Background: Sagittal plane external flexion moment in early stance has been reported to be both higher and lower in people with medial knee OA compared to control subjects. Purpose: Sagittal plane knee joint kinetics and kinematics were compared between people with medial compartment OA and healthy subjects. Subjects with OA and low pain scores were also compared to those with OA and moderate pain scores. Subjects: Forty people with medial knee OA and 40 age and sex matched control subjects. Method: Knee alignment and OA severity were measured from radiographs. Frontal and sagittal plane moments and knee flexion angle during gait were measured using a three dimensional motion analysis system and force plates. The Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) was used to measure pain; this score was used to divide the OA group into low pain and moderate pain OA groups. The relationship between knee flexion moment in early stance and gait speed, knee flexion angle and pain was also determined. Results: Subjects with OA had lower gait speed and cadence, and higher double limb support time. Peak knee adduction moment (first 50% of the gait cycle) was higher in the OA group. The knee flexion moment in early stance did not differ between groups; however the knee extension moment in late stance was lower in the knee OA group. The moderate pain group walked more slowly than the low pain group. The knee adduction moment, sagittal plane moments and knee flexion angle in stance did not differ between OA groups. A positive correlation was found between knee flexion moment and knee flexion angle in early stance in the knee OA group; the correlations between knee flexion moment and pain and gait speed were not significant. Conclusion: No differences were found in the knee flexion moment or stance phase knee flexion angle between the groups compared in this study, and therefore the results do not contribute to resolution of the controversy in the literature. Participants with knee OA in this study had relatively mild to moderate disease severity, which may have contributed to the non-significant findings. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2009-08-27 00:37:29.466

Na základě Monte Carlo simulace bylo provedeno porovnání estimátorů klasických a některých nově navržených měr variability, relativní variability, šikmosti a kurtozy. Z celkem 40 různých populací bylo pořízeno vždy 16 000 výběrů o rozsahu n = {7; 15; 23; 31; 47; 63; 100; 200; 350; 500; 1000}. Z každého výběru byly vypočteny hodnoty estimátorů měr založených na momentech, kvantilech, L momentech a jejich modifikacích a robustních měr založených na mediánu funkce lineární kombinace pořádkových statistik. Na základě experimentu bylo provedeno porovnání výběrových vlastností jednotlivých estimátorů z hlediska variability, vychýlení a rychlosti konvergence jejich výběrových rozdělení k normalitě. U estimátorů vybraných charakteristik byla dále na základě experimentálně odhadnuté průměrné síly testu posouzena vhodnost jejich použití jako testového kritéria při testu o rozdělení, z něhož výběr pochází. Zároveň byla porovnána síla závislosti estimátorů nově navržených charakteristik s estimátory momentovými s cílem posoudit, zda je možné danou charakteristiku skutečně považovat za vhodnou alternativu charakteristiky momentové. Výsledky ukazují, že estimátory momentových měr jsou vyhovující pro popis souboru pouze při výběrech z populací nepříliš odlišných od normálního rozdělení. S rostoucí odlišností od normality rychle roste relativní variabilita i vychýlení jejich estimátorů a projevují se různé anomálie v jejich chování. Vhodnou alternativou k mírám založeným na klasických momentech i kvantilech by se mohly stát míry založené na L momentech, jejichž estimátory vykazují ve většině případů nejlepší výběrové vlastnosti a zároveň vykazují vysokou míru závislosti s hodnotami estimátorů momentových charakteristik. Modifikace L-momentů, tzv. LQ- a TL-momenty, nepřinášejí oproti mírám založeným na L-momentech žádné zlepšení, v některých ohledech vykazují výrazně horší vlastnosti.

