State Labor Legislation Enacted in 2012

Laws concerning child labor, equal employment opportunity, human trafficking, immigration legislation, independent contractors, and prevailing wages were among the most active areas for state lawmakers in 2012

An individualised approach to monitoring and prescribing training in elite youth football players

The concept of how training load affects performance is founded in the notion that training contributes to two specific outcomes, these are developed simultaneously by repeated bouts of training and act in conflict of each other; fitness and fatigue (Banister et al., 1975). The ability to understand these two components and how they interact with training load is commonly termed the “dose-response relationship” (Banister, 1991). The accurate quantification of training load, fitness and fatigue are therefore of paramount importance to coaches and practitioners looking to examine this relationship. In recent years, the advancement in technology has seen a rise in the number of methodologies used to assess training load and specific training outcomes. However, there is a general lack of evidence regarding the reliability, sensitivity and usefulness of these methods to help inform the training process. The aim of this thesis was therefore to improve the current understanding around the monitoring and prescription of training, with special reference to the relationship between training load, fitness and fatigue. Chapter 4 of this thesis looked to establish test re-test reliability. Variables selected for investigation were measures of subjective wellness; fatigue, muscle soreness, sleep quality, stress levels and mood state, assessments of physical performance; countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ) and drop jump (DJ) and the assessment of tri-axial accelerometer data; PlayerLoadTM and individual component planes anterior-posterior (PLAP), mediolateral (PLML), and vertical (PLV), were collected during a sub-maximal shuttle run. The results from this investigation suggest that a short three minute sub-maximal shuttle run can be used as a reliable method to collect accelerometer data. Additionally, assessments of CMJ height, SJ height, DJ contact time (DJ-CT) and DJ reactive strength index (DJ-RSI) were all deemed to have good reliability. In contrast, this chapter highlighted the poor test re-test reliability of the subjective wellness questionnaire. Importantly, the minimum detectable change (MDC) was also calculated for all measures within this study to provide an estimate of measurement error and a threshold for changes that can be considered ‘real’. Chapter 5 assessed the sensitivity and reproducibility of these measures following a standardised training session. To assess sensitivity, the signal-to-noise (S: N) ratio was calculated by using the post training fatigue response (signal) and the MDC derived from Chapter 4 (noise). The fatigue response was considered reproducible if the S: N ratio was greater than one following two standardised training sessions. Three measures met the criteria to be considered both sensitive and reproducible; DJ-RSI, PLML and %PLV. All other measures did not meet the criteria. Subjective ratings of fatigue, muscle soreness and sleep quality did show a sensitive response on one occasion, however, this was not reproducible. This might be due to the categorical nature of the data, making detectable group changes hard to accomplish. The subjective wellness questionnaire was subsequently adapted to include three items; subjective fatigue, muscle soreness and sleep quality on a 10-point scale. The test re-test reliability of these three questions was established in Chapter 6, demonstrating that subjective fatigue and muscle soreness have good test re-test reliability. Chapter 6 was comprised of two studies looking to simultaneously establish the dose-response relationship between training load, measures of fatigue (Part I) and measures of fitness (Part II). In Part I training load was strategically altered on three occasions during a standardised training session in a randomised crossover design. In Part II training and match load was monitored over a 6-week training period with maximal aerobic speed (MAS) assessed pre and post. A key objective for both studies was to assess differences in the training load-fitness-fatigue relationship when using various training load measures, in particular differences between arbitrary and individualised speed thresholds. Results from Part I showed a large to very large relationship between training load and subjective fatigue, muscle soreness and DJ-RSI performance. No differences were found between arbitrary and individualised thresholds. In Part II however, individual external training load, assessed via time above MAS (t>MAS), showed a very large relationship with changes in aerobic fitness. This was in contrast to the unclear relationships with arbitrary thresholds. Taking the results from both studies into consideration it was concluded that t>MAS is a key measure of training load if the objective is to assess the relationship with both fitness and fatigue concurrently with one measure. Chapter 7 subsequently looked to validate the training load-fitness-fatigue relationships established in Chapter 6 via an intervention study. The aim was to develop a novel intervention that prescribed t>MAS, in order to improve aerobic fitness, based on the findings from Chapter 6. Additionally, the fatigue response following a standardised training session was assessed pre and post intervention to evaluate the effect the predicted improvements in aerobic fitness would have on measures of fatigue. Results from Chapter 7 indicate a highly predictable improvement in aerobic fitness from the training load completed during the study, validating the use of t>MAS as a monitoring and intervention tool. Furthermore, this improvement in aerobic fitness attenuated the fatigue response following a standardised training session. The final key finding was the very strong relationship between improvements in aerobic fitness and reductions in fatigue response. This further highlights the relationship between t>MAS, fitness and fatigue. In summary, this thesis has helped further current understanding on the monitoring and prescription of training load, with reference to fitness and fatigue. Firstly, a rigorous approach was used to identify fatigue monitoring measures that are reliable, sensitive and reproducible. Secondly, the relationship between training load, fatigue and fitness was clearly established. And finally, it has contributed new knowledge to the existing literature by establishing the efficacy of a novel MAS intervention to improve aerobic fitness and attenuate a fatigue response in elite youth football players

