Scenario planning for the Edinburgh city region

This paper examines the application of scenario planning techniques to the detailed and daunting challenge of city re-positioning when policy makers are faced with a heavy history and a complex future context. It reviews a process of scenario planning undertaken in the Edinburgh city region, exploring the scenario process and its contribution to strategies and policies for city repositioning. Strongly rooted in the recent literature on urban and regional economic development, the text outlines how key individuals and organisations involved in the process participated in far-reaching analyses of the possible future worlds in which the Edinburgh city region might find itself

Third generation artificial pitch quality in commercial football centers

Small sided football is the most popular and fastest growing area of adult football in the UK with an estimated 1.5m adults playing every week. The sport's popularity has led to an influx of commercial football centers offering organized 5, 6 and 7-a-side leagues on third generation artificial pitches. The range of quality and maintenance of these pitches is not fully understood despite the established links between surface quality, player performance and injury. Currently researchers and manufacturers use national governing body standards as guidelines for quality; however, many commercial centers are not approved by governing bodies and therefore are not obliged to meet these criteria. In this paper we characterize the quality of 23 pitches at five, UK based, commercial football centers using portable, low cost methods including; the FIFA rotational resistance test, the Clegg Impact Hammer and an infill depth probe. This paper describes the range of qualities observed, alongside maintenance procedures and usage statistics. To the authors knowledge this is the first study that characterizes commercial football center pitches. Twenty-two of the 23 pitches met the FIFA 1 star guidelines for rotational resistance (25 - 50 Nm), however, mean Clegg Impact Hammer readings are high (208 G), suggesting surface compliance in commercial centers falls outside FIFA standards. Within pitch variance was common at all centers and was an order of magnitude higher in some pitch comparisons. These findings have two practical implications; 1) pitch quality and maintenance at commercial centers is highly variable across and within pitches, 2) the harder surfaces and the high levels of variability found in commercial football centers suggests that players require footwear researched and designed specifically for these conditions

Fasciculation analysis reveals a novel parameter that correlates with predicted survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Introduction Prognostic uncertainty in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) confounds clinical management planning, patient counseling, and trial stratification. Fasciculations are an early clinical hallmark of disease and can be quantified noninvasively. Using an innovative analytical method, we correlated novel fasciculation parameters with a predictive survival model. Methods Using high-density surface electromyography, we collected biceps recordings from ALS patients on their first research visit. By accessing an online survival prediction tool, we provided eight clinical and genetic parameters to estimate individual patient survival. Fasciculation analysis was performed using an automated algorithm (Surface Potential Quantification Engine), with a Cox proportional hazards model to calculate hazard ratios. Results The median predicted survival for 31 patients was 41 (interquartile range, 31.5-57) months. Univariate hazard ratios were 1.09 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.16) for the rate of change of fasciculation frequency (RoCoFF) and 1.10 (95% CI, 1.01-1.19) for the amplitude dispersion rate. Only the RoCoFF remained significant (P = .04) in a multivariate model. Discussion Noninvasive measurement of fasciculations at a single time-point could enhance prognostic models in ALS, where higher RoCoFF values indicate shorter survival

The influence of gravimetric moisture content on studded shoe–surface interactions in soccer

It is desirable for the studs of a soccer shoe to penetrate the sport surface and provide the player with sufficient traction when accelerating. Mechanical tests are often used to measure the traction of shoe–surface combinations. Mechanical testing offers a repeatable measure of shoe–surface traction, eliminating the inherent uncertainties that exist when human participant testing is employed, and are hence used to directly compare the performance of shoe–surface combinations. However, the influence specific surface characteristics has on traction is often overlooked. Examining the influence of surface characteristics on mechanical test results improves the understanding of the traction mechanisms at the shoe–surface interface. This allows footwear developers to make informed decisions on the design of studded outsoles. The aim of this paper is to understand the effect gravimetric moisture content has on the tribological mechanisms at play during stud–surface interaction. This study investigates the relationships between: the gravimetric moisture content of a natural sand-based soccer surface; surface stiffness measured via a bespoke impact test device; and surface traction measured via a bespoke mechanical test device. Regression analysis revealed that surface stiffness decreases linearly with increased gravimetric moisture content (p = 0.04). Traction was found to initially increase and then decrease with gravimetric moisture content. It was observed that: a surface of low moisture content provides low stud penetration and therefore reduced traction; a surface of high moisture content provides high stud penetration but also reduced traction due to a lubricating effect; and surfaces with moisture content in between the two extremes provide increased traction. In this study a standard commercially available stud was used and other studs may provide slightly different results. The results provide insight into the traction mechanisms at the stud–surface interface which are described in the paper. The variation between traction measurements shows the influence gravimetric moisture content will have on player performance. This highlights the requirement to understand surface conditions prior to making comparative shoe–surface traction studies and the importance of using a studded outsole that is appropriate to the surface condition during play

Sex differences in limb and joint stiffness in recreational runners

Purpose. Female runners are known to be at greater risk from chronic running injuries than age-matched males, although the exact mechanisms are often poorly understood. The aim of the current investigation was to determine if female recreational runners exhibit distinct limb and joint stiffness characteristics in relation to their male counterparts. Methods. Fourteen male and fourteen female runners ran over a force platform at 4.0 m · s–1. Lower limb kinematics were collected using an eight-camera optoelectric motion capture system operating at 250 Hz. Measures of limb and joint stiffness were calculated as a function of limb length and joint moments divided by the extent of limb and joint excursion. All stiffness and joint moment parameters were normalized to body mass. Sex differences in normalized limb and knee and ankle joint stiffness were examined statistically using independent samples t tests. Results. The results indicate that normalized limb (male = 0.18 ± 0.07, female = 0.37 ± 0.10 kN · kg · m–1) and knee stiffness (male = 5.59 ± 2.02, female = 7.34 ± 1.78 Nm · kg · rad–1) were significantly greater in female runners. Conclusions. On the basis that normalized knee and limb stiffness were shown to be significantly greater in female runners, the findings from the current investigation may provide further insight into the aetiology of the distinct injury patterns observed between sexes. Key words: running, sex, limb stiffness, biomechanic