This thesis includes three chapters regarding influence functions, higher moments, and futures hedging. In Chapter 2, the objective is to use an influence function to better understand semi-kurtosis for use in analyzing peakedness and tail heaviness on one side of a distribution. Also, it is shown that both the right side semi-kurtosis and left side semi-kurtosis summed together, equal kurtosis, so the ratio of semi-kurtosis to kurtosis can be used to analyze asymmetry, as an alternative to skewness. In Chapter 3, the objective is to analyze higher moments of daily, weekly, and monthly stock market returns using large stocks, technology stocks, and small cap stocks. Kurtosis is found to be positive (greater than 3) and statistically significant for all of the daily and weekly stock market returns, indicating peakedness and fat tails. Similar to kurtosis, the left side semi-fourth moment (semi-kurtosis) is also found to be positive (greater than 1.5) for all of daily and weekly returns, indicating peakedness and fat tails on the left sides of the distributions. Skewness is found to be both positive and negative in the daily stock returns data, indicating asymmetry but with no consistent patterns. The fifth moment is also used to analyze asymmetry, as an alternative to skewness. The fifth moment and skewness (third moment) sometimes indicate opposite asymmetry results, as evidenced by different signs for the two moments. This is because the exponent of five for the fifth moment amplifies observations further from the mean, more so than the exponent of three for skewness. In Chapter 4, the objective is to analyze research on futures hedging and to identify the major factors affecting the use of futures hedging by commodity producers. A multifactor conceptual model is developed that explains the factors and subfactors that are likely to affect the commodity producers’ hedging decisions. Factors include industry characteristics, business operation characteristics, management characteristics, futures hedging costs, and substitute risk management instruments. This model provides a more complete understanding of the factors and subfactors affecting futures hedging, and should be of interest to academics and practitioners working with hedging models.

This thesis includes three chapters regarding influence functions, higher moments, and futures hedging. In Chapter 2, the objective is to use an influence function to better understand semi-kurtosis for use in analyzing peakedness and tail heaviness on one side of a distribution. Also, it is shown that both the right side semi-kurtosis and left side semi-kurtosis summed together, equal kurtosis, so the ratio of semi-kurtosis to kurtosis can be used to analyze asymmetry, as an alternative to skewness. In Chapter 3, the objective is to analyze higher moments of daily, weekly, and monthly stock market returns using large stocks, technology stocks, and small cap stocks. Kurtosis is found to be positive (greater than 3) and statistically significant for all of the daily and weekly stock market returns, indicating peakedness and fat tails. Similar to kurtosis, the left side semi-fourth moment (semi-kurtosis) is also found to be positive (greater than 1.5) for all of daily and weekly returns, indicating peakedness and fat tails on the left sides of the distributions. Skewness is found to be both positive and negative in the daily stock returns data, indicating asymmetry but with no consistent patterns. The fifth moment is also used to analyze asymmetry, as an alternative to skewness. The fifth moment and skewness (third moment) sometimes indicate opposite asymmetry results, as evidenced by different signs for the two moments. This is because the exponent of five for the fifth moment amplifies observations further from the mean, more so than the exponent of three for skewness. In Chapter 4, the objective is to analyze research on futures hedging and to identify the major factors affecting the use of futures hedging by commodity producers. A multifactor conceptual model is developed that explains the factors and subfactors that are likely to affect the commodity producers’ hedging decisions. Factors include industry characteristics, business operation characteristics, management characteristics, futures hedging costs, and substitute risk management instruments. This model provides a more complete understanding of the factors and subfactors affecting futures hedging, and should be of interest to academics and practitioners working with hedging models.

This study is concerned with the development of extended fluid-dynamic models for the prediction of micro-scale flows. When compared to classical fluid descriptions, such models must remain valid on scales where traditional techniques fail. Also, knowing that solution to these equations will be sought by numerical methods, the nature of the extended models must also be such that they are amenable to solution using computational techniques. Moment closures of kinetic theory offer the promise of satisfying both of these requirements. It is shown that the hyperbolic nature of moment equations imbue them with several numerical advantages including an extra order of spacial accuracy for a given reconstuction when compared to the Navier-Stokes equations and a reduced sensitivity to grid irregularities. In addition to this, the expanded set of parameters governed by the moment closures allow them to accurately model many strong non-equilibrium effects that are typical of micro-scale flows. Unfortunately, traditional moment models have suffered from various closure breakdowns, and robust models that offer a treatment for non-equilibrium viscous heat-conducting gas flows have been elusive. To address these issues, a regularized 10-moment closure is first proposed herein based on the maximum-entropy Gaussian moment closure. This mathematically well-behaved model avoids closure breakdown through a strictly hyperbolic treatment for viscous effects and an elliptic formulation that accounts for non-equilibrium thermal diffusion. Moreover, steps toward the development of fully hyperbolic moment closures for the prediction of non-equilibrium viscous gas flow are made via two novel approaches. A thorough study of each of the proposed techniques is made through numerical solution of many classical flow problems.

