Dissertations / Theses: 'Activity performance'

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Mohar, Laura Leigh. "Physical Activity Patterns in Missoula Youth." The University of Montana, 2008. http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-04142008-112420/.

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STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Physical activity (PA) is a critical determinant of long term health and is necessary for the prevention of youth onsetadult diseases. It is recommended that all youth accumulate at least 60+ min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) most days of the week in bouts lasting at least 10 min. PURPOSE: To evaluate the PA patterns of Missoula youth in order to make better recommendations for PA interventions for a wellness policy. METHODS: 324 elementary and middle school students from 5 schools wore accelerometers on their wrists for 5 days. The data were converted to activity energy expenditure (AEE) and also evaluated for single min and bouts of activity lasting at least 10 min of MVPA daily, in- versus out-of-school, and during sport, physical education (PE), and recess. Grade and gender differences were also assessed. RESULTS: The data show better than national averages in daily min of MVPA, with 70% of all students meeting the recommendation in 10 min bouts. Students showed low levels of MVPA during PE, recess, and sport. Sport was responsible for the highest accumulation of MVPA, followed by recess and then PE in both 1 and 10 min bouts. There was a drop in MVPA in both genders as grade level increased (both in and out of school), with more MVPA in single and 10 min bouts occurring out of school than in school. Males showed higher levels of MVPA than females during PE in 1 min bouts, recess in 1 and 10 min bouts, and in school in 1 and 10 min bouts. When scaled for body weight, genders did not differ in AEE. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest an overall healthy youth PA environment in Missoula. However, the 30% of students not meeting the recommendations for health in 10 min bouts are still of concern. Interventions could focus on encouraging slight increases of MVPA during PE, sport, and recess, especially at the middle school level. Increasing out of school MVPA is also necessary to make the biggest impact due to already overburdened school systems.

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King, Gregory Allen. "Physiological, perceptual and performance responses during cricket activity." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005210.

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The present study sought to determine the influence of environmental conditions and protective clothing on physiological, perceptual and performance responses during batting activity. The investigation examined mean skin temperature, average heart rate, estimated sweat rate, rating of perceived exertion, thermal sensation rating, average sprint time and pre-post choice reaction time. Twenty-five cricketers (18-22 yr, 73.1 ± 9.6 kg, 1768 ± 75 mm, 12.6 ± 3.1% body fat, 1.89 ± 0.16 m2) performed a work-bout consisting of a seven-Over batting period, during which time they faced deliveries from a bowling machine and performed two shuttle runs every third ball to total four sprints per Over. Trials were carried out under High-stress (23.8 ± 2.2 °C) and Low-stress (13.3 ± 1.9 °C) environmental conditions (WBGT). Within each environmental condition subjects performed the test wearing full protective batting gear and no protective gear. Thus, four specific conditions were examined; high full-gear (HFG), high no-gear (HNG), low full-gear (LFG) and low no-gear (LNG). Two-way ANOVAs were calculated to determine whether there were differences between environmental conditions and whether differences existed between the clothing conditions. One-way ANOVAs were utilised to compute differences between the four specific conditions combining clothing and environment. High environmental stress and wearing protective clothing caused batsmen to experience significant physiological strain. The environment was the greatest stressor, with the protective gear exacerbating these effects. However, when padding covered skin areas directly, this was the primary skin temperature stressor, particularly later in the activity. For skin temperature and heart rate, the strain was the most pronounced at the end of the trials. Perceptual responses indicated that the protective gear had no influence on effort sense, thermal sensation or thermal comfort. However, environmental conditions had an effect, and High-stress conditions resulted in significantly higher perceptions of effort, elevated sensations of heat and greater thermal discomfort. Effort was perceived to be greatest towards the end of the trial. There were mixed findings for performance factors. In general sprint performance was not hindered by environmental stress, but protective clothing caused a reduction in several sprint times. Choice reaction times were for the most part unaffected by either environment or clothing and few differences were observed between pre and post times. It is contended that intense short duration batting activity, likely encountered during one-day participation, imposes a stress on batsmen. The stress is greater when conditions are warmer and protective padding is worn, although it is not sufficient to impede choice reaction time. However, protective gear did have a deleterious effect on sprint performance.

