<p><strong>Aim:</strong> During the second quarter of 2008, e-commerce increased with 21,1% compared to the same period 2007. The most popular products were books, cd’s, clothes and electronics. The reason why the turnover kept increasing for e-commerce while the traditional market was facing an unstable period was the new solutions possible on the web. Because of this structural change regarding e-commerce I found it an interesting case for a thesis. The subject for this study was a small company providing socks through the web, www.Onepair.se. The overall aim was to develop a marketing plan for the company. Research questions that are part of this aim are listed below.</p><p> </p><ul><li>Investigate the consumer’s opinion about the company and the product. </li><li>Study the distribution channel, e-commerce.</li><li>Analyse the product and the competitive situation.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Method:</strong> Most of the information is primary data from an interview with the founder of Onepair and from a survey with potential customers. Information from personal interview with the founder is qualitative whereas information from the questionnaire is qualitative and quantitative (numeric). There are also secondary data collected from the web and articles/literature.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Result & Conclusions: </strong>Onepair mentioned quality, price and service as key features for the product. In the survey performed among potential customers, 49% of the participants thought that price was more important than both quality and design when buying socks. 33% thought that quality was most important whereas 18% put the design as the most important. Regarding the price for socks at onepair.se, 69% out of 161 participants thought the price was acceptable and 21% thought it was in the lower region. The competitor analysis showed that the price for socks from Onepair was well within the span comparing with competitors. With this information together, I think that the prices could be slightly higher. Quality is as mentioned above difficult to analyse for this product as the usage is different from person to person. As long as the price could be kept at a reasonable level I think it is worth to put some extra effort on quality. The reputation of having “bad-quality-socks” may be difficult to get rid of.</p><p> </p><p>Even though quality of the service at Onepair was not measured, their intension of delivery within 24 hours showed to be added value for the customer according to an e-barometer performed by Posten and HUI (Handelns utredningsinstitut). Among 1000 respondents in the “e-barometer”, 66% thought that a fast delivery was most important regarding the delivery when using e-commerce.</p><p>The distribution channel Onepair has chosen seems to be right if looking at trends from the “e-barometer”.  As much as 81% of 1000 consumers thought they would use e-commerce within the coming six months. The same trend was shown in the survey used in this study where 79% of 161 consumers said they would use e-commerce.</p><p> </p><p>If comparing Onepair with competitors, the company is not outstanding concerning any of the features discussed. One way they have differentiated themselves is by selling only socks. Many of the competitors are selling underwear and other clothes as well. Another feature that may attract customers is the combination of a reasonable price with a wide assortment. To be more differentiated I think there is a need for more marketing.</p>

Aim: During the second quarter of 2008, e-commerce increased with 21,1% compared to the same period 2007. The most popular products were books, cd’s, clothes and electronics. The reason why the turnover kept increasing for e-commerce while the traditional market was facing an unstable period was the new solutions possible on the web. Because of this structural change regarding e-commerce I found it an interesting case for a thesis. The subject for this study was a small company providing socks through the web, www.Onepair.se. The overall aim was to develop a marketing plan for the company. Research questions that are part of this aim are listed below.   Investigate the consumer’s opinion about the company and the product. Study the distribution channel, e-commerce. Analyse the product and the competitive situation.     Method: Most of the information is primary data from an interview with the founder of Onepair and from a survey with potential customers. Information from personal interview with the founder is qualitative whereas information from the questionnaire is qualitative and quantitative (numeric). There are also secondary data collected from the web and articles/literature.   Result &amp; Conclusions: Onepair mentioned quality, price and service as key features for the product. In the survey performed among potential customers, 49% of the participants thought that price was more important than both quality and design when buying socks. 33% thought that quality was most important whereas 18% put the design as the most important. Regarding the price for socks at onepair.se, 69% out of 161 participants thought the price was acceptable and 21% thought it was in the lower region. The competitor analysis showed that the price for socks from Onepair was well within the span comparing with competitors. With this information together, I think that the prices could be slightly higher. Quality is as mentioned above difficult to analyse for this product as the usage is different from person to person. As long as the price could be kept at a reasonable level I think it is worth to put some extra effort on quality. The reputation of having “bad-quality-socks” may be difficult to get rid of.   Even though quality of the service at Onepair was not measured, their intension of delivery within 24 hours showed to be added value for the customer according to an e-barometer performed by Posten and HUI (Handelns utredningsinstitut). Among 1000 respondents in the “e-barometer”, 66% thought that a fast delivery was most important regarding the delivery when using e-commerce. The distribution channel Onepair has chosen seems to be right if looking at trends from the “e-barometer”.  As much as 81% of 1000 consumers thought they would use e-commerce within the coming six months. The same trend was shown in the survey used in this study where 79% of 161 consumers said they would use e-commerce.   If comparing Onepair with competitors, the company is not outstanding concerning any of the features discussed. One way they have differentiated themselves is by selling only socks. Many of the competitors are selling underwear and other clothes as well. Another feature that may attract customers is the combination of a reasonable price with a wide assortment. To be more differentiated I think there is a need for more marketing.

