During the growth spurt (GS) which forms part of the mid-adolescence period of boys (13-17 years), considerable changes take place in the body composition of boys. It is therefore an unstable period where imbalances in body proportions (muscle mass, fat mass, neurological development) occur, that might have an effect on sport performance. It is also accompanied by changes in physical and motor fitness. The study firstly aimed to determine anthropometric growth changes in stature, arm span, mass, sitting height and sitting height ratio during mid-adolescence over a period of three years. The study secondly aimed to investigate the developmental changes in physical fitness (muscle strength, aerobic endurance) and motor fitness abilities (speed, agility, hand- eye coordination, explosive power) during the mid-adolescence phase of boys and finally to investigate possible relationships between anthropometric and physical and motor fitness abilities over the course of three years. A convenience sample consisting of all the grade 8 learners (n=182) of a quintile 5 high school in Potchefstroom in the North-West province of South Africa was selected to participate in a longitudinal growth research project over a three year period. Only the boys, with a mean age of 13.58 years in grade 8, of whom 95.4 % were white, 2.3% black and 2.3% colored boys, were part of the study. In 2010, 87 boys had complete measurements, while the final group in 2012 with completed follow-up measurements, were 73 boys. The physical and motor fitness components were measured according to the Australian Sport Search Program consisting of 10 tests (4 anthropometrical tests, 5 motor fitness tests, 1 physical fitness test). The cricket ball throwing test was added as an additional test. The anthropometrical measurements were made using the protocol of ISAK, while sitting height was measured according to the Canadian Sports for Life protocol. Sitting height ratio was calculated according to the formula (sitting height/stature x 100). The data was processed by “Statistica for Windows” Statsoft-computer program package. Descriptive statistics that included means (M), standard deviations (SD) and minimum and maximum values were used. A repeated measures over time analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a Bonferonni adjustment was done to analyze the differences over a period of 3 years within the group for all variables, where p<0.05 indicates a statistically significant difference. A partial correlation analysis was used to determine correlations between variables. Practical significance of correlations was determined according to Cohen’s d-value (0.1=small, 0.3=medium, 0.5=large). The results showed that during mid-adolescence in the period 13.58-14.58 years, boys grow considerably in stature, body mass, arm span and sitting height with accompanying improvement in motor and physical fitness abilities while sitting height ratio showed the greatest increase from 14.58-15.57 years. Stature, mass and arm span showed a parallel development up to 15 years after which further development leveled off, while mass increase showed no leveling off. Speed, agility, coordination and isometric-dynamic shoulder strength (basketball throw) also showed the biggest and significant improvement from 13.58-15.57 years, while explosive leg power and upper body arm and shoulder strength (vertical jump, cricket ball throw) showed the biggest and significant improvements during the period from 14.58 to 15.57 years. Significant correlations up to r=0.74; p<0.05, were found between changes in physical and motor fitness abilities and anthropometric variables, although the correlations become smaller over the 3-year period. Hand-eye coordination showed no correlation with any anthropometrical changes, while upper body strength correlated with all the anthropometrical measurements except sitting height ratio throughout the three years. It was concluded that the most accelerated growth and development took place from 13.58- 15.57 years in boys when they are in their first high school year and which falls within the mid-adolescent period (13-15 years). Furthermore, clear relationships were found between anthropometric, motor- and physical fitness variables. This knowledge of the rate of growth and motor fitness development and the relationships between these variables during the midadolescence period can provide a better understanding of changes that boys underwent during the mid-adolescent period, and can help monitoring the level of physical maturity in adolescents in order to develop training, competition and rehabilitation programs according to their developmental and not their chronological age. This cannot only prevent injuries, but also prevent early burnout in sport. / MA (Sport Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Seafloor hydrothermal systems play a key role in Earth s energy and geochemical budgets. They also support the existence and development of complex chemosynthetic biological ecosystems