E-texts : the orality and literacy issue revisited

Simply put, computer-mediated communication is communication between two or more people via computer. The medium of transmission thus becomes the network between the computers that allows messages to be passed from one to the other. Instances of messages passed along this medium form the communicative acts with which I am concerned. My primary methodology is derived from Hymes' articulation of ethnographies of communication (1962, 1972) and is called here an "ethnography of computer-mediated communication." Such an approach is the main tool I use in conducting a virtual ethnography and can be seen as parallel to other variations on Hymes' concept.1 For the purposes of this paper, then, I wish to examine the scholarship on oral and literate communication in relation to communications theory. My intent is to examine how computer-mediated communication displays both oral and literate characteristics, thus exploding the reductionist arguments sometimes posited in oral/literate dichotomies. Ultimately what is at stake here is an issue in mentalities: does the medium of communication "restructure thought" (e.g., Ong 1992) or do choices in communication lead to epiphenomenal poles on a continuum (e.g., Tannen 1982c)?Not

BIOMECHANICS AND ELITE COMPETITIVE SWIMMING

An emphasis on servicing as opposed to research in the biomechanical support of an elite swim programme results in a quicker improvement of performance. Biomechanics brings to the coach of elite athletes objectivity and quantification with advice from a biomechanical and technical perspective. One important aspect of servicing an elite swimming programme is the development of biomechanical testing systems in which the timeliness of feedback and better accuracy is of paramount importance. Competition analysis provides much relevant information to elite swimming and it also affects a large number of athletes. Once problems are disclosed through competition analysis they need to be addressed in a training environment using biomechanical systems to assist the coach. Biomechanics systems are now available to assist the coach with start, tum, relay change and free swim analysis. Other scientific areas that are being used to advance performance in swimming include active drag, computer modelling and computational fluid dynamics. The A.I.S. is developing a new technology pool which will contain most of this technology and is to be completed by February 2006

EVALUATION and FEEDBACK IN SWIMMING: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

The purpose of this paper was to identify how various swimming service providers from around the world were able to provide evaluation and feedback to swimmers since the early 1970’s. It was clear that probably the one particular area that existed through from the 1970’s until today was the measurement of active drag and the propulsion generated by the swimmer. The analysis of starts also played a role throughout the entire period. It was not until the late 2000’s that the technology was able to provide the tools to produce really comprehensive, immediate feedback analysis of performance

PROVIDING A SERVICE TO AN ELITE NATIONAL SPORTS PROGRAMME

How well is Sports Biomechanics able to advance elite athletic performance at the national sporting level? Individual sports that involve a high technical skill level and that are repetitive are most suited to biomechanical support. An emphasis on servicing as opposed to research in the biomechanical support of a national sporting body tends to provide the better results in elevating elite performance. Biomechanics brings to the coach of elite athletes objectivity and quantification with advice from a biomechanical and technical perspective. One important aspect of servicing an elite national sporting body is the development of biomechanical testing systems in which the timeliness of feedback is of paramount importance. To be most effective there are certain ingredients that make for the ideal biomechanical testing system for servicing the elite arm of a sport. An example of such a system developed for elite swimming performance is provided. To be an effective sport biomechanist there is a need for specialisation in sport. Many other factors affect the success of a biomechanics programme apart from the science involved. Competition analysis provides much relevant information to elite sport and it also affects a large number of athletes. Once problems are disclosed through competition analysis they need to be addressed in a training environment using biomechanical systems to assist the coach