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Philippe, Antony. "Effets de l'entraînement en résistance, de la performance à l'unité contractile." Thesis, Montpellier, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015MONT4002/document.

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Ce travail de thèse vise à améliorer notre compréhension des effets l'entraînement en résistance sur la performance et le muscle strié squelettique. La dynamique de ces effets de l'entraînement a été appréhendée de façon systématique grâce à des outils issus de la théorie des systèmes, auprès de 26 rongeurs entraînés en résistance dans un protocole d'escalade avec charges additionnelles. Le modèle classique (Banister et coll, 1975) a permis de décrire les variations de performance de manière significative (R2 = 0,53, P<0,001). L'origine des gains de performance très marqués (+136% par rapport au groupe contrôle) a été recherchée parmi les mécanismes adaptatifs musculaires potentiels. A l'issue de l'entraînement, une augmentation de l'activité de la myosine ATPase de 123 ± 61% indépendante du phénotype a été observée par rapport aux animaux contrôles. Cette augmentation de la puissance chimique consommée semble liée à une augmentation de la vitesse des étapes d'hydrolyse de l'ATP et surtout de celle de la libération des produits de cette hydrolyse (i.e. ADP et Pi) accompagnant la bascule de la tête de myosine. Une nouvelle forme de plasticité musculaire semble avoir été identifiée. Sur la base des mécanismes adaptatifs musculaires, une nouvelle formulation mathématique plus physiologique du modèle des effets de l'entraînement a été proposée et a aboutit à une meilleure qualité d'ajustement (R2 = 0,71, P<0,001). La fonction impulsionnelle du modèle classique a été remplacée par une fonction exponentielle de croissance qui semble plus appropriée pour rendre compte à la fois des variations de performance mais aussi des adaptations qui surviennent au sein du tissu musculaire comme au sein des unités contractiles elles-mêmes This thesis work aims to improve our understanding of the effects of resistance training on performance and skeletal muscle. The dynamic of these effects of training has been apprehended systematically trough tools from systems theory, with 26 rodents resistance trained on a climbing protocol with additional weights. The classical model (Banister et al, 1975) was suitable to analyze the training response (R2 = 0.53, P <0.001). The origin of the very marked performance gains (+ 136% compared to the control group) was investigated among the potential muscle adaptive mechanisms. At the end of the training program, an increase of 123 ± 61% in myosin ATPase activity independent of the phenotype was observed compared to control animals. This increase in myosin ATPase activity seems to occur precisely during the main myosin head isomerization step (i.e. powerstroke) that includes the liberation of the hydrolysis products, and to a lesser extent, during ATP hydrolysis step. A new form of muscular plasticity seems identified. Based on muscle adaptive mechanisms, a new mathematical formulation, more physiological, of the model of the training effects has been proposed and resulted in a better fit (R2 = 0.71, P <0.001). The impulse function of the traditional model has been replaced by an exponential growth function that seems more suitable to analyze both the training response and the adaptations that occur within the muscle tissue as in the contractile units themselves

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Balis, Laura Elizabeth. "Guide to Implementing a Middle School Activity Program." The University of Montana, 2009. http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-04272009-094021/.

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The purpose of the guide is to describe the steps in designing, implementing, and evaluating a cardiovascular health program for middle school students, called CATCH Fridays, and to create a guide for others who wish to replicate the program at their school.

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Sanford, Robin Ann. "The Impact of Activity-Based Costing on Organizational Performance." NSUWorks, 2009. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/hsbe_etd/101.

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The focus of this study was to determine the impact of activity-based costing (ABC) on organizational performance. ABC can support the strategic management process and provide significant benefit to organizations. Empirical research has provided mixed results of ABC success, which has been the center of controversy since the 1980s. This examination utilized the contingency theory as a theoretical basis for the study. The researcher expected to find that ABC organizations succeed or fail to improve performance due to how well they fit their strategies, structures, and managerial accounting practices to the complex business environment. This study addressed the fundamental question does ABC improve organizational performance? The study found that management accounting practices could only significantly predict organizational performance, as measured by market price, EPS, and asset turnover. The results indicated that ABC organizations have higher asset turnover than non-ABC organizations. However, non-ABC organizations have higher market price and EPS than ABC organizations. The findings indicated no statistically significant differences in operating performance when either ABC or non-ABC accounting practices are used with a low-cost strategy. Finally, the results found no statistically significant differences in operating performance when ABC organizations use a strategy other than a low-cost strategy.

