Investigation and Quantification of FES Exercise – Isometric Electromechanics and Perceptions of Its Usage as an Exercise Modality for Various Populations

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is the triggering of muscle contraction by use of an electrical current. It can be used to give paralyzed individuals several health benefits, through allowing artificial movement and exercise. Although many FES devices exist, many aspects require innovation to increase usability and home translation. In addition, the effect of changing electrical parameters on limb biomechanics is not entirely understood; in particular with regards to stimulation duty cycle. This thesis has two distinct components. In the first (public health component), interview studies were conducted to understand several issues related to FES technology enhancement, implementation and home translation. In the second (computational biomechanics component), novel signal processing algorithms were designed that can be used to measure mechanical responses of muscles subjected to electrical stimulation. These experiments were performed by changing duty cycle and measuring its effect on quadriceps-generated knee torque. The studies of this thesis have presented several ideas, toolkits and results which have the potential to guide future FES biomechanics studies and the translatability of systems into regular usage for patients. The public health studies have provided conceptual frameworks upon which FES may be used in the home by patients. In addition, they have elucidated a range of issues that need to be addressed should FES technology reach its true potential as a therapy. The computational biomechanics studies have put forward novel data analysis techniques which may be used for understanding how muscle responds to electrical stimulation, as measured via torque. Furthermore, the effect of changing the electrical stimulation duty cycle on torque was successfully described, adding to an understanding of how electrical stimulation parameter modulation can influence joint biomechanics

The dramaturgy of the tragedies of John Webster and John Ford with special reference to their use of stage imagery.

PhDThe imagery of the plays of John Webster and John Ford is not only verbal: in staging as well as language these dramas display strongly imagistic, symbolic elements. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the seven extant tragedies of Webster and Ford from the point of view of their total dramatic nature - to examine the staging, costumes, hand and large properties, movement and gestures as well as the verbal imagery, and the interplay of these verbal and visual elements. The original appearance, of these plays in their contemporary theatre, and the dramatist's intentions for performance, can only be surmised. The original stage directions are examined for hints of the original presentation: these stage directions may not always be authorial, but, especially in the case of Ford, they seem to reveal the playwright's hand. The dialogue, too, frequently implies particular gestures, grouping or stage placement. The visual imagery, it is here suggested, is created by the dramatist for several purposes: a moral or ironical point may be silently established; a chain of related visual motifs may bind various actions and characters into an organic union; a visualization may appeal outward to other works of art or theatrical or non-dramatic conventions, enlarging the immediate significance by this shorthand reference; visual ceremonies may make concrete the more ephemeral words and feelings of the characters. Each of the tragedies is studied in a separate chapter, in the following order: Webster's The White Devil, The Duchess of Malfi, and Appius and Virginia (the authorship of which is disputed); John Ford's The Broken Heart, Love's Sacrifice, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, and Perkin Warbeck. A conclusion indicates the differences between Webster's more overtly theatrical visualizations and Ford's quiet tableaux. The thesis is accompanied by illustrations which are either explanatory or comparative

British Literature of the 18th-20th Cenutry

Openly licensed anthology focused on the theme of British Literature from the 18th-20th centuries. Includes: Persuasion by Jane Austen, Lady Audley’s Secret by M.E. Braddon, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Middlemarch by George Eliot, A Passage to India by E.M. Forrester, Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave by Mary Prince, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson