La foulée du coureur à pied est souvent assimilée à un ressort surmonté d'un masse. Le coureur prend appui au sol, brièvement, avec la plante du pied, rigidifie son membre inférieur et progresse en rebondissant. Pourtant, plusieurs études soutiennent qu'un appui long après une pose du pied par le talon améliore l'efficacité de la foulée. L'approche Volodalen prétend que les paramètres biomécaniques s'unifient en un système organisé selon deux grands processus d'optimisation : terrien et aérien. Le coureur aérien rebondit comme l'affirme le modèle masse-ressort. Le coureur terrien progresse en minimisant les mouvements donc l’énergie dépensée sur la verticale. Cette thèse confirme l'existence de deux modèles d'efficacité de la foulée.Le coureur terrien minimise le temps de vol et la raideur du membre inférieur et augmente le recrutement des extenseurs de hanche ainsi que l'avancée de son bassin sur l'appui. Le coureur aérien favorise un appui court, un temps de vol allongé, une activation précoce des gastrocnemii et une oscillation verticale du centre masse importante. Les deux coureurs présentent la même économie de course aux vitesses usuelles d'endurance. Selon l’approche Volodalen, ces deux processus d'optimisation sont médiés par le plaisir ressenti qui inciteraitle coureur à s'inscrire dans un environnement donné. Le coureur rebondi préfère courir plus vite. La compréhension de ces relations entre interne et externe pourrait permettre une meilleure individualisation de l'entrainement. Pourtant, les premières observations ne confirment pas l'existence d'une relation simple et directe entre la foulée du coureur à pied et un entrainement privilégié / Human motion is often modelled using a spring-madd model where the body balanced on a compressible spring. The runner bouces from one step to the next whit a mid or forefoot strike pattern and a stiff leg. However, some studies highlight that a long contact time and a rearfoot stike pattern enhance running economy. The Volodalen approach suggests that the biomechanical parameters interact in a holistic system following tow main locomotive optimization processes : terrestrial and aerial. Aerial runners bounce on the forepart of their foot following the spring-mass model, wheras terrestrial runners move forward from heel-to-toe with limites vertical desplacement. Through a series of experiments, this thesis verifies the existence of two biomechanial models to optimize running economy. Terrestrial runners seduce flight time and leg stiffness, uncreasing hip extensors recruitment and horizontal displacement during stance. Aerial runners favour a short contact time, a mid-forefoot strike pattern, a gastrocemius pre-activation, and a high vertical oscillation. Both types of runners exhibit similar running economy levels at sub-maximal running speeds. According to Volodalen, these two optimization process are mediated by runners' perceived pleasure that would guide the runner in preferntial environments. The arial runner prefers to run faster than the terrestrial runner.futher undrstanding the unerlying relation between internal processes and external environments could lead to enhanced invidualization of training. however, results from a trainning intervention indicate no differential benefit in undertaking rebound-based versus pushing-based training based.

Tests to evaluate runners' aerobic capacity aiming to design training programs are often performed on a treadmill, while the training mainly takes place on over-ground surfaces. Studies have shown that different degrees of inclination on treadmills can compensate for the differences in heart rate (HR) response between running on treadmills and over-ground surfaces. The purpose of the study was to test whether the blood lactate concentration (BLC) differs between over-ground running and treadmill running at matched HR, and if so; can inclination of the treadmill be adjusted to generate equal BLC at matched HR? Eight male elite runners performed three incremental running tests where HR and BLC were measured; on a flat treadmill at six running velocities, on a running track at six velocities equal to the HR at test one, and on a treadmill at a fixed HR on different inclines (0°, 0.3°, 0.6°, 0.9°, 1.1° and 1.5°). The results revealed a non-significant trend indicating that over-ground running yields higher BLC at matched HR than treadmill running, and that 0.3° incline on treadmill correlated best with over- ground running. This study demonstrates a clear tendency of higher BLC at a given HR when running on an over-ground surface in comparison to running on a treadmill. Furthermore, a 0.3° incline on a treadmill is suggested to compensate for the difference in BLC at matched HR, between running on a treadmill and on an over-ground surface. However, more research with a larger sample size is needed to conclude and generalize the results.

