa team.

The Hurricanes made it to the 2006 Super 14 final, where they went down to the Crusaders in bizarre weather. Although not finishing as champions, Fa'atau was not only the top try scorer for the Hurricanes, but the lead try scorer of the season amassing a total a grand total of 10 tries through a combination of graceful, elusive yet blisteringly fast running.

Fa'atau joined Scottish side Glasgow after the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

After an indifferent two seasons with Glasgow he joined Nice who play in Federale 1 in France, and plays with former internationals Dan Luger, Ross Beattie, Kevin Yates and Mark McHugh, and England coach Martin Johnson's brother Will Johnson who used to play for Leicester Tigers.

Personal life
Lome is also a committed Christian and wears the initial "J" and "C" (for Jesus Christ) on his wristbands every match.

His brother Eneliko (Ene) Fa'atau also plays rugby and is the player/coach for the Irish Leinster league division club Dundalk.

References

Lome is currently coaching Percy Park RFC in North Shields, Tyne & Wear. He also plays local league basketball for North Shields Tropic.

External links
Glasgow profile

1975 births
Living people
Rugby union wings
Samoan rugby union coaches
Samoan rugby union players
Glasgow Warriors players
Rugby union players from Wellington City
New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent
Samoa international rugby union players
Pacific Islanders rugby union players
Samoan expatriate rugby union players
Expatriate rugby union players in Scotland
Expatriate rugby union players in Italy
Samoan expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand
Expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand
Samoan expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Samoan expatriate sportspeople in Italy
People educated at St. Patrick's College, Wellington
Samoa international rugby sevens players
Male rugby sevens players
2003 Rugby World Cup players
2007 Rugby World Cup players

Lome Fa'atau


Mutiny on the Buses is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the second spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded On the Buses (1971). It was followed by a third film Holiday on the Buses (1973).  The film was produced by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe for Hammer Films. Mutiny on the Buses came 17th in the 1972 box office.

Plot
Stan Butler (Reg Varney), a bus driver for the Town & District bus company, is so enamoured with a  clippie from his company called Susy (Janet Mahoney), that he agrees to marry her. While Jack (Bob Grant), his close friend and colleague, welcomes the news, his family do not share the same view, with Stan's Mum (Doris Hare) unhappy that he will want to move out of the Butlers house. Although Stan is eager to get married and to find Susy a flat for them to live in, he is forced to put things on hold when he becomes the main money earner for the Butler household, after Arthur (Michael Robbins) loses his job. While trying to find his brother-in-law employment, Jack reveals news, overheard from Blakey (Stephen Lewis), the company's Bus Inspector, that a new manager by the name of Mr. Jenkins (Kevin Brennan) has been installed into the depot, who seeks to make the buses profitable and has intentions to make reforms at the depot to ensure its staff work harder, much to the dislike of Stan and Jack who enjoy their current layabout lifestyle.

When Jenkins decides to stop the staff wearing casual, scruffy clothing under their uniform, Stan and Jack instigate a mutiny by having the male and female bus crews wear only the company's uniform that they are provided with, and nothing else. While this has little effect in stopping them having to wear smarter clothing with their uniforms, the stunt embarrasses Blakey and annoys Jenkins, who blames the Inspector for letting the staff get away with their prank. A few days later, Stan discovers that Jenkins is hiring new drivers and realises that this will provide the needed work for Arthur that can allow him to proceed with marrying Susy. In order to ensure this, Stan decides to teach Arthur how to drive a bus. However, his plans to get him properly trained soon become threatened when Jenkins has a new radio control system installed in all the buses, allowing Blakey to ensure that the buses are running on time while keeping the pair working hard. Seeking to stop management interfering with how they want to work, Jack tampers with the system so that it crosses over into other radio frequencies, effectively leading to several misunderstandings involving the police and airliners, before the police promptly order its discontinuation.

Soon after the radio system is removed, Jenkins issues Blakey with a new van, in order to help him monitor the bus routes more effectively. However, when Stan and Jack accidentally cause a fire at the depot, the staff quickly find that the fire-fighting equipment is woefully inadequate, resulting in chaos that leads to the Inspector's new van being crushed between two buses whilst they are being moved out of the building. In the aftermath of the incident, Jenkins has the fire-fighting equipment upgraded and orders the Inspector to stage a fire drill, but this only leads to mayhem when Stan and Jack flood the depot after breaking the depot's new foam machine. At the same time, Arthur, who secured a job at the company, is horrified when Olive (Anna Karen) arrives at the depot during the mayhem, and crashes the motorbike in the flooded maintenance pit, after believing that her husband had lied about the fire drill.

Despite Arthur now having a job, Stan discovers that he cannot afford a flat with the money he is earning, unless he can make more, and so is thrilled when Jenkins reveals to the bus crews that he is planning to arrange the company to run safari tours to Windsor Safari Park, whereupon the driver selected by him to drive the special bus for the tour will receive a larger wage and keep any tips they earn. However, any hope of Stan getting the job are dashed when Blakey informs him that, because both he and the depot manager agree that he is accountable for the mayhem with the fire drill, he will never be allowed to get the job. Later that evening, attending the company's dart competition in the busmen's canteen while debating on how to secure the safari job, trouble arises when he, Jack and Mum are forced to take Olive home, after she starts a fight with Arthur's clippie, Norah (Pat Ashton), for trying to flirt with her husband and getting more attention than herself. A couple of nights later, when they are in the depot after hours, Stan and Jack witness Jenkins having an affair with Norah and use the information to blackmail him into giving Stan the safari job, much to Blakey's shock.

A few days later, Stan prepares for the first run - a trial run to determine if the safari park will accept buses on its ground. While Stan is delighted with the new uniform he is provided with, and the special safari bus he will be driving, he accidentally damages the bus' rear emergency exit, resulting in the trial run being a complete disaster when it leaves him and Blakey, assigned to supervise the run, at the mercy of lions and monkeys. With their engagement on the rocks following the incident, Stan persuades Susy to come to his family's house for tea the following night to talk things over. But when it is announced that Olive is pregnant again, an annoyed Susy realises that she will never be married and storms out of the Butler household, giving back her engagement ring to Stan in the process. The next day, Stan finds out from Jack that Jenkins' wife learnt of his affair with Norah and had him transferred to another depot as a result, while also learning that his friend is no longer on his bus. Instead, he is shocked to discover that Blakey will be joining him, after being demoted to a conductor for all the trouble caused recently, but is delighted to learn that three new, attractive clippies have arrived at the depot, one of whom, Gloria (Jan Rennison), is being put on Stan's bus. The story ends with Blakey preventing passengers getting on Stan's bus, much like Jack did at the beginning, while Stan gets a feeling of Deja Vu when he finds himself agreeing to marry Gloria.

Cast

Main cast
Reg Varney as Stan Butler
Doris Hare as Mum
Michael Robbins as Arthur Rudge
Anna Karen as Olive
Stephen Lewis as Inspector 'Blakey' Blake
Bob Grant as Jack Harper
Janet Mahoney as Susy
Kevin Brennan as Mr Jenkins

Supporting cast
Pat Ashton as Norah
Bob Todd as New Inspector
David Lodge as Safari Guard
Tex Fuller as Harry
Caroline Dowdeswell as Sandra
Damaris Hayman as Mrs Jenkins
 Jan Rennison as Gloria
 Juliet Duncan as Gladys
Michael Nightingale as Pilot
Roger Avon as Policeman (safari park)
 Barry Linehan as Policeman (patrol car)
 David Rowlands as Policeman (on beat)
 Nicolette Chaffey as Nurse
 Dervis Ward as Angry Passenger
 Wayne Westhorpe as Olive's baby
 Shirley English as Woman Getting Off Bus (uncredited)
Harry Fielder as Bus Driver (uncredited)
Alf Mangan as Darts Match Guest (uncredited)
Sally Osborne as Nurse with Wheelchair (uncredited)
Caroline Munro - Poster Girl (uncredited)

Production

Filming
Apart from the location work, the film was shot at EMI-MGM Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England.

The bus at the safari park in Mutiny on the Buses was NRN 607, a Metro-Cammell bodied Leyland Atlantean, new to Ribble Motor Services.

Reception
The film was one of the most popular movies of 1972 at the British box office.

References

External links

1972 films
1972 comedy films
British comedy films
Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios
Films based on television series
Hammer Film Productions films
On the Buses
Films scored by Ron Grainer
EMI Films films
Films about buses
1970s English-language films
1970s British films

Mutiny on the Buses


Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere.  It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy.  It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of new trends in economic thinking about the inefficiencies of government regulation, and the risk that regulatory agencies would be controlled by the regulated industry to its benefit, and thereby hurt consumers and the wider economy. Economic regulations were promoted during the Gilded Age, in which progressive reforms were claimed as necessary to limit externalities like corporate abuse, unsafe child labor, monopolization, pollution, and to mitigate boom and bust cycles. Around the late 1970s, such reforms were deemed burdensome on economic growth and many politicians espousing neoliberalism started promoting deregulation.

The stated rationale for deregulation is often that fewer and simpler regulations will lead to raised levels of competitiveness, therefore higher productivity, more efficiency and lower prices overall. Opposition to deregulation may involve apprehension regarding environmental pollution and environmental quality standards (such as the removal of regulations on hazardous materials), financial uncertainty, and constraining monopolies.

