Dropout is a problematic phenomenon which wastes community, clinician, client, and researcher resources. Clients who dropout from therapy end up the same, or worse than, those who did not seek out therapy at all. While there is a relatively deep and broad understanding of dropout from individual therapy, an exhaustive review of couple therapy dropout literature reveals a very inconsistent and non-conclusive body of research. This may stem from a lack of a consistently used theory to guide research endeavors in this important realm. Primarily, this seems to stem from treating dropout as a static event rather than a process occurring across time. This study seeks to remedy this and shed new light on dropout from couple therapy by using a growth mixture model analysis to tease out which trajectories of change of predictor variables across time are more likely to predict dropout from couple therapy. While the results of this study did not reveal any significant relationships between class membership and dropout (likely due to a too small sample size), the study did find that there were distinct classes (trajectories of change) among the predictor variables across time.

The emergence and progression of the digital economy has distorted the core principles of international taxation. Foreign multinational companies now have the ability to fundamentally operate in market jurisdictions without having a ―physical presence‖. This poses a various challenges to the current international tax regimes because it enables businesses to have a ―significant economic presence‖ without a taxable nexus. Therefore, it becomes extremely difficult to ―ring-fence‖ the digital economy. The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has attempted to address these challenges in Action 1 of its Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS) Plan report entitled ―Addressing the Tax Challenges of the Digital Economy - Action 1: 2015 Report‖. Action 1 recommended a few proposals to address the challenges presented in taxing the digital economy, but they were not agreed upon. In the absence of a consensus on the proposals in Action 1, especially from a direct tax perspective, a number of countries began to explore unilateral measures in order to protect their tax base. South Africa is referred to as the ―getaway to Africa‖ and considering South Africa‘s importance in the global economy, it is imperative to ascertain South Africa‘s approach to taxing the digital economy. This study will assess South Africa‘s approach to taxing the digital economy within the international tax spectrum. This assessment will be based on a review of the unilateral approaches taken by other jurisdictions, to determine whether South Africa has taken the correct stance in not taking direct tax measures so far, as well as to assess whether there is anything else South Africa can do to protect its tax base as it awaits global consensus on the taxation of the digital economy. The observations of this study discovered that the unilateral measures taken by the various countries have caused retaliations by trade partners, impractical implementation issues and has created greater uncertainty. This study affirms that South Africa‘s subtle approach to taxing the digital economy was correct and that the expansion of its current source taxation rules should be considered in order to protect the South African tax base whilst a ―global consensus‖ on taxing the digital economy is still to be reached. / Mini Dissertation (MPhil (International Taxation))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / pt2021 / Taxation / MPhil (International Taxation) / Unrestricted

Title: Compensatory exercises in ice hockey Objective: The aim of this diploma thesis is to create battery of compensatory exercises suitable for ice hockey. Methodology: It was used scientific method of observation - theoretical-empirical character. The results were measured by pre-intervention and post- intervation measurements. The results were compared with using a Cohen's coefficient d, an arithmetic mean and a percent. Results: We have created the battery of comepnsatory exercises suitable for ice hockey players. This battery was created by studying the literature, consulting with coaches and physiotherapists and from personal experience. We were found differences in all tests compering pre- intervention and post-intervation measurements, which indicate a tendency to qualitative shift. Key words: ice hockey, muscle imbalances, compensatory exercises, unilateral load

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and characteristics of audiograms that are notched (1) at 4,000 Hz and (2) at 3,000, 4,000, and/or 6,000 Hz. Bilateral audiograms from 1,000,001 veterans were obtained from Department of Veterans Affairs archives; after "cleaning" algorithms were applied, 744,553 participants (mean age = 63.5 yr) were included in the 4,000 Hz notch analysis (group 1) and 539,932 participants (mean age = 62.2 yr) were included in the 3,000, 4,000, and/or 6,000 Hz notch analysis (group 2). A notch was defined when the threshold at the notch frequency (3,000, 4,000, or 6,000 Hz) minus the 2,000 Hz threshold and the threshold at the notch frequency minus the 8,000 Hz threshold both were greater than or equal to 10 dB. In group 1, 77.1% did not have a notch at 4,000 Hz. In group 2, 65.3% did not have a notch at 3,000, 4,000, or 6,000 Hz; 12.4% had bilateral notches, 11.7% had left ear notches, and 10.7% had right ear notches. The notches were about twice as deep on the low-frequency side of the notch than on the high-frequency side. The mean left ear and right ear notch depths were about the same (23 dB), with mode notch depths in the 15.0 to 17.5 dB range.

