Thesis name: The pace of the game in the women's tennis singles at the US Open 2018. The purpose of thesis: The purpose of this thesis is finding the pace of the game in rally at the US Open 2018 in the women's tennis singles and comparing the pace of the game in rally after the first serve and after the second serve. Also we want to compare the pace of the opening and closing games, similarly we want to compare the pace of the game in rally in matches with the participation of the selected player. Method: The basic method, which has been used in this thesis, is the notational system analysis. The subject of this method was the indirect observing of video recordings 11 women's singles matches at the US Open 2018. The variables monitored were the replacement time and the number of beats in rally. There was a condition for the minimum number of strokes played in rally, which was four or more strokes between players. Based on the recorded data, the pace of the game was calculated by dividing the rally time and beats. Results: The average pace of the game is 1,48 ± 0,06 seconds. The average number of strokes in rally is 6,68 ± 0,9, the average rally time is 9,86 ± 1,35. The average pace of rally in the post-filing session was 0,11 seconds slower than the pace of rally in the second post. The...

Consistent between-individual differences in behaviour (termed “animal personality”) may be driven by adaptive differences in behavioural and physiological life-history traits. The Pace of Life Syndrome (POLS) hypothesis predicts a suit of correlations between those life-history traits along a fast-slow continuum. Therefore, according to the POLS, individuals that are fast-paced would be bolder, more explorative, show high growth-rates, lower immunity and a higher metabolic rate. A mechanistic link between such traits could also explain variation in cognitive traits, where bold individuals are faster at a given task but pay less attention to external cues and therefore make decisions less accurately. Here, I tested the POLS hypothesis focusing on between and within-individual variance in boldness, metabolic rate (MR), cognitive performance (as decision-making performance) and exploration in the hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus. In addition, I also investigated the potential role of anthropogenic disturbances (constant light exposure) as a driver of between and within-individual variation in boldness. Hermit crabs demonstrated consistent between-individual differences in boldness and exploration, providing evidence for the presence of animal personality. However, variation between individuals in boldness, exploration and cognitive performance were not underpinned by variation in MR. Although there were no between-individual correlations among MR and behaviour, MR did co-vary with within-individual variance in boldness. My results indicate that less predictable hermit crabs, on average, have a higher MR during startle responses compared with those that are relatively consistent in their behaviour. Boldness was positively correlated with exploration rate, indicating that more explorative were also bolder, as well as cognitive performance, as bold individuals had a better performance than shy. Finally, constant light exposure is likely to modify hermit crab personality and physiology. Hermit crabs kept under a constant light regime were less bold and had a higher metabolic rate, than when kept under standard light and dark regime, indicating possible effects light pollution in this species. These results only partially support the POLS hypothesis.

Animal personality is found in a wide range of taxa, yet our knowledge of what maintains consistent among-individual variation in behaviour is still incomplete. Many personality traits are associated with fitness, leading to the expectation that, under selection, genetic (and among-individual) variation will be eroded over time. Several adaptive models have been developed in order to explain this maintenance of variation. These include state-dependence, state-behaviour feedback loops, life-history and behavioural coadaptation and the Pace of Life syndrome. These models represent good starting points for thinking about what drives and maintains among-individual variation in behaviour, and while empirical support for these models is mixed, one thing they do have in common is the assumption of a significant genetic basis underpinning personality traits. Significant heritability is required for an evolutionary response to selection and for among-individual variation to be adaptive. The univariate estimates of heritability for personality traits that are growing in the literature, while useful, are likely insufficient to predict how personality traits will respond to selection. This thesis uses the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata, and other species to explore patterns of among-individual and genetic variation in personality traits, advocating the benefits of using multivariate perspectives throughout. Firstly, the among-individual covariance structure between measures of boldness, growth and metabolic rate are estimated in a test of the Pace of Life syndrome. Secondly, an appraisal of the relative strength of maternal and genetic effects on offspring personality and how it changes over ontogeny. Next, a comprehensive treatment of sexual dimorphism in behaviour and size followed by analysis of genotype-by-sex interactions using both univariate and multivariate methods. Finally, a comparative analysis of personality in 7 species of small fish, identifying the main axis of among-individual variation from a single assay in each and quantifying the phylogenetic signal.