Regulatory reform is a parallel development alongside deregulation. Regulatory reform refers to organized and ongoing programs to review regulations with a view to minimizing, simplifying, and making them more cost effective.  Such efforts, given impetus by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, are embodied in the United States Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and the United Kingdom's Better Regulation Commission. Cost–benefit analysis is frequently used in such reviews. In addition, there have been regulatory innovations, usually suggested by economists, such as emissions trading.

Deregulation can be distinguished from privatization, which transfers state-owned businesses to the private sector.

By country

Argentina
Argentina underwent heavy economic deregulation, privatization, and had a fixed exchange rate during the Menem administration (1989–1999).  In December 2001, Paul Krugman compared Enron with Argentina, claiming that both were experiencing economic collapse due to excessive deregulation. Two months later, Herbert Inhaber claimed that Krugman confused correlation with causation, and neither collapse was due to excessive deregulation.

Australia
Having announced a wide range of deregulatory policies, Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke announced the policy of "Minimum Effective Regulation" in 1986. This introduced now-familiar requirements for "regulatory impact statements", but compliance by governmental agencies took many years. The labor market under the Hawke/Keating governments operated under the Prices and Incomes Accord. In the mid-90s John Howard's Liberal Party began deregulation of the labor market with the Workplace Relations Act 1996, going much further in 2005 through its WorkChoices policy. However, this was reversed under the following Rudd Labor government.

Brazil
After Dilma's impeachment, Michel Temer introduced a labor reform, besides allowing up to 100% of foreign capital on Brazilian air companies and giving more protection to state-owned enterprises from political pressure.
Bolsonaro administration also promoted deregulations (even the expression "Bolsonomics" was created), such as Economic Freedom Law, Natural Gas Law, Business Environment Law, Basic Sanitation Legal Framework, besides allowing the direct sale of ethanol by fuel stations and opening rail transport industry to private investment. and deregulating the use of foreign currency.

Canada

Natural gas is deregulated in most of the country, with the exception of some Atlantic provinces and some pockets like Vancouver Island and Medicine Hat. Most of this deregulation happened in the mid-1980s.  Comparison shopping websites operate in some of these jurisdictions, particularly Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. The other provinces are small markets and have not attracted suppliers. Customers have the choice of purchasing from a local distribution company (LDC) or a deregulated supplier. In most provinces the LDC is not allowed to offer a term contract, just a variable price based on the spot market. LDC prices are changed either monthly or quarterly.

Ontario began deregulation of electricity supply in 2002, but pulled back temporarily due to voter and consumer backlash at the resulting price volatility. The government is still searching for a stable working regulatory framework.

The current status is a partially regulated structure in which consumers have received a capped price for a portion of the publicly owned generation. The remainder has been at market price and there are numerous competing energy contract providers. However, Ontario is installing Smart Meters in all homes and small businesses and is changing the pricing structure to Time of Use pricing. All small volume consumers were scheduled to shift to the new rate structure by the end of 2012.

Alberta has deregulated its electricity provision. Customers are free to choose which company they sign up with, but there are few companies to choose from and the consumer price of electricity has increased substantially as it has in all other Canadian provinces.. Consumers may choose to remain with the public utility at the Regulated Rate Option.

European Union
In 2003, there were amendments to EU directive on software patents.

Since 2006, the European Common Aviation Area has given carriers from one EU country the freedom of the air in most others.

Ireland
The taxi industry was deregulated in Ireland in 2000, and the price of a license dropped overnight to €5,000. The number of taxis increased dramatically.

However, some existing taxi drivers were unhappy with the change, as they had invested up to €100,000 to purchase licenses from existing holders, and regarded them as assets. In October 2013 they brought a test case in the High Court for damages. Their claim was dismissed two years later.

United Kingdom
The Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher started a programme of deregulation and privatization after the party's victory at the 1979 general election. The Building Act 1984 reduced building regulations from 306 pages to 24, while compulsory competitive tendering required local government to compete with the private sector in delivering services. Other steps included express coach (Transport Act 1980), British Telecom (completed in 1984), privatization of London bus services (1984), local bus services (Transport Act 1985) and the railways (Railways Act 1993). The feature of all those privatizations was that their shares were offered to the general public. This continued under Thatcher's successor John Major.

From 1997 to 2010, the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown developed a programme called "better regulation". This required government departments to review, simplify or abolish existing regulations, and a "one in, one out" approach to new regulations. In 1997, Chancellor Brown announced the "freeing" of the Bank of England to set monetary policy, so the Bank was no longer under direct government control. In 2006, new primary legislation (the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006) was introduced to establish statutory principles and a code of practice and it permits ministers to make Regulatory Reform Orders (RROs) to deal with older laws which they deem to be out of date, obscure or irrelevant. This act has often been criticized and was described in Parliament by Lord (Patrick) Jenkin as the "Abolition of Parliament Act".

New Labour privatized only a few services, such as Qinetiq. But a great deal of infrastructure and maintenance work previously carried out by government departments was contracted out (outsourced) to private enterprise under the public–private partnership, with competitive bidding for contracts within a regulatory framework. This included large projects such as building new hospitals for the NHS, building new state schools, and maintaining the London Underground. These were never privatized by public offer, but instead by tendering commercial interests.

New Zealand

New Zealand Governments adopted policies of extensive deregulation from 1984 to 1995. Originally initiated by the Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand, the policies of deregulation were later continued by the Fourth National Government of New Zealand. The policies had the goal of liberalizing the economy and were notable for their very comprehensive coverage and innovations. Specific policies included: floating the exchange rate; establishing an independent reserve bank; performance contracts for senior civil servants; public sector finance reform based on accrual accounting; tax neutrality; subsidy-free agriculture; and industry-neutral competition regulation.  Economic growth was resumed in 1991. New Zealand was changed from a somewhat closed and centrally controlled economy to one of the most open economies in the OECD. As a result, New Zealand, went from having a reputation as an almost socialist country to being considered one of the most business-friendly countries of the world, next to Singapore. However, critics charge that the deregulation has brought little benefit to some sections of society, and has caused much of New Zealand's economy (including almost all of the banks) to become foreign-owned.

Russia
Russia went through wide-ranging deregulation (and concomitant privatization) efforts in the late 1990s under Boris Yeltsin, now partially reversed under Vladimir Putin. The main thrust of deregulation has been the electricity sector (see RAO UES), with railroads and communal utilities tied in second place. Deregulation of the natural gas sector (Gazprom) is one of the more frequent demands placed upon Russia by the United States and European Union.

United States

History of regulation

One problem that encouraged deregulation was the way in which regulated industries often come to control the government regulatory agencies in a process known as regulatory capture. Industries then use regulation to serve their own interests, at the expense of the consumer. A similar pattern has been seen with the deregulation process itself, often effectively controlled by regulated industries through lobbying. Such political forces, however, exist in many other forms for other lobby groups.

Examples of deregulated industries in the United States are banking, telecommunications, airlines, and natural resources.

During the Progressive Era (1890s–1920), Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson instituted regulation on parts of the American economy, most notably big business and industry. Some prominent reforms were trust-busting (the destruction and banning of monopolies), the creation of laws protecting the American consumer, the creation of a federal income tax (by the Sixteenth Amendment; the income tax used a progressive tax structure with especially high taxes on the wealthy), the establishment of the Federal Reserve, the institution of shorter working hours, higher wages, better living conditions, better rights and privileges to trade unions, protection of the rights of strikers, banning of unfair labor practices, and the delivery of more social services to the working classes and social safety nets to many unemployed workers, thus helping to create a welfare state.

During the Presidencies of Warren Harding (1921–23) and Calvin Coolidge (1923–29), the federal government generally pursued laissez-faire economic policies. After the onset of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented many economic regulations, including the National Industrial Recovery Act (which was struck down by the Supreme Court), regulation of trucking, airlines and communications, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. These regulations stayed largely in place until Richard Nixon's Administration.  In supporting his competition-limiting regulatory initiatives President Roosevelt blamed the excesses of big business for causing an economic bubble.  However, historians lack consensus in describing the causal relationship between various events and the role of government economic policy in causing or ameliorating the Depression.

1970–2000
Deregulation gained momentum in the 1970s, influenced by research by the Chicago school of economics and the theories of George Stigler, Alfred E. Kahn, and others.  The new ideas were widely embraced by both liberals and conservatives. Two leading think tanks in Washington, the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute, were active in holding seminars and publishing studies advocating deregulatory initiatives throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Cornell economist Alfred E. Kahn played a central role in both theorizing and participating in the Carter Administration's efforts to deregulate transportation.

Transportation

Nixon administration
The first comprehensive proposal to deregulate a major industry, transportation, originated in the Richard Nixon Administration and was forwarded to Congress in late 1971. This proposal was initiated and developed by an interagency group that included the Council of Economic Advisors (represented by Hendrik Houthakker and Thomas Gale Moore), White House Office of Consumer Affairs (represented by Jack Pearce), Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Department of Labor, and other agencies.

The proposal addressed both rail and truck transportation, but not air carriage. (92d Congress, Senate Bill 2842)  The developers of this legislation in this Administration sought to cultivate support from commercial buyers of transportation services, consumer organizations, economists, and environmental organization leaders. This 'civil society' coalition became a template for coalitions influential in efforts to deregulate trucking and air transport later in the decade.

Ford administration
After Nixon left office, the Gerald Ford presidency, with the allied interests, secured passage of the first significant change in regulatory policy in a pro-competitive direction, in the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976.