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and characteristics of audiograms that are notched (1) at 4,000 Hz and (2) at 3,000, 4,000, and/or 6,000 Hz. Bilateral audiograms from 1,000,001 veterans were obtained from Department of Veterans Affairs archives; after "cleaning" algorithms were applied, 744,553 participants (mean age = 63.5 yr) were included in the 4,000 Hz notch analysis (group 1) and 539,932 participants (mean age = 62.2 yr) were included in the 3,000, 4,000, and/or 6,000 Hz notch analysis (group 2). A notch was defined when the threshold at the notch frequency (3,000, 4,000, or 6,000 Hz) minus the 2,000 Hz threshold and the threshold at the notch frequency minus the 8,000 Hz threshold both were greater than or equal to 10 dB. In group 1, 77.1% did not have a notch at 4,000 Hz. In group 2, 65.3% did not have a notch at 3,000, 4,000, or 6,000 Hz; 12.4% had bilateral notches, 11.7% had left ear notches, and 10.7% had right ear notches. The notches were about twice as deep on the low-frequency side of the notch than on the high-frequency side. The mean left ear and right ear notch depths were about the same (23 dB), with mode notch depths in the 15.0 to 17.5 dB range.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(農学) / 乙第12973号 / 論農博第2823号 / 新制||農||1037(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H28||N4955(農学部図書室) / 32411 / 新制||農||1037 / (主査)教授 久米 新一, 教授 今井 裕, 教授 松井 徹 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

To simulate crowds of people is of great social interest and is also believed to be useful when analyzing situations involving denser crowds. Many simulators seen over the years have however been struggling with simulating larger number of people, often due to a computationally expensive collision avoidance step. Furthermore, many simulators seems to forget the fact that people tend to stick together in smaller social groups rather than walking alone. A simulator for high density crowds has nevertheless been implemented through modeling crowds as a unilateral incompressible fluid. Together with an integration of groups onto this approach, the obtained solution allows for real time simulation of up to 3000 virtual people. The impact of having groups in simulations has furthermore been set as the overall goal of the thesis and has been analyzed through observing the effects of groups in various scenarios. A smaller user study has also been conducted in order to gain perceptual insights of groups in various crowd densities. These have shown that groups have a smaller impact on the crowd flow, and do not put a larger strain on the performance of the simulation. Groups are further proved to be perceived differently in different densities, with a possible difficulty for scenarios in higher density. / Att simulera folkmassor är av stort socialt intresse och tros även vara till nytta när man analyserar situationer som berör mer kompaktare folkmassor. Många tidigare simulationer har dock kämpat med att simulera större folkmassor, oftast på grund av höga beräkningskostnader mot förhindrandet av att två eller fler virtuella människor kolliderar in i varandra. Dessutom verkar många simulationer glömma bort att människor oftast går i mindre sociala grupper snarare än att gå var och för sig hela tiden. En simulering har trots detta gjorts genom att modellera folkmassor som en unilateral inkompressibel vätska. Tillsammans med en integration av grupper på detta tillvägagångssätt har lösningen visat sig alltsomallt ge simulation i realtid för uppemot 3000 virtuella människor. Effekten av att ha grupper i simulationer har vidare analyserats i en rad olika scenarion. En mindre användarstudie har också gett insikter i hur grupper uppfattas i olika kompakta folkmassor. Resultat har visat att grupper har en mindre effekt på folkmassor i det stora hela, och lägger inte en alltför stor påfrestning på simulationers prestanda. Det har också bevisats att grupper uppfattas annorlunda i olika kompakta folkmassor, med en viss möjlighet till svårare uppfattning i högre, mer kompakta folkmassor.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of short-term lower body unilateral resistance training on hormonal, muscle morphological, and performance measures in young men. METHODS: Seventeen healthy, untrained young men (Age: 22.8 ± 3.7 y; BMI: 26.5 ± 4.9 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to one of two groups (UT: 22.9 ± 4.6 y, 25.3 ± 4.2 kg/m2; CON: 24.0 ± 4.6 y, 27.7 ± 5.1 kg/m2). Resistance training consisted of 4 weeks of unilateral lower body and bilateral upper body exercises on 3 days per week. Each training session entailed unilateral countermovement jumps (3 × 8), unilateral leg press (LP), bilateral chest press (CP), unilateral leg extension (LE), and bilateral low row (LR). Strength exercises were performed for 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions; lower body exercises were performed with the dominant leg only. Muscle thickness (MT), pennation angle (PA), cross-sectional area (CSA), and echo-intensity (EI) of the vastus lateralis (VL) and rectus femoris (RF) muscles of both legs was assessed via ultrasound. Fascicle length (FL) was calculated as [MT / sin(PA)]. Maximal dynamic unilateral LP and LE strength was assessed during one-repetition maximum (1RM) testing; CP and LR 1RM strength was estimated as [repetition weight/(1.0278-0.0278)(reps)]. Maximal isometric knee extensor strength was isolaterally assessed via maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) testing. Mean and peak power output (Watts) was quantified during unilateral countermovement jumps via accelerometry. Fasting concentrations of total testosterone and growth hormone were obtained at baseline (PRE), immediately post (IP), 30-minutes post (30P), and 60-minutes post (60P) during both testing exercise sessions (Pre and Post). Following the 4-week intervention, all participants’ maximal dynamic and isometric strength, mean and peak power output, muscle morphology, and hormonal responses were reassessed. Performance, ultrasound, and area under the curve data were analyzed using ANCOVA to observe between-group comparisons while controlling for baseline (PRE) values. Endocrine data were analyzed using a two-way, mixedfactorial repeated-measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Participants in the UT group experienced significant strength improvements of the trained (28 to 150%) and untrained legs (12 to 160%). Training did not elicit significant improvements in maximal isometric strength or power output of the trained or untrained leg. The trained RF experienced significant increases in CSA and MT. The trained VL experienced a significant increase in CSA. Muscle size of the untrained leg was not significantly augmented. Training did not elicit changes in the acute hormonal response to exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Four weeks of unilateral lower body resistance training using the dominant leg appears sufficient to evoke strength gains of both the ipsilateral and contralateral legs. However, meaningful morphological changes were observed in the trained leg only. Differences in acute hormonal responses to resistance exercise did not appear to explain the observed differences. In addition, unilateral lower body resistance training did not appear to augment the acute endocrine response to an acute bout of resistance exercise. Current findings suggest that the cross-educational strength transfer during the early stage of training is attributable to factors other than changes in muscle morphology and circulating hormones.

