The purpose of this study was to examine the utilization of imagery and the impact of imagery use on collegiate synchronized swimmers. Swimmers (N=165) completed The Sport Imagery Questionnaire (Hall et al. 2005), reporting their frequency of imaging. Interviews were conducted (N=11) to further ascertain why and when synchronized swimmers use imagery and mechanisms they employ for more effective imaging experiences. Exploratory factor analyses indicated three of Hall et al's (2005) five subscales showed significant differences between skill level groups. Specifically, motivational specific functions of imagery data showed significant differences between elite swimmers and the other three groups (advanced, intermediate, and novice). Cognitive specific and motivational general-mastery functions of imagery data indicated significant differences between elite and novice swimmers, suggesting that novice swimmers are less likely to use these subscales of imagery compared to elite swimmers. Qualitative data provided evidence of elite swimmers having more sophisticated and developed applications of imaging skills. The results suggest the global implications of this study and how imagery improves synchronized swimming training programs. Key findings include: Each progressive skill level had better imaging skills and utilization than the lower levels Years experience, repetition, and training impact synchronized swimmers use of imagery The very nature of certain common synchronized swimming drills such as "think-throughs and land drill" elicit imaging training The sport of synchronized swimming is an excellent instrument to research imaging training techniques.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-90).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-90). Also available in print.

Asset Liability Management is a current topic where accountability of asset management is of high importance. This is a result of continuously increasing investments in the stock market globally. The globalisation exposes a big part of the different markets to the same types of risk. This makes it harder to secure capital and assets through diversified investments. Further it has led to a more complex and resource demanding investment basis. The uncertainty of the future brings the focus of fund management to optimising and minimising risks, rather than trying to predict individual movements of specific assets on the market. The goal of this project has been to find, test and evaluate different investment- and portfolio selection strategies with trajectories of some chosen assets, simulated from a Economic Scenario Generator (ESG). This ESG has gratefully been provided by Willis Towers Watson, which in their daily work deal with these areas. Further the trajectories has acted as possible outcomes of asset returns. Employed portfolios intended to replicate pension foundations in placement guidelines and characteristics, with different strategies has then followed the development of the assets and has been matched against the pension liabilities of an average sized Swedish pension foundation. The outcomes of the portfolios has thereafter been assessed and compared with each other. The target has been to localise an optimal risk level in respect to the portfolios' performance and to achieve as high pension funding ratio as possible. The strategies tested have been varied. Variants such as Buy-and-Hold is an example of a simpler investment strategy. There the assets within the portfolio has initially been allocated according to given weights, then the portfolio has ran static with the initial shares over the tested period of 10 years. Other more complex, aggressive and risk taking strategies have also been tested. Here, re-allocating every year is common and the weights within the portfolios depends on the properties of the different assets and the strategy employed. The key performance indicator of the tested portfolios has been the funding ratio of pension payments. The best portfolio in this regard was the one that employed Sharpe allocation for all assets. It had a funding ratio of 91.22%. The worst portfolio due to this measurement was the buy-and-hold strategy with equal weights of the assets. It only covered 79.48% of the pension payments. Important to mention is that the initial funding ratio of all tested portfolios was set to 80%. This means that the portfolio value in time step zero was set to 80% of the value of the pension liabilities. WTW does not blindly confirm the results and this thesis should not be seen as an investment advise. The results are based on data obtained from a specific ESG and does not necessarily look the same using other scenarios or different market data. / Asset Liability Management fortsätter att vara ett aktuellt ämne och en ansvarstagande kapitalförvaltning är av hög vikt. Detta är ett resultat av kontinuerligt ökande investeringar på aktiemarknader världen över. I tillägg gör globaliseringen att de flesta människor är exponerade mot samma typ av risker vilket kan göra det svårare att säkra kapital genom diversifierade investeringar. Detta har gett upphov till alltmer komplicerade och resurskrävande investeringsunderlag. Osäkerheten framtiden för med sig gör att fokusområdet inom kapitalförvaltning framför allt handlar om att optimera och minimera risker, snarare än att försöka förutspå enstaka rörelser på aktiemarknaden. Detta projekt har gått ut på att testa och utvärdera diverse investerings- och portföljsvalsstrategier med simulerade reella tidsserier för olika tillgångar. Dessa tidsserier är simulerade ur en Ekonomisk Scenariogenerator (ESG) som tacksamt mottagits av Willis Towers Watson, som i sitt dagliga arbete sysslar med frågor rörande dessa ämnen. Vidare har tidsserierna agerat som tänkbara utfall för hur tillgångars priser kan röra sig. Antagna portföljer med olika strategier har sedan fått följa prisutvecklingen i de olika scenariona och matchas mot skuld och kassaflöden tillhörande en medelstor svensk pensionsstiftelse. Utfallen har därefter utvärderats och jämförts med varandra. Målsättningen har varit att lokalisera en optimal risknivå sett till portföljernas prestation och framför allt eftersträva en så hög pensionstäckningsgrad som möjligt. Investeringsstrategierna som har testats har varit varierande. Varianter som buy-and-hold-strategin är ett exempel på en enklare strategi. Där har tillgångarna i portföljen initialt allokerats enligt given viktning, sedan har portföljen fortlöpit statiskt med de initiala andelarna för livslängden av portföljens testperiod, vilket är 10 år. Andra mer komplexa, offensiva och risktagande strategier har också testats där innehaven i portföljen ombalanserats en gång per år. Allokeringarna inom portföljen beror av vilka egenskaper tillgångarna besitter och den använda strategin. Det tyngsta nyckeltalet kopplat till portföljernas prestation har varit täckningsgraden av pensionskostnader. Bästa portföljen i detta avseende var den som använde sig av Sharpe-allokering för alla tillgångar, den hade en täckningsgrad av 91.22%. Sämst resultat av alla testade strategier hade buy-and-hold portföljen med lika viktning av tillgångarna. Den täckte endast 79.48% av pensionsutbetalningarna. Vad som är viktigt att nämna är att fonderingsgraden för alla testade portföljer sattes till 80%. Detta betyder att portföljvärdet i tidsteg noll är 80% av pensionsskuldernas värde. WTW bekräftar inte blint resultaten och denna avhandling bör inte ses som ett investeringsråd. Resultaten är baserade på data erhållen från en specifik ESG och ser inte nödvändigtvis densamma ut baserat på andra scenarion eller annan marknadsdata.

