We investigated the role of intramuscular pressure on the blood volumes delivered to working muscle during contractions spanning the entire range of force output that could be elicited from our subjects. Our subjects included four male (age = 22 ± 14 yr, mass = 63 ± 1.5 kg) and four female (age = 23 ± 9 yr, mass = 81.4 ± 5.6 kg). Vascular occlusion is thought to occur at similar pressures between sexes, but these pressures are achieved at different fractions of the male vs female maximum voluntary contraction. We therefore used a triplex capable pulsed Doppler ultrasound to obtain non-invasive measures of blood velocity and femoral artery diameter during single leg knee extension exercise performed by male (n = 4) and female (n = 4) subjects on an instrumented custom ergometer. We observed that greater periods of muscle inactivity between subsequent analysis (i.e. lower duty cycles), provided enhanced opportunity for circulatory based clearance by as much as 60 % and 64 % in males and females respectively. The forces subjects applied to the ergometer were measured via single-element strain gauges as the subjects adhered to a constant investigator-imposed cadence. Subjects performed bouts of knee extension exercise ranging from no-external imposed force, up to the level that could be performed for only three consecutive contractions (male = 524.66 ± 71.24 N vs female = 326.90 ± 115.75 N) while matching the experimental cadence. Resistance is controlled by manual Monarch turns and cadence is controlled by dual column LED array. We measured peak oxygen uptake (male = 26.90 ± 5.17 ml O2 kg-1 min-1 vs female = 19.57 ± 2.47 ml O2 kg-1 min-1) and surface EMG to determine the forces necessary to elicit anaerobic metabolism and the onset of compensatory neuromuscular recruitment an indicator, respectively. These experiments determined whether short-duration performance decrements are an issue of oxygen availability or related to clearance of metabolic byproducts elicited by muscle contraction.

This paper introduces Robert Kaplan’s model of the balanced scorecard and the financial and non-financial measures that make up the model. It looks into the effectiveness of using both financial and non-financial measures to help measure the performance of a company. Once done with that, I look at possible areas of deficiencies within the balanced scorecard. The main purpose of this paper is to discover shortcomings of the balanced scorecard and attempt to find solutions to those problems, and by doing so helping others looking to implement a balanced scorecard of their own. This study does find shortcomings in the balanced scorecard that may bother some companies and it does introduce possible solutions to those problems. More specifically, the issues of the balanced scorecard are cost and time, the amount of people involved with the implementation of the system, too much emphasis being placed on internal processes, and the levels of importance that should be placed on each perspective of the balanced scorecard.

The transgender community has been identified as a group at high risk for HIV transmission and increased possibility for poor quality of life. This paper represents the results of a qualitative research study using interviews and Photovoice as methodologies to explore the contextual factors that define and shape the lives of people in Montana who identify as transgender, and specifically to explore factors that influence their risk of infection with HIV/AIDS. Ten major themes emerged from the interviews as well as the discussions surrounding the photographs. Sense of self was identified as a core category related to the overall health and risk behaviour of the transgender community in Montana. The other nine major categories, including 1) age of transition, 2) the importance of love, 3) availability of support, 4) passing as your identified gender, 5) normalization in society, 6) ignorance surrounding gender variance, 7) health care, 8) legal issues, and 9) life in Montana, were seen as contributing to the development of a stronger or weaker sense of self. The findings from this study will be used by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to increase awareness of the lived experience and health needs of the transgender community in Montana.