The goal in this research is to design and implement a secure Hadoop cluster. The cloud computing is a type of network computing, where most data is transmitted through network. To develop a secure cloud architecture, we need to validate users first, and guarantee transmitting data against stealing and falsification. In case of someone steals the data, he is still hard to know content. Therefore, we focus on the following points: I. Authorization¡G First, we investigate the user authorization problem in Hadoop system, and then, propose two solutions: SOCKS Authorization and Service Level Authorization. SOCKS Authorization is a external authorization in Hadoop System, and uses username/password to identify users. Service Level Authorization is a new authorization mechanism in Hadoop 0.20. This mechanism to ensure clients connecting to a particular Hadoop service have the necessary, pre-configured, permissions and are authorized to access the given service. II. Transmission Encryption¡G To keep important data, such as Block ID, Job ID, username, etc, away from exposedness in non-trusted networks, we examine Hadoop transmissions in practice, and point out possible security problems. Subsequently, we use IPSec to implement transmission encryption and packet verification for Hadoop. III. Architecture Design¡G Based on the implementation framework of Hadoop mentioned above, we propose a secure architecture of Hadoop cluster to solve the security problems. In addition, we also evaluate the performances of HDFS and MapRduce in this architecture.

SYSTeam is an IT solutions supplier company that wants to develop a product which permits users to communicate with each other, over the Internet, in a secure way. The solution creates communication between two subnets which are connected through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) Gateway. The security of the communication is implemented at the application layer by using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol which carries, encrypted within it, a session layer technology called Sock-et-s (SOCKS). The communication prototype is developed in a Linux platform with the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) Eclipse and Java programming language.   There are many similar software-hardware based products in the market, but these solutions usually demand high budgets. This thesis shows the development of a communication prototype of a new, and low cost, alternative product. This report also describes how the Java SOCKS methods are increased with further functionality in order to reach the designed communication infrastructure. The entire implementation is tested by using a network analyzer software called Wireshark and a log function which writes out messages in order for us to know which part of the code is running.

Thesis (PhD (Sport Sc) (Sport Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

Thesis (M Sport Sc)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Compression socks (CS) are used as an ergogenic aid during and after exercise by many athletes of elite and recreational status. The exact mechanism whereby CS affect performance and postexercise recovery is not yet elucidated. Some research ascribes the beneficial effects to improved lactate removal rates with CS. One hypothesis is that CS improve venous return and thereby remove the lactate from the tissue to other tissues such as the liver, and the second hypothesis is that the CS cause retention of the lactate within the muscle and therefore improve the oxidation of the lactate within the muscle (Berry & McMurray, 1987). The current study endeavoured to test the hypothesis set by Berry and McMurray (1987) by measuring the effect of CS as well as flight socks (FS) on muscle oxygenation during exercise and recovery in endurance trained runners and triathletes. Eleven male endurance trained runners and triathletes (age = 34.8 ± 3.8 years, VO2max = 52.4 ± 7.1 mL.kg-1.min-1) participated in the study. They completed an incremental exercise test to exhaustion to determine their maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max) and peak treadmill velocity (PTV). Then they completed two 10 km treadmill running tests at 80 % of their PTV. During these two trials participants wore either CS or FS; the order of treatment was randomly selected. A subset of the study sample (n = 5) also completed a control test wearing only their ankle length sport socks (NS). After these trials, participants completed a 60 minute passive recovery period in the seated position while muscle oxygenation was measured. Compression under the socks was measured at several anatomically determined measurement points prior to the commencement of the exercise test, along with the determination of blood haemoglobin concentration ([Hb]). During the