Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, December 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Jan. 15, 2009). "Department of Biological Systems Engineering." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MS)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2008. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis Cash. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-106).

Thesis (M.S.) in Forestry--University of Maine, 2001. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-125).

Thesis (M.A.(Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Walking is the most popular physical activity reported by adults, and the benefits of walking are well documented in the literature (Fox & Hillsdon, 2007). Walkability refers to the friendliness of neighbourhood characteristics the enables pedestrian walking (Grant, Edwards, Sveistrup, Andrew, & Egan, 2010). A well-known and validated perceived walkability scale, the “Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale” (NEWS; Saelens, Sallis, Black, et al., 2003) was developed in San Diego, California. Several adapted versions of the NEWS have been previously constructed for continued use in warm climates; however, adaptations of the NEWS for climates with winter walkability have not been developed. The main objective of this dissertation was to adapt the NEWS for colder climates and to assess the reliability and validity of the adapted measure, the NEWS-North, by conducting three studies. The first study consisted of two phases. For the first phase, three focus groups reviewed the NEWS questionnaire in a Canadian context and provided feedback on how to adapt the NEWS for use in Canada and other northern climates. The inclusion of a winter walkability section as well as the removal of American spellings and measurements were among some of the suggestions from the focus groups. An initial draft of the NEWS-North was created based on the results from the focus group. For the second phase, this initial draft was sent to a panel of walkability experts to assess content validation. All of the nine subscales were evaluated as highly important during the content validation. In addition, the experts renamed several section titles to improve precision. In the second study and third study, data from an online pilot test in Ottawa, Canada of the NEWS-North was used. The validity based on the internal structure of the questionnaire (i.e., factorial validity) and reliability (i.e., and internal consistency and test-retest reliability) of the NEWS-North was examined in Study Two. In this study, only subscales with the same Likert scale were examined (i.e., seven subscales) following the instructions of the adaptation protocol. Our results suggested a 7-factor model structure based on a multilevel exploratory factor analyses (MEFA). In addition, the 7-factor MEFA model had good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.85 to 0.93) as well as adequate internal consistency (α = 0.53 to 0.75). In Study Three, the same seven subscales identified by the MEFA were included. In this study, a two-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) with spatial dependency analyses was used to examine the convergent validity in the NEWS-North across 64 Ottawa neighbourhoods. The HLM analyses examined each subscale of the NEWS-North with and without any control variables. More specifically, they determined how each subscale of the NEWS-North predicted walking behaviour in the last two weeks at each level. The individual level (Level One) was comprised of the seven subscales of the NEWS-North from self-reported data along with three control variables (i.e., dog ownership, season, and gender). The neighbourhood level (Level Two) was comprised of the six equivalent subscales measured objectively with one control variable. At the time of this study, unfortunately, an equivalent winter subscale was not available at the neighbourhood level. At the individual level without any control variables, only the sidewalk subscale was a marginally significant predictor of walking. However, the sidewalk subscale reached significance while controlling for dog ownership, season, and gender. At the neighbourhood level without controlling for resident median income after tax, two NEWS-North equivalent subscales were found to predict walking behaviours. The sidewalk subscale was marginally significant and the land-use access subscale (via Franks walkability index Frank et al., 2010) was significant. While controlling for neighbourhood resident median income after- tax, both the land-use access subscale and sidewalk subscale were significant predictors of walking over the past two weeks. Overall, this dissertation supports the development for a perceived walkability questionnaire for seasonal climates. In addition, the preliminary results overall provide initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the NEWS-North. Overall implications, limitations, and future applied uses of the NEWS-North are discussed.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Structure-function relationships for an alanine-rich, α-helical antifreeze polypeptide (AFP) from winter flounder were studied with the goal of understanding how AFPs depress the freezing point of water. A 37-residue native AFP and 23 analogs with systematic variations in the polypeptide chain were synthesized, and the α-helix content, antifreeze activity, and effect on growth rates of ice crystals along the a and c axes were determined. The results indicate that both the regularly spaced threonine and asparagine (or aspartic acid) residues are critical for maximal activity, and that the asymmetric arrangement of these residues on the helix face causes asymmetric adsorption of AFPs on the ice surface. Charged-residues, except for C-terminal Arg, are not very critical for antifreeze activity. Studies of hydrophobic residue mutants showed that the overall hydrophobicity is not particularly important. However, the Ala residue in position 17 appears to be important, because replacement with a bulky group abolishes antifreeze activity, presumably by interfering with the favorable side-to-side hydrophobic A model for binding of the winter flounder AFP to ice is proposed, whereby the AFP inhibits the growth of ice crystals by hydrogen bonding of Thr, Asn and Asp side chains in a specific pattern to the { 20 21 } hexagonal bipyramidal planes of ice, unidirectionally along the vector <1102>. It is further proposed that ice crystal growth inhibition occurs by a two-step mechanism: first individual AFP molecules hydrogen bond to ice reversibly, allowing slow growth of ice crystal; then at sufficiently high AFP concentrations, the AFP molecules begin to pack together on the binding surface by cooperative, side-to-side, hydrophobic interpeptide interactions, resulting in essentially irreversible binding and arrested ice crystal growth. The D-enantiomer of the AFP was also synthesized. The D and L-enantiomers alone, as well as a 50:50 mixture of D and L, all show identical antifreeze activity. These results indicate that complete coverage of the ice surface is not necessary, and suggest a model whereby AFP molecules bind in patches on the ice surface. / 2031-01-01