that use the mineral-laden fluids as a source of energy and nutrients. This dissertation focuses on two inter-related topics: (1) the heat output at mid-ocean ridge (MOR) hydrothermal sites, and (2) the hydrothermal response to earthquakes at mid-ocean ridges. The response of mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal systems to seismic and magmatic activity could provide a means of using seafloor observations to assess processes occurring at crustal depths. Three decades of study of the ocean floor have made clear that tectonic/volcanic perturbations and changes in the hydrothermal activity are correlated. Yet, this relationship is still highly misunderstood. In this dissertation, we developed a mathematical model of hydrothermal circulation affected by magmatic and/or tectonic events occurring at depth. We showed that the perturbations they generate need not propagate through the entire upflow zone, as previously suggested, but need only affect the movement of the boundary layers. In this case, the fluid residence time in the discharge zone is on the order of years. The determination of heat output at MOR hydrothermal sites provides important constraints on the physics of these processes. Yet, such measurements are still very limited, available only for ~30 sites out of the ~10^3 estimated worldwide. This dissertation reports the first measurements of hydrothermal heat output at 9°50' N on the East Pacific Rise (EPR), which has been the most intensively studied site for the past 20 years (~10^2 expeditions). The values we obtained helped constraining the afore-mentioned mathematical model, which was tested based on the March 1995 microearthquake swarm near 9°50' N, EPR. Our results showed that the current interpretation based on a thermal cracking episode at the bottom of the upflow zone, may be incorrect. We argue that a diking scenario better explains the seismic and temperature data, while being consistent with the mechanics of inflation of the axial magma chamber in the 9°50' N, EPR area between two major eruptions, in 1991 and 2006.

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was that of evaluating the Mid-Management concept of cooperative education at Tarrant County Junior College's South Campus. Evaluative data regarding the various parts of the Mid-Management program were obtained from current students, graduates, and employers, through use of primary source questionnaires and interviews. This study leads to the conclusion that promotional opportunities for students and especially graduates have been enhanced by more than 15 percent and, that a significant number of students and graduates have experienced an improvement in self-image and an increase in self-confidence. It is concluded further, that employers have perceived an increase in their Mid-Management employees' understanding of the manager's job and in their performance on the job, and that employers positively endorse the job-related-project approach of cooperative education. Earnings of both current students and graduates increased substantially after participation in the program; some of these improvements can probably be attributed to the program itself while others were due to inflation, tenure on the job, and other factors.

Submitted by Leonardo Cavalcante (leo.ocavalcante@gmail.com) on 2018-05-02T19:03:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 737510 bytes, checksum: a205d9714f9ec661929aea54c8a55145 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-02T19:03:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 737510 bytes, checksum: a205d9714f9ec661929aea54c8a55145 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The main goal of this work is to study a new sequence space introduced in 2014 by Karn and Sinha, namely the space of mid p-summable sequences. More speci cally, we will study a recent work by G. Botelho and J.R. Campos, which deepens the seminal study of this space and presents new classes of operators involving the new space and the classical sequence spaces of absolutely and weakly p-summable sequences, called absolutely mid p-summing and weakly mid p-summing operators. From this, we study a new factorization theorem, involving these new classes of operators, for the absolutely p-summing operators. / O principal objetivo desta dissertação é estudar um novo espaço de sequências introduzido por Karn e Sinha em 2014, a saber, o espaçoo das sequências mid p-somáveis. Mais especi camente, estudaremos um recente trabalho de G. Botelho e J. R. Campos que aprofunda o estudo seminal do espa co e apresenta novas classes de operadores envolvendo este novo espa co e os espa cos cl assicos de sequ^encias absolutamente e fracamente p-somáveis, denominados operadores absolutamente mid p-somantes e operadores fracamente mid p-somantes. A partir disto, estudamos um novo teorema de fatoração, envolvendo estas novas classes de operadores, para os operadores absolutamente p-somantes. mid p-somáveis; Operadores absolutamente e fracamente mid p-somantes.