Humans naturally select a point at which to transition from walking to running when gradually increasing locomotor speed. This point is known as the walk-to-run transition (WRT). The WRT is traditionally expressed in terms of speed and is known to occur within a close range of 2.1 m/s, which is an accepted heuristic (i.e., empirically based, rounded) threshold value. Very little research exists defining the WRT in terms of cadence (steps/min) despite the fact that spatial temporal aspects of gait underlying the WRT include this parameter. Preliminary evidence suggests that the WRT may be associated with a cadence of 140 steps/min in adults. This overlooked approach to identifying the WRT may be better than speed because of the simplicity and accessibility of recording cadence in both lab- and free-living settings. Wearable technologies can be used to determine cadence in real-time in a variety of settings, and could be used in the future to expand our current knowledge of the WRT. In turn, this knowledge could be used to inform training practices and/or rehabilitation of gait disorders. The purposes of this secondary analysis of an existing treadmill-based data set were to: (1) identify the optimal WRT cadence threshold, and (2) compare the accuracy of the cadence cutpoint to the previous WRT indicators identified in literature (i.e., speed and Froude number). This secondary analysis focused only on the data collected from the 28 participants (20 men, 8 women) whose protocol was terminated due to selecting to run during the treadmill portion of the larger CADENCE-Adults study. The CADENCE-Adults protocol consisted of a series of five-minute bouts beginning at 0.2 m/s and increasing in 0.2 m/s increments, with each bout followed by two minutes of standing rest. Participants could choose to walk or run each bout. The cadence of the bout during which the participants chose to run was considered the WTR cadence, and ROC analyses were performed to determine the optimal cadence cutpoint. Sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy were calculated to compare the accuracy of the speed and Froude values from literature to the calculated cadence cutpoint. In addition, these analyses were expanded post hoc to also examine the accuracy of the previously proposed cadence cutpoint from the literature and the speed and Froude cutpoint identified from the dataset. Following analyses, three cadence cutpoints (134, 139, or 141 steps/min) were identified that shared equal overall accuracy (92.9%); therefore, there was no single optimal cutpoint. This also occurred for the speed cutpoints, where both 1.9 and 2.0 m/s shared overall accuracies of 78.6%. The optimal Froude cutpoint identified was 0.46 (82.0% overall accuracy). The rank-order overall accuracy of previously identified cutpoints were: a cadence of 140 steps/min (91.1%), Froude number of 0.5 (76.8%) and speed of 2.1 m/s (66.1%). Based on the identified optimal cadence cutpoints, a heuristic range of running cutpoints was recommended anchored on specificity vs. sensitivity preferences. For researchers interested in identifying episodes more likely to be running behavior (with the preference that very few episodes of walking behavior are mistakenly identified), it would be best to use 140 steps/min. However, if they want to be as inclusive as possible in identifying episodes of running behavior (and can tolerate more mistakenly identified episodes walking behavior), they could use 135 steps/min. When applied to this dataset, 96.0% (24/25) of the individuals who were ≥140 steps/min were running, but this decreased to 92.5% (25/27) with ≥135 steps/min. In conclusion, cadence clearly performed much better in terms of overall accuracy when compared to traditionally used WRT indicators of speed and Froude numbers. The recommended heuristics cadence cutpoint range can be used by researchers who want to evaluate the locomotor patterns of individuals when analyzing free-living step-defined data collected using wearable devices.

<p>This project proposes, develops, and tests a new theoretical concept termed <i>embodied narration</i> to understand the role of the body in processes of knowledge production. Specifically, this project draws upon postmodern organizing and narrative theorizing to argue that the body itself – not just those stories told about the body – is discursive, and thus, serves to produce, reproduce, or challenge existing organizational knowledge and power structures. Embodied narration – <i>the expression of the body’s stories through the body without the imposition of the written or spoken word</i> – is conceptualized as one process through which such continued oppression or resistance occurs.</p><p><br></p><p>Embodied narration was examined within the organizing context of distance running, a fitting context given its operation as an ideological discipline centered on embodied practices and the salience of the gaze among organizational members. This study employed photovoice methodology to procure participant photographs meant to approximate spectatorship of embodied narration. Further, participants shared their experiences and observations of organizational knowledge and disciplinary mechanisms in semi-structured interviews. A grounded theory analysis was employed to identify emergent themes related to organizational knowledge and discipline and provided the researcher and other readers with the preunderstanding of organizational knowledge necessary for situated interpretations of photographs. Participant photographs are presented in the absence of the written or spoken word to allow the subjects depicted in them to speak for themselves, as is consistent with the assumptions of embodied narration.</p><p><br></p><p>Results indicate unique knowledge and disciplinary mechanisms within the organizing context of distance running which are consistent with past and ongoing research. Importantly, participant stories of spectatorship provide insight into the possibilities of embodied narration within this context, including the role of member inclusion/exclusion and body visibility/invisibility in such processes. From these stories, conclusions were drawn regarding the many possible ways by which embodied narration may be employed or enacted within other contexts. In all, this project extends postmodern organizing and narrative theorizing by rejecting the assumption that discourse is inherently linguistic, and by introducing a new process by which power/knowledge is produced.</p>

