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En transportbörs är en elektronisk marknadsplats där transportsäljare kan annonsera ledig kapacitet till försäljning och transportköpare kan ge förfrågningar på transporter. När aktörerna på transportbörsen har hittat en sälj- eller köpannons som passar deras behov sluter de avtal om en transport. Transportbörser underlättar för transportsäljare att öka sina fyllnadsgrader samtidigt som den även underlättar för transportköpare att hitta transportörer. Då fyllnadsgrader och samlastning ökar med hjälp av transportbörserna tjänar även miljön på detta då antalet använda fordon minskar (Kovács, 2009).I denna studie har vi undersökt vad som fungerar bra respektive mindre bra med befintliga transportbörser, och genom detta har en konceptuell transportbörs tagits fram där dess fördelar förstärks och nackdelar minimeras. Studien baseras på en enkätundersökning med ansvariga transportsäljare samt en personlig djupintervju med en verksam transportplanerare. Vi har genom litteraturstudier även tagit reda på om det finns några tekniska hjälpmedel som skulle kunna användas för att understödja transportbörsernas syfte att öka samlastningen.Våra egna undersökningar samt litteraturstudie visar på vikten av affärsrelationer; de flesta transportsäljare beräknar i dagens läge sina fyllnadsgrader manuellt och därefter frågar de sina etablerade kunder om de är i behov av transporter. Transportköpare arbetar på ett liknande sätt – vid transportbehov ringer de till sina etablerade transportörer och frågar om de har tillgänglig kapacitet. Därför blir manuell koordination av offerter en standardprocedur vilket resulterar i att transportbörser fungerar som en sista utväg. Därför blir det inte heller någon direkt ruljans och fart på handeln på transportbörserna (Anonym transportsäljare).Vid våra empiriska undersökningar framgår det tydligt att det främsta konkurrensmedlet bland säljande företag på transportbörser är priset, något som också bekräftas av forskare i ämnet (Nandijaru & Regan, 2003). Prispressen får följden att andra konkurrensmedel såsom kundservice och kundrelationer hamnar i skymundan. Ett flertal respondenter i vår undersökning ansåg detta vara ett stort problem vilket har resulterat i att det är svårt att tjäna några pengar på transportbörserna.Om man på transportbörsen kan möjliggöra för transportörer att marknadsföra sig med andra konkurrensfördelar än pris kommer det att skapa en helt ny marknadssituation. Resultatet blir en jämnare konkurrens mellan aktörerna på transportbörsen. Låter man dessutom köpare och säljare att betygsätta varandra bidrar detta ytterligare till en ökad transparens och mer jämlik konkurrens. Anledningen till att marknaden blir mer jämlik är att företag som marknadsför sig med hög servicenivå och således ett något högre pris känner att de kan konkurrera på lika villkor med konkurrenter som använder sig av en prispressande strategi.RFID är en teknik som skulle kunna underlätta användandet av transportbörser då tekniken kan användas för att beräkna tillgänglig kapacitet samt automatiskt skapa annonser på transportbörserna. Tekniken skulle således även kunna vara ett sätt för företagen att framhäva de icke-ekonomiska konkurrensfördelarna såsom service, då en implementering av RFID skulle spara arbetstid inom de transportsäljande företagen; lägger man mindre tid på transportplanering och annonsering kan man lägga mer tid på sin kärnverksamhet och kundservice och relationer. / An electronic transportation market is a market place where transport sellers can advertise free capacity and transport buyers can make inquires on transports. When the sellers and buyers have found an offer that fits them they reach an agreement. The electronic transportation markets help to increase the average payload and gives opportunities for co-loading, which benefits both the transport carriers, transport buyers as well as the environment (Kovács, 2009).In this study we have examined what works well respectively less well with existing electronic transportation markets. This has been done through a survey among transport selling companies as well as an interview with a transport planner. Through literature study we have also investigated if there are any technical aids that can be used to support the functionality of electronic transportation markets.Our research and literature study reveals that most transport sellers manually calculate their payloads and then manually calls their customers to see if they want anything transported. We therefore suspect that manual coordination of offers and advertising is a normal procedure amongst transport selling and transport buying companies. This results in the electronic transportation markets works as a last exit for the transport sellers. As a result of this there is no momentum on the electronic transportation markets when nobody is trading there on a bigger scale (Anonymous transport seller).Our survey and interview show that the main competitive advantage amongst transport sellers on electronic transportation markets is the price. This is a theory confirmed by several authors in the field, for example Nandijaru and Regan (2003). The price focus results in other competitive advantages such as service and customer relations tend to be forgotten on electronic transportation markets. Many respondents in our survey found the price fixation to be a major problem resulting in low profits on the electronic transportation markets.If you can make it possible for transport sellers to advertise themselves with other competitive advantages than price it will create a new market situation. The will result in a more equal competition on the electronic transportation markets. The market place will be even more equal and transparent if you allow the sellers and buyers to rate one another on different scales such as service ratio. The mentioned implementations will lead to sellers that advertise themselves with a high degree of service will feel that they compete on the same terms as sellers that focus on price.RFID may offer the possibility to automatically calculate available payload and automatically create advertisements on electronic transportation markets. This can also be a way to increase the importance of non-economic competitive advantages such as customer service, as a direct result of less time spent manually calculating payload and creating advertisements.