exercise trials, blood lactate concentration ([BLa]), skin temperature (ST),oxygen consumption (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), heart rate (HR), and muscle oxygenation variables (oxy-haemoglobin (O2Hb), deoxy-haemoglobin (HHb), tissue oxygenation index (TOI) and total haemoglobin index (nTHI)) was measured . During the 60minute passive recovery period, [BLa], ST, O2Hb, HHb, TOI, and nTHI measurements were continued. The results showed that there were differences in the pressure exerted between the two pressure condition (CS and FS) at the posterior ankle, and under the elastic of the sock as well as on the anterior calf at the level of greatest calf circumference. Differences in ST between the CS and NS and the FS and NS conditions were found between the first four 2 km intervals of the exercise protocol, but not during recovery. No differences were found in [BLa] between the three different compression conditions during either the exercise (p = 0.19) or recovery period (p = 0.63), as well as no differences in the cardiorespiratory variables during exercise between the three different compression conditions (VO2, p = 0.06; VCO2, p = 0.12; HR, p = 0.36). With regard to the muscle oxygenation variables, no differences were found between the three compression conditions during exercise, however there was a trend for lower oxygen utilization (HHb) during exercise in the NS condition (p = 0.57, medium to large practical significance). There were also no differences in these variables (O2Hb, p = 0.65; HHb, p = 0.57; TOI, p = 0.39; nTHI, p = 0.22) during recovery, although oxygen utilization (HHb) showed a faster recovery rate with increasing external pressure. From the results obtained, it seems that external compression caused a decrease in the blood flow velocity within the muscle, thereby increasing oxygen diffusion rate. During exercise this did not facilitate differences in [BLa], however, after the first 10 minutes of the recovery period, large practical differences were found between the NS and both sock conditions, suggesting that the increase in oxygen diffusion improved lactate clearance. This could support the hypothesis set by Berry and McMurray (1987). / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kompressie sokkies (CS) word gereeld deur beide rekreasie- en elite atlete gebruik as ‘n ergogeniese hulpmiddlel tydens oefening en herstel. Die presiese meganisme waardeur CS prestasie en post-oefening herstel beïnvloed is nog nie volledig verklaar nie. Sommige navorsing skryf die voordelige effekte toe aan die vinniger herstel van laktaat in die sirkulasie. Daar is tans twee hipoteses vir die meganisme waardeur CS laktaat verwydering verbeter. Die eerste hipotese is dat CS die veneuse terugvoer verbeter en daardeur die laktaat van die weefsel verwyder en na ander weefsels soos die lewer vervoer vir verwydering. Die tweede hipotese is dat CS veroorsaak dat die laktaat in die spierweefsel teruggehou word wat dan tot gevolg het dat die laktaat in die spier self deur middel van oksidasie verwyder word (Berry & McMurray, 1987). Hierdie studie poog om Berry en McMurray (1987) se hipotese te toets deur die effek wat CS sowel as vlugsokkies (FS) op spieroksigenasie het gedurende oefening en herstel in geoefende uithouvermoë hardlopers en driekamp atlete vas te stel. Elf ingeoefende langafstand hardlopers en driekampatlete (mans) (ouderdom = 34.8 ± 3.8 jaar; VO2maks = 52.4 ± 7.1 mL.kg-1.min-1) het aan hierdie studie deel geneem. Die deelnemers het ‘n inkrementele toets tot die punt van uitputting voltooi om hul maksimale aërobiese kapasiteit (VO2maks) en piek trapmeul snelheid (PTV) vas te stel. Die elf deelnemers het ook twee 10 km hardlooptoetse teen 80 % van hul PTV voltooi. Gedurende hierdie twee toetse het die deelnemers óf CS óf FS gedra; die volgorde van die intervensie was lukraak aan hulle toegeken. ‘n Subgroep van die steekproef (n = 5) het ook ‘n kontrole toets voltooi waartydens hulle hul eie enkelhoogte sport sokkies (NS) gedra het. Aan die einde van die hardloop protokol het die deelnemers ‘n 60 minuut passiewe herstel periode in die sittende posisie voltooi terwyl spieroksigenasie gemeet is. Kompressie onder die sokkies is voor die aanvang van die hardloop protokol by verskeie anatomies gedefinieerde punte gemeet. Verder was die bloed hemoglobien konsentrasie ([Hb]) ook gemeet voor die hardloop protokol. Tydens die oefeningtoets is bloedlaktaat konsentrasie ([Hb]), veltemperatuur (ST), suurstof verbruik (VO2), koolstofdioksied produksie (VCO2), harttempo (HR), sowel as spieroksigenasie veranderlikes (oksi-hemoglobien (O2Hb), deoksi-hemoglobien (HHb), weefsel oksigenasie indeks (TOI), en totale hemoglobien indeks (nTHI)) gemeet. Gedurende die 60 minuut passiewe hersteltydperk is [BLa], ST, O2Hb, HHb, TOI en nTHI metings geneem. Die