<div>Soft tissue manipulation is a widely used practice by manual therapists from a variety of healthcare disciplines to evaluate and treat neuromusculoskeletal impairments using mechanical stimulation either by hand massage or specially-designed tools. The practice of a specific approach of targeted pressure application using distinguished rigid mechanical tools to breakdown adhesions, scar tissues and improve range of motion for affected joints is called Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Manipulation (IASTM). The efficacy of IASTM has been demonstrated as a means to improve mobility of joints, reduce pain, enhance flexibility and restore function. However, unlike the techniques of ultrasound, traction, electrical stimulation, etc. the practice of IASTM doesn't involve any standard to objectively characterize massage with physical parameters. Thus, most IASTM treatments are subjective to practitioner or patient subjective feedback, which essentially addresses a need to quantify therapeutic massage or IASTM treatment with adequate treatment parameters to document, better analyze, compare and validate STM treatment as an established, state-of-the-art practice.</div><div><br></div><div>This thesis focuses on the development and implementation of Quantifiable Soft Tissue Manipulation (QSTM™) Technology by designing an ergonomic, portable and miniaturized wired localized pressure applicator medical device (Q1), for characterizing soft tissue manipulation. Dose-load response in terms of forces in Newtons; pitch angle of the device with respect to treatment plane; stroke frequency of massage measured within stipulated time of treatment; all in real-time has been captured to characterize a QSTM session. A QSTM PC software (Q-WARE©) featuring a Treatment Record System subjective to individual patients to save and retrieve treatment diagnostics and a real-time graphical visual monitoring system has been developed from scratch on WINDOWS platform to successfully implement the technology. This quantitative analysis of STM treatment without visual monitoring has demonstrated inter-reliability and intra-reliability inconsistencies by clinicians in STM force application. While improved consistency of treatment application has been found when using visual monitoring from the QSTM feedback system. This system has also discriminated variabilities in application of high, medium and low dose-loads and stroke frequency analysis during targeted treatment sessions.</div>

This essay tries to deduct whether the pitted ware culture (3200-2300) at Ajvide and Västerbjers had a gender structure based on big game hunting via grave furniture. The grave furniture is selected on the basis of big game affiliation and then subjected to descriptive statistics and correspondence analysis. The results suggest that seal and boar hunting is normative for men but that only seal is normative for women in Ajvide and only boar at Västerbjers. / <p>Denna uppsats tilldelades ett A i betyg.</p>

La méconnaissance de l’Auvergne durant l’Antiquité tardive tient en partie à l’absence de référentiels chrono-typologiques. La découverte récente d’ensembles céramiques conséquents et la reprise de données anciennes permettent aujourd’hui de combler ce vide documentaire. Ce travail se propose ainsi de dresser un nouveau panorama du territoire arverne durant l’Antiquité tardive et le très haut Moyen Âge (fin IIIe-milieu VIIIe siècle), d’un point de vue économique et culturel par l’étude de la céramique. L’évolution des répertoires montre que les faciès antiques persistent jusqu’au VIe siècle de même que les pratiques culinaires et les manières de table. Diversifiées jusqu’au Ve siècle, les formes et les catégories céramiques s’uniformisent au VIe siècle et, à partir du VIIe siècle, les productions réductrices et les récipients fermés à usage culinaire prédominent. L’étude d’ensembles funéraires des IVe et Ve siècles montre l’insertion du territoire arverne dans l’évolution des pratiques funéraires alors en cours en Gaule. L’Auvergne se démarque néanmoins par le nombre élevé des vases céramiques déposés dans les tombes et par la préférence donnée aux récipients à solides dans la composition du repas funéraire.Les importations indiquent que le territoire arverne est bien inséré dans les circuits commerciaux à la fin de l’Antiquité. Leurs quantités parfois faibles suggèrent cependant un approvisionnement parcimonieux, qui place l’Auvergne aux confins des aires de diffusion de la plupart des productions commercialisées, comme en « bout de circuits ». Les correspondances établies avec les céramiques des IVe et Ve siècles des autres régions de Gaule du Centre montrent l’existence de traditions de fabrication communes et l’ensemble de ces territoires pourrait appartenir à une même entité économique et culturelle. Le sud du territoire arverne apparaît en revanche tourné vers les régions méridionales, comme l’a montré l’étude des céramiques des VIe et VIIe siècles du site lozérien de La Malène, influencées par les faciès de Gaule du Sud / The sparse knowledge of the late antiquity in Auvergne is partly due to the absence of chronological typology for this period. The recent uncovering of significant ceramic assemblages and the reassessment of pastdata make it possible today to fill this research gap. This thesis attempts to bring new light to the Arverne territory, its economy and culture, in the late antiquity and the early middle ages (from the late 3rd century to the mid-8th century), through the study of its pottery. The evolution observed in the repertory shows that the antique facies remained until the 6th century, as well as the culinary practices and table manners. Until the 5th century,forms and types of ceramics are very varied, becoming more standardized in the next century, and finally starting in the 7th century, closed culinary vessels are predominant.The study of funerary assemblages from the 4th and 5th centuries, demonstrates how the Arverne territory participated in the general evolution of funerary practices in Gaul. However the Auvergne region stands out by the considerable number of ceramic vases found in tombs and the clear preference for solid food vessels in funerary repasts.The presence of imported goods is evidence that the Arverne territory was part of the commercial routes by the end of Antiquity. However the small amounts of importations imply a parsimonious procurement, which would mean that the Auvergne region was actually located on the outer limits of the distribution areas of most industrial productions. The correlations established with 4th and 5th century pottery from other areas of Central Gaul could be proof of a common tradition of production, and how such territories could have possibly belonged to a same cultural and economic entity. The South of the Arverne territory seemed however more influenced by southern Gaul as shown by the study of 6th and 7th century pottery from the lozerian site of La Malène

