Ankle sprains are one of the most common type of sports injury. They occur most frequently when the foot is in a supine or inverted position. Recovery from an ankle sprain can take from one and up to 26 weeks depending on the severity of the injury. During that period the individual will be unable to participate in any meaningful sports activity and as such it is important to be able to prevent the occurrence of such injuries. Prevention of ankle sprain injuries would require a better understanding of the risk factors of this injury. Several studies attempted to assess such risk actors by inducing foot inversion or supination however the platforms used in these studies were shown to be limited. Hence the main aim of this project is to develop a system that can be used to assess the effect of sudden foot and ankle inversion/supination on the musculoskeletal system of dynamic subjects (e.g. walking, running, jumping, etc.). For this purpose a three degrees of freedom (DOF) rotating platform has been designed, manufactured and installed in the Institute of Motion Analysis and Research (IMAR) Sports Laboratory. The platform rotates around 3 different axes allowing inversion or supination of the foot and ankle of dynamic subjects. The degree of rotation around each axis can easily be set by the researcher/operator. A strain gauge was used to detect foot strike to the platform. As a safety measure laser emitter/receivers check that the entire foot is on the footplate before the platform rotates. Optical encoders provide essential feedback of rotation angles, speed and acceleration. The necessary software and user interface for controlling the platform were also written and tested. The platform was synchronised with a bilateral four-channel EMG (electromyography) system and a 12 camera Vicon® MX-13 system thus allowing measurement of muscle activity and kinematic data during the supination of the foot. A set of software modules were written to allow automated management and processing of the data generated by the new system. The new system was then implemented in a study to validate it and to assess the role of shoes in ankle sprains. In this study, subjects would walk in three different foot conditions: barefoot, and with two different types of sports shoes, along the walkway of the Sports Laboratory where the platform was fitted. When a subject steps on the embedded platform, it rotates causing the subject's foot to supinate. At the same time, the EMG data from the peroneus longus, tibialis anterior, and lateral gastrocnemius muscles are recorded, along with the kinematics of the subject's whole body. The obtained results demonstrated the validity of the newly developed system. Data from the validation study also revealed increased muscle activity following induced foot supination in shod conditions compared to barefoot. Muscle activity of the rotating platform step was found to be significantly higher than the steps before and after. The platform rotation was also found to have an observable effect on body kinematics. The newly developed system is hoped to help provide a better understanding of the risk factors of ankle sprain injury and how to prevent this injury. The system can be used to help improve the design of current footwear and identify which footwear provides better protection against ankle sprain injury. The system can also be used to assess the effectiveness of different ankle injury rehabilitation schemes and different training programs that aim to reduce ankle sprain injuries. The new system can be utilised to identify individuals who are at risk of sustaining an ankle sprain injury. The system can also be utilised in studies outside the scope of ankle sprain injuries.

Problem: Running is one of the most widespread physical activities. Incorrect running technique, training quantity but also the runner's equipment can strongly affect health condition of the individual, both positively and negatively. For that reason various trends emerge in the area of running footwear. They include classical sports shoes with different types of impact attenuation as well as the minimalist footwear made to imitate barefoot running, which should be much more natural for humans, as insisted by B. Nigg in his book "Born to Run" - where he says that man was born to walk and run barefooted. Inappropriate shoes can cause various health complications, not only in the foot area. Objective: To find out how foot strike changes in the area of the foot-shoe interaction in running on flat ground when an amateur runner uses minimalist and sports footwear and to draw conclusions for training practice on the basis of the results. Methods: The thesis deals with amateur endurance running in different shoe types (minimalist and sports shoes). The study specimen consisted of 14 female runners (mean body weight 63,31 ± 4,89 kg, height 169,69 ± 4,71 cm, age 31,92 ± 5,34 years, speed in minimalist shoes (MO) 3,34 ± 0,06 m.s- 1 , speed in sports shoes (SO) 3,29 ± 0,06 m.s-1 , weekly mileage 37,54 ± 9,43...