The effect of normal load force and roughness on the dynamic traction developed at the shoe-surface interface in tennis

During tennis-specific movements, such as accelerating and side stepping, the dynamic traction provided by the shoe-surface combination plays an important role in the injury risk and performance of the player. Acrylic hard court tennis surfaces have been reported to have increased injury occurrence, partly caused by increased traction that developed at the shoe-surface interface. Often mechanical test methods used for the testing and categorisation of playing surfaces do not tend to simulate loads occurring during participation on the surface, and thus are unlikely to predict the human response to the surface. A traction testing device, discussed in this paper, has been used to mechanically measure the dynamic traction force between the shoe and the surface under a range of normal loading conditions that are relevant to real-life play. Acrylic hard court tennis surfaces generally have a rough surface topography, due to their sand and acrylic paint mixed top coating. Surface micro-roughness will influence the friction mechanisms present during viscoelastic contacts, as found in footwear-surface interactions. This paper aims to further understand the influence micro-roughness and normal force has on the dynamic traction that develops at the shoe-surface interface on acrylic hard court tennis surfaces. The micro-roughness and traction of a controlled set of acrylic hard court tennis surfaces have been measured. The relationships between micro-roughness, normal force, and traction force are discussed. © 2013 The Author(s)

Area initiatives and the SDA : the rise of the urban project

The allocation of central government resources on a geographical basis through special agencies has a well-established history in Scotland. The Scottish Special Housing Association was supplementing the capacities of small authorities unable to mount local housebuilding programmes to support economic development prior to 1939 when the Scottish Industrial Estates Corporation was also at work. Government intervention in the post-war period continued this spatial - as distinct from sectoral - focus, with policies and programmes developing the physical and social infrastructure thought necessary for the attraction or expansion of manufacturing industry. In the 1940's and 1950's, new towns at East Kilbride, Glenrothes and Cumbernauld, the rapid construction of public sector housing by the SSHA - particularly in response to the overspill policy of the City of Glasgow - and the continued development of modern, serviced factories by the SIEC in areas such as Clydebank and Newhouse, all provided central government with a major opportunity to shape the strategic location and scale of new urban development in Scotland. This paper explores the origins of Scottish area initiatives, including the economic and political factors motivating their implementation. The impact of these initiatives is also considered

Footwear traction and lower extremity non-contact injury

For the past forty years footwear traction has been thought to be one of the causes of non-contact lower extremity injury in sport. Previous studies have shown that rotational traction was associated with ACL injury, however, no studies have determined the relationship between footwear traction, both translational and rotational, and all lower extremity non-contact injuries. Therefore, the purposes of this thesis were to 1) determine if a relationship exists between an athlete’s specific footwear traction (both translational and rotational) and lower extremity non-contact injury and 2) determine how independently altering translational and rotational traction affects ankle and knee joint loading. Over the course of three years, 555 athletes had their footwear traction tested on the actual playing surface; either an artificial or natural grass field. The athletes were followed over each season and any injury that they sustained during a game was recorded by certified athletic therapists on site at the field. No differences in injury rate were seen between the artificial and natural grass surfaces. A relationship was found between rotational traction and lower extremity non-contact injury, with increases in rotational traction leading to an increase in injury rate. A relationship was also seen between translational traction and injury with the mid-range of translational traction leading to a higher injury rate. To determine how translational and rotational traction affect injury mechanism, three shoes were constructed that had independent alterations in translational and rotational traction. The footwear conditions consisted of a control shoe, a low rotational traction shoe and a high translational traction shoe. Joint loading was calculated with inverse dynamics on 10 athletes performing a v-cut and an s-cut movement in the three footwear conditions. The results indicate that both rotational traction as well as translational traction can affect the ankle and knee joint loading during football related movements. Coupled with the results of the injury study, although less clear for translational traction, it is believed that these increases in joint loading (joint moments and angular impulses) in the transverse and frontal plane are one of the possible mechanisms in terms of lower extremity non-contact injury

The failure of perspex in lubrication contacts.

The catastrophic failure of lubricated Perspex disks and cylinders rotating in heavily loaded point and line contacts in conditions of both rolling and sliding has been investigated. Observation of specimens in various stages of failure suggested that both thermal effects and mechanical stresses were involved in the failure mechanism. It has been shown that temperatures generated by conventional "flash temperature" mechanisms are not likely to be a significant factor in the mode of failure. Moreover, since this form of failure occurs under conditions of pure rolling the generation of heat by hysteresis loss appears to be a significant factor. The quasi-elastic theory of rolling friction developed by Greenwood, Minshall and Tabor has been used to derive the intensity of heat generation, and hence the temperature distribution, in the sub-surface regions; this theory has also been developed to cover a wider range of materials and conditions. The theoretical sub-surface temperatures have been compared with those measured, over a range of loads and speeds, in experiments using embedded thermocouples. The heat transfer coefficient at the surface of a rotating disk (which is a factor influencing sub-surface temperatures) has been estimated, using the Chilton-Colburn relationship, from experimental measurements of the mass transfer coefficient. Experiments to measure the coefficient of rolling friction are described, and the relationship between hysteresis loss factor, frequency and temperature is derived from the results. The effect of the variation of hysteresis loss factor with temperature upon the subsurface temperature has been discussed. The relevance of these theories and experiments to the original observations of failure of Perspex, and to the successful operation of rolling systems using polymers, has been discussed