Carter administration
President Jimmy Carter – aided by economic adviser Alfred E. Kahn – devoted substantial effort to transportation deregulation, and worked with Congressional and civil society leaders to pass the Airline Deregulation Act on October 24, 1978 – the first federal government regulatory regime, since the 1930s, to be completely dismantled.

Carter also worked with Congress to produce the Staggers Rail Act (signed October 14, 1980), and the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 (signed July 1, 1980).

1970s deregulation effects
These were the major deregulation acts in transportation that set the general conceptual and legislative framework, which replaced the regulatory systems put in place between the 1880s and the 1930s. The dominant common theme of these Acts was to lessen barriers to entry in transport markets and promote more independent, competitive pricing among transport service providers, substituting the freed-up competitive market forces for detailed regulatory control of entry, exit, and price making in transport markets. Thus deregulation arose, though regulations to promote competition were put in place.

Reagan administration

U.S. President Ronald Reagan campaigned on the promise of rolling back environmental regulations. His devotion to the economic beliefs of Milton Friedman led him to promote the deregulation of finance, agriculture, and transportation. A series of substantial enactments were needed to work out the process of encouraging competition in transportation. Interstate buses were addressed in 1982, in the Bus Regulatory Reform Act of 1982. Freight forwarders (freight aggregators) got more freedoms in the Surface Freight Forwarder Deregulation Act of 1986. As many states continued to regulate the operations of motor carriers within their own state, the intrastate aspect of the trucking and bus industries was addressed in the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, which provided that "a State, political subdivision of a State, or political authority of two or more States may not enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier." (c)(1) (Supp. V 1999).

Ocean transportation was the last to be addressed. This was done in two acts, the Ocean Shipping Act of 1984 and the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998. These acts were less thoroughgoing than the legislation dealing with U.S. domestic transportation, in that they left in place the "conference" system in international ocean liner shipping, which historically embodied cartel mechanisms. However, these acts permitted independent rate-making by conference participants, and the 1998 Act permitted secret contract rates, which tend to undercut collective carrier pricing. According to the United States Federal Maritime Commission, in an assessment in 2001, this appears to have opened up substantial competitive activity in ocean shipping, with beneficial economic results.

Energy
The Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act was a regulating law, consisting of a mix of regulations and deregulation, which passed in response to OPEC price hikes and domestic price controls which affected the 1973 oil crisis in the United States.  After adoption of this federal legislation, numerous state legislation known as Natural Gas Choice programs have sprung up in several states, as well as the District of Columbia. Natural Gas Choice programs allow residential and small volume natural gas users to compare purchases from natural gas suppliers with traditional utility companies.  There are currently hundreds of federally unregulated natural gas suppliers operating in the US. Regulation characteristics of Natural Gas Choice programs vary between the laws of the currently adoptive 21 states (as of 2008).

 Deregulation of the electricity sector in the U.S. began in 1992. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 eliminated obstacles for wholesale electricity competition, but deregulation has yet to be introduced in all states. As of April 2014, 16 U.S. states (Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas) and the District of Columbia have introduced deregulated electricity markets to consumers in some capacity. Additionally, seven states (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wyoming) began the process of electricity deregulation in some capacity but have since suspended deregulation efforts.

Communications

Deregulation was put into effect in the communications industry by the government at the start of the Multi-Channel Transition era. This deregulation put into place a division of labor between the studios and the networks. Communications in the United States (and internationally) are areas in which both technology and regulatory policy have been in flux. The rapid development of computer and communications technology – particularly the Internet – have increased the size and variety of communications offerings. Wireless, traditional landline telephone, and cable companies increasingly invade each other's traditional markets and compete across a broad spectrum of activities. The Federal Communications Commission and Congress appear to be attempting to facilitate this evolution. In mainstream economic thinking, development of this competition would militate against detailed regulatory control of prices and service offerings, and hence favor deregulation of prices and entry into markets. On the other hand, there exists substantial concern about concentration of media ownership resulting from relaxation of historic controls on media ownership designed to safeguard diversity of viewpoint and open discussion in the society, and about what some perceive as high prices in cable company offerings at this point.

Finance
The financial sector in the U.S. has been considerably deregulated in recent decades, which has allowed for greater financial risktaking. The financial sector used its considerable political sway in Congress and in the political establishment and influenced the ideology of political institutions to press for more and more deregulation. Among the most important of the regulatory changes was the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, which repealed the parts of the Glass–Steagall Act regarding interest rate regulation via retail banking. The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 repealed part of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933, removing barriers in the market that prohibited any one institution from acting as any combination of an investment bank, a commercial bank, and an insurance company.

Such deregulation of the financial sector in the United States fostered greater risktaking by finance sector firms through the creation of innovative financial instruments and practices, including securitization of loan obligations of various sorts and credit default swaps. This caused a series of financial crises, including the savings and loan crisis, the Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) crisis, each of which necessitated major bailouts, and the derivatives scandals of 1994. These warning signs were ignored as financial deregulating continued, even in view of the inadequacy of industry self-regulation as shown by the financial collapses and bailout. The 1998 bailout of LTCM sent the signal to large "too-big-to-fail" financial firms that they would not have to suffer the consequences of the great risks they take. Thus, the greater risktaking allowed by deregulation and encouraged by the bailout paved the way for the financial crisis of 2007–08.

Related legislation
 1976 – Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act PL 94-435
 1977 – Emergency Natural Gas Act PL 95-2
 1978 – Airline Deregulation Act PL 95-50
 1978 – National Gas Policy Act PL 95-621
 1980 – Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act PL 96-221
 1980 – Motor Carrier Act PL 96-296
 1980 – Regulatory Flexibility Act PL 96-354
 1980 – Staggers Rail Act PL 96-448
 1982 – Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act PL 97-320
 1982 – Bus Regulatory Reform Act PL 97-261
 1989 – Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act PL 101-60
 1992 – National Energy Policy Act PL 102-486
 1996 – Telecommunications Act PL 104-104
 1999 – Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act PL 106-102

Controversy

The deregulation movement of the late 20th century had substantial economic effects and engendered substantial controversy. The movement was based on intellectual perspectives which prescribed substantial scope for market forces, and opposing perspectives have been in play in national and international discourse.

The movement toward greater reliance on market forces has been closely related to the growth of economic and institutional globalization between about 1950 and 2010.

For deregulation
Many economists have concluded that a trend towards deregulation will increase economic welfare long-term and a sustainable free market system. Regarding the electricity market, contemporary academic Adam Thierer, "The first step toward creating a free market in electricity is to repeal the federal statutes and regulations that hinder electricity competition and consumer choice." This viewpoint stretches back centuries. Classical economist Adam Smith argued the benefits of deregulation in his 1776 work, The Wealth of Nations:[Without trade restrictions] the obvious and simple system of natural liberty establishes itself of its own accord. Every man...is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest in his own way.... The sovereign is completely discharged from a duty [for which] no human wisdom or knowledge could ever be sufficient; the duty of superintending the industry of private people, and of directing it towards the employments most suitable to the interest of the society.Scholars who theorize that deregulation is beneficial to society often cite what is known as the Iron Law of Regulation, which states that all regulation eventually leads to a net loss in social welfare.

Against deregulation
Critics of economic liberalization and deregulation cite the benefits of regulation, and believe that certain regulations do not distort markets and allow companies to continue to be competitive, or according to some, grow in competition. Much as the state plays an important role through issues such as property rights, appropriate regulation is argued by some to be "crucial to realise the benefits of service liberalisation".

Critics of deregulation often cite the need of regulation in order to:

 create a level playing field and ensure competition (e.g., by ensuring new energy providers have competitive access to the national grid);
 maintain quality standards for services (e.g., by specifying qualification requirements for service providers);
 protect consumers (e.g. from fraud);
 ensure sufficient provision of information (e.g., about the features of competing services);
 prevent environmental degradation (e.g., arising from high levels of tourist development);
 guarantee wide access to services (e.g., ensuring poorer areas where profit margins are lower are also provided with electricity and health services); and,
 prevent financial instability and protect consumer savings from excessive risk-taking by financial institutions.

Sharon Beder, a writer with PR Watch, wrote "Electricity deregulation was supposed to bring cheaper electricity prices and more choice of suppliers to householders. Instead it has brought wildly volatile wholesale prices and undermined the reliability of the electricity supply."

William K. Black says that inappropriate deregulation helped create a criminogenic environment in the savings and loan industry, which attracted opportunistic control frauds like Charles Keating, whose massive political campaign contributions were used successfully to further remove regulatory oversight.  The combination substantially delayed effective governmental action, thereby substantially increasing the losses when the fraudulent Ponzi schemes finally collapsed and were exposed.  After the collapse, regulators in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) were finally allowed to file thousands of criminal complaints that led to over a thousand felony convictions of key Savings and Loan insiders. By contrast, between 2007 and 2010, the OCC and OTS combined made zero criminal referrals;  Black concluded that elite financial fraud has effectively been decriminalized.

Economist Jayati Ghosh is of the opinion that deregulation is responsible for increasing price volatility on the commodity market. This particularly affects people and economies in developing countries. More and more homogenization of financial institution which may also be a result of deregulation turns out to be a major concern for small-scale producers in those countries.

See also
Corporatocracy
Deregulated capitalism
Ease of Doing Business Index
Electricity provider switching
Night-watchman state
Political economy
Public service company
Regulatory reform
Stranded costs

References

Notes

Further reading

 Baskin, J. and P. Miranti. A History of Corporate Finance (Cambridge UP, 1997), worldwide.