The current research investigates pricing practices and consumer behavior in long-distance running events. Two studies address (1) current practices in pricing and registration policies for long-distance running events, and (2) factors that influence the decision-making process by which event organizers develop, adopt, and implement particular pricing policies. Study One involves a descriptive census of policies currently in use for a comprehensive list of running events in the United States that include races at the full or half marathon distance. Study Two adopts a multi-case study approach based on semi-structured interviews of running event organizers, supplemented by additional organizational documents, to investigate the pricing and registration policy development process. Collectively, these two studies examine the what, the why, and the how of pricing policy development in long-distance running events. Based on study findings, a conceptual model was developed incorporating major sources of influence (organizational, consumer, environmental, and event) on the pricing policy development process. This research contributes to sport management by providing deeper understanding of how participant sport, specifically long-distance running events, is priced and how pricing decisions influence consumer behaviors. Results additionally provide practical insight for running event organizers seeking to improve or enhance pricing policies and revenue management by understanding both common and atypical practices in use throughout the running event industry. Finally the current research lays a foundation for a stream of future research building on findings from two studies and data generated in the process of addressing the overarching research questions. / Tourism and Sport

The etiology of iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is not fully understood, however, dysfunction at the hip and decreased resistance to fatigue have been suggested to contribute to development of the syndrome. The objective of this study was to investigate differences in hip abductor strength and fatigue resistance, hip muscle activation timing and hip joint kinematic, kinetic and joint coupling patterns in female runners with and without ITBS. In addition, this study examined the effects of a run to exertion on these variables. Twelve female runners with ITBS and 20 healthy female runners participated in this study. Gluteus medius strength and electromyographic (EMG) data were collected during isometric testing. In addition, EMG data from the gluteus medius and tensor fascia latae muscles as well as 3-dimensional kinematic, kinetic and joint coupling data were collected during overground running. All data were collected prior-to and following a run to exertion. Prior to the run to exertion, with runners in a "fresh" state, there were no differences in hip abductor strength, kinematic joint coupling and terminal swing phase muscle activation timing between runners with ITBS and healthy runners. In a "fresh" state, ITBS runners demonstrated less resistance to fatigue at their gluteus medius muscle than did the healthy runners. As a result of exertion, runners with ITBS demonstrated decreased peak hip adduction angles during the stance phase of running gait. There were no group-by-exertion interactions for peak hip internal rotation angles, hip abductor and external rotator moments, kinematic joint coupling or hip abductor strength. There was a main effect of exertion for hip abductor moments, hip external rotator moments and hip abductor strength whereby both healthy and injured runners demonstrated 3.8, 4.2 and 7.3% decreases respectively following the run to exertion. In addition, there was a main effect of exertion on hip frontal/knee transverse plane kinematic joint coupling during the first half of loading where runners demonstrated a 7.3% increase in joint coupling values following the run to exertion. Our data did not detect group-by-exertion interactions or main effects of group or exertion with respect to terminal swing muscle activation timing. There was a significant group-by-exertion interaction when examining fatigue resistance. In a fresh-state, runners with ITBS demonstrated less resistance to fatigue than their healthy counterparts. Following the run to exertion, these differences did not exist. The results of this study suggest that currently symptomatic runners with ITBS demonstrate a potentially compensatory pattern of decreased stance phase hip adduction as compared with healthy runners. Hip internal rotation, abductor moments, external rotator moments or kinematic joint coupling do not appear to discriminate between the two groups. The results of this study also suggest that hip abductor strength may not be as large of a factor in the development of ITBS as previously thought. Instead, this muscle's endurance, or its ability to resist fatigue may play a larger role. / Physical Therapy