Background: The Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a program of care that enrolls nursing home eligible and offers them community-based long-term services and supports (LTSS). Many PACE enrollees are “dual eligibles” (DEs) meaning they qualify for Medicare and Medicaid services. Dental care is a unique feature of PACE among LTSS, as many LTSS do not include dental care, even though this population has difficulty in accessing these services. However, little is known about the delivery of dental care at PACE and how dental care and oral health promotion and prevention is being integrated into PACE. Thus, the purpose of this study is to describe the delivery and integration of dental care at PACE. Methods: Based on ten preliminary interviews and the PACE manual from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a 56-question survey was developed to describe the delivery and integration of dental care at PACE across the country. In addition, the survey asked programs to rank their focus among five specialties (dentistry, mental health, optometry, audiology, podiatry), to determine if a program’s focus on dental care would influence the delivery and integration of dental services at PACE, and if this would lead the program to have a very high percentage of new and continuous enrollees with regular dental examinations. A publicly available contact list was obtained from CMS and the survey was distributed to all 124 PACE programs via email. Results: Respondents in this study represented 35 programs (28.2%) in 23 states (74.2%). Most programs had no limits for dental care, minimal waitlists, and provide most dental services without exclusions. This is evident by the 51.4% of programs that have no dental budget, 100% of programs providing preventive and basic restorative dental care, and nearly 100% offering advanced restorative services. Many programs also did not have a waitlist for non-emergent dental care. Few programs include a dentist in the routine operations of the PACE program, as evidenced by few programs having dentists conduct the dental assessment for the initial comprehensive assessment or having a dental director. A statistically significant association with a high percentage of reported utilization of dental examinations was detected with programs having a system for quality assurance for dental care (t=0.358, p=0.024), a protocol for a dental cleaning every 6-12 months (t=0.595, p<0.001), mandating a comprehensive dental examination (t=0.390, p=0.007), and providing preventive dental services onsite with built-in equipment (t=0.454, p=0.001). No factors were statistically associated with the focus ranking for dentistry among the other specialties. Conclusion: This study suggests that compared to nursing homes, PACE enrollees may have greater ability to receive dental care without limitations of the state adult Medicaid dental benefit. Dentistry also appears to be a high focus for some PACE programs. This study has begun to identify structures that support positive outcomes that can be used to develop best practices and guidelines for the delivery of dental care in PACE and other LTSS. Future studies are needed to better understand barriers and facilitators to the delivery of dental care and other specialty services.

This study is mostly based on previous research, which includes Sub-national actor’s attitudes and regional action towards the European Union. The purpose of the study is to investigate if four Swedish municipalities in Värmland operate internationally towards the European Union and deepen an understanding of their actions. The main research question is:   - How can we increase our understanding of municipal action against the European Union?   The research questions of this study are answered through qualitative method and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Eight key informants in position either as politicians or official workers were selected for interviews whose position is either politicians or official workers. The results were then analysed based on theories such as Fusion and regional action. The study shows that the four Swedish municipalities in Sweden operate internationally in varied form. The actions of smaller municipalities seem to be dictated to large extend by the available resources.

Thesis (M.A. (Godsdienswetenskap))