In this thesis, a feasibility study will be conducted in order to determine if the usage of acontrol moment gyroscope is a possibility for a micro satellite as its attitude control. Thegoal is to conclude if gyroscopes are suitable replacements for the current reaction wheelswhich are acting as the attitude control for the satellite. In the first part of the thesis thegeneral function of the control moment gyroscope and three different types of arrangementsare displayed with all their respective advantages and disadvantages. Then one ofthem will be designed to fit within the restrictions of 1U. The full design of the pyramidconfiguration was chosen due to its compact size and spherical angular momentum envelope.The full design contains all the components such as motors, flywheels, mounts,frame, screws etc. which provide a cost estimate which is a huge input in determiningthe feasibility of this thesis. In the future the manufacture of the pyramid configurablecontrol moment gyroscopes shall be tested in the future with a more advanced steeringlaw in order to determine the full potential of the attitude control system.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka didaktiska strategier i geografiämnet, med fokus på praktiska moment, utifrån en jämförande studie mellan waldorfskolan och den kommunala skolan. Anledningen till att de två skolformerna valts ut är att waldorfskolan, till skillnad mot den kommunala skolan, har en stark estetisk- praktisk utbildningstradition. Påverkar denna utbildningstraditionella skillnad geografiundervisningen, och i sådana fall, hur? Relationen mellan teori och praktik i klassrummet, samt effekten av olika undervisningsmetoder för elevernas ämnesförståelse, har också studerats. För undersökningen utgör kvalitativa intervjuer den huvudsakliga metoden. Sammanlagt har sex semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med högstadie- och gymnasielärare, tre från respektive skolform. Resultatet visar på skillnader, men också likheter, i relation till praktiska moment i geografiundervisningen mellan de olika skolformerna. Alla lärare uttrycker didaktiska strategier gällande teori och praktik men lägger olika tyngd på det ena respektive det andra. Dessa strategiska skillnader går att härleda till utbildningsfilosofi och styrdokument. Alla lärarna har ett elevcentrerat fokus, men de kommunala lärarnas undervisningsmål utgörs i högre grad av teoretiska samband och waldorflärarnas av erfarenhetsbaserade helhetsperspektiv.

Thesis advisor: Michael C. Martin / One way in which these ideas and influences are presented to humanity is through literature. By illustrating the processes and insights of the characters in search of the answers to these ultimate questions, novels can successfully portray the philosophical moment of clarity. Two novels in which the reader gains an insight into this moment of clarity are Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Each of these novels provides a different lens, focus and conclusion in the search for what is important in life and how humanity should view the world. Both authors use literature, specifically character experiences of moments of clarity, in order to portray a philosophy to the reader. Through the medium of literature, the reader is able to emotionally engage and become invested in the outcome of the characters and conclusion of the authors. This engagement of the reader creates a unique connection which fosters the ability for the reader to identify elements of the philosophical application in his or her own life which is absent through traditional philosophical texts. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2007. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Thesis advisor: John E. Ebel / Studies of aftershock sequences in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone (CVSZ) provide critical details of the subsurface geologic structures responsible for past and (possibly) future earthquakes in an intraplate setting. The 23 August 2011 MW 5.8 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake, the largest magnitude event recorded in the CVSZ, caused widespread damage and generated a lengthy and well-recorded aftershock sequence. Over 1600 aftershocks were recorded using a dense network of seismometers in the four months following the mainshock, offering the unique opportunity to study the fault structure responsible for the post-main event seismicity. Previous work has not accurately determined the geometry of the fault structure or the migration of post-mainshock seismicity and association of the 2011 event with a known fault has been unsuccessful. In this study, relative locations of recorded