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Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele. "Corporate political activity and firm performance - a systematic review." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2013. http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/8065.

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Corporate political activity (CPA) has been recognized as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Its proponents, mostly nonmarket strategy researchers, argue that political capital enables firms to influence their regulatory and policy environments, shape their competitive space, and improve their performance. Consequently, there is a widely held view that the performance of firms depends not only on the ability of managers to exploit economic markets but also on their ability to succeed in political markets. To test the value of political activism, recent scholarship has probed the relationship between CPA and firm performance. However, random mixed findings and the fragmented nature of the field raise more questions than provide answers to the nature of this relationship. This systematic review examines scholarly articles for evidence of the impact of CPA on firm value. Drawing on 56 articles contributing to the topic and applying the CIMO-logic method of synthesis, this study discusses the findings within a framework of four elements. First, it examines the contexts within which CPA has been investigated. Second, it presents findings on the strategies that are studied. Third, it investigates the performance outcomes of CPA. Fourth, it explores the mechanisms that underpin the performance outcomes of CPA. The findings suggest that CPA is positively related to firm performance, an indication that there is value in political activism. However, counter evidence is reported by a few studies. The evidence also reveals that institutional contexts impact the political strategies used by firms or studied by researchers. Even though most of the studies lack theoretical grounding, social capital, cronyism and agency relationships are the popularly cited or implied mechanisms underlying the CPA-firm performance relationship. Following from the discussion, two propositions linking contexts, interventions, and outcomes are developed. The study suggests future research directions based on the gaps/limitations identified in the literature.

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Duerden, Susan Lynn. "PFA morphology, pozzolanic activity and contribution to concrete performance." Thesis, University of Dundee, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.327806.

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Alfonsi, Michael. "Reliability of Lower Extremity Biomechanics During Functional Activity Performance." University of Toledo / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1398337862.

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Shah, Hemal Vinodchandra 1967. "Performance evaluation of manufacturing systems using stochastic activity networks." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/278068.

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In this thesis, Stochastic Activity Networks (SANs), which are an extension to the Petri Nets, are used for performance evaluation of manufacturing systems. Using our formalism, a manufacturing system is hierarchically represented in three different layers: the manufacturing flow layer, the control layer and the network layer. SAN models are constructed for each of these layers. To simplify the understanding of the manufacturing flow, a new graphical representation, the Manufacturing Flow Network (MFN) has been developed. Conversion of MFN into SAN models simplifies the modeling of manufacturing flow layer. When MFN at the product level is very complex, a decomposition technique is applied to reduce complexity of the model under specific conditions. The accuracy of this technique is shown for specific conditions. Finally, a performance evaluation of a sample manufacturing system is shown, using the simulation for solution of the model. Performance variables of interest such as machine utilization, machine availability and operation queue length are discussed.

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Willis, Lauren Michelle. "THE EFFECT OF INCREASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE." UKnowledge, 2019. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edsc_etds/48.

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Increased levels of obesity, particularly among American youth, have consistently been cause for concern over the last few decades. Additionally, the amount of time youth spend being active throughout the day has consistently decreased. Physical activity levels among school-aged children in America are effected by any number of reasons, but this study points to the possibility of time spent being physically active during the school day having the greatest effect on a student’s overall level of physical activity. Increased pressures from different entities on local schools to improve student performance on standardized test scores have contributed to a decline in students’ time spent being active during the school day. The inverse relationship that exists between levels of obesity and amount of time spent being active is a call to action and cause for more research in this area if a solution is to be reached with the obesity epidemic in America. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of increased physical activity on the academic performance of elementary students in a rural, Central Kentucky community. Academic performance is an overarching term that encompasses academic achievement through standardized testing, academic behavior, and cognitive skills and abilities. Ninety students in 4th and 5th grade with an average age of 10 from one elementary school participated in the study. After obtaining parental consent and students’ verbal consent, students were divided into two intervention groups and one control group. Each intervention group received extra physical activity for three days a week for four weeks. Activity for students was measured with an EKHO MVPA accelerometer for the duration of each activity session during their respective intervention weeks. Standardized test scores were obtained through the school’s measure of academic progress (MAP) assessment. Student behavior was assessed through direct systematic observation and teacher-based questionnaires. Finally, the STROOP color word test was used to measure student’s cognitive processes and executive functioning skills. The results from the STROOP color word test provided evidence of a significant relationship between physical activity and cognitive skills (ttest1=2.63, p < .01, ttest2=7.14, p < .001). Additionally, the teacher-based questionnaire demonstrated a significantly positive relationship between physical activity and student behavior (t = -2.65, p < .01). Boys were significantly more active than girls (tfemale = -2.71, p < .01). There were also significant correlations between females and the teacher-based questionnaires, the white race and the STROOP color word test, and the white race and on-task behavior. No significant relationships were found between physical activity and overall academic performance or academic achievement.