Submitted by Jordan (jordanbiblio@gmail.com) on 2017-02-16T16:01:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2015_Helany Morbin.pdf: 2068490 bytes, checksum: 5386564b7921004575f672ad31d03480 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jordan (jordanbiblio@gmail.com) on 2017-02-17T12:27:21Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2015_Helany Morbin.pdf: 2068490 bytes, checksum: 5386564b7921004575f672ad31d03480 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-17T12:27:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2015_Helany Morbin.pdf: 2068490 bytes, checksum: 5386564b7921004575f672ad31d03480 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-16 / CAPES / Este estudo tem como objeto discutir a oralidade e o ritmo como possibilitadores de sentidos e de práticas discursivas com a linguagem. Nosso material de análise são os manuais didáticos de escolas públicas de Ensino Médio de Cuiabá/MT. A escolha desse material se justifica pela utilização deles em mais de 30 escolas públicas dessa cidade, as quais abarcam um número bastante considerável de alunos. O objetivo geral é analisar como a oralidade e o ritmo são abordados nesses materiais, a partir dos exercícios propostos e da concepção que se atribui para o termo ritmo a fim de compreendermos como os efeitos de sentidos, nestes espaços, estão sendo materializados. Para tanto, os objetivos específicos são: apresentar fundamentação teórica que aborde discussões sobre a oralidade e o ritmo, a partir de estudiosos de formações discursivas sobre esse tema; analisar os documentos oficiais de escolas públicas, que direcionam o nosso objeto; identificar onde estão os problemas que não valorizam o ritmo no ensino para desenvolver práticas discursivas que requerem a oralidade, e por último, refletir sobre práticas pedagógicas de trabalho com a análise do discurso e a oralidade, com o reconhecimento do ritmo. Para tanto, foram levantadas algumas perguntas de pesquisa que norteiam o estudo ora proposto: como a modalidade oral está sendo tratada nos documentos oficiais do MEC? Como ela é trabalhada nos livros didáticos, no tocante ao estudo discursivo com a linguagem? Como o guia do Programa Nacional de Livros Didáticos (PNLD) aprecia o ensino de oralidade nos manuais utilizados pelas escolas mato-grossenses? E, qual a concepção que se atribui para ritmo nesses cadernos a partir dos recortes analisados? O arcabouço teórico deste trabalho é o da Análise do Discurso. Esta plataforma teórica tem Michel Pêcheux como referência autoral e o discurso como objeto. A metodologia que dá suporte a este estudo é de cunho qualitativo, como obriga toda abordagem discursiva da linguagem, que é processual. Nossa pesquisa é documental, porque utiliza os manuais didáticos como fonte geradora do corpus de análise. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que, nos livros didáticos analisados, ainda a oralidade não é trabalhada de forma efetiva para desenvolver a língua escolarizada, bem como os materiais que pesquisamos não se constituem em concepções sobre ritmo com base em discussões contemporâneas, distanciando-se da possibilidade de considerar o ritmo como constituinte da oralidade. Outro aspecto que constatamos é que os recortes analisados fazem pouco levantamento das condições de produção deste material, o que torna o trabalho com o texto, na perspectiva discursiva, pouco representativo. / This study aims to discuss the orality and the pace as enablers of meanings and of discursive practices with language. Our material of analysis are the textbooks of public high schools of Cuiabá/MT. The choice of this material is justified by their use in more than 30 public schools in this city, which cover a very large number of students. The overall objective is to analyze how orality and rhythm are addressed in these materials, from the proposed exercises and the notion that is attributed to the term pace in order to understand how the effects of meanings, in these spaces, are being materialized. Therefore, the specific objectives are: to present theoretical foundation that addresses discussions on orality and the pace, from scholars of discursive formations on this subject; to analyze the official documents of public schools, which direct our object; to identify where are the problems which do not value the pace in education to develop discursive practices that require orality, and finally, to reflect on teaching work practices with the analysis of discourse and the orality, with recognition of pace. For that, we raised some research questions that guide the study now proposed: how is oral modality being treated in the official MEC documents? How is it crafted in the textbooks, with respect to discursive study with the language? How does the guide of the Programa Nacional de Livros Didáticos (PNLD) evaluate the oral teaching in the manuals used by Mato Grosso schools? And, what is the notion that is attributed to pace in these textbooks according to the pieces analyzed? The theoretical framework of this work is the French Discourse Analysis. This theoretical platform has Michel Pêcheux as an authoral reference and the discourse as an object. The methodology that supports this study is of qualitative nature, as all discursive approach to language dictates, which is procedural. Our research is documentary, because it uses the textbooks as a source of analysis corpus. The results showed that, in the textbooks analyzed, the orality is still not worked effectively to develop the educated language, as well as the materials we surveyed do not constitute concepts of pace based on contemporary discussions, being far from the possibility of considering the pace as a constituent of orality. Another aspect we found is that the analyzed pieces do little survey on the conditions of production of this material, which makes working with text, under a discursive perspective, unrepresentative.