Efter att lagen gällande hur upprättandet av en separat hållbarhetsrapportering infördes år 2016, av den svenska regeringen, har hållbarhet blivit en allt viktigare del ur bolagens verksamhet. Vidare har intresset för hållbarhet fått en bredare samsyn inom finanssektorn, där målet är att nå en hållbar utveckling för landet genom att styra mot investeringar som är hållbara på sikt. Studiens syfte är att analysera hur marknaden reagerar vid offentliggörandet av hållbarhetsnyheter och om det föreligger en skillnad beroende på bolagets storlek. För att undersöka marknadsreaktionen har en eventstudie genomförts med utgångspunkt ur publicering av hållbarhetsnyheter mellan åren 2010–2020. Vidare har multipla regressioner tillämpats för att kunna urskilja signifikanta skillnader och besvara studiens hypoteser och slutligen forskningsfrågan. Resultatet för studiens hypotesprövningar visar att det inte föreligger några signifikanta skillnader i marknadsreaktion gällande hur svenska bolag, listade på Large- och Mid cap, påverkas vid publicering av hållbarhetsnyheter. Slutsatsen av analysen väcker därmed frågan om hållbarhetsnyheter har en påverkan på ett bolags aktieavkastning, eller om intressenter i stället värderar andra faktorer som exempelvis värdemaximering. Begränsningar för studien grundar sig delvis i de få antal nyheter som har studerats. En annan begränsadande faktor ur ett storleksperspektiv är att studien har bortsett från Small cap. En rekommendation för vidare forskning är därmed att ha ett större urval av nyheter samt inkludera Small Cap för att få ett helhetsperspektiv av den svenska börsmarknaden. / Since the law on how the preparation of a separate sustainability report was introduced by the Swedish government in 2016, sustainability has become an increasingly important part of the companies operations. Furthermore, the interest in sustainability has gained a broader consensus in the financial sector, where the goal is to achieve sustainable development for the country by steering towards investments that are sustainable in the long term. The purpose of the study is to analyze how the market responds when publishing sustainability news and whether there is a difference depending on the size of the company. In order to investigate the market reaction, an event study was conducted based on the publication of sustainability news between the years 2010-2020. Furthermore, multiple regressions have been applied to be able do discern significant differences and answer the study ́s hypotheses and finally the research question. The results of the study ́s hypothesis tests show that there are no significant differences in market reaction regarding how Swedish companies, listed on Large- and Mid cap, are affected when publishing sustainability news. The conclusion of the analysis therefore raises the issue of whether sustainability news has an impact on a company ́s stock return, or whether stakeholders instead value other factors such as value maximization. Limitations of the study are partly based on the few news items that have been studied. Another limiting factor from a size perspective is that the study has excluded Small cap. A recommendation for further research is thus to have a wider selection of news and to include Small cap to get a holistic perspective of the Swedish stock market.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-163). / Physical oceanographers have known for several decades the total amount of abyssal mixing and upwelling required to balance the deep-water formation, but are still working to understand the mechanisms and locations-how and where it happens. From observational studies, we know that areas of rough topography are important and the hundreds of Grand-Canyon sized canyons that line mid-ocean ridges have particularly energetic mixing. To better understand the mechanisms by which rough topography translates into energetic currents and mixing, I studied diffusive boundary layers over varying topography using theoretical approaches and idealized numerical simulations using the ROMS model. In this dissertation, I show a variety of previously unidentified characteristics of diffusive boundary layers that are likely relevant for understanding the circulation of the abyssal ocean. These boundary layers share many important properties with observed flows in abyssal canyons, like increased kinetic energy near topographic sills and strong currents running from the abyssal plains up the slopes of the mid-ocean ridges toward their crests. They also have a previously unknown capacity to accelerate into overflows for a variety of oceanographically relevant shapes and sizes of topography. This acceleration happens without external forcing, meaning such overflows may be ubiquitous in the deep ocean. These boundary layers also can force exchange of large volumes of fluid between the relatively unstratified boundary layer and the stratified far-field fluid, altering the stratification far from the boundary. We see these effects in boundary layers in two- and three-dimensions, with and without rotation. In conclusion, these boundary layer processes, though previously neglected, may be a source of a dynamically important amount of abyssal upwelling, profoundly affecting predictions of the basin-scale circulation. This type of mechanism cannot be captured by the kind of mixing parameterizations used in current global climate models, based on a bottom roughness. Therefore, there is much work still to do to better understand how these boundary layers behave in more realistic contexts and how we might incorporate that understanding into climate models. / by Rebecca Walsh Dell. / Ph.D.

Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Bestimmung der kleinsten relevanten Veränderung des wahrgenommenen Mundgesundheitszustandes, der Minimal Important Difference (MID), des Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP). Die MID sollte für die deutsche Version des OHIP mit 49 Fragen (OHIP-G49), die deutsche Kurzversion mit 14 Fragen (OHIP-G14) sowie für die einzelnen Dimensionen der deutschen und englischen Version des OHIP bestimmt werden. Es handelt sich um eine klinische Fallserie mit 224 konsekutiv rekrutierten, prothe-tischen Patienten. Die mundgesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität wurde mittels des OHIP- G49 an zwei Terminen vor der Behandlung (Basisuntersuchungen) sowie vier und sechs Wochen nach Behandlungsende (Nachkontrolluntersuchun-gen) bestimmt. Zu den Nachkontrolluntersuchungen schätzten die Patienten zu-sätzlich die Veränderung ihres Mundgesundheitszustandes gegenüber dem Zeit-punkt vor der Therapie anhand einer globalen Frage ein. Anhand der Ergebnisse der Basis- und Nachkontrolluntersuchungen wurde der Median der Differenzen der OHIP-Summenwerte errechnet. Dieser Wert entspricht der MID. Für die deutsche Version des OHIP mit 49 Fragen wurde ein Wert von 6,0 OHIP-Punkten ermittelt. Der Wert für den kurzen Fragebogen OHIP-G14 betrug 2,0 OHIP-Punkte. Für die Dimensionen der deutschen und englischen Sprachversion des OHIP konnten nur teilweise Ergebnisse gefunden werden. Das Studienergebnis lässt den Schluss zu, dass für beide untersuchten Versionen des OHIP ein klar definierter, minimal relevanter Unterschied (MID) der Summen-werte existiert. Die MID unterstützt die Interpretation der klinischen Bedeutung von Veränderungen des vom Patienten wahrgenommenen Mundgesundheitszustan-des. Sie stellt eine wichtige Größe zur Bewertung prothetischer Therapieeffekte dar.

Syfte: För tio år sedan lade EU-kommissionen fram ett förslag om direktiv gällande jämställdhet i börsnoterade företags bolagsstyrelser. 2020 återuppväcktes frågan och är idag högst aktuell. Följer man aktuell utveckling förväntas Sverige inte ha helt jämställda styrelser förens 2033, åtta år efter EU-kommissionens mål som är 2025. Jämställdhet förväntas påverka många delar av en organisation. Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka om könsfördelningen i styrelsens sammansättning påverkar företagets lönsamhet.   Metod: I studien används en kvantitativ metod där studieobjektet är 65 bolag noterade på Small- och Mid Cap listan på Stockholmsbörsen. Data har samlats in med hjälp av Retriever Business och företagens årsredovisningar. En multipel regressionsanalys har genomförts för att besvara de framställda hypoteserna där RE och Tobin’s Q har använts som mått på lönsamhet.   Resultat &amp; slutsats: Resultatet av den multipla regressionsanalysen tyder på att det inte finns något samband mellan jämställdhet i styrelsen och företagets lönsamhet. Detta gäller för bolag noterade på Small- och Mid Cap listan på Stockholmsbörsen. Resultatet indikerar att det inte spelar någon roll sett till lönsamhet hur könsfördelningen ser ut i styrelsens sammansättning.   Teoretiskt- och praktiskt bidrag: Vårt bidrag till forskningen är ett försök att täppa till den kunskapslucka som finns kring sambandet mellan företagets lönsamhet och jämställdhet i styrelsen utifrån ett svenskt perspektiv. Vårt bidrag till näringslivet är att lönsamhet inte bör vara en faktor som påverkar beslut om jämställdhet i styrelsens uppsättning.   Förslag på framtida forskning: Studien är begränsad till företag listade på Small- och Mid Cap på Stockholmsbörsen under en 5-årsperiod. Dessutom innefattar studien endast ett antal kontrollvariabler. Framtida forskning bör undersöka ett större urval under en längre tidsperiod. Dessutom kan fler kontrollvariabler tas med för att minska risken för felaktiga slutsatser kring ett samband. / Purpose: Ten years ago, the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive on gender equality in the company boards of listed companies. In 2020, the issue was revived and is today highly topical. If companies follow current developments, Sweden is not expected to have fully equal boards until 2033, eight years after the European Commission's target of 2025. Gender equality is expected to affect many parts of a firm. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the gender distribution in the composition of the board affects the company's financial performance.   Method: The study uses a quantitative method where the study object is 65 companies listed on the Small- and Mid Cap list on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Data has been collected using Retriever Business and companies’ annual reports. A multiple regression analysis has been performed to answer the hypotheses presented where ROE and Tobin's Q have been used as a measure of profitability.   