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Dahlqvist, Jonas. "Assessing New Economic Activity : Process and Performance in New Ventures." Doctoral thesis, Jönköping : Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-646.

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Kennedy, Tom. "The impact of activity-based costing techniques on firm performance." Thesis, Brunel University, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.361314.

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Lopez-Garcia, Paloma. "Entrepreneurial activity and aggregate employment performance : theory and OECD evidence." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2004. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2671/.

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Drev, Matej. "Essays on Firm Performance, Innovation, and Cross-Border Economic Activity." Research Showcase @ CMU, 2013. http://repository.cmu.edu/dissertations/321.

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This thesis is composed of three essays that explore different facets of firm performance, innovation, and cross-border economic activity. The first essay documents a systematic shift in the nature of innovation in information technology (IT) towards increasing dependence on software. Using a broad panel of US and Japanese publicly listed IT firms in the period 1983-2004, it shows this change in the nature of IT innovation had differential effects on the performance of the IT industries in the United States and Japan, resulting in US firms increasingly outperforming their Japanese counterparts, particularly in more software-intensive sectors. It also provides suggestive evidence that human resource constraints played a role in preventing Japanese firms from adapting to the documented shift in IT innovation. The second essay asks whether the United States have a comparative advantage in applications-related software research. It classifies software patents into downstream and upstream software inventions based on a unique classification algorithm, then offers empirical evidence that downstream software research is disproportionally concentrated in the United States, and that U.S. firms are significantly less likely to locate downstream software research projects offshore than upstream research projects. It also explores self-citation and co-invention patterns of software patents and provides suggestive evidence that U.S. firms may use intra-firm knowledge flows to mitigate challenges of conducting downstream software research remotely. Finally, it explores the sources for the observed U.S. advantage in downstream software research and provides initial empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis that it is at least partially due to the relative abundance of lead users of software within the United States. The final essay uses a rich panel dataset of Slovenian firms in the period 1994-2010 to examine how receiving foreign investment impacts the subsequent performance and behavior of local firms. Using a variety of propensity score based estimation techniques, it shows that foreign investment leads recipient firms to subsequently significantly expand the scale and scope of their activities. In addition, the essay explores how heterogeneity in investor origin modulates the effects of foreign investment, and it shows that investor origin heterogeneity is indeed important for understanding local firms’ ex post performance, the scale of their operations, the scope of their product mix and their geographical presence in export markets. It finds, for instance, that firms receiving investment from advanced country investors subsequently broaden the scope of their product mix and the number of export destinations they serve, while those receiving investment from developing country investors decrease their scope in terms of product space and geographical coverage. The empirical analysis is motivated with a theoretical model in which local firms endogenously chose their product mix and export destinations. The model details how receiving foreign investment affects the way firms alter their ex-post behavior, and then shows that predictions of the model align closely with the empirical results. The findings in this essay suggest that incorporating investor heterogeneity and the multi-product and multi-destination nature of firms yields important insights for furthering our understanding of how foreign investment impacts recipient firms.

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Sidwell, Rachel. "Analysis of Glyoxalase II Activity by High Performance Liquid Chromatography." Miami University Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1111089246.

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Chorruk, Jirapun. "Activity, Pricing and Performance of Initial Public Offerings in Thailand." Thesis, Griffith University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/365519.