 , in United States
 Kahn, Alfred E. "Deregulation: looking backward and looking forward." Yale Journal on Regulation 7 (1990): pp. 325+ online

External links

. This comprehensive study indicating, among other things, that transport deregulation reduced distribution costs in the United States from about 14% of gross domestic product to under 11% (If this measure is selected, current dollar savings can be calculated by multiplying current GDP by @3%).[Misplaced in article]

Administrative law
Economic liberalization
Economics of regulation
Law reform
Public economics
Market structure

Deregulation


The marathon () is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair divisions. More than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes, as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.

The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896. The distance did not become standardized until 1921. The distance is also included in the World Athletics Championships, which began in 1983. It is the only running road race included in both championship competitions (walking races on the roads are also contested in both).

History

Origin

The name Marathon comes from the legend of Philippides (or Pheidippides), the Greek messenger. The legend states that, while he was taking part in the Battle of Marathon, which took place in August or September 490 BC, he witnessed a Persian vessel changing its course towards Athens as the battle was near a victorious end for the Greek army. He interpreted this as an attempt by the defeated Persians to rush into the city to claim a false victory or simply raid, hence claiming their authority over Greek land. It was said that he ran the entire distance to Athens without stopping, discarding his weapons and even clothes to lose as much weight as possible, and burst into the assembly, exclaiming νενικήκαμεν (nenikēkamen, "we have won!"), before collapsing and dying.

The account of the run from Marathon to Athens first appeared in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD, which quoted from Heraclides Ponticus's lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles. This was the account adopted by Benjamin Haydon for his painting , published as an engraving in 1836 with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. Satirist Lucian of Samosata gave one of the earliest accounts similar to the modern version of the story, but its historical veracity is disputed based on its tongue-in-cheek writing and the runner being referred to as Philippides and not Pheidippides.

There is debate about the historical accuracy of this legend. The Greek historian Herodotus, the main source for the Greco-Persian Wars, mentioned Philippides as the messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then ran back, a distance of over  each way. In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides. Herodotus makes no mention of a messenger sent from Marathon to Athens, and relates that the main part of the Athenian army, having fought and won the grueling battle, and fearing a naval raid by the Persian fleet against an undefended Athens, marched quickly back from the battle to Athens, arriving the same day.

In 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheidippides. Browning's poem, his composite story, became part of late 19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend.

Mount Pentelicus stands between Marathon and Athens, which means that if Philippides actually made his famous run after the battle, he had to run around the mountain, either to the north or to the south. The latter and more obvious route matches almost exactly the modern Marathon-Athens highway (EO83–EO54), which follows the lay of the land southwards from Marathon Bay and along the coast, then takes a gentle but protracted climb westwards towards the eastern approach to Athens, between the foothills of Mounts Hymettus and Penteli, and then gently downhill to Athens proper. This route, as existed when the Olympics were revived in 1896, was approximately  long. It was the approximate distance originally used for marathon races. However, there have been suggestions that Philippides might have followed another route: a westward climb along the eastern and northern slopes of Mount Penteli to the pass of Dionysos, and then a straight southward downhill path to Athens. This route is a bit shorter, , but includes a very steep initial climb of more than .

Modern Olympic marathon

When the modern Olympics began in 1896, the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, recalling the glory of ancient Greece. The idea of a marathon race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted the event to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as by the Greeks. The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon on 22 March 1896 (Gregorian) that was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes (with the future winner of the introductory Olympic Games marathon, Spyridon "Spyros" Louis, coming in fifth at a second race two weeks later). The winner of the first Olympic marathon, on 10 April 1896 (a male-only race), was Spyridon Louis, a Greek water-carrier, in 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds. The marathon of the 2004 Summer Olympics was run on the traditional route from Marathon to Athens, ending at Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue for the 1896 Summer Olympics. That men's marathon was won by Italian Stefano Baldini in 2 hours 10 minutes and 55 seconds, a record time for this route until the non-Olympics Athens Classic Marathon of 2014, when Felix Kandie lowered the course record to 2 hours 10 minutes and 37 seconds.

The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, US) and was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds.

It has become a tradition for the men's Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, on the final day of the Olympics. For many years the race finished inside the Olympic stadium; however, at the 2012 Summer Olympics (London), the start and finish were on The Mall, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio de Janeiro), the start and finish were in the Sambódromo, the parade area that serves as a spectator mall for Carnival.

Often, the men's marathon medals are awarded during the closing ceremony (including the 2004 games, 2012 games and 2016 games).

The Olympic men's record is 2:06:32, set at the 2008 Summer Olympics by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru of Kenya.  The Olympic women's record is 2:23:07, set at the 2012 Summer Olympics by Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia. The men's London 2012 Summer Olympic marathon winner was Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda (2:08:01). Per capita, the Kalenjin ethnic group of Rift Valley Province in Kenya has produced a highly disproportionate share of marathon and track-and-field winners.

Marathon mania
The Boston Marathon began on 19 April 1897, and was inspired by the success of the first marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics. It is the world's oldest annual marathon, and ranks as one of the world's most prestigious road racing events. Its course runs from Hopkinton in southern Middlesex County to Copley Square in Boston. Johnny Hayes' victory at the 1908 Summer Olympics also contributed to the early growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States. Later that year, races around the holiday season including the Empire City Marathon held on New Year's Day 1909 in Yonkers, New York, marked the early running craze referred to as "marathon mania". Following the 1908 Olympics, the first five amateur marathons in New York City were held on days that held special meanings: Thanksgiving Day, the day after Christmas, New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, and Lincoln's Birthday.

Frank Shorter's victory in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics would spur national enthusiasm for the sport more intensely than that which followed Hayes' win 64 years earlier. In 2014, an estimated 550,600 runners completed a marathon within the United States. This can be compared to 143,000 in 1980. Today marathons are held all around the world on a nearly weekly basis.

Inclusion of women
For a long time after the Olympic marathon started, there were no long-distance races, such as the marathon, for women. Although a few women, such as Stamata Revithi in 1896, had run the marathon distance, they were not included in any official results. Marie-Louise Ledru has been credited as the first woman to complete a marathon, in 1918. Violet Piercy has been credited as the first woman to be officially timed in a marathon, in 1926.

Arlene Pieper became the first woman to officially finish a marathon in the United States when she completed the Pikes Peak Marathon in Manitou Springs, Colorado, in 1959. Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon "officially" (with a number), in 1967. However, Switzer's entry, which was accepted through an "oversight" in the screening process, was in "flagrant violation of the rules", and she was treated as an interloper once the error was discovered. Bobbi Gibb had completed the Boston race unofficially the previous year (1966), and was later recognized by the race organizers as the women's winner for that year, as well as 1967 and 1968.

Distance

The length of an Olympic marathon was not precisely fixed at first, but the marathon races in the first few Olympic Games were about , roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens by the longer, flatter route. The exact length depended on the route established for each venue.

1908 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee agreed in 1907 that the distance for the 1908 London Olympic marathon would be about 25 miles or 40 kilometers. The organizers decided on a course of 26 miles from the start at Windsor Castle to the royal entrance to the White City Stadium, followed by a lap (586 yards 2 feet; 536 m) of the track, finishing in front of the Royal Box. The course was later altered to use a different entrance to the stadium, followed by a partial lap of 385 yards to the same finish.

The modern  standard distance for the marathon was set by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) in May 1921 directly from the length used at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.

IAAF and world records

An official IAAF marathon course is 42.195 km (42 m tolerance only in excess). Course officials add a short course prevention factor of up to one meter per kilometer to their measurements to reduce the risk of a measuring error producing a length below the minimum distance.

For events governed by IAAF rules, it is mandatory that the route be marked so that all competitors can see the distance covered in kilometers. The rules make no mention of the use of miles. The IAAF will only recognize world records that are established at events that are run under IAAF rules. For major events, it is customary to publish competitors' timings at the midway mark and also at 5 km splits; marathon runners can be credited with world records for lesser distances recognized by the IAAF (such as 20 km, 30 km and so on) if such records are established while the runner is running a marathon, and completes the marathon course.

Marathon races

Annually, more than 800 marathons are organized worldwide. Some of these belong to the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) which has grown since its foundation in 1982 to embrace over 300 member events in 83 countries and territories. The marathons of Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City and Tokyo form the biennial World Marathon Majors series, awarding $500,000 annually to the best overall male and female performers in the series.

In 2006, the editors of Runner's World selected a "World's Top 10 Marathons", in which the Amsterdam, Honolulu, Paris, Rotterdam, and Stockholm marathons were featured along with the five original World Marathon Majors events (excluding Tokyo). Other notable large marathons include United States Marine Corps Marathon, Los Angeles, and Rome. The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, inspired by the success of the 1896 Olympic marathon and held every year since 1897 to celebrate Patriots' Day, a holiday marking the beginning of the American Revolution, thereby purposely linking Athenian and American struggle for democracy. The oldest annual marathon in Europe is the Košice Peace Marathon, held since 1924 in Košice, Slovakia. The historic Polytechnic Marathon was discontinued in 1996. The Athens Classic Marathon traces the route of the 1896 Olympic course, starting in Marathon on the eastern coast of Attica, site of the Battle of Marathon of 490 BC, and ending at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.