Result &amp; conclusions: The results of the multiple regression analysis indicate that there is no association between gender equality on the board and financial performance measured in profitability. This applies to companies listed on the Small- and Mid Cap list on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The result indicates that it does not matter in terms of profitability what the gender distribution looks like in the composition of the board. Contribution: Our contribution to the research is an attempt to close the knowledge gap that exists around the connection between financial performance and gender equality in the board from a Swedish perspective. Our contribution to the business community is that profitability should not be a factor that influences decisions on gender equality in the board of directors.   Suggestions for future research: The study is limited to small- and medium sized companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange for a 5-year period. In addition, the study includes only a few numbers of control variables. Future research should examine a larger sample over a longer period. In addition, more control variables can be included to reduce the risk of erroneous conclusions about a relationship.

This thesis aimed to clarify the essential factors involved in externalising audio over headphones. Extensive research was conducted, examining binaural cues and the latest advancements in the field. A novel approach was proposed, which applied HRIRs and BRIRs on a Mid-Side decomposition. The objective was to enhance frontal externalization while increasing control over centre-panned and side-panned elements. The proposed method underwent rigorous testing in various setups, accompanied by objective and subjective evaluations. The objective measures were then correlated with the findings from the subjective evaluations. Interaural coherence analysis revealed that the BRIR exhibited lower overall coherence values than the HRIR. This was anticipated, considering BRIRs capture room acoustics that impact sound perception compared to anechoic conditions. Introducing simple room acoustics, such as early reflections and reverberation tails, significantly reduces the coherence in higher frequencies for HRIR. Connecting these findings to the conducted listening test, it is observed that lower IC generally corresponded to a wider audio configuration. However, assessing frontal externalization proved challenging. Among the tested configurations, the two BRIR models achieved the most width, with the unsmoothed version performing slightly better. This suggests a tradeoff between externalization and colouration, as the smoothed BRIR model excelled in spectral colouration and preference. For the HRIR, adding room acoustics slightly increased the width. It received lower ratings regarding spectral colouration and was not preferred over the HRIR model without room acoustics. This reinforces the significance of preserving the original spectral characteristics. / Denna avhandling hade som mål att klargöra de väsentliga faktorer som är involverade i att externalisera ljud över hörlurar. Omfattande forskning genomfördes, där binaurala ledtrådar och de senaste framstegen inom området undersöktes. Ett nytt tillvägagångssätt föreslogs, där HRIRs och BRIRs applicerades på en Mid-Sid-uppdelning. Målet var att förbättra frontal externalisering i kombination med mer kontroll över centrerade och sido-justerade element. Den föreslagna metoden genomgick rigorösa tester i olika inställningar, åtföljda av objektiva och subjektiva utvärderingar. Objektiva mätningar korrelerades sedan med resultaten från de subjektiva utvärderingarna. Analysen av interaural koherens visade att BRIR hade lägre övergripande koherensvärden än HRIR. Detta var väntat eftersom BRIR fångar upp rumslig akustik som påverkar ljuduppfattningen jämfört med anekoiska förhållanden. Att införa enkla rumsliga akustikegenskaper, såsom tidiga reflektioner och efterklangssvansar, minskar signifikant koherensen i högre frekvenser för HRIR. Genom att koppla samman dessa resultat med de genomförda lyssningstesterna kan man observera att lägre interaural koherens generellt korresponderade med en bredare ljudkonfiguration. Dock visade det sig vara utmanande att bedöma frontal externalisering. Bland de testade konfigurationerna uppnådde de två BRIR-modellerna störst bredd, där en icke spektrum-justerad version presterade något bättre. Detta tyder på en avvägning mellan externalisering och färgning, eftersom den slätade BRIR-modellen presterade bra i både färgning av ljud och preferens. För HRIR ökade bredden något genom att lägga till rumslig akustik. Den fick lägre betyg avseende spektralfärgning och föredrogs inte framför HRIR-modellen utan rumslig akustik. Detta understryker vikten av att bevara de ursprungliga spektrala egenskaperna.