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The decision to ‘go public’ is an important process in the company life cycle. By making an initial public offering (IPO) of company shares, firms can raise external equity finance, thereby allowing inter alia the cashing-out of entrepreneurs and private equity interests, the funding of growth and expansion opportunities, enhancing the market for corporate control, and facilitating capital restructuring. Consequently, the efficiency of the IPO process and the performance of companies that have gone public has been a longstanding focus in academic research and a key concern for practitioners. This thesis presents the results of three complementary empirical analyses of IPOs and the IPO process in Thailand. Emerging markets in particular, like Thailand, are becoming ever more important to the international financial community as individual and institutional investors look to diversify their risk and seek new markets in which to invest their funds. Moreover, IPOs are particularly important in emerging markets themselves, including their key role in financial and economic development and the promotion of economic wellbeing. The first part of the study investigates the firm-specific determinants and outcomes of IPOs using data for 5,228 private and public firms in Thailand between 2001 and 2007. The IPO listing requirements of the SET are used to identify all private firms that technically satisfied SET listing requirements. This allows for a comparison of firms that choose an IPO and those that do not. Age, size, sales growth, leverage, profitability, fixed assets growth and interest rate from the bank borrowing of the private and public firms are key variables used in this study. Probit analysis of the determinants of IPOs reveals that firms that are young, large, highly leveraged and with lower interest rates from borrowing tend to list on the market. The results of OLS regression estimation for IPOs subsequent performance also strongly suggest that Thai IPO firms went public to lower borrowing rates, not to fund future investment in fixed assets and sales growth. Additionally, the evidence suggests that firm profitability does not decline following an IPO, in sharp contrast to previous studies in developed markets. Thesis (PhD Doctorate) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Griffith Business School Griffith Business School Full Text

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Berkman, Anton, and Gustav Andersson. "Predicting the impact of prior physical activity on shooting performance." Thesis, Tekniska Högskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, JTH, Datateknik och informatik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-46851.

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The objectives of this thesis were to develop a machine learning tool-chain and to investigate the relationship between heart rate and trigger squeeze and shooting accuracy when ﬁring a handgun in a simulated environment. There are several aspects that affects the accuracy of a shooter. To accelerate the learning process and to complement the instructors, different sensors can be used by the shooter. By extracting sensor data and presenting this to the shooter in real-time the rate of improvement can potentially be accelerated. An experiment which replicated precision shooting was conducted at SAAB AB using their GC-IDT simulator. 14 participants with experience ranging from zero to over 30 years participated. The participants were randomly divided into two groups where one group started the experiment with a heart rate of at least 150 beats per minute. The iTouchGlove2.3 was used to measure trigger squeeze and Polar H10 heart rate belt was used to measure heart rate. Random forest regression was then used to predict accuracy on the data collected from the experiment. A machine learning tool-chain was successfully developed to process raw sensor data which was then used by a random forest regression algorithm to form a prediction. This thesis provides insights and guidance for further experimental explorations of handgun exercises and shooting performance.

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Miguel, Rogério da Silva. "Activity-based costing nas empresas financeiras em Portugal." Master's thesis, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/1684.

