The holistic ecological approach (HEA) suggests that athlete’s talent development is influenced by the environment in which the athlete is embedded, and that some environments are more successful in facilitating athlete’s junior to senior transition. This study uses the HEA and the two working models to examine one effective talent development environment in Swedish table tennis. HEA promotes a case study design where the two working models are subsequently transformed into empirical models acting as a summary of the case. The focal environment was centred around a training group with supportive relationships, especially between the prospective and senior elite athletes. Furthermore, the environment supported the athletes in their dual careers (i.e., combination of sport and education), which helped the athletes to maintain a balanced lifestyle and to develop in both sport and life. The environment was characterized by a strong and coherent organizational culture centred around a basic assumption “we are community of committed members” contributing to the environment’s effectiveness, that is, to producing senior elite athletes, club growth, recognition, youth results and committed athletes in all ages. This study examines the pathway to sporting excellence in Swedish table tennis using the HEA and provides important insights to sport organizations working with talent development in a complex racket-sport, such as table tennis.

There is evidence suggesting that elite athletes cope better with high-intense negative emotions than the non elite athletes. It is unknown, though, whether elites reach such optimal levels because they have better emotion regulation skills (EReg) or a reduced emotional reactivity (EReact). The present study aimed at disentangling EReg and EReact processes using an experimental paradigm in table tennis players. Twenty-nine (14 elite and 15 non elite) table tennis players were tested using the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) to study their emotional responses after viewing low and high intense pictures; they were instructed to use different emotional regulation strategies (distraction or reappraisal) in the experimental phase. Regarding to emotional reactivity differences, results have showed that elite athletes’ negativity ratings were lower than those of the control group, where there were not any significant differences between men and women. Moreover the results about emotional regulation effectiveness showed that non-elite athletes and women responded more strongly to negative images than elite athletes and men but contrary to the emotion regulation hypothesis, no interaction between the group and the instruction was found as they were equally able to reduce negativity by employing emotion regulation strategies. / Tidigare forskning visar att elitidrottare är bättre på att reglera hög-intensiva negativa känslor i jämförelse med icke elitidrottare. Det är fortfarande oklart om elitidrottare når dessa optimala nivåer pågrund av bättre emotionsreglering (EReg) eller en lägre emotionell reaktivitet (EReact). Föreliggande studies syfte är att försöka klargöra EReg och EReact processer, genom att använda en experimentell design hos bordtennis spelare. Tjugo nio (14 elit och 15 icke-elit) bordtennis spelare testades med hjälp utav International Affective Picture System (IAPS) för att undersöka deras emotionella responser efter att ha observerat låg och hög-intensiva bilder; de instruerades att använda olika emotion reglerings strategier (distraktion och reappraisal) i experiment fasen. Gällande emotionell reaktivitet visade Resultatet att elitidrottares negativa poäng var lägre än kontrollgruppen, det var inga signifikanta skillnader mellan män och kvinnor. Vidare visade resultat kring emotions reglering att icke-elitidrottare och kvinnor reagerade starkare på negativa bilder än elitidrottare och män, i kontrast till emotion reglerings hypotesen hittades ingen interaktions effekter mellan grupp och instruktionen vilket tyder på att grupperna var lika duktiga på att använda emotions reglerings strategier.

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is a novel technology developed in the past few decades to better manage mining wastes (such as tailings) in environmentally friendly way. It has received prominent interest in the mining industry around the world. In this technology, up to 60% of the total amount of tailings is reused and converted into cemented construction material that can be used for secondary support in underground mine openings (stopes) and to maximize the recovery of ore from pillars. CPB is an engineered mixture of tailings, water, and hydraulic binder (such as cement), that is mixed in the paste plant and delivered into the mine stopes either by gravity or pumping. During and after placing it into the mine stopes, the performance of CPB mainly depends on the role of the hydraulic binder, which increases the mechanical strength of the mixture through the process of cement hydration. Similar to other fine-grained soils undergoing cementations, CPB’s behavior is affected by several conditions or factors, such as cement hydration progress (curing time), chemistry of pore water, mixing and curing temperature, and filling strategy. Also, it has been found that fresh CPB placed in the mine stopes can be susceptible to many geotechnical issues, such as liquefaction under ground shaking conditions. Liquefaction-induced failure of CPB structure may cause injuries and fatalities, as well as significant environmental and economic damages. Many researches studied the effect of the aforementioned conditions on the static mechanical behavior of CPB. Other researches have evaluated the liquefaction behavior of natural soils and tailings (without cement) during cyclic loadings using shaking table test technique. Only few studies investigated the CPB liquefaction during dynamic loading events using the triaxial tests. Yet, there are currently no studies that addressed the liquefaction behavior of CPB under the previous conditions by using the shaking table technique. In this Ph.D. study, a series of shaking table tests were conducted on fresh CPB samples (75 cm × 75 cm ×70 cm), which were mixed and poured into a flexible laminar shear box (that was designed and build for the purpose of this research). Some of these shaking table tests were performed at different maturity ages of 2.5 hrs, 4.0 hrs, and 10.0 hrs, to investigate the effect of cement hydration progress on the liquefaction potential of CPB. Another set of tests were conducted to assess the effect of the chemistry (sulphate content) of the pore-water on the cyclic response of fresh CPB by exposing cyclic loads on couple of CPB models that contain different concertation of sulphate ions of 0.0 ppm and 5000 ppm. Moreover, as part of this study, series of shaking table test was conducted on CPB samples that were prepared and cured at different temperatures of 20oC and 35oC, to evaluate the effect of temperature of the cyclic behavior of CPB. Furthermore, the effect of filling strategy on the cyclic behavior of fresh CPB was assessed by conducting set of shaking tables tests on CPB models that were prepared at different filling strategies of continuous filling, and sequential or discontinuous (layered) filling. The results obtained show that CPB has different cyclic behavior and performance under these different conditions. It is observed that the progress of cement hydration (longer curing time) enhances the liquefaction resistance of CPB, while the presence of sulphate ions diminishes it. It is also found that CPB mixed and cured in low temperature is more prone to liquefaction than those prepared at higher temperatures. Moreover, the obtained results show that adopting the discontinuous (layered) filling strategy will improve the liquefaction resistance of CPB. The finding presented in this thesis will contribute to efficient, cost effective and safer design of CPB structures in the mine areas, and will help in minimizing the risks of liquefaction-induced failure of CPB structures.