aftershocks were calculated using a version of the double-difference location method outlined in Ebel et al. (2008) to generate an accurate model of the fault structure. The moment tensor inversion technique of Ebel and Bonjer (1990) was used to generate focal mechanisms of dozens of the aftershocks at various locations on the fault structure. Results from the double-difference and moment tensor inversion methods were used to map the structure responsible for the aftershock sequence in high resolution. The calculated fault structure has planes with similar strikes and dips as known faults and geologic structures in the CVSZ. In-depth analysis of this aftershock sequence provides seismologists with the opportunity to better understand the seismic hazards present in poorly understood intraplate seismic zones. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Titel: Is sharing caring? En kvantitativ studie om intentionen att dela virala videor   Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi   Författare: Amanda Happ och Erik Wilhelmsson   Handledare: Jonas Kågström   Datum: 2019 – Januari   Syfte: Syftet med studien är att analysera faktorerna bakom intentionen att dela en viral video på internet utifrån begreppen videokvalitet, empati, kontroll, altruism och inkludering. Studien genomförs således för att bidra med kunskap om intentionen bakom virala videodelningar till marknadsförare inom ämnet.   Metod: En kvantitativ metod har använts där data har samlats in genom en webbaserad enkätundersökning med 480 kvinnliga respondenter från 16 år och uppåt. Data har bearbetats i analys- och statistikprogrammet SPSS genom deskriptiv-, faktor-, kluster- och korrelationsanalys.   Resultat & slutsats: Resultatet visar att inkludering, altruism och i viss mån kontroll är de främsta faktorerna för att skapa en intention att dela virala videor på internet. Vidare visar resultatet att personer som väljer att dela virala videor med sina vänner ofta vill uppnå förstärkta band till gruppens medlemmar och bekräftelse av sin egen roll i den sociala gruppen.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar till ökad kunskap om vilka beteendefaktorer som ligger bakom beslutet att dela en viral video på internet. Denna kunskap kan hjälpa yrkesutövare skapa en marknadsföringskampanj som har till syfte att bli viral på internet.      Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Fortsatt forskning bör rikta sig till andra målgrupper, förslagsvis män. Det är även relevant att utföra en större undersökning där intentionen hos både sändare och mottagare (som i sin tur delar videon vidare) analyseras för att kunna påträffa eventuella likheter och skillnader hos dessa olika grupper.   Nyckelord: Virala videor, delning, eWOM, FIRO, Moment-to-Moment Likeability / Title: Is sharing caring? A quantitative study about the intention behind sharing viral videos.   Level: Student thesis, final assignment for bachelor’s degree in business administration.   Author: Amanda Happ and Erik Wilhelmsson   Supervisor: Jonas Kågström   Date: 2019 – January   Aim: The aim of this paper is to analyze factors behind the intention to share a viral video on the internet based on the concepts of video quality, empathy, control, altruism and inclusion.  This paper aims to contribute knowledge of the intention behind sharing viral videos to marketers within the subject.   Method: A quantitative method has been performed where data has been collected through a web-based survey of 480 female respondents from 16 years and older. Data has been processed in the analysis- and statistical program SPSS by using descriptive-, factor-, cluster- and correlation analysis.   Result & Conclusions: The result shows that inclusion, altruism and, to some extent, control are the main factors for creating an intention to share viral videos on the internet. Furthermore, the result shows that people who choose to share viral videos with their friends often want to strengthen ties to other group members and reinforce their role in the social group.   Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes to increased knowledge of the behavioral factors behind the decision to share a viral video. Knowledge can help professionals when a marketing campaign is being created with the aim of becoming viral on the internet.   Suggestions for future research: Continued research should target other groups, preferably men. It is also relevant to conduct a larger survey where the intention of both creator and receiver of viral content are analyzed to identify any similarities and differences between them.   Key words: Viral videos, forwarding intention, eWOM, FIRO, Moment-to-Moment Likeability