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Mestrado em Contabilidade, Fiscalidade e Finanças Empresariais Desde os finais dos anos 80 tem-se mostrado que o Activity-based costing (ABC) é uma ferramenta que permite um maior rigor no cálculo dos custos dos produtos/serviços bem como orienta os gestores para as verdadeiras causas ou factores geradores de custos, permitindo, assim, orientar os gestores no sentido de criar valor na própria cadeia de valor da empresa. No entanto, alguns autores (Cohen et al., 2005 e Roztocki, 2004) afirmam que o grau de adopção do ABC no mundo é relativamente reduzido face à divulgação que tem recebido. O presente trabalho visa medir o grau de adopção do ABC, as razões para a sua implementação ou não, a forma da sua utilização, o sucesso na implementação, as condições que afectaram a implementação, os seus benefícios e a associação entre a adopção e a performance nos bancos e empresas de seguros em Portugal. Os resultados obtidos indicam que 54% das empresas financeiras portuguesas adoptaram o ABC e na maioria dos casos como sistema de custeio principal. Dadas as características do sector, o estudo revela que a principal motivação para a sua adopção prende-se com a obtenção de custos mais precisos para efeitos de pricing. No que concerne à implementação do ABC verifica-se o papel crucial da gestão de topo na liderança deste processo. Por outro lado, o tempo despendido, o volume de trabalho e o processo de recolha de dados são alguns factores revelados no estudo como obstáculos à implementação com sucesso do ABC. Por último, o ABC permitiu que as empresas obtivessem benefícios de vária ordem (e.g. melhorar o cálculo dos custos do produto) e sobretudo, apresentem uma performance financeira superior às suas congéneres que não adoptaram o ABC. Since the end of the 80s has shown that the Activities Based Costing (ABC) is a tool that allows greater precision in calculating the cost of products / services and guide the managers for the real causes and events of costs, this is geared to managers to create value in the value chain of the company. However, some authors (Cohen et al., 2005 and Roztocki, 2004) argue that the degree of adoption of ABC in the world is relatively small compared to the disclosure that it has received. This study aims to measure the degree of adoption of ABC, the reasons to implement or not the order of their use, the success in implementation, the conditions that affect the implementation, its benefits and the association between the adoption and performance in banks and insurance companies in Portugal. The results indicate that 54% of financial firms Portuguese adopted the ABC and in most cases as the principal costing system. Given the characteristics of the sector, the study reveals that the principal motivation for its implementation is related to obtaining more accurate cost for the pricing. Regarding to the implementation of ABC there is the crucial role of top management to lead this process. Moreover, the time spent, the amount of work and the process of data collection are some factors revealed in the study as barriers to successful implementation of ABC. Finally, ABC has allowed the company to obtain benefits of several orders (e.g. improving the costing of the product) and most importantly, show a superior financial performance to their counterparts that have not adopted ABC.

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Al-Kazemi, Saad A. "Patenting Activity, Firm Innovation Characteristics, and Financial Performance: An Empirical Investigation." Cleveland, Ohio : Case Western Reserve University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1249013130.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2009 Title from PDF (viewed on 19 August 2009) Department of Accounting Includes abstract Includes bibliographical references Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center

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Roberts, Jonathan E. "The Effects of Age and Sex on Mental Rotation Performance, Verbal Performance, and Brain Electrical Activity." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/26514.

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In adult populations, it is generally accepted there is an overall male advantage on spatial tasks and an overall female advantage on verbal tasks. These differences are inconsistent in children. The present study examined relations among age, sex, EEG hemispheric activation, and performance on spatial and verbal tasks. Thirty-two eight-year-olds (16 boys) and 32 college students (16 men) had EEG recorded at baseline and while performing a computerized 2-dimensional Gingerbread Man mental rotation task, a computerized 2-dimensional Alphanumeric mental rotation task, a computerized 3-dimensional Basketball Player mental rotation task, and a computerized Lexical Decision-Making task. Additionally, participants completed a paper-and-pencil Water Level task and an oral Verbal Fluency task. On the 2-dimensional Alphanumeric and 3-dimensional Basketball Player mental rotation tasks men performed better than boys, but the performance of women and girls did not differ. On the Lexical Decision-Making and Water level tasks, men performed better than women, while there was no difference between boys and girls. No sex differences were found on the 2-dimensional Gingerbread Man mental rotation task or Verbal Fluency task. Analyses of task-related data also indicate that computer familiarization or computer related task demands might contribute to sex differences on computerized tasks. EEG analyses indicated that, on the 2-dimensional Alphanumeric mental rotation task, men exhibited more left posterior temporal activation than women, while there were no differences between boys and girls. Additionally, there was evidence that simple, or 2-dimensional, mental rotation tasks are associated with left posterior brain activation, while 3-dimensional mental rotation tasks are associated with right posterior brain activation. On the 2-dimensional Gingerbread Man mental rotation task, males exhibited more activation of the left parietal area than females, while on the 2-dimensional Alphanumeric mental rotation task, men exhibited more activation of the left posterior temporal area than women. On the 3-dimensional Basketball player mental rotation task, all participants exhibited greater activation of the right parietal area than the left parietal area. Ph. D.