Alien Registration- Fitzpatrick, John (Andover, Oxford County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/15695/thumbnail.jp

Electrical Resistivity Measurements of Powder Metal Compacts

This work, as it was originally planned, was the arranging of an apparatus whereby electrical resistivity measurements could be made on powder compacts. It was also to include measurements on a series of copper-nickel compacts both before and after sintering

The Colonial : March - Medley

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/1311/thumbnail.jp

Reconciling utility with liberal justice : John Stuart Mill\u27s minimalist utilitarianism

Many philosophers have argued that there are two John Stuart Mills. There is the rights supporting liberal Mill of On Liberty; and then there is the author of Utilitarianism. This reading often presupposes that there is no possibility of reconciling these two Mills, since it is purportedly impossible to be both a supporter of liberal justice and utilitarianism. I propose specific readings of On Liberty and Utilitarianism that make this claim far from credible. In Chapter One, I address the most common objection to utilitarianism, namely, that utilitarianism cannot support rights at all. Properly understood, utilitarianism is at its core a moral theory that takes at least one right seriously, the right to equal consideration, and this is recognized even by sophisticated opponents of Utilitarianism such as Mark Rowlands. In fact, the noted political philosopher Ronald Dworkin has argued that there is no logical reason why utilitarians are required to accept the most narrow formulation of this right. In Chapter Two I offer a reading of Mill\u27s On Liberty. I suggest that there are two primary ways one can misread this work. The first is to insist that since Mill is one of the more important classical economists, he must be a strong supporter of libertarian property rights. The second mistake is to assume that the Harm Principle as raised by Mill in Chapter I of On Liberty is Mill\u27s final word on this issue. In Chapter Three, I argue that once Mill\u27s utilitarianism is properly understood his claim that the rights he advocates in On Liberty are utilitarian in nature is both plausible and defendable. Following Rem B. Edwards, I argue that Mill is not a maximizing utilitarian. Once Mill is read as a moral minimalist, it is not difficult to reconcile his liberalism with his utilitarianism. In Chapter Four, I answer the Rawlsian objection directly. John Rawls has suggested that utilitarianism cannot be successfully used to support principles of justice. I argue that Rawls\u27 charges are not as damaging to a Millian theory of Justice as is commonly believed

Understanding culture shock ;the adjustment of expatriate sojourners on international assignment

PhD ThesisExpatriate sojourners are often described as experiencing “culture shock” when moving to and settling in a new location. This study challenges the notion of “culture” as a tangible, objective concept that causes a “shock” or a “clash” and argues that it is how individuals and groups deal with the macro socio-political context and micro-cultural situations on a day to day basis that influences how they experience their new environment. In this sense, context is seen as a multidimensional framework for social interaction and adjustment, and this study examines the role that different discourses or worldviews play in interpreting daily life in Cuba, a highly politically sensitive and insular location. Using participant observation techniques, the researcher builds up a rich ethnographic “thick-description” of the daily challenges that international sojourners face when adjusting to a new environment in a particularly challenging location, and, by drawing on accounts of how individuals see the challenges they face and what helps them adapt, describes adjustment as a multi-faceted phenomenon. What is highlighted are the various types of challenges that sojourners experience and the pressures that people and families experience in adapting to new roles in unfamiliar working and living environments. A model for sojourner adjustment is then proposed based on a study of the various social networks that expatriate groups create, and the type and level of personal and institutional resources and social support that might influence adjustment

The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra

Algebra is indeed an interesting and intriguing field of knowledge. Many people fear and dread it, and­ yet what do they fear? Is not algebra a logical se­quence of simple facts based perhaps on a few self-evident truths? If people saw the value of algebra, they would strive more enthusiastically to understand its principles. John Locke has a fitting commentary on those who are unfamiliar with algebra