No description available.

The use of temporary employment services as a means to achieve flexibility in die labour market led to various complications due to a lack of proper regulation. The atypical formation of the triangular employment relationship, limited rights and less favourable employment conditions of the temporary employees, multiple authority figures and their liabilities under various circumstances and the impact thereof on such employee’ collective bargaining rights caused legal uncertainty in the absence of sufficient legislation to govern it. Temporary employment agencies developed certain methods in order to evade the restrictive labour legislation and employer duties imposed on them, namely by making use of automatic termination clauses (resolutive conditions) and by categorising the temporary employee as an independent contractor. Last mentioned would effectively exclude the temporary employee from labour legislation and the protection it provides. In reaction to abovementioned problems, trade unions have been objecting to the use of temporary employment agencies and went as far as demanding the total ban thereof. This raised the question in the South African Government whether said agencies should indeed be banned. The other option is a less restrictive approach and entails the attempt to regulate these agencies by amending the current labour legislation in order to accommodate temporary employment services. In light of the fact that various proposals to amend the current South African labour legislation (especially with regard to temporary employment services) have been published in the Government Gazette, it can be deduced that the social partners ultimately chose to regulate temporary employment agencies rather than ban them altogether. From an early stage the International Labour Organisation (ILO) provided rules and regulations for the management of employment agencies in general by way of conventions and recommendations. In 1997, in order to give effect to the labour standards identified by it, the ILO brought the Private Employment Agencies Convention into existence. This document could be applied to all temporary employment agencies on an international level. This document provides for administrative regulations, the duties of the agency and the client as well as the rights of the temporary employees concerned. The ILO recommends that all of its member states incorporate the principles contained within this document in their own legislation. Temporary employment services are also used in other legal systems. For purposes of this study, the English law (United Kingdom (UK)) and the Namibian law will be scrutinised. Similar issues to those recognised in the South African law have been identified in these countries. However, each has approached said problems in different ways. The Namibian Government banned the conducting and provision of these services by way of legislation in 2007. The constitutionality of the ban has however been questioned by the Supreme Court of Namibia, after which it had been found to infringe upon the fundamental freedom to carry on any business, trade or occupation. The ban was struck down as unconstitutional. The Namibian Government has since promulgated new legislation in which it removed the ban and replaced it with numerous amendments providing for the regulation of temporary employment services. Since 1973 the UK has been promulgating various instruments for the thorough regulation of temporary employment agencies. These instruments provide for the management of temporary employment agencies and the rights of the employees involved. The relevant legislative instruments have been updated regularly with the purpose of ensuring that the needs of all the parties concerned are met. The UK, as a member state of the European Union (EU), (which has also been providing for the regulation of temporary employment services in various directives), promulgated legislation specifically with the aim to give effect to the principles in the mentioned directives. By way of doctrines and the creation of a third category ―worker‖ the UK has been attempting to prevent any loopholes in their legal system with regard to temporary employment services and the rights of the employees involved. The aim of this study is to investigate all the important complications experienced with temporary employment agencies in order to indicate the impact the atypical circumstances have on the rights of the temporary employees. The degree to which, if at all, the South African law complies with the preferred labour standards identified by the ILO will be pointed out. A comparative study will be conducted, first by ascertaining in detail how the comparable issues in the UK and Namibian law are dealt with, and second by identifying which aspects in these legal systems could be of value to the South African law. Finally the potential effectiveness of the proposed amendments to the South African labour legislation will be analysed, during which recommendations for the unresolved issues will be provided. The recommendations are mainly aimed at achieving sufficient rights and legal certainty for the temporary employees associated with temporary employment agencies. / Thesis (PhD (Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The