The Specificity of Strength Exercises for Sprint Acceleration

The purpose of the study was to use musculoskeletal modelling to examine the specificity of bounding and loaded countermovement jumps (CMJ) to sprinting acceleration. Ten male participants performed 10 m sprints, continuous bounding, and loaded CMJ’s. A generic OpenSim model was scaled to each individual and used to calculate joint moments, angles and angular velocities during maximal trials in each condition. Peak moment, angle at peak moment and angular velocity at peak moment for the ankle, knee, and hip joints were determined and statistically analysed using pair-wise equivalence and non-inferiority tests. Compared to sprinting, peak moments at all joints were shown to be statistically non-inferior for bounding, but statistically inferior for loaded CMJ’s. Compared to sprinting, knee and ankle joint angular velocities were statistically equivalent for bounding, but statistically different for loaded CMJ’s. In terms of the specificity for strength and conditioning exercises, these results suggest that bounding may be considered as a specific exercise for acceleration, while loaded CMJ’s may be less suitable

A study of the training criteria of effectiveness of two grades of nurse managers

The many changes which have taken place within the organisational structure of both the nursing service and the National Health Service have led to uncertainty about role. The purpose of the research was to assist in clarifying the role of nurse managers through a study of the criteria of effectiveness and training available to improve effectiveness levels, and for this purpose the grades of sister and nursing officer were studied. In any given year many nurses within the Northern Region of the National Health Service attend management training programmes. It was therefore decided to use the course members on these programmes as the only sample within the available time which would enable the researcher to study the following:- (i) nurses' perception of their role (ii) nurses’ perception of training needs (iii) nurses’ assessment of the extent to which current courses met their training needs (iv) nurses’ assessment of the extent to which their standard of work had improved through their ability to apply what was learned to the working situation. Effectiveness of nurse managers was not defined in documents relating to role and a study of literature provided a framework within which to study the role of nurse managers and suggest areas in which to assess whether effective management is being achieved. Discussion took place with staff on the acceptability of using a working group within which to make judgements about effectiveness. A model was prepared to test the possibility of using flexibility (used in an unanticipated situation) as a specific criteria of effectiveness. In the light of literature studied, results of questionnaires and discussion, consideration was given to whether present training for nurse managers requires modification or whether new approaches to management training are necessary or desirable

Mechanisms and conditions of deformation in quartzites from the Cantabrian and west Asturian-Leonese zones, north Spain

Deformation mechanisms and conditions have been studied, principally in Ordovician quartzites, from the Cantabrian and West Asturian-leonese zones, north Spain. The quartzites have been strongly deformed at shallow crustal levels during the Variscan orogeny. In the external Cantabrian zone, the dominant mechanism was cataclasis, which occurred both pervasively around large-scale folds by shear on a network of bedding-normal fractures, and as localised deformation along large faults. Solution transfer was confined to grain boundaries. Grain boundary sliding operated in sandstones with porous microstructures, which deformed by small-scale chevron folds. This contrast in deformation modes is shown to be a consequence of different initial microstructures. In the West-Asturian leonese zone ( towards the internal part of the orogen), solution transfer extended along stylolites, and progressively increasing amounts of crystal plasticity became the fold accommodating mechanism. This can be followed by an increase in the intracrystalline extinction angle as grain boundary migration and sub-grain rotation contributed to further dynamic recrystallisation. The late stages of deformation were cataclastic. In all examples of cataclasis, fractures clustered together to form deformation zones of high density fracturing: this is an inherent part of the deformation mechanism, which is interpretted as a localisation phenomenon in response to changed material properties. The changes in mechanisms from the external to internal parts of the orogen correlate with an increase in temperature from 0-2500 to 311 - 411°. Effective confining pressures were from 30 to 7S MPa. and differential stresses from 50 to 300 MPa. These conditions of deformation are linked with the deformation modes to define nine deformation facies; the sequence of facies, the deformation path, is plotted for the four localities studied in detail, and it is suggested that the study area can be subdivided into four sub-areas, each characterised by one path

Organisational aspects of information processing systems

This thesis sets out to investigate the organizational aspects of information processing systems at a macro organizational level of analysis, using both static and dynamic modelling techniques. Chapter 1 validates the use of organizational taxonomies for small and medium sized manufacturing firms and highlights the importance of the dynamic nature of organizational variables. Chapter 2 models each of the ten Miller configurations using Beer's Viable System Model, enabling the strengths and weaknesses in each of the five information processing systems to be identified. Chapter 3 introduces a dynamic element into what would otherwise be static models. The Viable System Model is used once again, in this instance to highlight the information processing properties of organizational transition states. Chapter 4 investigates the concept of configuration at the System 3 level of analysis, i. e. the existence of internal information system archetypes. The results suggest distinct clusters amongst existing management accounting and control systems, but fail to link them to the organizational configuration identified by Miller and Friesen's 31 variable questionnaire. Chapter 5 studies the System 4 function, validating its role within the Viable System Model and developing a measure of Perceived Environmental Uncertainty. Chapter 6 looks at the System 5 policy-making function in more detail, introducing the concept of delta to account for softer issues such as personality traits, locus of control and culture, all of which prove to be of significant importance in small and medium sized manufacturing firms