The primary goal of this study is to research the pressure imposed upon adolescents to perform as well as to suggest practical guidelines to counsel them. It is found that adolescents experience both external (parents, teachers, coaches and friends) and internal (perfectionism and the fear of failure) factors. Stress, anxiousness, depression, eating disorders, substance and alcohol abuse and even suicide have been found in terms of the effects of performance pressure as found with adolescents. The Bible enlightens us to the possible external factors of performance pressure found with adolescents. According to the Bible, parents have certain responsibilities in terms of raising their children, and discretion should be applied when selecting friends. The internal factors related to performance pressure, such as perfectionism and the fear of failure can be addressed within the context of the Bible's message, guiding the adolescent pastorally. The Bible provides general perspectives regarding anxiousness, stress, depression, suicide, eating disorders and substance and alcohol abuse that can be applied during the pastoral counseling of adolescents. Research of the literature found within the subject areas of psychology and sport sciences, regarding performance pressure, within the context of adolescents show that the motivation for parents, friends, teachers and coaches to pressure adolescents to perform. This research (from psychology and sport sciences) regarding depression, suicide, anxiousness, eating disorders and substance and alcohol abuse display the effect of performance pressure found within adolescents. A qualitative empirical study with five adolescents, provide the reader with a good comprehension of performance pressure experienced by adolescents. The perspectives found within the Bible, literature and empirical research are placed within a hermeneutical interaction to produce a practical theorem. Finally, practical guidelines can be formulated in the pastoral counseling of adolescents experiencing performance pressure. / Thesis (M.A. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The primary goal of this study is to research the pressure imposed upon adolescents to perform as well as to suggest practical guidelines to counsel them. It is found that adolescents experience both external (parents, teachers, coaches and friends) and internal (perfectionism and the fear of failure) factors. Stress, anxiousness, depression, eating disorders, substance and alcohol abuse and even suicide have been found in terms of the effects of performance pressure as found with adolescents. The Bible enlightens us to the possible external factors of performance pressure found with adolescents. According to the Bible, parents have certain responsibilities in terms of raising their children, and discretion should be applied when selecting friends. The internal factors related to performance pressure, such as perfectionism and the fear of failure can be addressed within the context of the Bible's message, guiding the adolescent pastorally. The Bible provides general perspectives regarding anxiousness, stress, depression, suicide, eating disorders and substance and alcohol abuse that can be applied during the pastoral counseling of adolescents. Research of the literature found within the subject areas of psychology and sport sciences, regarding performance pressure, within the context of adolescents show that the motivation for parents, friends, teachers and coaches to pressure adolescents to perform. This research (from psychology and sport sciences) regarding depression, suicide, anxiousness, eating disorders and substance and alcohol abuse display the effect of performance pressure found within adolescents. A qualitative empirical study with five adolescents, provide the reader with a good comprehension of performance pressure experienced by adolescents. The perspectives found within the Bible, literature and empirical research are placed within a hermeneutical interaction to produce a practical theorem. Finally, practical guidelines can be formulated in the pastoral counseling of adolescents experiencing performance pressure. / Thesis (M.A. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

In this thesis, the author claims that dance (especially improvisational dance) is a political practice. Rather than following the familiar trope, where the dancing body stands in as a figure of liberation, the author draws on theorists such as Michel Foucault, Pierre Klossowski, and Judith Butler to suggest that bodies in motion are partially determined though discipline, coded language, and norms of sex and gender. Citing empirical cases of dance performances and the author’s own practice, she suggests that the body in motion is also partially undetermined by cultural conventions. She extrapolates from the example of dance improvisation, where the dancer begins with a norm or loose choreography and, from there, moves into unexpected territory, to offer an alternative conception of the body. The author argues that bodies in motion move between extremes of structure and freedom. / Graduate

The purpose of this arts-based video-documented case study is to understand the perceptions of high school students as they relate to a performance-based theatre class. I hope that through this arts-based study I will be able to ascertain both the educative value of a performance-based approach in drama education and the value of a video-based approach to data analysis in arts-based research. A group of senior high school students are documented as they engage in a production, starting from the audition process through to the final performance. Data was gathered through on-site observations over a period of four months in the form of field notes, student journals, and video digital recordings of interviews, group discussions, rehearsals, and performances. I used video data and presented it in a documentary film as the major form of representation for my study. I chose to make a film because of my experience in this genre, and I believe it is an immediate venue through which to experience my study. / Graduate

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