1. The results of wide laminectomy of the fifth lumbar vertebra and disc excision in 132 patients are reviewed and compared with some published results of the interlaminar operation. 2. There was no significant difference in either the immediate or the long-term results of the two operations suggesting that post-operative morbidity was not related to operative technique. 3. The incidence of post-operative back pain was found to increase with age at operation, duration of pre-operative symptoms and length of follow-up, and supported the impression that backache is predominantly a feature of the underlying degenerative process rather than the incidental operation. 4. The significance of recurrent disc lesions is discussed. Recurrence usually occurred at the previously cleared disc space and was thought to indicate incomplete degeneration of the disc at the time of the original operation. 5. The place of fusion combined with disc excision is discussed. No reliable indications for coincident fusion were found in this series. 6. The value of radiography is discussed. Plain radiographs were essential before operation to exclude other causes of backache and sciatica; otherwise they were of little value. Motion radiographs were no more helpful and myelography was used only when the level of the lesion was in doubt. 7. The risk of an acute cauda equina lesion following manipulation of a prolapsed lumbar disc is noted and the danger of manipulation, unless facilities for emergency surgery are available, is stressed.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to isolate factors predictive of event attendees, and assist tourism professionals such as members of host committees, in maximizing the number of out-of-town visitors to their region and optimizing tourism-related revenue when hosting college football bowl games. Design/methodology/approach A total of 16 demand variables were entered into a hierarchical regression model, including the stature of the event and market-related variables, as well as team-related variables reflecting team or program stature and current season performance. Findings A final model containing seven variables (bowl age, market population, conference affiliation, bowl game stature, season wins, home attendance, and distance traveled) predicted 77.5 percent of the variance in bowl game attendance. Research limitations/implications This paper illustrates the use of predictive modeling for major sport event attendance with a unique sample and variables explored. Future research may build off the model to explore attendance for other populations or events. Practical implications The applied nature of this study allows practitioners working in the tourism and event management field to incorporate a predictive model to best select participants in sporting events to maximize event attendees. Originality/value Understanding the variables which predict event attendees in the context of college football bowl games provide useful data to practitioners. This study advances this area of research by treating event participants as unique observations (something which has not been done in prior studies), and looking at a new data set which incorporates the College Football Playoff era.

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