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O'Grady, Mathew. "Manipulating a conditioning activity to enhance potentiation and its application to jumping and sprinting performance." Thesis, Federtion University Australia, 2017. http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/165480.

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Post-activation potentiation (PAP) is the phenomenon where contractile history of a muscle may acutely increase voluntary performance of future contractions that are biomechanically similar (72). In order to exploit the PAP phenomenon, a conditioning activity (CA) is performed to enhance the performance of a subsequent skill. Throughout the literature, a common example of a CA is sets of heavy-loaded squats in order to potentiate subsequent jumping (31,33,39,57,83,116,151,163) or sprinting performance (15,28,39,99). Post-activation potentiation can be used either in a warm-up to acutely enhance performance for competition, or used within a resistance training session to enhance speed-strength, with the intention of producing a greater training stimulus for chronic adaptations. The major issue with the PAP literature is the inconsistent results from study to study. There are many examples within the research that show the positive effects of PAP (44,54,57,62,83,102,133,163), whilst many others have failed to find any increase in performance (42,47,56,81,112,123,141). The results have been inconsistent as the methodology between studies has varied dramatically. These differences include the warm-up used prior to testing sessions, changes in the type of CA (30,54,163), the intensity or load of the CA (19,21,33) and the rest period allocated between the CA and the performance of the skill. Furthermore, it seems that certain individuals respond better to a CA, with most of the literature suggesting that participant strength has a positive correlation with a potentiating response (15,31,44,116,128,129,163). Due to the vast differences in methodologies used throughout the potentiation literature, it is hard for coaches to identify the best practice in order to elicit a positive potentiating effect. Therefore, four studies were designed to address these current gaps within the potentiation literature in order to establish the best methodology to elicit a potentiating response. The first study sought to investigate whether a heavy half-squat CA could further improve jumping after an individualised optimal warm-up. As many of the warm-ups used prior to the baseline measurement in the potentiation research have been insufficient (30,44,69,71,88,102,111,115,140,143,158), it is plausible to suggest that improvements after a CA could be due to general mechanisms of a warm-up, rather than PAP. To investigate this, participants performed six different volumes of warm-ups on six separate days, followed by CMJ and DJ testing. After each participant completed the six warm-ups, their individual optimum warm-up was identified as the warm-up that produced the greatest CMJ relative peak power (RPP). On two separate sessions, a CA of four half-squats at a 5RM load was then added to each individual’s optimum warm-up and a sub-optimum warm-up. Countermovement jump tests were performed before the CA (pre) and then four and eight minutes after the CA. Drop jump testing was performed before the CA (pre) and then six and 10 minutes after the CA. When examining each post-test separately, no improvements in CMJ performance were identified. Furthermore, for both the optimum and sub-optimum warm-up conditions, DJ performance significantly decreased at all post-tests (p < 0.05). When each individuals best recovery period was considered (post-best), both the maximum and mean CMJ jump height significantly increased above baseline measures for the optimum warm-up condition. No other CMJ or DJ variable displayed any significant change after the addition of the CA for either condition. As significant increases in CMJ jump height were identified, the four half-squat CA with a 5RM load was used in the next investigation. Although each individual’s optimum warm-up volume varied, the moderate warm-up volume produced sufficient CMJ performance for all individuals. Considering the time required identifying each individuals optimum warm-up, the moderate warm-up was deemed sufficient and was used for the following studies. The second study of this thesis investigated the acute response of two different CA strategies. Both CAs included four half squats at a 5RM load, however, in one condition participants were instructed to perform the squat in a controlled manner, whilst in the second condition, they were instructed to lift the bar as fast as possible without losing contact with the ground. At any post-time (including post-best), no significant improvement were identified for any CMJ variable in either condition. Furthermore, DJ performance significantly decreased at all post-tests for the explosive CA condition. Although no significant improvements were identified, when each individual’s optimum recovery period was considered, CMJ jump height increased by 2.6% in the explosive CA condition, as opposed to 0.9% in the controlled CA condition. Because of this difference within the means of each condition, for the future studies throughout this thesis, participants were instructed to lift the bar as fast as possible during a heavy half-squat CA. The third study of this thesis compared different volumes of