The Midnight Sun Marathon is held in Tromsø, Norway at 70 degrees north. Using unofficial and temporary courses, measured by GPS, races of marathon distance are now held at the North Pole, in Antarctica and over desert terrain. Other unusual marathons include the Great Wall Marathon on The Great Wall of China, the Big Five Marathon among the safari wildlife of South Africa, the Great Tibetan Marathon – a marathon in an atmosphere of Tibetan Buddhism at an altitude of , and the Polar Circle Marathon on the permanent ice cap of Greenland.

A few marathons cross international and geographical borders. The Istanbul Marathon is the only marathon where participants run over two continents (Europe and Asia) during the course of a single event. In the Detroit Free Press Marathon, participants cross the US/Canada border twice. The Niagara Falls International Marathon includes one international border crossing, via the Peace Bridge from Buffalo, New York, United States to Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. In the , participants run through Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

On 20 March 2018, an indoor Marathon took place in the Armory in New York City. The 200 m track saw a world record in the women's and men's field. Lindsey Scherf (USA) set the indoor women's world record with 2:40:55. Malcolm Richards (USA) won in 2:19:01 with a male indoor world record.

Wheelchair division

Many marathons feature a wheelchair division. Typically, those in the wheelchair racing division start their races earlier than their running counterparts.

The first wheelchair marathon was in 1974 in Toledo, Ohio, won by Bob Hall in 2:54. Hall competed in the 1975 Boston Marathon and finished in 2:58, inaugurating the introduction of wheelchair divisions into the Boston Marathon. From 1977 the race was declared the US National Wheelchair championship. The Boston Marathon awards $10,000 to the winning push-rim athlete. Ernst van Dyk has won the Boston Marathon wheelchair division ten times and holds the world record at 1:18:27, set in Boston in 2004. Jean Driscoll won eight times (seven consecutively) and holds the women's world record at 1:34:22.

The New York City Marathon banned wheelchair entrants in 1977, citing safety concerns, but then voluntarily allowed Bob Hall to compete after the state Division of Human Rights ordered the marathon to show cause. The Division ruled in 1979 that the New York City Marathon and New York Road Runners club had to allow wheelchair athletes to compete, and confirmed this at appeal in 1980, but the New York Supreme Court ruled in 1981 that a ban on wheelchair racers was not discriminatory as the marathon was historically a foot race. However, by 1986 14 wheelchair athletes were competing, and an official wheelchair division was added to the marathon in 2000.

Some of the quickest people to complete a wheel-chair marathon include Thomas Geierpichler (Austria) who won gold in men's T52-class marathon (no lower limb function) in 1 hr 49 min 7 sec in Beijing China, on 17 September 2008; and, Heinz Frei (Switzerland) who won the men's T54 marathon (for racers with spinal cord injuries) in a time of 1 hr 20 min and 14 sec in Oita, Japan, 31 October 1999.

Statistics

World records and world's best
World records were not officially recognized by the IAAF until 1 January 2004; previously, the best times for the marathon were referred to as the 'world best'. Courses must conform to IAAF standards for a record to be recognized. However, marathon routes still vary greatly in elevation, course, and surface, making exact comparisons impossible. Typically, the fastest times are set over relatively flat courses near sea level, during good weather conditions and with the assistance of pacesetters.

The current world record time for men over the distance is 2 hours and 35 seconds, set in the Chicago Marathon by Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya on 8 October 2023.

The world record for women was set by Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia in the Berlin Marathon on 24 September 2023, in 2 hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds. This broke the previous record set by  Brigid Kosgei of Kenya in the Chicago Marathon on 13 October 2019, in 2 hours 14 minutes and 4 seconds who broke the record Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain had set over 16 years earlier at the London Marathon.

All-time individual top 25
The following is a list of best times among the Top 25 individuals who ever ran the marathon distance. Subsequent times for each athlete are noted below the table. The data is correct .

Men

Notes
Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) ran a time of 1:59:40.2 at the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna on 12 October 2019. This event was run with no other competitors, and with the assistance of fuel and hydration on demand, and in-out pacemakers. Therefore, the attempt was not eligible for official ratification. This was faster than his previous assisted run of 2:00:25 at the Nike Breaking2 in Monza on 6 May 2017, which was also ineligible.
Titus Ekiru (Kenya) ran a time of 2:02:57 at the Milano City Marathon on 16 May 2021, but was later was disqualified due to doping violations.
Geoffrey Mutai (Kenya) ran a time of 2:03:02 at the Boston Marathon on 18 April 2011 that was run on an assisted course (in the case of Boston, a point-to-point, net downhill course in excess of the standards) and is therefore ineligible for record purposes per IAAF rule 260.28
Moses Mosop (Kenya) ran a time of 2:03:06 at the Boston Marathon on 18 April 2011 that was run on an assisted course and is therefore ineligible for record purposes per IAAF rule 260.28

Below is a list of all other times equal or faster than 2:03:50:
Kelvin Kiptum also ran 2:01:25 (2023), 2:01:53 (2022).
Eliud Kipchoge also ran 2:01:39 (2018), 2:02:37 (2019), 2:02:40 (2022), 2:02:42 (2023), 2:03:05 (2016), 2:03:32 (2017).
Kenenisa Bekele also ran 2:03:03 (2016).
Birhanu Legese also ran 2:03:16 (2020).
Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich also ran 2:03:23 (2013), 2:03:42 (2011).
Amos Kipruto also ran 2:03:30 (2020).
Tamirat Tola also ran 2:03:40 (2022)
Dennis Kimetto also ran 2:03:45 (2013).
Bashir Abdi also ran 2:03.47 (2023).

Women

Notes
Below is a list of all other times equal or faster than 2:18:04:
Ruth Chepngetich also ran 2:15:37 (2023), 2:17:08 (2019), 2:17:18  (2022).
Tigist Assefa also ran 2:15:37 (2022).
Brigid Kosgei also ran 2:16:02 (2022).
Paula Radcliffe also ran 2:17:18 (2002), 2:17:42 (2005).
Yalemzerf Yehualaw also ran 2:17:26  (2022).
Joyciline Jepkosgei also ran 2:17:43 (2021).
Sheila Chepkirui also ran 2:17:49 (2023).
Rosemary Wanjiru also ran 2:18:00 (2022).

Season's Bests

Oldest marathoner
Fauja Singh, then 100, finished the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, becoming the first centenarian ever to officially complete that distance. Singh, a British citizen, finished the race on 16 October 2011 with a time of 8:11:05.9, making him the oldest marathoner. Because Singh could not produce a birth certificate from rural 1911 Colonial India, the place of his birth, his age could not be verified and his record was not accepted by the official governing body World Masters Athletics.

Johnny Kelley ran his last full Boston Marathon at the documented age of 84 in 1992. He previously had won the Boston Marathon in both 1935 and 1945 respectively. Between 1934 and 1950, Johnny finished in the top five 15 times, consistently running in the 2:30s and finishing in second place a record seven times at Boston. A fixture at Boston for more than a half century, his 1992 61st start and 58th finish in Boston is a record which still stands today.

Gladys Burrill, a 92-year-old Prospect, Oregon woman and part-time resident of Hawaii, previously held the Guinness World Records title of oldest person to complete a marathon with her 9 hours 53 minutes performance at the 2010 Honolulu Marathon. The records of the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, at that time, however, suggested that Singh was overall the oldest marathoner, completing the 2004 London Marathon at the age of 93 years and 17 days, and that Burrill was the oldest female marathoner, completing the 2010 Honolulu Marathon at the age of 92 years and 19 days. Singh's age was also reported to be 93 by other sources.

In 2015, 92-year-old Harriette Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina, completed the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon in 7 hours 24 minutes 36 seconds, thus becoming the oldest woman to complete a marathon. While Gladys Burrill was 92 years and 19 days old when she completed her record-setting marathon, Harriette Thompson was 92 years and 65 days old when she completed hers.

English born Canadian Ed Whitlock is the oldest to complete a marathon in under 3 hours at age 74, and under 4 hours at age 85.

Youngest marathoner
Budhia Singh, a boy from Odisha, India, completed his first marathon at age five. He trained under the coach Biranchi Das, who saw potential in him. In May 2006, Budhia was temporarily banned from running by the ministers of child welfare, as his life could be at risk. His coach was also arrested for exploiting and cruelty to a child and was later murdered in an unrelated incident. Budhia is now at a state-run sports academy.

The youngest under 4 hours is Mary Etta Boitano at age 7 years, 284 days; under 3 hours Julie Mullin at 10 years 180 days; and under 2:50 Carrie Garritson at 11 years 116 days.

Participation
In 2016, Running USA estimated that there were approximately 507,600 marathon finishers in the United States, while other sources reported greater than 550,000 finishers. The chart below from Running USA provides the estimated U.S. Marathon Finisher totals going back to 1976.

Marathon running has become an obsession in China, with 22 marathon races in 2011 increasing to 400 in 2017. In 2015, 75 Chinese runners participated in the Boston Marathon and this increased to 278 in 2017.

Multiple marathons
As marathon running has become more popular, some athletes have undertaken challenges involving running a series of marathons.

The 100 Marathon Club is intended to provide a focal point for all runners, particularly from the United Kingdom or Ireland, who have completed 100 or more races of marathon distance or longer. At least 10 of these events must be United Kingdom or Ireland Road Marathons. Club chairman Roger Biggs has run more than 700 marathons or ultras. Brian Mills completed his 800th marathon on 17 September 2011.