use of temporary employment services as a means to achieve flexibility in die labour market led to various complications due to a lack of proper regulation. The atypical formation of the triangular employment relationship, limited rights and less favourable employment conditions of the temporary employees, multiple authority figures and their liabilities under various circumstances and the impact thereof on such employee’ collective bargaining rights caused legal uncertainty in the absence of sufficient legislation to govern it. Temporary employment agencies developed certain methods in order to evade the restrictive labour legislation and employer duties imposed on them, namely by making use of automatic termination clauses (resolutive conditions) and by categorising the temporary employee as an independent contractor. Last mentioned would effectively exclude the temporary employee from labour legislation and the protection it provides. In reaction to abovementioned problems, trade unions have been objecting to the use of temporary employment agencies and went as far as demanding the total ban thereof. This raised the question in the South African Government whether said agencies should indeed be banned. The other option is a less restrictive approach and entails the attempt to regulate these agencies by amending the current labour legislation in order to accommodate temporary employment services. In light of the fact that various proposals to amend the current South African labour legislation (especially with regard to temporary employment services) have been published in the Government Gazette, it can be deduced that the social partners ultimately chose to regulate temporary employment agencies rather than ban them altogether. From an early stage the International Labour Organisation (ILO) provided rules and regulations for the management of employment agencies in general by way of conventions and recommendations. In 1997, in order to give effect to the labour standards identified by it, the ILO brought the Private Employment Agencies Convention into existence. This document could be applied to all temporary employment agencies on an international level. This document provides for administrative regulations, the duties of the agency and the client as well as the rights of the temporary employees concerned. The ILO recommends that all of its member states incorporate the principles contained within this document in their own legislation. Temporary employment services are also used in other legal systems. For purposes of this study, the English law (United Kingdom (UK)) and the Namibian law will be scrutinised. Similar issues to those recognised in the South African law have been identified in these countries. However, each has approached said problems in different ways. The Namibian Government banned the conducting and provision of these services by way of legislation in 2007. The constitutionality of the ban has however been questioned by the Supreme Court of Namibia, after which it had been found to infringe upon the fundamental freedom to carry on any business, trade or occupation. The ban was struck down as unconstitutional. The Namibian Government has since promulgated new legislation in which it removed the ban and replaced it with numerous amendments providing for the regulation of temporary employment services. Since 1973 the UK has been promulgating various instruments for the thorough regulation of temporary employment agencies. These instruments provide for the management of temporary employment agencies and the rights of the employees involved. The relevant legislative instruments have been updated regularly with the purpose of ensuring that the needs of all the parties concerned are met. The UK, as a member state of the European Union (EU), (which has also been providing for the regulation of temporary employment services in various directives), promulgated legislation specifically with the aim to give effect to the principles in the mentioned directives. By way of doctrines and the creation of a third category ―worker‖ the UK has been attempting to prevent any loopholes in their legal system with regard to temporary employment services and the rights of the employees involved. The aim of this study is to investigate all the important complications experienced with temporary employment agencies in order to indicate the impact the atypical circumstances have on the rights of the temporary employees. The degree to which, if at all, the South African law complies with the preferred labour standards identified by the ILO will be pointed out. A comparative study will be conducted, first by ascertaining in detail how the comparable issues in the UK and Namibian law are dealt with, and second by identifying which aspects in these legal systems could be of value to the South African law. Finally the potential effectiveness of the proposed amendments to the South African labour legislation will be analysed, during which recommendations for the unresolved issues will be provided. The recommendations are mainly aimed at achieving sufficient rights and legal certainty for the temporary employees associated with temporary employment agencies. / Thesis (PhD (Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

