Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters’ Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / Background : Core strengthening may improve athletic ability by providing stability to the trunk, and as a result, stabilising the pelvis. The leverage from which cyclists generate power may be enhanced as a result of a stable pelvis, thereby improving the cyclist’s performance. In the popular, highly competitive sport of cycling, performance enhancement is much sought after. Despite its widespread use, research involving core strengthening in sporting situations is lacking, with studies investigating the effect of a core strengthening programme on cycling performance yet to be investigated. Objectives : To determine the participants’ cycling speed, power, cadence and completion time, and core strength in terms of objective findings, pre- and post- core strengthening intervention, in the whole sample and within the two age strata. To determine the participants’ heart rate in terms of objective findings, and the rate of perceived exertion in terms of subjective findings, pre- and post- core strengthening intervention, in the whole sample and within the two age strata. To determine the participants’ perception of change in speed, power and cadence post- intervention, in the whole sample and within the two age strata. Method : Forty-two asymptomatic cyclists performed two 1.5 km time trials, pre- and post- core strengthening intervention. Core strength assessments were performed pre- and post- intervention, using the Pressure Biofeedback Unit, and the maximum and average speed (km/hr), power (w) and cadence (rpm), and completion time (s) were recorded pre- and post- intervention, using the Computerised Electromagnetic Roller resistance Ergometer (Tacx Trainer). Heart rate and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded pre- and post- intervention, as well as the participant’s perception of change in speed, power, and cadence post- intervention. SPSS version 20 (SPSS Inc) was used to analyse the data, in the whole sample and stratified into two age strata. Results : ll cycling performance indicators, speed, power, cadence and completion time showed a significant improvement post- intervention, in the whole sample, and within the two age strata. Core strength indicators showed a significant improvement post- intervention, in the whole sample and within the two age strata. A significant decrease in rate of perceived exertion and corresponding heart rate measurements post- intervention was observed in the whole sample. Similarly, the younger age strata reflected a significant decrease in rate of perceived exertion, however heart rate measurements were not significant. In contrast, the older age strata showed significant changes in heart rate measurements, with no significance in rate of perceived exertion measurements. The majority of participants experienced an increased perception in all outcomes post- intervention. Conclusions: The results of this study found that core strengthening had a statistically significant effect (p < 0.001) on cycling performance, both in terms of objective and subjective findings. Future studies could address the effect of core strengthening in an endurance setting.

Šiame bakalauro baigiamajame darbe yra nagrinėjama vartotojų lojalumas ir jo stiprinimas sveikatingumo centrui „Hermis“ sporto klubui. Teorinėje dalyje nagrinėjama vartotojų lojalumo samprata, jį veikiantys veiksmai, vartotojų lojalumo tipai bei jų išmatavimas. Tyrimas atliktas Kauno sveikatingumo centro "Hermis" sporto klube, apklausti 57 teikiamų paslaugų klientai. Tyrimo metu siekta išsiaiškinti ar esami klientai yra lojalūs, kokie faktoriai labiausiai patenkina klientų poreikius ir kokius veiksnius būtų galima tobulinti siekiant išlaikyti klientus patenkintus ir lojalius bei klubui būti konkurencingu Kauno sporto klubų rinkoje. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad beveik visi anketinėje apklausoje dalyvavę vartotojai yra lojalūs, patenkinti gaunamomis paslaugomis ir rekomenduotų sveikatingumo centrą kitiem. / The Bachelor's paper analyses consumer loyalty and its formative elements in fitness center "Hermis". The theoretical part deals with the concept of customer loyalty, it formating factors, consumer loyalty types and measurement. The study was conducted in Kaunas fitness center Hermis', where 57 customers were interviewed. The study sought to determine whether existing customers are loyal, what factors satisfy customer needs the most and what factors can be improved in order to keep customers satisfied and loyal to the club while fitness center being competitive in Kaunas sports clubs market. Study revealed that most of customers are loyal, happy with the quality of services and tend to recommend fitness center to others.