Steve Edwards, a member of the 100 Marathon Club, set the world record for running 500 marathons in the fastest average finish time of 3 hours 15 minutes, at the same time becoming the first man to run 500 marathons with an official time below 3 hours 30 minutes, on 11 November 2012 at Milton Keynes, England. The records took 24 years to achieve. Edwards was 49 at the time.

Over 350 individuals have completed a marathon in each state of the United States plus Washington, D.C., and some have done it as many as eight times. Beverly Paquin, a 22-year-old nurse from Iowa, was the youngest woman to run a marathon in all 50 states in 2010. A few weeks later, still in 2010, Morgan Cummings (also 22) became the youngest woman to complete a marathon in all 50 states and DC. In 2004, Chuck Bryant of Miami, Florida, who lost his right leg below the knee, became the first amputee to finish this circuit. Bryant has completed a total of 59 marathons on his prosthesis. Twenty-seven people have run a marathon on each of the seven continents, and 31 people have run a marathon in each of the Canadian provinces. In 1980, in what was termed the Marathon of Hope, Terry Fox, who had lost a leg to cancer and so ran with one artificial leg, attained  of his proposed cross-Canada cancer fundraising run, maintaining an average of over , close to the planned marathon distance, for each of 143 consecutive days.

On 25 September 2011, Patrick Finney of Grapevine, Texas became the first person with multiple sclerosis to finish a marathon in each state of the United States. In 2004, "the disease had left him unable to walk. But unwilling to endure a life of infirmity, Finney managed to regain his ability to balance on two feet, to walk – and eventually to run – through extensive rehabilitation therapy and new medications."

In 2003, British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes completed seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. He completed this feat despite suffering from a heart attack and undergoing a double heart bypass operation just four months before. This feat has since been eclipsed by Irish ultramarathon runner Richard Donovan who in 2009 completed seven marathons on seven continents in under 132 hours (five and a half days). Starting 1 February 2012 he improved on this by completing the 7 on 7 in under 120 hours or in less than five days.

On 30 November 2013, 69-year-old Larry Macon set a Guinness World Record for Most Marathons Run in a Year by Man by running 238 marathons. Larry Macon celebrated his 1,000th career marathon at the Cowtown Marathon in Ft. Worth on 24 February 2013.

Other goals are to attempt to run marathons on a series of consecutive weekends (Richard Worley on 159 weekends), or to run the most marathons during a particular year or the most in a lifetime. A pioneer in running multiple marathons was Sy Mah of Toledo, Ohio, who ran 524 before he died in 1988. As of 30 June 2007, Horst Preisler of Germany had successfully completed 1214 marathons plus 347 ultramarathons, a total of 1561 events at marathon distance or longer. Sigrid Eichner, Christian Hottas and Hans-Joachim Meyer have also all completed over 1000 marathons each. Norm Frank of the United States is credited with 945 marathons.

Christian Hottas is meanwhile the first runner who ever completed 2000 marathons. He ran his 2000th at TUI Marathon Hannover on 5 May 2013 together with a group of more than 80 friends from 11 countries, including 8 officers from the 100 Marathons Clubs U.K., North-America, Germany, Denmark, Austria and Italy. Hottas completed his 2500th marathon on 4 December 2016.

In 2010, Stefaan Engels, a Belgian, set out to run the marathon distance every day of the year. Because of a foot injury he had to resort to a handcycle near the end of January 2010. However, on 5 February he was fully recovered and decided to reset the counter back to zero. By 30 March he broke the existing record of Akinori Kusuda, from Japan, who completed 52 marathons in a row in 2009. On 5 February 2011, Engels had run 365 marathon distances in as many days.
Ricardo Abad Martínez, from Spain, later ran 150 marathons in 150 consecutive days in 2009, and subsequently 500 marathons in a row, from October 2010 to February 2012.

Some runners compete to run the same marathons for the most consecutive years. For example, Johnny Kelley completed 58 Boston Marathons (he entered the race 61 times). Currently, the longest consecutive streak of Boston Marathon finishes—45 in a row—is held by Bennett Beach, of Bethesda, Maryland.

Olympic medalists

Men

Women

World Championships medalists

Men

Women

General participation

Most participants do not run a marathon to win. More important for most runners is their personal finishing time and their placement within their specific gender and age group, though some runners just want to finish. Strategies for completing a marathon include running the whole distance and a run–walk strategy. In 2005, the average marathon time in the U.S. was 4 hours 32 minutes 8 seconds for men, 5 hours 6 minutes 8 seconds for women. In 2015, the men's and women's median marathon times were 4 hours 20 minutes 13 seconds and 4 hours 45 minutes 30 seconds respectively.

A goal many runners aim for is to break certain time barriers. For example, recreational first-timers often try to run the marathon under four hours; more competitive runners may attempt to finish under three hours. Other benchmarks are the qualifying times for major marathons. The Boston Marathon, the oldest marathon in the United States, requires a qualifying time for all non-professional runners. The New York City Marathon also requires a qualifying time for guaranteed entry, at a significantly faster pace than Boston's.

Typically, there is a maximum allowed time of about six hours after which the marathon route is closed, although some larger marathons keep the course open considerably longer (eight hours or more). Many marathons around the world have such time limits by which all runners must have crossed the finish line. Anyone slower than the limit will be picked up by a sweeper bus. In many cases the marathon organizers are required to reopen the roads to the public so that traffic can return to normal.

With the growth in popularity of marathon-running, many marathons across the United States and the world have been filling to capacity faster than ever before. When the Boston Marathon opened up registration for its 2011 running, the field capacity was filled within eight hours.

Training

The long run is an important element in marathon training. Recreational runners commonly try to reach a maximum of about  in their longest weekly run and a total of about  a week when training for the marathon, but wide variability exists in practice and in recommendations. More experienced marathoners may run a longer distance during the week. Greater weekly training mileages can offer greater results in terms of distance and endurance, but also carry a greater risk of training injury. Most male elite marathon runners will complete weekly distances of over . It is recommended that those new to running should get a checkup from their doctor, as there are certain warning signs and risk factors that should be evaluated before undertaking any new workout program, especially marathon training.

Many training programs last a minimum of five or six months, with a gradual increase in the distance run and finally, for recovery, a period of tapering in the one to three weeks preceding the race. For beginners wishing to merely finish a marathon, a minimum of four months of running four days a week is recommended. Many trainers recommend a weekly increase in mileage of no more than 10%. It is also often advised to maintain a consistent running program for six weeks or so before beginning a marathon training program, to allow the body to adapt to the new stresses. The marathon training program itself would suppose variation between hard and easy training, with a periodization of the general plan.

Training programs can be found at the websites of Runner's World, Hal Higdon, Jeff Galloway, and the Boston Athletic Association, and in numerous other published sources, including the websites of specific marathons.

The last long training run might be undertaken up to two weeks prior to the event. Many marathon runners also "carbo-load" (increase carbohydrate intake while holding total caloric intake constant) during the week before the marathon to allow their bodies to store more glycogen.

Glycogen and "the wall"

Carbohydrates that a person eats are converted by the liver and muscles into glycogen for storage. Glycogen burns rapidly to provide quick energy. Runners can store about 8 MJ or 2,000 kcal worth of glycogen in their bodies, enough for about 30 km/18–20 miles of running. Many runners report that running becomes noticeably more difficult at that point. When glycogen runs low, the body must then obtain energy by burning stored fat, which does not burn as readily. When this happens, the runner will experience dramatic fatigue and is said to "hit the wall". The aim of training for the marathon, according to many coaches, is to maximize the limited glycogen available so that the fatigue of the "wall" is not as dramatic. This is accomplished in part by utilizing a higher percentage of energy from burned fat even during the early phase of the race, thus conserving glycogen.

Carbohydrate-based "energy gels" are used by runners to avoid or reduce the effect of "hitting the wall", as they provide easy to digest energy during the run. Energy gels usually contain varying amounts of sodium and potassium and some also contain caffeine. They need to be consumed with a certain amount of water. Recommendations for how often to take an energy gel during the race range widely.

Alternatives to gels include various forms of concentrated sugars, and foods high in simple carbohydrates that can be digested easily. Many runners experiment with consuming energy supplements during training runs to determine what works best for them. Consumption of food while running sometimes makes the runner sick. Runners are advised not to ingest a new food or medicine just prior to or during a race. It is also important to refrain from taking any of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory class of pain relievers (NSAIDs, e.g., aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen), as these drugs may change the way the kidneys regulate their blood flow and may lead to serious kidney problems, especially in cases involving moderate to severe dehydration. NSAIDS block the COX-2 enzyme pathway to prevent the production of prostaglandins. These prostaglandins may act as inflammation factors throughout the body, but they also play a crucial role in maintenance of water retention. In less than 5% of the whole population that take NSAIDS, individuals may be more negatively sensitive to renal prostaglandin synthesis inhibition.

Temperature

A study of the performance of 1.8 million participants in the Berlin, London, Paris, Boston, Chicago, and New York marathons during the years from 2001 to 2010 found that runners recorded their fastest times when the temperature was around 6 °C (43 °F), with an increase of 10 °C (18 °F) leading to a 1.5% reduction in speed. A July 2020 study found that increasing temperatures affected faster runners' performance more than slower ones.

After a marathon
Marathon participation may result in various medical, musculoskeletal, and dermatological complaints. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a common condition affecting runners during the first week following a marathon. Various types of mild exercise or massage have been recommended to alleviate pain secondary to DOMS. Dermatological issues frequently include "jogger's nipple", "jogger's toe", and blisters.