Syfte: Ett flertal studier har undersökt om socialt ansvarstagande (CSR) är lönsamt, men inga entydiga bevis finns. Tidigare undersökningar har dock implicit antagit att CSR-aktiviteter är lönsamma oavsett hur de implementeras. Vi ifrågasätter detta antagande och undersöker hur implementeringen av CSR påverkar dess lönsamhet. Vi undersöker om variablerna takt, konsekvens och väg förklarar relationen mellan CSR och bolagens lönsamhet. Metod: Studien är utförd enligt ett positivistiskt perspektiv med en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats och en longitudinell design med fem års observationer. Data har insamlats från Thomson Reuters Eikon och Thomson Reuters Datastream. Data har analyserats med statistiska metoder. Resultat &amp; slutsats: Studien visaratt implementeringen av CSR påverkar bolags CFP och studien diskuterar de teoretiska förutsättningarna för sådana effekter. Bolag kan påverka lönsamheten av CSRgenom att implementera den på rätt sätt. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Ett förslag till fortsatta studier av CSR-implementering är att inte bara mätabolagens redovisningsmässiga mått utan även se på de marknadsmässiga. Att mäta bolag CSR-aktiviteter med start i tidigare årtal än vi gjort kan dessutom öka möjligheten att mäta effekter av implementering. Uppsatsens bidrag: Föreliggande studie utvidgar CSR-litteraturen och redovisningslitteraturen genom att (1) diskutera hur implementering av CSR kan påverka dess lönsamhet och (2) empiriskt undersöka effekten av implementering av CSR på lönsamhet. Det praktiska bidraget är att kunskap om hur implementering av CSR kan påverka lönsamheten är till nytta för all implementering av CSR och för behovet av lagstiftning om socialt ansvarstagande. / Aim: A number of studies have investigated whether social responsibility (CSR) is profitable, but no unambiguous evidence exists. However, previous surveys have implicitly assumed that CSR activities are profitable regardless of how they are implemented. We question this assumption and investigate how the implementation of CSR affects its profitability. We investigate whether the variables pace, consistency and path explain the relationship between CSR and the company's profitability. Method: The study is conducted in a positivist perspective with a hypothetical deduction. The procedure is quantitative and secondary data has been collected from Thomson Reuters Eikon and Thomson Reuters Datastream. The data from this longitudinal study has been analyzed and processed in MiniTab. Result &amp; Conclusions: The study is conducted in a positivist perspective with a hypothetical deduction and a longitudinal design with fiveyear’s observations. Data has been collected from Thomson Reuters Eikon and Thomson Reuters Datastream. Data has been analyzed using statistical methods. Suggestion for future research: A proposal for further study of CSR implementation is to not only measure the company's accounting standards but also look at the market-related. Measuring companies CSR activities starting in earlier years than we did can also increase the ability to measure effects of implementation. Contribution of the thesis: Present study extends the CSR literature and accounting literature by (1) discussing how implementation of CSR can affect its profitability and (2) empirically investigates the impact of CSR implementation on profitability. The practical contribution is that knowledge about how the implementation of CSR can affect profitability is beneficial to all implementation of CSR and the need for social responsibility legislation.

Avian life histories range along the axis from slow to fast, with slow life histories being characterized by greater investments in future reproduction, and fast by greater investments in current reproduction. The concept of pace-of-life syndromes refers to the coevolution of life strategies and related physiological, immunological and behavioral traits. Avian species from tropical areas are characterised by slower life histories (longer parental care, later maturation, smaller clutches, reduced metabolic rate) when compared to temperate zone species. Within this latitudinal gradient, investments in the total amount (weight) of body feathers have also been shown to be reduced in tropical birds. It remains unclear, however, whether feather growth itself follows this latitudinal pattern, and is slower in tropical species. Tropical birds have lower basal levels of corticosterone and testosterone, however available studies are based mainly on analyzes of hormone concentrations from plasma. The first aim of this diploma thesis was to evaluate differences between tropical (Cameroon) and temperate zone (the Czech Republic) passerine species in investments in tail feather growth by using methods of comparative ptilochronology. The second aim of the diploma thesis was to analyze concentrations of steroid...