Meteorite impacts on Earth and on the Earth sciences

An inaugural lecture on astrology in Zimbabwe.Plate tectonics has become established during the last thirty years as a coherent explanation for the major features of the Earth today. The formation of new crust at mid-ocean ridges, the movement of relatively rigid lithospheric plates over the softer underlying asthenosphere, and the collision of plates throwing up the Earth's major mountain ranges, are familiar concepts to many people. However, recent discoveries in the Earth sciences challenge us to a newer concept of the Earth’s evolution. These discoveries indicate that large meteorite impacts have had enormous effects on the Earth, perhaps most dramatically illustrated 65 million years ago, when an impact at Chicxulub in the Caribbean may have been responsible for mass extinctions (including the dinosaurs) on a global scale. The evidence for these catastrophic events is surprisingly enigmatic in the geological record, and has been the subject of intense scientific debate and disagreement. Some of the major types of direct evidence for meteorite impacts include the craters formed by impact, and the effects of impact on rocks, including melting, the formation of shatter cones, and a whole variety of small-scale features that are revealed under the microscope. Perhaps paradoxically, these microstructures are the most unambiguous evidence for meteorite impacts, because they formed under radically greater stresses, temperatures and strain rates than those of plate tectonic processes, and are therefore quite distinct from plate tectonic microstructures. These features of meteorite impacts on Earth are illustrated by examples from several known impact sites, including the Vredefort structure in South Africa and a possible impact structure at Highbury south of Mhangura in Zimbabwe. Large meteorite impacts on Earth have significantly augmented Earth’s mineral resources since the formation of the Earth, by creating diamonds in the ultra-high pressure conditions of impact, by providing structures that trap petroleum, and possibly by creating base metal deposits. The likely environmental consequences of impacts include a searing heat wave followed by global cooling, causing episodes of mass extinction that may occur in cycles. There is some controversial evidence for the theory that the first life on Earth itself may have been transported here on meteorites from Mars. The possibility of a major meteorite impact on Earth in the near future emphasizes the dramatic nature of these recent discoveries, which are having deep impacts in the Earth sciences, possibly even constituting a scientific revolution

Extending the multi-arm multi-stage trial design

The multi-arm multi-stage (MAMS) adaptive clinical trial design has been successfully implemented in several randomised phase III trials. Intermediate short-term outcomes identify and stop recruitment to research arms demonstrating insu cient bene t compared to the control arm at interim stages, before the nal analysis on the primary outcome. The design has been shown to reduce the time and resources required to identify an e ective treatment compared to traditional two-arm designs. This PhD extends the applications of the MAMS design to a broader range of research questions, with the aim of increasing uptake of the design. Stopping recruitment early has been introduced to arms demonstrating overwhelming e cacy on the primary outcome, whilst also stopping for lack-of-bene t on the intermediate outcome for the time-to-event setting. The methods could reduce the patients and resources required should any e cacious arm be identi ed early. Guidelines have been developed on how to design a trial of this nature, and it is shown how to modify the design to control the familywise error rate and power at a pre-speci ed level. It may be necessary to restrict the number of arms in each stage of a MAMS design due to budget constraints or limitations on the number of patients available. This thesis explores how pre-speci ed treatment selection could be implemented, where a subset of arms is chosen at each interim analysis, reducing the maximum sample size. Since selection can potentially lead to bias in treatment e ect estimates, this research also addresses estimation concerns in the proposed design by quantifying the extent of potential bias. Programs for designing MAMS trials have been updated in Stata to accommodate the new methods, to encourage easy adoption of the designs. Finally, practical recommendations have been developed for implementing the proposed ideas, and demonstrates the applications of each of the methods using real trials

Postural control: learning to balance and responses to mechanical and sensory perturbations

The purpose of the current research was to examine how a novel balance task is learnt by individuals with a mature neurological system, and to investigate the responses of experienced hand balancers to mechanical and sensory perturbations. Balance in each posture was assessed by various techniques, including: traditional measures of centre of pressure, nonlinear time series analysis of centre of pressure, estimates of feedback time delay from cross correlations and delayed regression models, and calculation of small, medium, and large movement corrections. Data from this study suggests that the best balance metric for distinguishing between each of the balance conditions was the traditional balance measure of sway velocity. However, sway velocity cannot provide any further information on the underlying process of balance. Nonlinear measures of balance offer insight into the underlying deterministic processes that control balance, offering measures of system determinism, complexity, and predictability. Assessments of feedback time delay and movement corrections provide both an insight into the control of posture and help distinguish one condition from another. Both feedback time delay and movement corrections and magnitudes may be used simultaneously to delve further into the control of posture. Delayed regression models seem to be an appropriate and useful tool for estimating feedback time delays during balance. Findings support the use of the third term in the adapted regression model as a means of estimating the effect of passive stiffness on feedback time delay. Generally, with increased duration in handstand subjects displayed reduced sway as measured by traditional measures of balance. A more marked change in nonlinear measures of balance can be seen, with quicker reductions in variance for some nonlinear measures of balance than in the traditional measures. It may be that more pronounced changes in nonlinear measures represent changes in the subjects underlying process of postural control, whereas less pronounced changes in traditional measures relate more to their general ability or performance in the balance task