This essay analyse the anti-dumping policy of the European Union, with specific focus on the anti-dumping tariff imposed on imports of ertain footwear from the People’s Republic of China from 1997 to 2002. Even though free trade is expected from the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) there are certain exceptions. One is when there is a suspicion that goods are being dumped in a foreign market, i.e. the exporter sells the product at a lower price in the foreign market than in its home market. Article VI in GATT regulates this together with the Anti-dumping Agreement. In 1997 EU imposed an anti-dumping measure on certain footwear imported from the People’s Republic of China. This measure was in effect until 2002 (the maximum time for an anti-dumping tariff is five years). We expect to see a decrease of footwear exports from the People’s Republic of China to the European Union during this period. By using a log-linear regression analysis we can see that the EU imports of Chinese footwear did indeed decrease from its trend otherwise during 1997 to 2002. Since the industry overall increased its sales during the same period, we draw the conclusion that the tariff was the reason for the decreased imports.

Traditional theories of industrial restructuring assign the most explanatory weight of the structural change phenomenon to increasing pressures via globalization and falling trade barriers. This thesis offers a new model of thinking about industrial restructuring that includes multiple stressors. The thesis focuses on three main drivers of structural change: market pressures, environmental regulation and changes in land use and land pricing, using two case studies of leather and footwear industrial clusters in Mexico, located in the cities of León and Guadalajara. Evidence of multiple drivers of structural change is found in the dissertation. Furthermore, responses to restructuring drivers in León and Guadalajara are found to be substantially different. Firms in the leather and footwear cluster in León have implemented countervailing strategies such as price competition, government lobbying, and more recently, investment in socio-economic research (competitiveness) projects. However, firms in the leather and footwear cluster in Guadalajara focused on a specific, high-end target market. At the larger, urban scale, footwear and its allied industries in the city of León resisted change and have tried to remain in operation while the city of Guadalajara has focused on a diversification strategy, attracting new (arguably more technically advanced) industries. This thesis offers empirical and theoretical advances. Empirically, it applies a firm demographics approach to the study of industrial clusters under multiple stressors. This approach has not been previously used on Mexican data. Theoretically, it demonstrates that future analyses of industrial complexes’ structural change can be strengthened through the use of an integrated assessment framework investigating the effect of multiple stressors (market forces, land pricing, technical change, environmental regulations, and consumer preferences) on industrial restructuring.

<p>This essay analyse the anti-dumping policy of the European Union, with specific focus on the anti-dumping tariff imposed on imports of ertain footwear from the People’s Republic of China from 1997 to 2002.</p><p>Even though free trade is expected from the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) there are certain exceptions. One is when there is a suspicion that goods are being dumped in a foreign market, i.e. the exporter sells the product at a lower price in the foreign market than in its home market. Article VI in GATT regulates this together with the Anti-dumping Agreement.</p><p>In 1997 EU imposed an anti-dumping measure on certain footwear imported from the People’s Republic of China. This measure was in effect until 2002 (the maximum time for an anti-dumping tariff is five years). We expect to see a decrease of footwear exports from the People’s Republic of China to the European Union during this period.</p><p>By using a log-linear regression analysis we can see that the EU imports of Chinese footwear did indeed decrease from its trend otherwise during 1997 to 2002. Since the industry overall increased its sales during the same period, we draw the conclusion that the tariff was the reason for the decreased imports.</p>