This monograph will serve as a guide to musicians for the preparation and performance of three new works by three living composers: Trumpet Sonata (2010) by Anthony Plog, Running at the Top of the World (2012) by Martin Rokeach, and Sonata - for trumpet and piano (2007) by Charles Reskin. Included will be sections or chapters on the history and background of each work, biographical information about each composer, detailed theoretical analysis and exclusive interviews with the composers. Each individual interview will provide insight into the music, including information on personal inspiration and imagery, a strong focus on timbre, tips and pointers on putting everything together with piano, thematic elements, and theoretical insights. The detailed analysis included in this dissertation will examine these three works further for their idiomatic use of instrumentation, phrasing, articulation, muting, tempi, and dynamics. Suggestions are given for each of these topics viz. interpretation and performance. With regard to my theoretical approach in this monograph, I will be using a variety of methods developed by important theorists including Hugo Riemann and Paul Hindemith. The work of the latter will be expanded upon substantially because Charles Reskin pays special homage to Hindemith in the third movement of his sonata. In my three analytical studies, I will argue that each composer chooses specific chords for a particular structural or semiotic reason. I will also draw important connections between various types of motivic material and discuss other techniques that each composer uses to provide cohesion among movements. / Music Performance

This qualitative study examined the athletic retirement processes of Finnish female elite distance runners retrospectively, and was loosely based on the theoretical-conceptual background of sport career transition models (Stambulova, 2003; Taylor & Ogilvie, 1994). The participants were Finnish female distance runners who have competed at the national level, or at the international level as members of the Finnish national track and field team. In Finland, the athletic retirement process has not been studied extensively, especially among distance runners. A total of nine former female runners who had retired 10 years prior and no less than one year ago participated in the study. The qualitative data were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews in Finland, using an interview guide constructed by Kadlcik and Flemr (2008) as a model. Seven of the interviews were performed face-to-face, one via Skype, and one via telephone. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and a total of seven themes with 25 subthemes emerged from the data. The themes that emerged included: (1) avenues to become a distance runner, (2) meaning of running, (3) pre-retirement conditions, (4) retirement, (5) factors affecting quality of retirement, (6) major effects of retirement, and (7) current life. Several reasons for sport career termination were identified, loss of motivation being the most prevalent. Most athletes did not have a plan for how to deal with retirement, although studying and other interests played an important role when methods of adaptation were discussed. As in previous studies conducted in other countries, the former Finnish athletes experienced significant changes in many aspects of their lives, including social, psychological and health. Overall, the participants reported a challenging, but not overwhelming athletic career retirement process, with two out of nine participants stating that the transition was somewhat difficult. Recommendations for researchers and practitioners are also discussed. / Kinesiology

<p> Exercise intensity is one of the major factors determining the utilization of carbohydrates (CHO) and lipids in mammalian skeletal muscle. Using indirect calorimetry, we determined maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and whole-body rates of CHO and lipid oxidation in rats selectively bred for high and low running capacity (HCR's and LCR's) during exercise at 50, 60, 70 and 80%VO2max. Previous studies have revealed a pattern of selection where mammals with different aerobic capacities use the same proportions of lipids and CHO when exercising at the same relative exercise intensity and as intensity increases, CHO use increases and lipid use decreases. The present results showed that the HCR's had a VO2max and distance run to exhaustion that was 1.3 and 4.0 times greater than the LCR's respectively. Also, both groups of rats followed the pattern of fuel selection seen in previous studies where the same proportions (in%) of lipids and CHO are used at the same relative exercise intensity. On an absolute scale, the HCR's used more lipids and CHO than the LCR's at all exercise intensities but the results were not always statistically significant. We also determined the exercise intensity that elicited the greatest lipid use to be 60% VO2max in both groups.</p> <p> In order to explain these patterns of fuel selection, metabolic indicators, metabolites and enzymes, in skeletal muscle were measured at rest and post exercise for one hour at 60%VO2max. Specifically, ATP and phosphocreatine (PCr) metabolite concentrations were determined in the medial and lateral gastrocnemius, extensor digitorum longus (EDL), tibialis anterior (TA), and soleus muscle. The medial gastrocnemius and soleus were analyzed (pre and post exercise samples were combined) for their oxidative and glycolytic enzyme activity by measuring citrate synthase (CS), cytochrome oxidase (COX), β-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase (HOAD), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) . PCr and ATP concentrations did not change pre and post exercise and between the HCR's and LCR's except for the EDL where there was a significant decrease (P<0.05) in both metabolites after exercise in both groups of rats. For the enzyme measurements, CS and COX activities were higher (P<0.05) in the HCR's for the soleus and HOAD activities were also higher in the HCR's medial gastrocnemius compared to the LCR's. We concluded that the HCR's have a greater oxidative capacity as shown by their greater aerobic and endurance capacity (VO2max and distance to exhaustion), their ability to oxidize a greater absolute amount of lipids and CHO's at the same relative exercise intensity, and their higher activities of oxidative enzymes in the soleus (CS and COX) and medial gastrocnemius (HOAD). Future research into the mechanisms involved in explaining these patterns of fuel selection may include examining fatty acid transport proteins, fatty acid and CHO availability, fiber types, and catecholamines.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