Yes / Most clinically available prosthetic feet have a rigid attachment or incorporate an “ankle” device allowing elastic articulation during stance, with the foot returning to a “neutral” position at toe-off. We investigated whether using a foot with a hydraulically controlled articulating ankle that allows the foot to be relatively dorsiflexed at toe-off and throughout swing would increase minimum toe clearance (MTC). Twenty-one people with unilateral transtibial amputation completed overground walking trials using their habitual prosthetic foot with rigid or elastic articulating attachment and a foot with a hydraulic ankle attachment (hyA-F). MTC and other kinematic variables were assessed across multiple trials. When using the hyA-F, mean MTC increased on both limbs (p= 0.03). On the prosthetic limb this was partly due to the device being in its fully dorsiflexed position at toe-off, which reduced the “toes down” foot angle throughout swing (p = 0.01). Walking speed also increased when using the hyA-F (p = 0.001) and was associated with greater swing-limb hip flexion on the prosthetic side (p = 0.04), which may have contributed to the increase in mean MTC. Variability in MTC increased on the prosthetic side when using the hyA-F (p = 0.03), but this did not increase risk of tripping.

yes / Background: Minimum toe clearance is a critical gait event because it coincides with peak forward velocity of the swing foot, and thus, there is an increased risk of tripping and falling. Trans-tibial amputees have increased risk of tripping compared to able-bodied individuals. Assessment of toe clearance during gait is thus clinically relevant. In able-bodied gait, minimum toe clearance increases with faster walking speeds, and it is widely reported that there is synchronicity between when peak swing-foot velocity and minimum toe clearance occur. There are no such studies involving lower-limb amputees. Objectives: To determine the effects of walking speed on minimum toe clearance and on the temporal relationship between clearance and peak swing-foot velocity in unilateral trans-tibial amputees. Study design: Cross-sectional. Methods: A total of 10 trans-tibial participants walked at slow, customary and fast speeds. Minimum toe clearance and the timings of minimum toe clearance and peak swing-foot velocity were determined and compared between intact and prosthetic sides. Results: Minimum toe clearance was reduced on the prosthetic side and, unlike on the intact side, did not increase with walking speed increase. Peak swing-foot velocity consistently occurred (~0.014 s) after point of minimum toe clearance on both limbs across all walking speeds, but there was no significant difference in the toe–ground clearance between the two events. Conclusion: The absence of speed related increases in minimum toe clearance on the prosthetic side suggests that speed related modulation of toe clearance for an intact limb typically occurs at the swing-limb ankle. The temporal consistency between peak foot velocity and minimum toe clearance on each limb suggests that swing-phase inter-segmental coordination is unaffected by trans-tibial amputation. Clinical relevance The lack of increase in minimum toe clearance on the prosthetic side at higher walking speeds may potentially increase risk of tripping. Findings indicate that determining the instant of peak swing-foot velocity will also consistently identify when/where minimum toe clearance occurs.