Self-regulatory Code of Conduct has widely been adopted by international brands to manage CSR issues in apparel and footwear supply chain for the last 2 decades. Increasingly, more apparel and footwear brands started to expand CSR scope to include environmental management in their supply chain. However, only very few international brands have disclosed their efforts on environmental management in their supply chain. This study aims to find out how apparel and footwear brands implement environmental management in their supply chain. Furthermore, what motivates them to carry out environmental management, and lastly, what challenges the industry encounters in carrying out effective environmental management. Primary and secondary data research were carried out in this study. Primary research, in a form of self-administered survey, was conducted for 11 brands and 15 of their respective suppliers. Secondary research was conducted through desktop research to gather additional information from brands, NGOs, academic studies and news. The study revealed environmental management in apparel and footwear supply chain is becoming more important. However, most of the brands’ approaches on environmental management are loose (i.e. lack industry-wide sustainably environmental management strategy), and small in scope (i.e. first tier supplier only). It is suggested apparel and footwear brands should improve effectiveness of environmental management program in their supply chain, by applying different implementation strategies internally, with both brands’ and suppliers’ governments, suppliers as well as their stakeholders. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Traditional theories of industrial restructuring assign the most explanatory weight of the structural change phenomenon to increasing pressures via globalization and falling trade barriers. This thesis offers a new model of thinking about industrial restructuring that includes multiple stressors. The thesis focuses on three main drivers of structural change: market pressures, environmental regulation and changes in land use and land pricing, using two case studies of leather and footwear industrial clusters in Mexico, located in the cities of León and Guadalajara. Evidence of multiple drivers of structural change is found in the dissertation. Furthermore, responses to restructuring drivers in León and Guadalajara are found to be substantially different. Firms in the leather and footwear cluster in León have implemented countervailing strategies such as price competition, government lobbying, and more recently, investment in socio-economic research (competitiveness) projects. However, firms in the leather and footwear cluster in Guadalajara focused on a specific, high-end target market. At the larger, urban scale, footwear and its allied industries in the city of León resisted change and have tried to remain in operation while the city of Guadalajara has focused on a diversification strategy, attracting new (arguably more technically advanced) industries. This thesis offers empirical and theoretical advances. Empirically, it applies a firm demographics approach to the study of industrial clusters under multiple stressors. This approach has not been previously used on Mexican data. Theoretically, it demonstrates that future analyses of industrial complexes’ structural change can be strengthened through the use of an integrated assessment framework investigating the effect of multiple stressors (market forces, land pricing, technical change, environmental regulations, and consumer preferences) on industrial restructuring.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 251-287.

Esta dissertação objetivou a avaliação de perdas de matérias-primas em uma empresa de componentes em TPU do setor calçadista do Rio Grande do Sul mas abordou, também, as condições de trabalho sob a ótica do trabalhador e dos especialistas a fim de melhor entender as perdas da empresa e contribuir para a melhoria de todo o processo. O estudo é apresentado em três artigos: o primeiro teve por objetivo principal, após uma revisão da literatura, estudar como os diferentes modelos de sistemas produtivos consideram as perdas de processo, e selecionar uma ferramenta que possa colaborar na redução de perdas de matérias-primas (que causam perdas econômicas) na empresa estudada e que utiliza o método de produção artesanal mas com características também fordistas. Foi selecionado o método de Análise Macroergonômica do Trabalho (AMT) (Guimarães, 2000) por ter, como característica principal, a participação dos funcionários em todas suas etapas, o que é fundamental para a melhoria do processo, principalmente no caso artesanal, já que ele depende do conhecimento tácito dos trabalhadores. O método permitiu a identificação das perdas no processo e sugestões de melhoria das condições de trabalho, apresentadas no artigo 2. O artigo 3 apresenta as melhorias implementadas e os resultados alcançados que acabaram por diminuir as perdas de matérias-primas de 49,17% para 39% . / This work aimed to evaluate losses of raw materials into a components company in the TPU shoe industry of Rio Grande do Sul, but also raised, the working conditions from the perspective of workers and specialists to better understand the demand the company (the losses) but also contribute to improving the entire process. The study is presented in three papers: the first was aimed at following a review of the literature, studying how the different models of production systems consider the loss process, and select a tool that can assist in reducing losses of raw material (which cause economic losses) in the studied company, which uses the method of craft production but also Fordist characteristics. He was selected the method of Macroergonomic Work Analysis (MA) (Guimarães, 2000), having as main characteristic, the participation of employees in all its stages, which is essential for improving the process, especially for small-scale, since it depends on the tacit knowledge of workers. The method allowed the identification of losses in the process and suggestions for improvement of working conditions, outlined in Article 2. Article 3 sets out the improvements implemented and results achieved which ultimately reduce the losses of raw material of 49.17% to 39%.

Knowledge of the three dimensional shape of the human foot is important in the design of shoes to facilitate correct fit. Currently only the static shape of the foot is considered despite the fact that the foot undergoes changes in its shape, particularly in athletic pursuits, due to associated movements and loadings. Attempts, presented in research, have been made to measure dynamic foot shape. However, to date, measurements have been limited in detail as well as restricted to walking gait, as a result of the method. The work of this thesis aimed to develop a methodology that would be capable of measuring the three dimensional shape of the human foot during the stance phase of gait, in locomotion speeds associated with running.