The immune system is reportedly suppressed for a short time. Changes to the blood chemistry may lead physicians to mistakenly diagnose heart malfunction.

After long training runs and the marathon itself, consuming carbohydrates to replace glycogen stores and protein to aid muscle recovery is commonly recommended. In addition, soaking the lower half of the body for approximately 20 minutes in cold or ice water may force blood through the leg muscles to speed recovery.

Health risks

Marathon running has various health risks, though these can be diminished with preparation and care. Training and the races themselves can put runners under stress. While very rare, even death is a possibility during a race.

Common minor health risks include blisters, tendonitis, fatigue, knee or ankle sprain, dehydration (electrolyte imbalance), and other conditions. Many are categorised as overuse injuries.

Cardiac health

In 2016, a systematic medical review found that the risk of sudden cardiac death during or immediately after a marathon was between 0.6 and 1.9 deaths per 100,000 participants, varying across the specific studies and the methods used, and not controlling for age or gender. Since the risk is small, cardiac screening programs for marathons are uncommon. However, this review was not an attempt to assess the overall cardiac health impact of marathon running.

A 2006 study of non-elite Boston Marathon participants tested runners for certain proteins that indicate heart damage or dysfunction (see Troponin) and gave them echocardiogram scans, before and after the marathon. The study revealed that, in that sample of 60 people, runners who had averaged fewer than  of weekly training in the 4 months before the race were most likely to show some heart damage or dysfunction, while runners who had done more than  of weekly training showed few or no heart problems.

According to a Canadian study presented in 2010, running a marathon can temporarily result in decreased function of more than half the muscle segments in the heart's main pumping chamber, but neighboring segments are generally able to compensate. Full recovery is reached within three months. The fitter the runner, the less the effect. The runners with decreased left ventricle function had an average peak weekly training distance of , while those who did not averaged . The marathon was held in  weather. According to one of the researchers: "Regular exercise reduces cardiovascular risk by a factor of two or three in the long run, but while we're doing vigorous exercise such as marathon running, our cardiac risk increases by seven."

Hydration

Overconsumption is the most significant concern associated with water consumption during marathons. Drinking excessive amounts of fluid during a race can lead to dilution of sodium in the blood, a condition called exercise-associated hyponatremia, which may result in vomiting, seizures, coma and even death. Dr. Lewis G. Maharam, medical director for the New York City Marathon, stated in 2005: "There are no reported cases of dehydration causing death in the history of world running, but there are plenty of cases of people dying of hyponatremia."

For example, Dr. Cynthia Lucero died at the age of 28 while participating in the 2002 Boston Marathon. It was Lucero's second marathon. At mile 22, Lucero complained of feeling "dehydrated and rubber-legged." She soon wobbled and collapsed to the ground, and was unconscious by the time the paramedics reached her. Lucero was admitted to Brigham and Women's Hospital and died two days later.

Lucero's cause of death was determined to be hyponatremic encephalopathy, a condition that causes swelling of the brain due to an imbalance of sodium in the blood known as exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH). While EAH is sometimes referred to as "water intoxication", Lucero drank large amounts of Gatorade during the race, demonstrating that runners who consume sodium-containing sports drinks in excess of thirst can still develop EAH. Because hyponatremia is caused by excessive water retention, and not just loss of sodium, consumption of sports drinks or salty foods may not prevent hyponatremia.

Women are more prone to hyponatremia than men. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 13% of runners completing the 2002 Boston Marathon had hyponatremia.

The International Marathon Medical Directors Association (IMMDA) advised in 2006 that fluid intake should be adjusted individually according to factors such as body weight, sex, climate, pace, fitness (VO2 max), and sweat rate, as fluid requirements can vary between people depending on these variables. The IMMDA also recommended sports drinks that include carbohydrates and electrolytes instead of plain water and said that runners should "drink to thirst", trying to refrain from drinking at every fluid station before feeling thirsty. Heat exposure leads to diminished thirst drive and thirst may not be a sufficient incentive to drink in many situations. The IMMDA and HSL Harpur Hill give recommendations to drink fluid in small volumes frequently at an approximate rate falling between  every 15 minutes. A patient suffering hyponatremia can be given a small volume of a concentrated salt solution intravenously to raise sodium concentrations in the blood. Some runners weigh themselves before running and write the results on their bibs. If anything goes wrong, first aid workers can use the weight information to tell if the patient had consumed too much water.

Body temperature
Exertional heat stroke is an emergency condition in which thermoregulation fails and the body temperature rises dangerously above . It becomes a greater risk in warm and humid weather, even for young and fit individuals. Treatment requires rapid physical cooling of the body.

Charity involvement

Some charities seek to associate with various races. Some marathon organizers set aside a portion of their limited entry slots for charity organizations to sell to members in exchange for donations. Runners are given the option to sign up to run particular races, especially when marathon entries are no longer available to the general public.

In some cases, charities organize their own marathon as a fund-raiser, gaining funds via entry fees or through sponsorships.

Culture
 Mars rover marathon

In 2015 the Mars rover Opportunity attained the distance of a marathon from its starting location on Mars, and the valley where it achieved this distance was called Marathon Valley, which was then explored.

See also

Records
 Marathon world record progression
 National records in the marathon
Lists
 List of marathon races
 List of marathoners
 List of marathon national champions (men)

 List of non-professional marathon runners
Related races
 Ekiden (marathon relays)
 Half marathon
 Ultramarathon
Other endurance races
 Ironman Triathlon
 Mountain marathon
 Multi-day race
 Ski marathon
Organizations
 100 Marathon Club
 World Peace Marathon
Notable races
 Ineos 1:59 Challenge
 Man versus Horse Marathon
 Marathons at the Paralympics

Other related topics
 Pacemaker (running)
 Physiology of marathons

Notes

References

Bibliography
 Hans-Joachim Gehrke, "From Athenian identity to European ethnicity: The cultural biography of the myth of Marathon," in Ton Derks, Nico Roymans (ed.), Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition (Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2009) (Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, 13), 85–100.
 Hans W. Giessen: Mythos Marathon. Von Herodot über Bréal bis zur Gegenwart. (= Landauer Schriften zur Kommunikations- und Kulturwissenschaft. Band 17). Verlag Empirische Pädagogik, Landau 2010
 Tom Derderian, Boston Marathon: History of the World's Premier Running Event, Human Kinetics, 1994, 1996

External links

 IAAF list of marathon records in XML

Road running distances
Athletic culture based on Greek antiquity
Greek inventions
Long-distance running distances
Summer Olympic disciplines in athletics

Marathon


Average wage is the mean salary of a group of workers. This measure is often monitored and used by government or other organisations as a benchmark for the wage level of individual workers in an industry, area or country.

The usefulness of this measure in assessing wage levels is debatable, particularly in an economy where low pay is prevalent, due to the tendency for the wages of a minority of high earners to 'skew' the average upwards. It has been argued that the median (midpoint) worker's wage is a better indicator in these circumstances; this measure is used in the UK by both the Office for National Statistics and the Scottish Low Pay Unit in examining wage levels.

Certain UK organisations, usually socialist or left-of-centre political groups, have traditionally had a policy that members should never accept wages higher than the wage of the average working class person whilst being employed by that organisation or in a representative capacity. Deputies and officials paid an average worker's wage are also a feature of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat described in Marx's account of the Paris Commune, The Civil War in France, as well as in Lenin's The State and Revolution commentary on Marx's pamphlet, although not all people who draw an average workers wage subscribe to Marxist principles.

This idea is based on the idea that politicians (or trade union officials) are there to serve the people of the country rather than earn themselves a fortune and/or raise their status (also known as careerism). Proponents claim that high wages for politicians are a waste of taxpayers' money and distance the politician from the concerns of the working class.

Examples of people taking only an average worker's wage are Socialist Party politician Joe Higgins, former MP Dave Nellist in the UK, John Marek, Forward Wales' Welsh Assembly member for Wrexham, and Sinn Féin politicians in Ireland.
In The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell notes that the Labour Representation Committee MPs of the day took only an average workers' wage.

See also
List of countries by average wage
Wages and salaries

References

Socialism
Wages and salaries

Average worker's wage


The Toronto Blue Jays (nicknamed the Jays) is a Major League Baseball team in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. This means that they use the designated hitter rule in most of their games. Its president & CEO is Mark Shapiro, its general manager is Ross Atkins, and its coach and manager is John Gibbons. The team plays 162 games every year, which can be seen on television and heard on radio all across Canada.

The Blue Jays were founded in 1977 and are the only MLB team from Canada or anywhere outside of the United States, but they have not been the only one or even the first. There were also the Montreal Expos, which was formed in 1969, eight years before the Jays. However, the Expos moved to Washington, D.C. in 2004 (becoming the Washington Nationals). As part of the National League, which does not use the designated hitter rule, the Expos became rivals to the Blue Jays. People loved to see the two teams play against each other, since they were the only two MLB teams from Canada.

The first stadium used by the Blue Jays was Exhibition Stadium, part of Exhibition Place, in Downtown Toronto, near the waterfront. The team became popular, and in 1989 they moved to a larger stadium to the east, the "SkyDome". It was the first in the world to have a retractable roof, and is just a few blocks away from the Air Canada Centre and Union Station. The SkyDome hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 1991. It is now called Rogers Centre, taking its name from Rogers Communications, a telecommunications company who owns the team.

