The purpose of the study was to identify the lower limb kinematic adaptations made in normal gait to accommodate to static transverse slopes. Five male subjects were asked to walk along a platform at 0%, 5% and 10% slope. Kinematic data for the ankle, knee and hip were collected at 60Hz using the Ultratrak RTM (Polhemus Inc., Burlington, VT, USA) electromagnetic tracking system. Results indicated that significant (p < 0.05) joint angle changes occurred in both the uphill (UH) and downhill (DH) lower limbs. The adaptations served as compensatory changes to functionally shorten the UH limb and lengthen the DH limb.

During, the Churchill Coalition, 1940-45, there developed within tile Government a coherent thesis that the Soviet Union would follow a post-war policy of cooperation with Britain. Soviet foreign policy-makers were perceived to have till-cc options; isolation, enmity or collaboration. Three central perceptions produced tile theory that cooperation was the likely choice. The first that developed, from 1940, was the view that Soviet aims were limited, largely defensive, and not likely to impinge upon areas of vital British interest. Far from desiring to propagwie world revolLitioii, Stalin simply wanted protection, particularly against a resurgent Germany, to continue the internal development of industrialization and state socialism interrupted by the war. After Barbarossa, the immense task of Soviet reconstruction became a second factor. Even if the USSR attempted to do this without foreign help, its rulers would seek tile cheapest possible foreign policy to enable them to coriccritratc on it: collective security in cooperation with Britain and possibly the USA. Third, Stalin was now secii iis it wise, realist statesman who had become persuaded of the wisdom of a cooperation policy will, the West. Linked with these assumptions were conclusions drawn from observations of changes in the USSR in the war, especially the revivill of nationalism, and from observation of the sensitivity of Soviet leaders. Debate on these percept ions and tile policy that should follow chiefly took place within the 1,0 departments, between thern and their ambassadors in Moscow and other places, with the military, and intermittently in Cabinet. Ilowevcr, while a policy combining "firmness" and "frankness" was preferred by most, considerations of Soviet sensitivity meant it wits never I'Llily implemented. Thus in February 1945, there was a rough consensus that [lie Soviets would try cooperation, but there was uncertainty as to the optimum British policy to maximise the chances of securing it.

This Master's Thesis studies the theme of the stroll (promenade) and the various metaphors it inspires in a selection of humanist works from the 16th and 17th centuries. Furthermore, it attempts to show that the image of the promenade acts as an emblem to various intellectual trends here united under the concept of openness. The diverses uses of the promenade are each considered to be emblematic of a level of ouverture which, in turn, forms the subject of a section of the thesis: I. Openness to the world, where the theme of the stroll is studied in relation to another great humanist commonplace: that of the "book of the world"; II. Openness to the other, where, with special emphasis on Jacques Tahureau's Dialogues (published in 1565), the promenade is shown to be emblematic of the sociability so highly regarded by humanists; III. Rhetorical openness, where, with particular emphasis on Montaigne's Essays (published between 1580 and 1595) and Etienne Pasquier's Letters (published between 1585 and 1619), are examined the rhetorical meanings of the promenade; and finally IV. Philosophical openness, where, with particular emphasis on Francois La Mothe Le Vayer's La Promenade (published between 1662 and 1664), the emblem of the stroll is shown to be inextricably linked to philosophical skepticism. A brief epilogue points to the literary future of the promenade and links the aesthetics of humanist openness to some contemporary epistemological trends.

Although custom-made foot orthotics are commonly prescribed to relieve lower limb injuries, few studies have documented their effects on the biomechanics of locomotion. The objective of this project was to quantify the effect of orthotic wear on kinematic, kinetic and electromyographic characteristics of the legs during walking and running. Fourteen subjects with custom-made foot orthotics were asked to run and walk over a 10-m walkway. Kinematic, kinetic and electromyographical parameters were recorded during all trials. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and paired students t-tests were used to evaluate the effect of orthotic wear as well as foot type (flat, normal). With orthotic wear, the activity of the soleus muscle was decreased for both groups of subjects with and without flat feet during running. The effect of orthotic wear on all other parameters was not significant. More in-depth studies are needed to generalize these results on the overall population of orthotic wearers.

This thesis includes four projects that examine motor learning and assess novel approaches for the training and evaluation of walking. In Project 1 we study motor adaptation in children aged 8-36 months using a split-belt treadmill. Split-belt walking, in which one leg moves faster than the other, causes asymmetries in interlimb coordination. Adaptation is manifest as decreases in the asymmetries with practice, and an aftereffect (i.e., asymmetry in the opposite direction) upon the return to normal treadmill walking. Most children showed adaptation in double support time (temporal measure of interlimb coordination), but fewer showed adaptation in the spatial measures of step length and centre of oscillation. Hence, the mechanisms controlling adaptation of temporal coordination may mature before those controlling spatial coordination. In Project 2 we studied interlimb coordination and long-term training in infants aged 3-10 months. We found that most infants expressed the same type of coordination (i.e., alternate or synchronous) when kicking, a non-weight bearing movement, and when weight bearing on the treadmill. We also showed that daily practice of the non-preferred coordination in weight bearing for 1 month changed the preferred coordination for non-weight bearing movements. These findings suggest there is partial sharing of neural substrates for interlimb coordination of different leg movements in infants. In Project 3 we compared 2 methods of walking training body weight-supported treadmill training (BWSTT) and an over-ground method involving challenging practice of relevant walking skills (called skill training). Four individuals with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury (ISCI) completed 3 months of BWSTT followed by 3 months of skill training, or vice versa. We found skill training to be as effective as BWSTT at improving walking skill, speed, endurance and confidence. In Project 4 we developed a new measure of walking for ISCI, called the Spinal Cord Injury Functional Ambulation Profile (SCI-FAP). It involves the timed performance of 7 common walking tasks. The SCI-FAP has high inter-rater and test-retest reliability, and discriminative and convergent validity. Collectively the findings of this thesis will contribute to the optimization of walking training programs for adults and children with damage to the central nervous system. / Rehabilitation Science

Thesis (M Nursing (Advanced Practice))--University of South Australia, 1995

Thesis (M. P. H.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

Thesis (M. P. H.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Also available in print.

Thesis (D. Eng.)--Cleveland State University, 2008. / Abstract. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Feb. 2, 2009). Includes bibliographical references. Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center. Also available in print.

Zugl.: Konstanz, Univ., Diss., 2007