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Kommunikation är en förutsättning för kunskapsutveckling och delaktighet i samhället. Elever med funktionsnedsättning har ofta svårigheter att kommunicera. Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur den kvantitativa empiriska forskningen framställer resultat av kommunikativa strategier hos elever med funktionsnedsättning och vilka faktorer som påverkar dessa möjligheter. En systematisk sökning av EBSCOhost databaser har gjorts som identifierade 10 kvantitativa studier. Resultatet visar olika strategier för att utveckla kommunikationsfärdigheter hos individer med funktionsnedsättning. Tillgången till återkoppling för lärare och elever, användandet av kamratstödjare som kommunikationspartner, elevassistenter som modeller samt alternativ- och kompletterande kommunikation visade sig ge goda effekter och ökade kommunikationsfärdigheterna hos eleverna. Faktorer som påverkade kommunikationsmöjligheterna visade sig vara kamratstödjarnas och elevassistententernas utbildning, direkt- och visuell återkoppling samt implementerade av alternativ- och kompletterande kommunikation hos omgivningen.  Vi drar slutsatsen att det finns flertal olika strategier som fungerar bra och som ökar kommunikationsfärdigheterna hos elever med funktionsnedsättning, samt flertal faktorer påverkar elevens kommunikationsmöjligheter.

Thesis advisor: Robert Ross / Great powers use alliances to amass capabilities. As such, alliance balancing strategies are important part of a balance-of-power system. In order to seek security, great powers frequently employ alliance balancing strategies, which can take two forms: to divide hostile alliances or prevent those from forming (i.e. wedge strategies), and to bind their own allies (i.e. binding strategies). When choosing these strategies, great powers face two options: accommodation and coercion. This dissertation explores the question of how great powers choose between these two options. I argue that a great power chooses its wedge strategies based on two factors: its leverage over its target and the degree of security cooperation between its target and its adversary. When the great power’s leverage is strong, it will opt for accommodative wedge strategies, despite the degree of security cooperation between its target and its adversary. Meanwhile the great power is likely to use coercive wedge strategies as its complementary strategy. When the great power’s leverage is weak, it will evaluate the degree of security cooperation between its target and its adversary. When such cooperation is at a high level, the great power will choose coercive wedge strategies as its primary strategy and accommodative ones as its complementary strategy. In contrast, a great power’s choice of its binding strategies is determined by its leverage over its target and its fear of being abandoned by its target. When its leverage is strong, the great power will choose coercive binding strategies as its primary strategy and accommodative ones as its complementary strategy, despite the fear of abandonment. When its leverage is low, the great power will assess its fear of abandonment. Strong fear of abandonment will lead the great power to choose accommodative binding strategies as its primary strategy and coercive ones as its complementary strategy. I test this theory using qualitative cases studies of China’s choices of its alliance balancing strategies. These cases include variation in China’s strategic choices that allows me to test the explanatory power of my theory. I examine these cases drawing on archives, government documents, newspapers, and secondary materials from China and the United States. I conclude this dissertation with a summary of my findings and a discussion on implications and future research avenues. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science.

In this dissertation, I use interview data to answer three questions concerning the deindustrialization of southwest and southside Virginia. First, how have Radford City, Montgomery County, Pulaski County, the City of Martinsville and Henry County been affected by plant closures and mass layoffs at the community level? Second, how have displaced workers and their households been affected by this loss of manufacturing jobs? And third, what survival strategies have displaced workers and their households employed as a result of being displaced? In carrying out this research, I engage with four theoretical discussions: (1) deindustrialization of the US South, (2) the impact of deindustrialization on local communities and economies, (3) the impacts of deindustrialization on workers, and (4) workers' strategies for coping with job loss. I argue that the strategies employed are influenced, shaped, and/ or constrained by regional resources, family structure, and previous experience(s) with job loss due to plant closures and layoffs. The findings from this research suggest that household survival strategies are based on four influential or motivating factors: (1) the presence of a spouse and/or children in the home, (2) having prior experience with being displaced, (3) use of personal networks, and (4) utilization of spouses' knowledge, skills, and abilities. At the community level, there are two major findings. First, there is a level of resilience in the worst affected communities that keeps them moving forward, if at a slower pace than desired. Second, deindustrialization does not affect all manufacturing communities the same way. Local economic profiles, local resources, and past ties to manufacturing matter both in the severity of impacts and the options for rebounding and/ or creating new economic identities. For these reasons and others, it is suggested that future research continue to focus on individual communities and localities which are working to identify good long term solutions to address changes due to large scale economic disruption. / Ph. D.