The Blue Jays won the World Series twice, first in 1992 against the Atlanta Braves and again the next year, in 1993. They won their second World Series on Joe Carter's walk-off home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the last inning of Game 6 on October 23, 1993, for a final score of 7-6. In both of those years, the team won American League East division titles (having the best win-loss record in their division). Others years in which the Jays won division titles were in 1985, 1989, 1991, and most recently in 2015. They also went to the playoffs as a wild card team in 2016.

Other websites
Official Website

1977 establishments in North America

1970s establishments in Canada

Toronto Blue Jays


The Suzuki Recursion is a turbocharged concept motorcycle shown by Suzuki at the 2013 Tokyo Auto Show. The engine is a 588 cc parallel-twin with intercooled turbo and traction control system. Kevin Cameron described its power delivery in Cycle World as "the torque of a liter-bike, given across a three-times-wider band and packaged into a light middleweight", and Gizmag's Mike Hanlon compared it to a Buell V-twin.

Visordown.com said the intercooler was positioned under the saddle. It is unclear if this would be carried forward in a production motorcycle; other production models with under-tail exhausts and radiators (Benelli Tornado) have been criticized for un-ergonomic heat management.

See also

Forced induction in motorcycles

Notes

References

Concept motorcycles
Motorcycles introduced in 2013
Recursion
Motorcycles powered by straight-twin engines

Suzuki Recursion


In cryptography, Triple DES is a block cipher created from the Data Encryption Standard (DES) cipher by using it three times. Triple DES is also known as TDES or, more standard, TDEA (Triple Data Encryption Algorithm ).

When it was discovered that a 56-bit key of DES is not enough to protect from brute force attacks, TDES was chosen as a simple way to enlarge the key space without a need to switch to a new algorithm. The use of three steps is essential to prevent meet-in-the-middle attacks that are effective against double DES encryption.

In general TDES with three different keys (3-key {k1, k2, k3} TDES) has a key length of 168 bits: three 56-bit DES keys (with parity bits 3-key TDES has the total storage length of 192 bits), but due to the meet-in-the-middle attack the effective security it provides is only 112 bits. Another version, called two-key TDES (2-key TDES), uses k1 = k3, thus reducing the key size to 112 bits and the storage length to 128 bits. However, this mode can be taken advantage of through certain chosen-plaintext or known-plaintext attacks  and so TDES is treated by NIST to have only 80 bits of security.

By design, DES and therefore TDES, suffer from slow performance in software. TDES is better suited to hardware implementations, which are many of the places it is still used.

TDES is slowly disappearing from use, largely replaced by the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). One large-scale exception is within the electronic payments industry, which still uses 2TDES extensively and continues to develop and spread standards based upon it (e.g. EMV, the standard for inter-operation of IC cards; also called "Chip cards",  and IC capable POS terminals and ATM's).  This guarantees that TDES will remain an active cryptographic standard well into the future.

Related pages
 DES-X
 Data Encryption Standard (DES)
 Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

References

Cryptography

Triple DES


In medical testing with binary classification, the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) is a measure of the effectiveness of a diagnostic test. It is defined as the ratio of the odds of the test being positive if the subject has a disease relative to the odds of the test being positive if the subject does not have the disease.

The rationale for the diagnostic odds ratio is that it is a single indicator of test performance (like accuracy and Youden's J statistic) but which is independent of prevalence (unlike accuracy) and is presented as an odds ratio, which is familiar to medical practitioners.

Definition
The diagnostic odds ratio is defined mathematically as:

where , ,  and  are the number of true positives, false negatives, false positives and true negatives respectively.

Confidence interval
As with the odds ratio, the logarithm of the diagnostic odds ratio is approximately normally distributed. The standard error of the log diagnostic odds ratio is approximately:

From this an approximate 95% confidence interval can be calculated for the log diagnostic odds ratio:

Exponentiation of the approximate confidence interval for the log diagnostic odds ratio gives the approximate confidence interval for the diagnostic odds ratio.

Interpretation
The diagnostic odds ratio ranges from zero to infinity, although for useful tests it is greater than one, and higher diagnostic odds ratios are indicative of better test performance. Diagnostic odds ratios less than one indicate that the test can be improved by simply inverting the outcome of the test – the test is in the wrong direction, while a diagnostic odds ratio of exactly one means that the test is equally likely to predict a positive outcome whatever the true condition – the test gives no information.

Relation to other measures of diagnostic test accuracy
The diagnostic odds ratio may be expressed in terms of the sensitivity and specificity of the test:

It may also be expressed in terms of the Positive predictive value (PPV) and Negative predictive value (NPV):

It is also related to the likelihood ratios,  and :

Uses
The log diagnostic odds ratio is sometimes used in meta-analyses of diagnostic test accuracy studies due to its simplicity (being approximately normally distributed).

Traditional meta-analytic techniques such as inverse-variance weighting can be used to combine log diagnostic odds ratios computed from a number of data sources to produce an overall diagnostic odds ratio for the test in question.

The log diagnostic odds ratio can also be used to study the trade-off between sensitivity and specificity by expressing the log diagnostic odds ratio in terms of the logit of the true positive rate (sensitivity) and false positive rate (1 − specificity), and by additionally constructing a measure, :

It is then possible to fit a straight line, . If b ≠ 0 then there is a trend in diagnostic performance with threshold beyond the simple trade-off of sensitivity and specificity. The value a can be used to plot a summary ROC (SROC) curve.

Example
Consider a test with the following 2×2 confusion matrix:

We calculate the diagnostic odds ratio as:

This diagnostic odds ratio is greater than one, so we know that the test is discriminating correctly. We compute the confidence interval for the diagnostic odds ratio of this test as [9, 134].

Criticisms
The diagnostic odds ratio is undefined when the number of false negatives or false positives is zero – if both false negatives and false positives are zero, then the test is perfect, but if only one is, this ratio does not give a usable measure. The typical response to such a scenario is to add 0.5 to all cells in the contingency table, although this should not be seen as a correction as it introduces a bias to results. It is suggested that the adjustment is made to all contingency tables, even if there are no cells with zero entries.

See also
 Sensitivity and specificity
 Binary classification
 Positive predictive value and negative predictive value
 Odds ratio

References

Further reading

External links

Epidemiology
Biostatistics
Medical statistics
Statistical ratios
Summary statistics for contingency tables

Diagnostic odds ratio


The Iron Horse is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by John Ford and produced by Fox Film. It was a major milestone in Ford's career, and his lifelong connection to the western film genre. It was Ford's first major film, in part because the hastily planned production went over budget, as Fox was making a hurried response to the success of another studio's western. In 2011, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Plot
The film is about the construction of the American first transcontinental railroad. It depicts Irish, Italian, and Chinese immigrants, as well as African Americans, as the men who did the backbreaking work that made this feat possible.  The primary villain is an unscrupulous businessman who masquerades as a renegade Cheyenne. It culminates with the scene of driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869.

Cast

Production
Among the extras used in the Central Pacific sequences were several Chinese men playing coolies who worked on the railroad. They were in fact retired Central Pacific Railroad employees who had helped build the first transcontinental railroad through the Sierras, who came out to participate in the filming as a lark.

There is a note in the title before this scene that the two original locomotives from the 1869 event are used in the film, although this is false - both engines (Union Pacific No. 119 and Jupiter) were scrapped before 1910.

Legacy
In December 2011, The Iron Horse was selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. In choosing the film, the Registry said that The Iron Horse "introduced to American and world audiences a reverential, elegiac mythology that has influenced many subsequent Westerns."

The film's importance was recognized by the American Film Institute in the 2008 AFI's 10 Top 10, where it was nominated in the Western category.

Critical reception
The film has a 78% rating in Rotten Tomatoes.

Home media
The film was released on DVD in America in its full-length US version (accompanied by the truncated UK version). A 2011 release of The Iron Horse on DVD in the UK included both the US and International/UK versions of the picture, and a half-hour video-essay about the film by author and critic Tag Gallagher. The international version includes some variant shots and uses different names for some supporting characters; it also carries a dedication to the British railway engineer George Stephenson.

Near the end of the film, it is stated that the actual "Jupiter" and "UP 116" were used in the scene. Besides incorrectly identifying the "UP 119" as the "UP 116", both engines had been scrapped 21 and 15 years earlier. Of interest, however, what appears to be the Central Pacific's "C.P. Huntington", now on display in Sacramento, California, is being manhandled up a steep grade on a sledge made of logs.

Novelization
Starting in the early 1920s the publishing house Grosset and Dunlap crafted a deal with the prominent Hollywood studios to issue novelizations of their major, original releases and among those was The Iron Horse (1924, 329pp). The author was Edwin C. Hill, then a journalist, who would become a prominent radio broadcaster, best remembered for a show called The Human Side of the News.

See also
 List of American films of 1924

References

External links

 The Iron Horse essay by David Kiehn on the National Film Registry website

 Stills at acinemahistory.com
 The Iron Horse on Amazon Prime Video

1924 films
1924 Western (genre) films
American black-and-white films
Films directed by John Ford
Fox Film films
United States National Film Registry films
Silent American Western (genre) films
1920s American films
Films with screenplays by John Russell (screenwriter)
Rail transport films
First transcontinental railroad
Films set in 1869
Films set in Utah
1920s English-language films

The Iron Horse (film)