Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Music, Dec. 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-147). Also available on the Internet.

A number of scholars in the past decades have addressed the importance of conducting researches on audiences. They have examined fan identities, fan behaviours, fan communities, fandom, fan consumption patterns and anti--‐‑fans with different methods such as applying sociological, psychological, economical, and cultural approaches. Many of these studies have made conclusions on fans in general and some have generated behavioural patterns into theories, but they have rarely explored the affections of individual enthusiasts with participating in fan activities as well as understanding fans’ daily livings as an in--‐‑depth investigation. This dissertation mainly focuses on drafting portraits of a group of Hong Kong fans who are supporting a Japanese boy band called Arashi. In order to discuss their subconscious identities, motivations, fan activities and unauthorised fan groups organisations, this research has been carried out grounding on an anthropological approach that ethnographic participant‐observations and interviews were applied to form case studies. To depict these cases, daily livings of individual Hong Kong Arashi admirers, events organised by unofficially formed fan groups, and researcher’s experiences of attending Arashi’s live concerts were documented and analysed. At last, a summary is drawn to illustrate the significant of these Hong Kong fans. The key implication of this thesis is to provide a new perspective on studying individual fans and fandom as an aca-fan. There are also case studies to unfold fans’ inner mechanisms on choosing and ranking idols as well as how do they interpret their idols into new meanings. This paper is not a generalisation of Hong Kong fans of popular music but an attempt to demonstrate different representations from cases of Arashi’s fans in Hong Kong by means of ethnography documentations. / published_or_final_version / Modern Languages and Cultures / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

The mean residual life (MRL) function is an important function in survival analysis, actuarial science, economics and other social sciences and reliability for characterizing lifetime. Different methods have been proposed for doing inference on the MRL but their coverage probabilities for small sample sizes are not good enough. In this thesis we apply the empirical likelihood method and carry out a simulation study of the MRL function using different statistical distributions. The simulation study does a comparison of the empirical likelihood method and the normal approximation method. The comparisons are based on the average lengths of confidence intervals and coverage probabilities. We also did comparisons based on median lengths of confidence intervals for the MRL. We found that the empirical likelihood method gives better coverage probability and shorter confidence intervals than the normal approximation method for almost all the distributions that we considered. Applying the two methods to real data we also found that the empirical likelihood method gives thinner pointwise confidence bands.

The purpose was to determine the velocity during strength and power training, with elastic resistance bands, in older adults. Nine older patients, who attended the day hospital rehabilitation program at Riverview Health Centre, were trained for power and strength of the ankle muscles using elastic resistance bands for 4 to 6 weeks. Training sessions were filmed to assess the velocity of training using Proanalyst software. Power training occurred at faster peak velocities as compared to strength training (p<0.001) for both muscle groups, however there were significant differences for average velocity only during training of plantar flexors (p<0.001). There was no significant difference between strength and power training in terms of within individual variability. However, a wide variability was observed between subjects in velocities they trained at and overlap was found between velocities for strength and power training. Hence, researchers should monitor velocity during different types of training in older adults.

Producing an accurate model of the human voice has been the goal of researchers for a very long time, but is extremely challenging due to the complexity surrounding the way in which the voice functions. One of the more complicated aspects of modelling the voice is the fluid dynamics of the airflow, by which the process of self-oscillation of the vocal folds is sustained. This airflow also provides the only means by which the ventricular bands (two vocal fold-like structures located a short distance above the vocal folds) are driven into self-oscillation. These have been found to play a significant role in various singing styles and in voice pathologies. This study considers the airflow and flow-structure interaction in an artificial up-scaled model of the human larynx, including self-oscillating vocal folds and fixed ventricular bands. As the majority of any significant fluid-structure interaction takes place between structures found within the larynx, this thesis is limited only to examining this component of the voice organ. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) has been used to produce full field measurements of the flow velocity for the jet emerging from the oscillating vocal folds. An important advance in this study is the ability to observe the glottal jet from the point at which it emerges from the vocal folds, thus permitting a more complete view of the overall jet geometry within the laryngeal ventricle than in previous work. Ensemble-averaged PIV results are presented for the experimental model at different phase steps, both with and without ventricular bands, to examine their impact on the dynamics of the human larynx and the glottal jet. Finally, the three-dimensional nature of the glottal jet is considered in order to further understand and test currently held assumptions about this aspect of the jet dynamics. This was achieved by undertaking PIV in a plane perpendicular to that already considered. It is shown that the ventricular bands have an impact on the flow separation point of the glottal jet and on the deflection of the jet centreline. Furthermore, the dynamics of the vocal folds alters when ventricular bands are present, but the glottal jet is found to exhibit similar three-dimensional behaviour whether or not ventricular bands are present.

Elastic bands are becoming more popular in strength and power training. Although increases in strength and power have been anecdotally reported with high loads of elastic resistance, there is no research on large band tensions and their effects on force and power variables. The purpose of this study was to quantify peak concentric force, peak concentric power and peak eccentric velocity produced by the subject when using differing levels of elastic resistance (0%, 20%, 50% and 75% of the total load being elastic resistance) in the bench press. Seven experienced male powerlifters and body builders participated in this study. Prior to subject testing all elastic bands were calibrated for force output throughout the bench press range of motion. Each subject performed a single repetition maximum press to determine the total correct testing load (85% of maximum press). The subjects then performed four presses with various elastic band resistances, each having the total equivalent weight of 85% of the subject’s maximal press weight at lockout. Dependent variables were peak concentric force, peak concentric power, and peak eccentric velocity as produced by the subject. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine the differences among the four levels of elastic resistance (ER) used in the study (α = 0.05). Compared to the baseline condition (2123.6 ± 499.9N), significantly lower average peak concentric force was observed with ER of 75% (1451.2 ± 151.0N, 31.9% decrease) (p = .010) and with an ER of 50% (1781.1 ± 174.3N, 16.4% decrease) (p = .052). When compared with baseline peak concentric power (702.6 ± 274.6W), higher peak power was observed in all band trials: 20% (895.2 ± 187.7W, 27.4% increase), 50% (972.5 ± 189.8W, 38.4% increase) and 75% (979.6 ± 171.0W, 39.4% increase) (p = .009; p = .007; p = .033, respectively). There was no significant difference in peak concentric power in any ER trials. No significant differences (p = .080) were seen in peak eccentric velocity. Therefore ER loads of 20, 50 and 75% provide greater stimuli for producing peak concentric power than no ER, with only a 20% load of ER maintaining the same peak concentric force production as baseline. ER loads of 50 and 75% may not be as effective a stimuli as free weights when the training objective is to increase force production. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

The purpose was to determine the velocity during strength and power training, with elastic resistance bands, in older adults. Nine older patients, who attended the day hospital rehabilitation program at Riverview Health Centre, were trained for power and strength of the ankle muscles using elastic resistance bands for 4 to 6 weeks. Training sessions were filmed to assess the velocity of training using Proanalyst software. Power training occurred at faster peak velocities as compared to strength training (p<0.001) for both muscle groups, however there were significant differences for average velocity only during training of plantar flexors (p<0.001). There was no significant difference between strength and power training in terms of within individual variability. However, a wide variability was observed between subjects in velocities they trained at and overlap was found between velocities for strength and power training. Hence, researchers should monitor velocity during different types of training in older adults.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Anthropology, 2002. / Bibliography: leaves 210-226.