Aim: The primary purpose of this study was to examine effects of a fan-induced airflow at standard room temperature (20-23°C) on 20-km cycling time trial performance. A secondary purpose was to investigate two fan speeds and whether a difference in performance existed with increased fan speed in intermediate duration indoor cycling tests. Methods: Seven trained cyclists completed three 20-km cycling time trials under three conditions in a randomized crossover design. The 3 conditions were: 1) control (no fan), 2) low speed fan, and 3) high speed fan. Results: A tendency for modest decreases in time to completion (TTC) were noted in the two experimental conditions compared to the control condition (-2.06% low speed fan; -3.29% high speed fan). There was also a tendency for small increases in power output during the experimental conditions, although neither time nor power output differences were statistically significant. No differences in mean heart rate and rating of perceived exertion were observed among the three conditions. Conclusion: These results suggest a relationship between fan use and 20-km indoor cycling time trial performance, specifically TTC and mean power output, but larger samples are needed to provide adequate statistical power. Further investigation into the effects of fan use in standard testing environments is recommended. No additional benefit was observed from increased fan speeds. Differences in the experimental conditions on average resulted in non-significant 1.2% improvement.

Cette thèse est une contribution à un projet dont l'objet est de construire un outil d'analyse fiable de la conduite en compétition de match-racing. Le comportement dynamique du voilier résulte de l'équilibre entre de nombreuses actions qu'il faut prendre en compte dans leur ensemble pour ne pas arriver à des conclusions erronées sur la performance et le comportement. Nous avons construit un simulateur dont la structure modulaire permettra d'intégrer les modèles de toutes les actions en présence au fur et à mesure que la connaissance progresse dans les différents domaines concernés. Des modèles empiriques éprouvés sont utilisés pour la partie aérodynamique. L'interaction aérodynamique est représentée par l'addition de deux modèles simples, une singularité de type tourbillon et un sillage plan auto préservé. Ces modèles sont globaux et relativement rudimentaire mais des investigations plus poussées semblent aujourd'hui aventureuses tant les paramètres de réglage des voiles sont nombreux et complexes. Nous avons privilégié l'étude des efforts hydrodynamiques stationnaires. Des campagnes d'essais ont été menées en adaptant des techniques expérimentales existantes. L'objectif était de quantifier l'influence des paramètres d'attitude, de vitesse et de position. La méthode des plans d'expériences a été mise en oeuvre pour structurer la démarche et pour construire des modèles simples et rapides compatibles avec la simulation en temps réel. La rigueur de cette méthode permet en outre de réaliser une analyse de l'erreur de mesure et de comparer différentes modélisations. Des exemples de simulation illustrent en fin de document les possibilités offertes par la version actuelle du simulateur

Inspired by feminist post-structural thinking and with a discourse analytic approach, this study’s main theme is gendered identity, disability and sport. It consists of four separate, but interrelated, empirical studies and focuses on two research questions. Firstly, how do female and male wheelchair racers construct and perform their identities? Secondly, how are female and male wheelchair racers represented in Swedish sports media? To answer the research questions, semi-structured interviews with wheelchair racers, and a critical analysis of sports media texts from the Paralympics in Sydney, 2000 have been conducted. In this dissertation the composition of unwritten regulations produced by the media texts, that shaped the practice of wheelchair athletes was conceptualized as the discourse of able-ism. Findings indicate that the sports media texts constructed the subject of ‘disabled sportsman/sportswoman’, which indirectly reproduced the conception of a copy and not an original. The exclusion was, however, concealed and neutralized through the regulation and differentiation that the discourse of able-ism legitimated. Although sports media still seems to reinforce negative stereotypes of disabled athletes, the wheelchair racers themselves are challenging the gender, sport and disability discourses and establishing new ways of being physically powerful and excellent in and outside the sports arena. In fact, when the athletes got the opportunity to make their voices heard in media, they re-dressed the twisted picture of wheelchair racing as passive rehabilitation training into elite sport. Consequently, it seems that wheelchair racing and its high status in disability sports empowers both male and female racers which increases their possibility to be represented as ‘real’ sportsmen and sportwomen. Finally, although, the athletes have shown that wheelchair racing has a given place in modern sport, ‘being able’ as an athlete and being a gendered individual are still strongly connected to the appearance and performance of the un-impaired body.

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

No description available.

Usages and meanings associated with three key cultural metaphors, "outlaw," "family," and "community" are examined in order to determine the limits of their applicability within American sprint car racing, and to provide a clearer understanding of the cultural significance of sprint car racing in America. These three metaphors have multiple functions. They are used to structure relationships, communicate codes of conduct, express attitudes, and enculturate participants.The sprint car racing "community" is outside the mainstream of sport culture in America, and it is at once metaphoric, ideal, and real. Culture provides participants with a range of possible mechanisms for structuring, organizing, and communicating the value system(s) and symbolic system(s) involved in the construction and racing of sprint cars. Sprint car racing in America provides an outlet for a preferred way of life in which competitive behavior is a major aspect. Cooperation with those whom you are competing against functions to reinforce the values of the "community." / Department of Anthropology

This paper seeks to continue the research started by scholars such as W. Liebeschuetz and P. Bell in order to challenge the traditional argument put forth by Al. Cameron, namely that the circus factions did not have a political role in society. The objective of this study is to examine the political importance of the circus factions from the reign of Anastasius (491-518) to Heraclius (610-641). Furthermore, it explores the political motivations behind the factions’ violent behaviour, the evidence for their involvement in the military, and their role in accession ceremonies. The methodology includes establishing a typology for sixth century riots, an examination of the hippodrome and its role as a medium between people and emperor, tracing the shift in the focus of imperial ideology, and a re-evaluation of the primary sources, with a focus on the literary and epigraphic evidence, to determine if there was a political aspect to the factions. The study concludes that Cameron did undervalue the factions’ political importance and outlines the conditions that were influential in their rise in importance.

Thesis (M Reg & Urb Plan)--University of South Australia, 1997

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, November, 1996. / Title from PDF t.p.