This thesis examines Tse Keh Nay (Sekani) ethnic identity over three periods of Aboriginal-European relations: the fur trade period, the missionary period, and the treaty and reserve period. It examines the affects these three periods have had on the Tse Keh Nay as an ethnic group in four chapters, the first two dealing with the fur trade and missionary periods, and the last two with the treaty and reserve aspects of the treaty and reserve period. In it I argue that during the first two periods wider Tse Keh Nay ethnic identity was reinforced, while during the latter period local Tse Keh Nay identities were reinforced through government policies that dealt with Tse Keh Nay subgroups on a regional and localized basis. Despite this shift in emphasis, wider Tse Keh Nay ethnic identity has remained, proving that Tse Keh Nay ethnic identity is both situational and dynamic. / History

This thesis is a multi-disciplinary survey of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) illustrated with an abundant use of maps and tables. The purpose is to determine how the Jordan Valley functioned as an economic unit during the Late Bronze Age. This thesis surveys the geographical, historical and archaeological records related to the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A chapter is devoted to each field, geography (physical and human), history (Egyptian and Hebrew Bible) and archaeology. The data from each discipline is used to individually answer two questions: 1) was the Jordan Valley a single geographic/economic unit in the Late Bronze Age? 2) to what extent was the Jordan Valley integrated/interacting with the east-west highlands and the larger region in the Late Bronze Age? The primary objectives are to 1) explore and model a historical geographic hermeneutic for understanding the human experience of the Ancient Near East; and 2) lay a foundation for understanding the role of the Jordan Valley in affecting the Biblical periods of the Israelite monarchy to the Roman period.The answers from each chapter are then synthesized into a single geographic historical archaeological picture of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. The Central Jordan Valley was divided into two sections: a fertile, populated, well connected north-central section and an isolated, sparsely populated southern section with limited agricultural zones. Trade with and between the eastern and western highlands is well represented by artifactual parallels in and through the Jordan Valley, the north-central section on a regional and international scale and the southern section on a more local scale. The thesis concludes that there are more artifactual points of connection between the Jordan Valley and the eastern highlands than with the western highlands. An ‘early conquest’ model of the Hebrew Bible is plausible within the historical records of the Egyptian 18th and 19th Dynasties and the geographical and archaeological records of the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies

This thesis is a multi-disciplinary survey of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) illustrated with an abundant use of maps and tables. The purpose is to determine how the Jordan Valley functioned as an economic unit during the Late Bronze Age. This thesis surveys the geographical, historical and archaeological records related to the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A chapter is devoted to each field, geography (physical and human), history (Egyptian and Hebrew Bible) and archaeology. The data from each discipline is used to individually answer two questions: 1) was the Jordan Valley a single geographic/economic unit in the Late Bronze Age? 2) to what extent was the Jordan Valley integrated/interacting with the east-west highlands and the larger region in the Late Bronze Age? The primary objectives are to 1) explore and model a historical geographic hermeneutic for understanding the human experience of the Ancient Near East; and 2) lay a foundation for understanding the role of the Jordan Valley in affecting the Biblical periods of the Israelite monarchy to the Roman period.The answers from each chapter are then synthesized into a single geographic historical archaeological picture of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. The Central Jordan Valley was divided into two sections: a fertile, populated, well connected north-central section and an isolated, sparsely populated southern section with limited agricultural zones. Trade with and between the eastern and western highlands is well represented by artifactual parallels in and through the Jordan Valley, the north-central section on a regional and international scale and the southern section on a more local scale. The thesis concludes that there are more artifactual points of connection between the Jordan Valley and the eastern highlands than with the western highlands. An ‘early conquest’ model of the Hebrew Bible is plausible within the historical records of the Egyptian 18th and 19th Dynasties and the geographical and archaeological records of the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. / Biblical and Ancient Studies