An important issue for sports scientists, coaches and athletes is an understanding of the factors within a running stride that can enhance or limit maximal running speed. Previous research has identified many sprint-related parameters as potential kinetic limiters of maximal Center of Mass velocity (Chapman and Caldwell, 1983b; Weyand et al., 2001). Bilateral asymmetry is present for many of these parameters during running; however the degree to which such asymmetries change as running speed increases is unknown. It was hypothesized that asymmetries in key sprinting parameters would be larger at maximal speed than all other tested speeds. Kinematics and kinetics were collected from nine female competitive speed and power athletes (age = 21 ±3 years, mass = 60.58 ±7.48 kg, height = 1.64 ±0.07 m) who completed maximal and submaximal sprinting trials on a force-instrumented treadmill. A repeated-measures ANOVA was completed for each parameter to examine the asymmetry differences across speed. The only parameter for which asymmetry was statistically greater (p<0.05) during maximal speed than all other speeds was effective vertical stiffness, in which the level of asymmetry increased incrementally with speed (r2=0.97). Therefore the hypothesis that asymmetries would increase with speed for all key parameters is rejected. Bilateral asymmetries in effective vertical stiffness appeared to be related to asymmetries in both vertical and A/P propulsive impulse at maximal speed. Furthermore, asymmetries in effective vertical stiffness may force runners to resort to a less stable and less coordinated gait, limiting their ability to further increase stride frequency, and thus limiting maximal speed.

Running popularity has led to a rise in chronic lower limb injuries resulting from cumulative loading. Many of these injuries are tibial stress fractures. Tibial accelerometers are commonly used to measure tibial stress and may even be predictive of injury at the distal limb. Lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmills have become increasingly popular amongst athletes and practitioners to prevent and treat lower limb injuries by reducing effective body weight (BW) through mechanical support. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if BW unloading affects tibial acceleration (TA) and shock attenuation. Twelve trained distance runners (Sex: 6 males and 6 females; Age: 18-30 years) were recruited for this study. TA was measured through two Blue Trident, IMeasureU step units located at the distal tibiae. A STATSports Apex unit was also used to measure acceleration at the superior trunk and calculate shock attenuation for each limb. It was found that BW unloading had no discernable effect on mean peak TA and shock attenuation, bone stimulus, or contact time, regardless of running speed. However, a significant relationship was observed between running speed and both mean peak TA and bone stimulus where an increase in speed led to an increase in TA and bone stimulus. Furthermore, running speed did not affect shock attenuation or contact time. In conclusion, BW unloading did not alter gait kinematics in trained distance runners. / Master of Science / Running popularity has led to a rise in chronic lower limb injuries, particularly stress fractures at the shin or tibia bone, due to greater impact forces and "stiffer" landings. Tibial accelerometers are commonly used to measure these impact forces and may even be predictive of injury at the tibia bone near the ankle. The process of reducing these impact forces is called shock attenuation. Lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmills have become increasingly popular amongst athletes and practitioners to prevent and treat lower limb injuries by unloading body weight (BW) through mechanical support. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if BW unloading affects tibial acceleration (TA) and shock attenuation. Twelve trained distance runners (Sex: 6 males and 6 females; Age: 18-30 years) were recruited for this study. TA was measured through two Blue Trident, IMeasureU step units located at the shin. A STATSports Apex unit was also used to measure impact at the upper trunk and calculate shock attenuation for each limb. It was found that BW unloading did not affect mean peak TA and shock attenuation, bone stimulus, or contact time, regardless of running speed. However, running speed significantly affected both mean peak TA and bone stimulus where an increase in speed led to an increase in TA and bone stimulus. Furthermore, running speed did not affect shock attenuation or contact time. In conclusion, BW unloading did not alter impact forces in trained distance runners. Caution is advised for individuals with injuries at the shin when using LBPP treadmills.