Mätning av fotbollsspelares fysiska kapacitet har blivit allt vanligare och viktigare för att optimera spelarnas återhämtning och kapacitet, speciellt i slutet av matcherna i den så kallade kritiska fasen av en match. I dagens elitfotboll mäts spelarnas fysiska prestation med hjälp av global positioning systems (GPS). GPSerna har utvecklats enormt de senaste åren och kan i dag ta fram hundratals parametrar för tränare och spelare att analysera. På lägre nivåer finns inte samma möjligthet att använda GPSer, ofta på grund av eknomiska skäl, och fystester av olika sorter, bland annat agility T-test, används ofta för att mäta spelarnas fysiska kapacitet. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om ett enkelt fystest, ett modifierat agility T-test (T3-test) korrelerar med fysiska matchparametrar inom fotbollen. Totalt i studien deltog 8 stycken manliga elitfotbollsspelare från ett svenskt seniorfotbollslag. Deltagarna bar STATSport Apex GPS-system en hel säsong, av vilket fem parametrars (total distans, höghastighetslöpningar, sprints, accelerationer och decelerationer) procentuella värde sista 15 minuterna i ordinarie matchtid (minut 75-90) i förhållande till hela matchens genomsnitt mättes och jämfördes sedan med deras prestation på T3-test. T3-testet utfördes i säsongens sista kvartal. Korrelationen analyerades genom Spearman’s rho korrelationsanalys. Resultatet från denna studie visade inga signifikanta korrelationer mellan de nämnda fysiska matchparametrarna och prestationen på T3-testet. Då studiens statistiska power var lågt på grund av otillräckligtdeltagarantalet, bör inga säkra slutsatser dras utifrån studiens resultat. Mer forskning av T3-test eller liknanden enkla fystester som prediktorer av fysisk matchkapacitet inom fotbollen krävs innan eventuell tillämpning i elitfotbollen bör säkerställas eller avvisas. / Measuring the physical capacity of football players has become more important in optimizing players' recovery and capacity, especially at the end of matches in the so-called critical phase of a match. In today's elite football, players' physical performance is measured using global positioning systems (GPS). The GPSs have developed enormously in recent years and can today produce hundreds of parameters for coaches and players to analyze. At lower levels, there is not the same possibility to use GPSs, often due to economic reasons, and fitness tests of various kinds, including agility T-test, are often used to measure players' physical capacity. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a simple fitness test, a modified agility T-test (T3-test) correlates with physical match parameters in football. A total of 8 male elite football players from a Swedish senior football team participated in the study. Participants wore the STATSport Apex GPS system for an entire season, of which five parameters (total distance, high-speed runs, sprints, accelerations and decelerations) percentage value in the last 15 minutes of regular match time (minutes 75-90) in relation to the entire match average were measured and compared with their performance on T3-test. The T3-test was performed in the last quarter of the season. The correlation was analyzed by Spearman's rho correlation analysis. The results from this study showed no significant correlations between the mentioned physical match parameters and the performance on the T3-test. As the statistical power of the study was low, due to insufficient number of participants, no definite conclusions should be drawn based on the results of the study.

This work deals with creation of an application for an Android operating system, which will provide effective management of car costs. The important part of this work is communication and synchronization with a remote server.Whole application aims to provide friendly user inteface, which will be very effective to use.

This study investigated the application of music as a factor in influencing running pace of runners. Thirty (30) runners of varying ages, paces, and distances run per week were individually tested on two runs: one, with music, using a portable cassette player; the other, without music. Results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in actual, as well as perceived, running pace between the experimental conditions. Of the 30 runners: 19 actually increased their pace, 20 runners perceived an increase in running pace, 3 maintained there was no change and 7 felt the music decreased their running pace. In addition, most runners reported that they enjoyed running to music, and felt that it assisted them in diverting attention from the actual run, thereby enhancing the total running experience.

This thesis deals with creating a web application that allows to upload and present information concerning running paths in Brno and its neighborhood. It consists of a user interface that provides the ability to manage information stored in the SQL database. It also serves as a tool for the automated determination of geometric parameters of tracks and allows you to view the routing on the map server mapy.cz or to portray the longitudinal profile.

The goal of this work is to propose a suitable methodology for measuring and evaluating the geometric precision of spindle rotation. Identification and classification of errors while moving spindle. Part of this work should be also a program in LabVIEW that evaluate the errors in the motion of the spindle. Practical functionality of the proposed measurement system should be tested at selected MCV754 QUICK machines, lathes SV 18 and milling machine FNG 32. For processing of the results should be used basic statistical procedures. This thesis includes research in the field of machine tool spindles and different ways of measuring spindle motion deviations from the ideal path. There is also included the effect of sensors to measuring spindle running accuracy and identification of suitable sensors applicable for this application. There is a proposal of measurement of selected machinery, and defines all the components required for measurements that were used during spindle running precision measurement. Part of this work is a basic description of the program developed for evaluating errors in the motion of the spindle.

This work is focusing on the tracking of selected orders in a company which is mainly engaged in piece production of castings. The aim is, based on the tracking of the course of the pre-production and production phases, to analyse the production process bottlenecks. This is carried out by means of the information system used in the company and through daily tracking of the selected orders. The ascertained time data are divided into the time necessary for the production and the lost time. The scheduled and the actual production times, from order receipt up to the shipment of a finished casting, are entered in the Gantt diagram. In conclusion the work deals with the evaluation of the time lost in production and the proposals for making production more effective are offered.