The design and analysis of large casted parts present significant challenges due to their complex geometry. Finite Element (FE) modeling is a vital tool for understanding the performance of casted components. However, the computational requirements associated with these parts often lead to excessive processing times and resource utilization. This thesis aims to enhance the efficiency of the mid-surface model creation by developing an FE modeling approach suited explicitly for large casted components. The study begins by exploring the background of casted parts and their applications. A comprehensive analysis of modeling and meshing techniques is conducted, emphasizing their application to large casted components. Building upon this knowledge, different ideas are examined, leading to the proposal of a methodology combining CAD strategies for design features, hybrid meshing techniques, and approaches aimed at reducing FE modeling time to streamline the overall process.To validate the proposed approach, a series of case studies involving casted parts with varying levels of complexity are undertaken. Real-world casting process parameters are considered, highlighting the advantages and limitations in each ideation phase. The proposed methodology is tested and show cased to expert engineers to evaluate its efficiency and feasibility. Furthermore, the efficiency of the new approach is quantitatively evaluated in terms of processing time. The developed methodology offers engineers and researchers a powerful tool to accelerate the design process and optimize FE modeling time while managing computational costs. As industries continue to push the boundaries of size and complexity in casted part design, the insights and techniques presented in this thesis offer a valuable resource for addressing the various engineering challenges inherent in future endeavors. / Utformningen och analysen av stora gjutna delar innebär betydande utmaningar på grund av deras komplexa geometri. Finita Element (FE)-modellering är ett viktigt verktyg för att förstå prestandan hos gjutna komponenter. De beräkningskrav som är förknippade med dessa delar leder dock ofta till alltför långa handläggningstider och resursutnyttjande. Detta examensarbete syftar till att förbättra effektiviteten av skapandet av mittyteta modeller genom att utveckla en FE-modelleringsmetod som är specifikt lämpad för stora gjutna komponenter. Studien börjar med att utforska bakgrunden till gjutna delar och deras tillämpningar. En omfattande analys av modellerings-och diskret iseringstekniker genomförs, med tonvikt på deras tillämpning på stora gjutna komponenter. Med utgångspunkt i denna kunskap undersöks olika idéer, vilket leder till förslaget om en metod som kombinerar CAD-strategier för designfunktioner, hybridmodelleringstekniker och tillvägagångssätt som syftar till att minska FE-modelleringstiden för att effektivisera den övergripande processen. För att validera det föreslagna tillvägagångssättet genomförs en serie fallstudier som involverar gjutna delar med varierande nivåer av komplexitet. Verkliga gjutprocessparametrar beaktas, vilket belyser fördelarna och begränsningarna i varje idéfas. Den föreslagna metoden testas och visas upp för expertingenjörer för att utvärdera dess effektivitet och genomförbarhet. Dessutom utvärderas effektiviteten av det nya tillvägagångssättet kvantitativt i termer av handläggningstid. Den utvecklade metoden erbjuder ingenjörer och forskare ett kraftfullt verktyg för att påskynda designprocessen och optimera FE-modelleringstiden samtidigt som de hanterar beräkningskostnader. När industrier fortsätter att tänja på gränserna för storlek och komplexitet idesign av gjutna delar, erbjuder de insikter och tekniker som presenteras i denna avhandling en värdefull resurs för att ta itu med de olika tekniska utmaningarna som är inneboende i framtida strävanden.