Advanced composites have become one of the most popular methods of repairing and/or strengthening civil infrastructure in the past couple of decades. While the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer laminates and sheets for the repair and strengthening of reinforced concrete structures is well established, research on the application of FRP composites to steel structures has been limited. The use of FRP material for the repair and rehabilitation of steel members has numerous benefits over the traditional methods of bolting or welding of steel plates. Carbon FRPs (CFRPs) have been preferred over other FRP material for strengthening of steel structures since CFRPs tend to posses higher stiffness. The emergence of high modulus CFRP plates, with an elastic modulus higher than that of steel, enables researchers to achieve substantial load transfer in steel beams before the steel yields. This research investigates both analytically and experimentally, the bond characteristics between ultra high modulus CFRP strengthened steel members and the flexural behavior of these members. A series of double strap joint tests with two different CFRP strip widths are carried out to evaluate the development length of the bond. Both ultra high modulus and normal modulus CFRP laminates are used to compare strengthened member performance. Steel plates reinforced with CFRP laminates on both sides are loaded in tension to evaluate the load transfer characteristics. Debonding under flexural loads is also studied for ultra high modulus CFRP strengthened steel girders. Flexural tests are carried out under 4-point bending on several small scale wide flange beams. This study also introduces the novel ultra high modulus CFRP plate strip panels for strengthening of steel bridge girders. The first field application of ultra high modulus CFRP laminates in strengthening steel bridge girders in the United States is also carried out as part of the research. Full scale load tests carried out before and after the strengthening are utilized to measure the degree of strengthening achieved and checked against the expected results. A finite element model is developed and calibrated using data obtained from the field testing of the bridge. The model is then used to evaluate the behavior of the bridge under different conditions before and after the strengthening process.

The objective of this study is to characterize the long-term behavior of an austenitic-ferritic stainless steel-based pretensioned system for strengthening reinforced concrete bridge pier caps in shear. Stress relaxation experiments were conducted on UNS S32101 stainless steel bars subjected to various initial stresses and temperatures within the low homologous temperature (LHT) regime. Data from these experiments were used to develop a viscoplastic constitutive model to describe the long-term time- and temperature-dependent behavior of the stainless steel bars. This mechanics-based approach is integrated with an analytical method based on strut-and-tie analysis to compute the shear strength of reinforced concrete pier caps strengthened with this external pretensioned system.

The recent earthquakes in Turkey have shown the poor seismic performance of reinforced concrete. This led to widespread utilization of several strengthening methods, each of which is convenient in different aspects. However, what is required to apply any of these methods is to evacuate the building in question since the interruptions are mostly within the building and to the structural members. This study proposes a method for external strengthening of typical five storey reinforced concrete buildings that represent the majority of the built environment in Turkey. The method suggests addition of shear walls, which are connected to each other by means of diaphragms on two floor levels, to the existing external columns at four corners of the building. The positive effect of shear walls in seismic performance is already known / however / basically, the aim of this study is to discuss the feasibility of the proposed method in terms of architectural viewpoint since the method unavoidably covers great modifications on the architectural form of the building. Hence, the research mostly explores whether it is possible to give the reinforced concrete residential buildings, which constitute the majority of the built environment especially after 1950s due to the unhealthy urbanization period in Turkey, a common characteristic appearance by means of external structural members. As a whole, proposing an external strengthening method that provides not to evacuate the space, the study searches to obtain a typical fa&ccedil / ade resemblance by means of additional structural members.

Seit nunmehr über einem Jahrzehnt arbeiten die beiden Sonderforschungsbereiche 528 und 532 der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) an der Verwendung technischer Textilien im Bauwesen. An der RWTH Aachen (SFB 532) wurde in erster Linie der innovative Verbundwerkstoff „Textilbewehrter Beton“ untersucht, wobei das Ziel dünnwandige und hochbelastbare Betonbauteile waren. An der TU Dresden (SFB 528) wurde in erster Linie die Verwendung von technischen Textilien für die Verstärkung und Instandsetzung von Stahlbetontragwerken oder Holzbauteilen erforscht, um eine wirtschaftlich und technisch attraktive Alternative für die aktuellen Herausforderungen im Bauwesen anbieten zu können. Das 6. Kolloquium zu textilbewehrten Tragwerken (CTRS6) ist Teil einer Serie von Kolloquien, die seit 2001 von den beiden Sonderforschungsbereichen 528 (Dresden) und 532 (Aachen) abwechselnd organisiert werden. Das gemeinsame Abschlusskolloquium der beiden Sonderforschungsbereiche nach dem Ende der Förderung durch die DFG ist das sechste in dieser Reihe und wurde vom Dresdner SFB 528, allerdings diesmal zentral gelegen in Berlin, organisiert. Die Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler der beiden Sonderforschungsbereiche stellten ihre aktuellen Ergebnisse vor, wobei diese von Nachwuchswissenschaftlern aus den einzelnen Teilprojekten präsentiert wurden. Ergänzt wurde das Programm durch Vorträge renommierter internationaler Gastredner auf den Gebieten der Fasern und Textilien. / For more than a decade, the collaborative research centres 528 and 532 of the Deutsche For-schungsgemeinschaft (DFG) have worked on the application of textile fabrics in civil engi-neering. The RWTH Aachen (CRC 532) first and foremost dealt with the innovative composite “textile reinforced concrete” with the aim of developing thin-walled concrete components with a heavy-load capacity. The TU Dresden (SFB 528) concentrated on re-search into the strengthening and restoration of reinforced concrete load-bearing structures or timber components to provide an economically and technically attractive alternative for the current challenges in civil engineering. The sixth colloquium on textile reinforced structures (CTRS 6) is part of a series of colloquia which has been alternately organized by the collaborative research centre 528 (Dresden) and 532 (Aachen).After the DFG’s grant had come to an end, the joint sixth and final colloquium of both collaborative research centres, which was this time organized by the CRC 528 from Dresden, took place in Berlin due to its more central location. The scientists from both col-laborative research centres presented their current results which were explained by young scientists from the individual subprojects. The programme was complemented by presenta-tions by renowned international guest lecturers from the field of fibres and textiles.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Northwestern University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-202).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Mechanical Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Community-university partnerships have become more prevalent to support community-based research, especially as a collaborative approach to research with Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. One practice is the activation of a community-based research steering committee to initiate, govern, and review research pertaining to their local community. Within literature related to community-based research, perspectives on capacity strengthening and co-learning from the members of a community-based research steering committee are under-represented. A qualitative case study approach was used to explore the research question: What are the experiences of the Alexander Research Committee (ARC) members in defining and operationalizing capacity strengthening and co-learning across multi-sectoral research projects? Nine current and past members of the ARC participated in individual semi-structured interviews and five of these ARC members also participated in a subsequent focus-group discussion. Analysis of these qualitative data indicated that foundational relationships and a conducive learning environment are key factors for a community-based research committee to experience co-constructed knowledge and learning. The findings of this study highlight the importance of an operational foundation of trusting relationships in order to establish and sustain a working environment where a community-based research committee can learn together and from each other. This study also yielded insights about how this community-based research committee predicated capacity strengthening from the understanding that ‘we are all learners’, with each member bringing forward unique strengths, questions and growth to the research processes. / Graduate