resultate toon dat daar ‘n verskil is in die druk wat uitgeoefen word in die onderskeie druktoestande (CS en FS) op die been by die posterior enkel en onder die rek van die sokkie, sowel as op die anterior kuit waar die kuit die grootste omtrek het. Verdere verskille tussen die CS en NS en die FS en NS toestande is in ST gevind in the eerste vier 2 km intervalle van die oefeningtoets, alhoewel geen verskille tydens die herstelperiode gevind is nie. Tydens beide die oefening (p = 0.19) en herstel (p = 0.63) protokol is geen verskille tussen die drie kompressie toestande met betrekking tot [BLa] gevind nie. En so ook is daar geen verskille tussen die onderskeie kompressie toestande in kardiorespiratoriese veranderlikes (VO2, p = 0.06; VCO2, p = 0.12; HR, p = 0.36) tydens oefening gevind nie. Met betrekking tot spieroksigenasie veranderlikes was daar geen verskil gevind tussen die drie kompressietoestande gedurende oefening nie, alhoewel daar ‘n tendens was vir die NS toestand om tydens oefening minder suurstofverbruik (HHb) (p = 0.57, medium tot groot praktiese effek) te lewer. So ook gedurende herstel is daar geen verskil in hierdie veranderlikes (O2Hb, p = 0.65; HHb, p = 0.57; TOI, p = 0.39; nTHI, p = 0.22) gevind nie, alhoewel die suurstofverbruik (HHb) vinniger na die basislyn herstel het met ‘n toename in druk. Die resultate toon dat eksterne kompressie ‘n afname in die bloedvloei tempo in die spier veroorsaak wat dan ‘n verlengde suurstof diffusie tyd veroorsaak. Hierdie verlengde suurstof diffusie tyd het geen effek op [BLa] tydens oefening gehad nie, alhoewel daar na die eerste 10 minute van die herstelperiode ‘n groot praktiese verskil tussen die NS en sokkie toestande gevind was in [BLa]. Hierdie verskil kan daarop dui dat die toename in suurstof diffusie verbeterde laktaat verwydering tot gevolg het, wat dan die hipotese van Berry en McMurray (1987) ondersteun.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間健康科学) / 甲第21041号 / 人健博第57号 / 新制||人健||4(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科人間健康科学系専攻 / (主査)教授 市橋 則明, 教授 田村 恵子, 教授 万代 昌紀 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human Health Sciences / Kyoto University / DFAM

Introduction: The New Balance Core Low Cut Sock (New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. · Boston, MA United States) is one of many arch support socks out in the market. These socks have an elastic portion, called a Stability Fit Arch Support & Hold technology, which has been incorporated into the arch area of the sock. The company makes the following claim that the socks provide, "Gentle compression to support the arch, relieving arch-related pain and discomfort."1 If these socks do provide adequate arch support, then they would allow individuals the ability to have an inexpensive method of arch support that is easy to apply and use. The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of these socks in (a) navicular drop (b) static pressure insole pressure profiles and (c) dynamic (walking and running) pressure insole pressure profiles. Methods: Eighteen symptomatic, college age (age 18-26) subjects were used in this study (seven male, eleven female), with symptomatic being defined as a navicular drop greater than or equal to 10 mm. Measurements were collected for both the navicular drop, and F-Scan insole data, for both static and dynamic stance. For walking and running trials, heel strike and toe off were identified by the Tekscan System and COP excursion coordinates evaluated throughout the stance phase. The COP coordinates were exported then compared over the stance phase. A series of functional analyses was used to assess the between group differences. A paired t-test was used to assess the within group differences. Results: Results indicate that the arch support socks were not significantly different from the control (regular socks) along any part of the foot strike (95% confidence) in any of the conditions (standing, walking or running). Results from the paired t-test revealed no significant differences in navicular drop between sock types (p = .379). Discussion: This study found that the elastic band in the New Balance socks did not provide increased support to the medial arch of the foot compared to the control sock in either the navicular drop paired t-test or the functional analysis of the static and dynamic data. The authors could not find any other comparable study on these kinds of socks. Compared to other reports, using both orthotic inserts and tape, ND was reduced, unlike the results found in the present study. 2 Our data are inconsistent with the idea that increased elastic support to the midfoot by these socks provides significant arch support. The authors would suggest another form of arch support such as orthotics or taping to aid on arch support rather than these socks.