Effect of pH and light on aggregation and conformation of an IgG1 mAb

During the purification process, monoclonal antibodies may be exposed to parts of UV-C (200 to 290 nm), UV-B (290 to 320 nm) and visible light (400 to 760 nm) under a variety of buffer and pH conditions. Together, these conditions can promote both chemical and physical degradation which may result in conformational changes. To examine this possibility, the impact of UV light on an IgG1 mAb at pH 3.5, 5 and 8 was studied at multiple protein concentrations. Exposure to 302 nm light resulted in a pH-dependent formation of high molecular weight species where the degree of oligomerization increased with increasing pH. Characterization by SDS-PAGE under reducing and non-reducing conditions, and SEC-MALS, revealed that the predominant species were non-reducible dimeric, trimeric and higher order oligomeric species which occurred through processes other than intermolecular disulfide bond formation. Biophysical characterization by differential scanning calorimetry demonstrated an overall loss of heat capacity suggesting a loss of conformational integrity with light exposure. A decrease in tryptophan fluorescence was paralleled by a significant decrease in the transition temperature measured during heat-induced unfolding following light exposure also suggesting a significant change in conformational integrity. The observations by fluorescence spectroscopy coincided with pH dependent changes in the alterations of secondary structure characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and far UV circular dichroism with the most acidic pH showing the greatest degree of change in the beta-sheet structure. Exposure to UV light resulted in aggregation with pH-dependent yields decreasing in the following order, 8.05.03.5, while the opposite trend was observed for conformational changes, with pH-dependent extents decreasing in the following order:3.55.08.0. These pH-dependent trends suggest that different strategies will be required to stabilize the protein against these modifications during processing

IDENTIFICATION AND CORRECTION OF INEFFICIENCIES DURING ELITE COMPETITIVE SWIMMING

Olympic Games and World Championship swimming events are often not won by the fastest swimmer. In many events the free swimming speed of many of the competitors is almost identical, however it is the better starter in sprint events and the better turner in distance events who is victorious. The authors of this paper worked for over twenty years with analysis systems for starts and turns in elite swimming at the Australian Institute of Sport and over the last six years have developed, with the Kistler company, a commercial swim start and turn analysis system to assess elite swimmers. This paper will discuss inefficiencies in the starts and turns that were found to be commonly identified in elite swimmers and then state how these inefficiencies in performance may be rectified

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM COMPETITION ANALYSIS AT THE 1999 PAN PACIFIC SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS?

An analysis of the 1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championship competition analysis data from Sydney indicated that the relationship between the quality of the swim performance and stroke length was not significant as is commonly assumed in swimming arenas, apart from a few events. The average free swimming speed was significantly correlated to race results for all events, but this was to be expected. The next most highly correlated variable with race performance was the turn time, which was significant in 92% of all events. Start and turn times along with free swimming speed were considered significant in all of the form strokes. This was similar to the freestyle events but these races also showed that the finish time was an important part of obtaining a good race result. The second half of the race was more strongly related to race performance than the first half of the distance races in all events except for the women’s 400m Freestyle. In the individual medley events, turn performance was significantly related to race performance. It was found that the most significant individual stroke within the medley races was breaststroke followed by backstroke, butterfly and freestyle. The above information is considered accurate for elite level swimmers and can be used to develop a general competition model. It should be remembered that the information is based on the top eight or 16 swimmers in each event so may not be specific to a particular swimmer and that the final competition model should be suited to the individual

BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF ACTIVE DRAG IN SWIMMING

Active drag measurement through an entire swimming stroke was computed from the swimmer’s maximum sprint speed and the assistive force required to tow the swimmer at a slightly higher known velocity. The mean values of the active drag obtained were similar to those previously reported (Male 95 & 83 N, Female 73 & 69 N in freestyle and butterfly). A graph of time against active drag for butterfly highlighted the propulsion and recovery phases. The within stroke drag fluctuations in freestyle were less than in butterfly. The active drag graph combined with synchronised video would enable the swimmer’s technical efficiency to be evaluated throughout the stroke cycle. This method could be used to identify aspects of the swimmer’s stroke that corresponded with changes in the swimmer’s active drag

A KINETIC ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ELITE SWIMMERS PERFORMING THE SPRINT START

The object of this project was to identify on block characteristics of superior grab starts and identify if these also applied to the track start. Six elite swimmers were selected for the study. The characteristic most closely observed in excellent off block starting ability for the grab start was peak power normalised to body mass. Average power and maximum horizontal propulsive force normalised to body mass were closely linked as was work output, but not as highly as the previous parameters. Horizontal velocity off the block was not a good predictor of off block ability as the angle at which the swimmer left the block played an important role in the outcome. Time off the block and first movement time were poor indicators of starting ability. Similar characteristics, but with completely different force and power profiles, were evident for swimmers that utilised a track start