The significance of this research lies in the fact that it makes a meaningful contribution to the development of comprehensive injury prevention programmes. The studies included in this thesis investigate technique-related intrinsic factors where injury is prevented at the expense of performance as well as intrinsic factors where there is potential for both injury prevention and performance to be simultaneously optimised. The cricket pace bowler is prone to injury due to the high load nature of the pace bowling action involving a complex sequence of forceful actions, consisting of practiced, particular movements. Various injury prevention programmes incorporating extrinsic factors have been studied and implemented previously, however the intrinsic factors associated with both injury and performance in pace bowlers have not yet been investigated sufficiently. In this thesis an overview of the literature includes the review of injuries sustained by pace bowlers, factors associated with injury and performance, and the kinematics of the pace bowling action. Premier league (amateur) cricket pace bowlers were recruited for this study. All pace bowlers were injury free at the start of the season. Details around past injuries as well as incidence of injuries were recorded throughout an eight month cricket season. Performance measures, namely ball release speed and accuracy, were measured during execution of the pace bowling action. Included in this thesis are six original papers. The first five papers investigated the association between intrinsic factors, injury and performance, while the sixth paper described abdominal muscle adaptations in the pace bowler. The first paper (Chapter 2) investigated bowlers’ ability to perform lumbo-pelvic movement control, static and dynamic balance tests at the start and at the end of a cricket season. Lumbo-pelvic movement control tests could not discriminate between bowlers who sustained an injury during the cricket season and bowlers who did not. However, performance in the single leg balance test (SLBT) (p=0.03) and the star excursion balance test (SEBT) (p=0.02) as measured at the start of the season, was better in bowlers who did not sustain an injury during the season. Paper 2 (Chapter 3) investigated lumbar proprioception (as measured by joint position sense) in the neutral lumbar spine position; as well as lumbar positions corresponding to those at front foot placement and ball release of the cricket pace bowling action in relation to previous injury and injury sustained during the cricket season under review. Lumbar reposition error in the sagittal plane (flexion-extension) was between 1.48˚ and 1.82˚ and in the frontal plane (left-right lateral flexion) it was between 0.81˚ and 0.88˚. Lumbar reposition error, as measured in two planes and in three different positions, was associated with self-reported general injuries, injuries sustained during the bowling action and especially, low back injury sustained in the past (p<0.05). From findings indicated in Papers 1, 2 and 3 (Chapters 2, 3 and 4) it can be postulated that if static balance, dynamic balance and lumbar proprioception can be improved in pace bowlers, their risk of lumbar injury may be reduced. Paper 3 and 4 (Chapter 4 and 5) investigated the relationship between kinematic angles as measured in the power phase of the pace bowling action and injury, as well as performance, respectively. In Paper 3 (Chapter 4) a difference was found between lumbar spine lateral flexion positioning (p=0.02) at the start compared to at the end of the season in injured pace bowlers. The range of flexion between front foot placement and ball release at L1 is much greater in the non-injured group than in the injured group as measured at the end of the season (p=0.03). Bowlers who did not sustain an injury during the season displayed a larger degree of absolute flexion at the start of the season than those who sustained an injury (p=0.02). Findings from Paper 4 (Chapter 5) are that the following absolute angles were positively correlated with higher ball release speeds at the start of the season: a more extended knee angle (p=0.037), a larger arm to thorax angle (p<0.0001), larger L1 (p=0.01), T10 (p<0.0001) and T7 (p<0.0001) segmental spinal lateral flexion and more global trunk left rotation (p=0.02). Paper 3 and 4 (Chapter 4 and 5) thus show that low back flexion and lateral flexion, and front knee kinematics, as found in the power phase of the pace bowling action, are associated with and may predict lower quarter injuries and performance outcomes in cricket pace bowlers. The fifth paper (Chapter 6) hypothesised that correlations between front knee angle, knee reposition error, as a measure of proprioception, and ball release speed should be present, however no such correlation could be established. The correlations between joint reposition error in 140˚ of knee extension (r=0.06), 160˚ of knee extension (r=0.30), front foot placement (r=0.22) and ball release (r=0.23) positions were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Furthermore, correlations between knee position error and reproduced knee angles were also not statistically significant (r=-0.35 to r=0.09; p>0.05). It was concluded that static knee joint position sense is not associated with dynamic knee angle during the bowling action, or with ball release speed and that dynamic mechanisms may contribute to knee angles and bowling speeds. The sixth study (Chapter 7) investigated and highlighted the possible muscle adaptations in absolute muscle thickness and activity as a consequence of the asymmetrical bowling action. The absolute thickness of the non-dominant obliquus abdominis internus (OI) was higher than that of the dominant OI at the start (p<0.0001) as well as at the end of the cricket season (p<0.0001). At the start of the season the percentage change during the abdominal drawing in manoeuvre, thus a measure of muscle activity, was higher for the non-dominant OI than for the dominant OI (p=0.02). Absolute thickness of the dominant obliquus abdominis externus (OE) at rest was significantly higher at the end of the season compared with at the start of the season (p<0.0001). During right side active straight leg raise, the activity of the left transversus abdominis (TA) was significantly higher than that of the right TA during left side active straight leg raise (p=0.03) when measured at the end of the season. These asymmetries in abdominal muscle thickness and activity may contribute to the predisposition to low back injury in cricket pace bowlers or may occur in an attempt to protect the pace bowler against injury. In conclusion, the high load nature of the pace bowling action allows for high ball release speeds to be attained but at the same time renders the pace bowler vulnerable to injury. Intrinsic factors found to be associated with both lower quarter injury and performance should be appropriately incorporated into injury prevention programmes in order to prevent the occurrence of injuries in the presence of the high load nature of the pace bowling action. Further research needs to be conducted on the effectiveness of these injury prevention programmes to prevent injury amongst pace bowlers.