No description available.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of selected psycho-social factors associated with the gold medal winning peak performance of the 1998 Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Team. These psycho-social factors were grouped into six specific purposes: cohesion and coaching, team confidence, team-specific ideal performance states, individual confidence, individual task-specific ideal performance states, Olympic stress, and coping methods. In-depth interviews using a two-part interview guide were conducted with all 20 team members. Hierarchical content analysis procedures were used to analyze the interview data. Method triangulation in the form of quantitative instruments, source triangulation, analyst triangulation and member checks were utilized to support the credibility of the interview data. Results showed that the team was highly cohesive and confident. Primary sources of cohesion were the commitment to a common goal, mutual trust and acceptance, and coaching actions. Cohesion was considered to contribute significantly to performance. Sources of confidence were performance accomplishments, coaching, cohesion and perceived readiness. The team reported a very strong relationship with the head coach, who was considered highly effective. Collectively, the team did experience task-specific, ideal peliormance states at various times in selected games at the Olympics. On an individual level , athletes reported high confidence based on peliormance accomplishments, constructive feedback, role clarity, and effective preparation. Due to their preparation the athletes experienced few stressors and coped effectively with them. lndi vidually, the athletes also experienced ideal peliormance states during selected games at the Olympics. However, these states were fragile and not present for the entire duration of a game. The description of taskspecific, ideal peliormance states, collectively as well as individually, matched Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) theoretical model of flow. Unambiguous feedback was a particularly salient flow dimension for these team sport athletes. From a team development perspective, the team achieved the performing stage of its development at the Olympics characterized by high cohesion and confidence, role clarity, acceptance, and commitment as well as strong leadership and ideal peliormance states. Strength and limitations as well as practical implication of these findings with regards to preparing the team for 2002 were discussed.

No description available.

Mitt folkets hus befinner sig i Sandviken, ett mindre fritidshusområde norr om Södertälje. Under COVID 19 pandemin har diskussionen och behovet kring flexibla arbetsplatser och önskan om en mer naturnära livsstil ökat. I mitt projekt har jag undersökt hur en ny typ av distansarbetsplats som kombinerar arbete med rekreation skulle kunna se ut. Projektets gestaltning inspireras av bebyggelsen och bryggorna i Sandviken som är varierande och ibland spontan. Jag vill att byggnaden ska variera i sitt uttryck men genomgående följa samma grundläggande konstruktionsprincip. En stomme som förändrar sitt uttryck beroende på var man befinner sig i byggnaden. En annan viktig riktlinje är att byggnaden ska relatera till kroppen och platsens skala för att inte uppfattas som allt för stor eller monumental. / My project is located in Sandviken, an area north of Södertälje. A small place with mostly holiday homes. During the COVID 19 pandemic a discussion about flexible workplaces and the need for more outdoor activities have grown. My project explores what a new type of workplace that combines work and recreation could look like. The design is inspired by the local buildings and boat docks in Sandviken, which often varies in looks and in some cases feel very spontaneous. I want my building to vary in expression but follow the same principles of construction throughout. A structure which allow for a change in how it feels depending on where you are in the building. It has aslo been important for me that the size of the building relates to the scale of the site and the human body and to not make a monumental impression.