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho é o estudo experimental do comportamento e do desempenho de vigas de concreto armado reforçadas à flexão com tecidos de compósitos de fibras de carbono.O programa experimental consiste no ensaio de sete vigas biapoiadas com um vão em balanço. Todas as vigas possuem a mesma seção transversal, armaduras e vãos,dimensionadas de forma que, antes do reforço, o valor do momento positivo máximo seja igual ao do momento negativo máximo. A primeira viga ensaiada não foi reforçada e foi utilizada como viga de referência. As vigas reforçadas foram divididas em dois grupos. No primeiro grupo, três vigas foram igualmente reforçadas nas regiões de momentos máximos positivos e negativos. No segundo grupo, três vigas tiveram sua armadura de reforço duplicada, em relação às vigas do primeiro grupo, na região de momento máximo negativo.As vigas foram concretadas, instrumentadas e ensaiadas no Laboratório de Estruturas e Materiais da PUC-Rio. Para tentar reproduzir a situação real, o carregamento foi aplicado nas vigas reforçadas até atingir cerca de 50% do valor previsto para a ruptura. Neste instante a viga já apresentava diversas fissuras e o ensaio foi interrompido para aplicação do reforço sob carregamento.Os resultados obtidos para as vigas em termos de deflexão, deformação da armadura,fissuração, modo e carga de ruptura são analisados. É possível verificar um aumento significativo de resistência e rigidez das vigas reforçadas, confirmando a eficiência deste tipo de reforço. A ductilidade avaliada em termos de critérios energéticos aparece como um parâmetro adequado para a análise do comportamento estrutural de vigas reforçadas com tecidos de compósitos de fibras de carbono. / [en] This investigation deals with the experimental evaluation of the performance of carbon fiber composites used for flexural strengthening of six reinforced concrete beams. The experimental program consists on the tests of seven simply supported beams with an overhanging portion, each one with the same cross section, steel reinforcement and span.The beams were designed to have the same value of maximum positive and negative moments. The first beam was not strengthened and it was used as a reference beam. The flexural strengthening of two categories of beams was considered. Category I beams were designed with equal flexural strengthening in the maximum negative and positive moments region. Category II beams were designed with double flexural strengthening in the maximum negative moment region.A total of three concrete beams of each category were constructed, instrumented and tested at the PUC-Rios Structures and Materials Laboratory. The average concrete strength was 20 MPa. The reinforcement steel bars have a yield strength of MPa. The flexural strengthening was applied under loading.The responses of the beams in terms of deflections, strains and modes of failure were examined. It was possible to verify a significant increasing in loading-carrying capacity of the beams due to strengthening. The results of this investigation are useful in substantiating the design data and providing design guidelines for this type of strengthening and they show that the energetic criterions are adequate parameters for the analysis of the beams.