The research is attempting to acknowledge and explain the impact, if any, on homeless individuals not wearing socks. The curiosity for this study started on December 25th, 2018 when my family and I were volunteering at a homeless shelter in South Florida. After having numerous conversations with homeless individuals, I was informed on how they do not have enough pairs of socks to keep their feet in a healthy condition. Thus, I decided to initiate a sock drive to improve the lives of those who are homeless. This study is looking at a series of articles that are reviewing the different foot issues amongst the homeless community but are looking to see if socks play a role in the feet developing any foot diseases. It was hypothesized that homeless individuals will be at greater risk for foot disease if they live outside and have improper footwear. The objective of the study sought to review the current literature on the lack of socks for those who are homeless. Between the United States and Canada, it is estimated that nearly 700,000 individuals are homeless in a 2016 report. Of the 700,000 there are roughly two-thirds of this population that have some type of disease with their foot (To and Brothers, 2017). Majority of people who perform a good deed, such as give away old clothes or shoes, very seldomly donate socks according to the company Bombas socks. Throughout the course of my time volunteering, I have witnessed several homeless individuals wear shoes but not socks. Due to uncomfortableness, the individuals remove their shoes and it is very eye opening to observe their feet. Homeless shall be defined as “having no home or permanent place of residence” as per the Merriam-Webster's dictionary. The study was reported based on guidelines recommended by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) of 125 studies related to homelessness and foot diseases and disorders. Literature searches were carried out on PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. With an evidentiary table, the characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis (n = 100 studies) are presented. This analysis suggests that not wearing the appropriate foot protection (shoes and/or socks) leads to an increase in foot diseases and disorders among the homeless.

Wearable sensors and systems have become increasingly popular for diverse applications. An emerging technology for physical activity assessment is Smart Textile Systems (STSs), comprised of sensitive/actuating fiber, yarn, or fabric that can sense an external stimulus. All required components of an STS (sensors, electronics, energy supply, etc.) can be conveniently embedded into a garment, providing a fully textile-based system. Thus, STSs have clear potential utility for measuring health-relevant aspects of human activity, and to do so passively and continuously in diverse environments. For these reasons, STSs have received increasing interest in recent studies. Despite this, however, limited evidence exists to support the implementation of STSs during diverse applications. Our long-term goal was to assess the feasibility and accuracy of using an STS to monitor human activities. Our immediate objective was to investigate the accuracy of an STS in three representative applications with respect to occupational scenarios, healthcare, and activities of daily living. A particular STS was examined, consisting of a smart socks (SSs), using textile pressure sensors, and smart undershirt (SUS), using textile strain sensors. We also explored the relative merits of these two approaches, separately and in combination. Thus, five studies were completed to design and evaluate the usability of the smart undershirt, and investigate the accuracy of implementing an STS in the noted applications. Input from the SUS led to planar angle estimations with errors on the order of 1.3 and 9.4 degrees for the low-back and shoulder, respectively. Overall, individuals preferred wearing a smart textile system over an IMU system and indicated the former as superior in several aspects of usability. In particular, the short-sleeved T-shirt was the most preferred garments for an STS. Results also indicated that the smart shirt and smart socks, both individually and in combination, could detect occupational tasks, abnormal and normal gaits, and activities of daily living with greater than 97% accuracy. Based on our findings, we hope to facilitate future work that more effectively quantifies sedentary periods that may be deleterious to human health, as well as detect activity types that may be help or hinder health and fitness. Such information may be of use to individuals and workers, healthcare providers, and ergonomists. More specifically, further analyses from this investigation could provide strategies for: (a) modifying a sedentary lifestyle or work scenario to a more active one, and (b) helping to more accurately identify occupational injury risk factors associated with human movement. / PHD / The use of interactive or “smart” textiles that have sensing material(s) incorporated into them supports an emerging technology for physical activity assessment called Smart Textile Systems (STSs). STSs are an increasingly useful technology for researchers, athletes, patients, and others. Our aims in the current study were the development and assessment of a new smart undershirt (SUS) that was designed to monitor low-back and shoulder motions, and to evaluate the preferred placement and usability of two STSs. We also assessed the accuracy of two smart garments, smart socks (SSs) and the SUS, both individually and in combination. Accuracy was evaluated in terms of the ability of these systems to distinguish between diverse simulated occupational tasks, normal and abnormal walking patterns, and several typical daily activities. Our investigation indicated that STSs could discriminate between different human activities common in three domains: occupational scenarios, healthcare, and activities of daily life. We also found that both smart garments (i.e., SSs and SUS) provided similar accuracy for activity classification, typically exceeding 97%, and thus there was no clear superiority between these two smart garments. We conclude that, overall, smart garments represent a promising area of research and a potential alternative for discriminating and monitoring a range of human activities. Use of this technology in the future may have positive implications for health promotion.