Basalt flows occur in the Snowville area of north-central Utah and the Table Mountain and Holbrook areas of south-central Idaho. All basalt flows are aphanitic in groundmass, and contain olivine, plagioclase, augite, and opaque oxides. They can be distinguished by texture. Snowville basalt has predominantly subophitic to intergranular textures. Table Mountain basalt is fine grained, with stumpy groundmass plagioclase and equant ilmenite crystals. Holbrook basalt has pilotaxitic to intergranular textures, with the presence of plagioclase phenocrysts and characteristic exsolution lamellae in Fe-Ti oxides. The olivine grains in Holbrook area are intensely oxidized to Fe-Ti oxides. Snowville basalt contains olivine phenocrysts (Fo88 -Fo44 ) in a groundmass of olivine (Fo63 -Fo47), augite (Wo42 -Wo36), and plagioclase (An77-An52). The lower flow unit of Table Mountain basalt contains olivine phenocrysts (Fo88-?) in a groundmass of augite (Wo44 En44 Fs17), and plagioclase (An58-An48). The upper flow unit of Table Mountain basalt has olivine phenocrysts (Fo82-Fo65), plagioclase phenocrysts (An73-An67), and plagioclase groundmass (An64-An55). The Holbrook basalt is composed of olivine phenocrysts (Fo67-Fo57)and plagioclase phenocrysts (An68-An43 ) in a groundmass of olivine (Fo59Fos53) augite (Wo39 En44 Fs17), and plagioclase (An67-An35). The basalts of the Snowville and Holbrook areas, represent petrographic, mineralogical, and chemical characteristics of both olivine-tholeiitic basalt and alkali-olivine basalt, whereas Table Mountain upper and lower flow units show their affinity with alkali-olivine basalt. Chemically, basalts from these three areas are consistently high in silica, magnesium, and alkali content. The Snowville basalt has a high Ba content and high strontium isotope ratio. Fractional crystallization models indicate that the basalt flows from the three different areas are genetically unrelated. The testing also suggests that the upper and lower flow units of the Table Mountain area are not genetically related. The basalts of the three areas also can not be evolved from the basalts found at Kelton, the Rozel Hills or Black Mountain. Basalts of the Snowville area have consistently higher magnesium and silica contents than Snake River basalt, Kelton area basalt, and Rozel Hills and Black Mountain basalt, indicating that they may represent what was initially a very primitive basaltic lava. High Ba content and strontium isotope ratio indicate that the Snowville basalt was contaminated by crustal material. Table Mountain and Holbrook basalt may have formed as a result of partial melting from a pyrolite or garnet peridotite mantle.

Arsenic (As) concentrations in groundwater that exceed the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) (10 μg/L) for drinking water have been reported throughout the United States, with higher occurrences in the Southwestern basin-fill aquifers. Levels of As above the MCL were measured in wells throughout the Cache Valley Basin, Utah. The As is naturally occurring in geologic material from the soil surface to depths of groundwater. This study reports on the mechanisms of retention and solubilization of As through these zones using geochemical modeling and microcosm studies. Two cores (NP 9 and NP 13) were collected from the soil surface to the depth of groundwater and sectioned based on observed redoximorphic features. Pore water was analyzed for As and iron( Fe) redox species, general water quality parameters and solid phase As, Fe and Mn using sequential extractions. These data were used in PHREEQC and MINTEQ geochemical models to predict mechanisms of As retention. Microcosm studies were performed using sediments from the water table zone. The sediments were exposed to oxidized, reduced, and poisoned conditions over time to evaluate the effect of the seasonal fluctuating water table on As release. Modeling results indicated As(V) was dominantly sorbed to hydrous ferric oxides (HFO) throughout both profiles. Although much less As(V) was sorbed to CaCO3, the percentage associated with calcite was 1.7 to 3.3% and 6 to 59% in the surface and water table zones for NP 9 and NP 13, respectively. As(III) solubility was controlled by the formation of an As-S mineral, orpiment. Microcosm findings, over 113-day incubation, concluded that regardless of treatment condition, As is released. For reduced samples As in solution was primarily As(III), while oxidized and poisoned samples only released As(V). The release of As under every condition, and the lack of reduced As and Fe in the poisoned samples, indicates that As release is abiotically controlled, while reduction is microbially driven. Carbonate minerals were the source of As(V) under treatment conditions as determined using an acetate extraction. Desorption of As(V) from carbonate minerals and the reduction of As(V) to As(III) played a significant role in explaining solution phase As(III) concentrations.

This paper deals with design and implementation of the information table control system. It is designed using UML model language and Rational Rose development tool. System implementation is based on the modern Microsoft .NET Framework component.

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