plyometric CAs (rebound jumps) to a CA involving heavy half-squats and assessed the effect each had on potentiating CMJ and sprinting performance. Past research had often used small amounts of plyometric contacts to potentiate future contractions (23,30,143,146,151), however, due to their short duration; they were often not successful in improving performance. For one condition, this study increased the repetitions of plyometric contacts in the CA, so that its duration matched the time under tension exhibited by the four half-squats with a 5RM load. Furthermore, two other plyometric CA conditions were included; one that matched half of the time under tension of the half-squats and one that involved only four repetitions of the rebound jump (match the amount of repetitions of the half-squat). No CA (plyometric or half-squat) displayed statistical significant improvements in CMJ or sprint performance at any post-test interval. For CMJ performance, although it did not significantly improve performance, generally the heavy half-squat CA had smaller decrements in performance than the plyometric CAs, hence the final investigation of this thesis focussed upon different heavy dynamic CAs in order to potentiate CMJ performance. The final study of this thesis firstly aimed to investigate the effect of three different types of half-squat CAs had on potentiating CMJ performance. This study also aimed to explore why certain individuals respond positively to a CA, whilst others respond in a negative manner. At the beginning of this study, participants completed a number of fitness performance tests, to assess each individual’s performance. Participants then assessed the effect of three different CAs on CMJ performance. These CAs included three repetitions of the half-squat with a 3RM load (3 @ 3RM), four repetitions with a 5RM load (4 @ 5RM) and then five repetitions with a 5RM load (5 @ 5RM). In terms of the entire population of the study, after each of the CAs, post-CMJ performance typically decreased across all rest periods, whilst any improvement in particular CMJ variables were considered to only be trivial in terms of effect size magnitudes. Despite this, multiple statistically significant positive correlations were evident between particular fitness qualities (absolute strength, CMJ RPP and aerobic capacity) and the change scores between pre and post-best CMJ performance after certain CAs. Therefore, the participants were median split in terms of each of the following fitness qualities to assess the relationship each quality has on potentiating CMJ performance. When the population was split in terms of absolute strength, the stronger participants significantly improved CMJ performance at their best recovery period after the performance of the 5 @ 5RM CA (three out of the four CMJ variables assessed significantly improved), whilst the weaker individuals showed no significant improvements. A similar trend was exhibited when the population was split in terms of CMJ RPP, with the more powerful individuals improving by small to moderate effect size magnitudes after the 5 @ 5RM CA, whilst the less powerful group did not. From the studies presented in the thesis, it can be concluded that certain recreationally resistance trained males can acutely enhance CMJ performance with the use of a heavy dynamic CA, even after pre-test performance has been optimised by a general warm-up. The optimum recovery period for the individual does need to be considered, as individuals require different amounts of rest to allow for an improvement in performance. Furthermore, the individual needs to have sufficient strength of the lower limbs in order to improve future contractions via the use of the heavy dynamic CA, as individuals with less strength do not improve post-CMJ performance after a CA. In terms of the type of CA used, heavy half-squat seem to be more effective than rebound jumps in order to potentiate CMJ performance. Furthermore, five repetitions with a 5RM load seems more effective than heavier CAs (3 @ 3RM) or ones that have less repetitions (4 @ 5RM) for this particular population. Doctor of Philosophy

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Collins, David John. "Cerebral activity prior to skilled motor performance : an electro-encephalographic review." Thesis, University of Surrey, 1990. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/843563/.

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An electroencephalographic (EEG) protocol was used to examine cerebral activity in the moments proceeding self paced motor performance. Throughout the series of investigations, power in the alpha waveband (8-13 Hz) was used as the dependant variable. In the first investigation, subjects completed a variety of stereotyped 'left and right brain' tasks. These tasks induced a reliable and predictable pattern of lateralised activity. Furthermore, tasks categorised as 'right brain' were shown to induce a more consistent effect. In the second investigation, expert Karate athletes performed a number of Karate specific tasks together with a skill acquisition and cognitive task condition. Significant increases in alpha band power, mediated by task difficulty, were found to be associated with one category of task. In the third study, subjects completed a series of novel tasks, designed to systematically vary the effort and accuracy demands. A significant decrease in alpha band power was shown to be associated with preparation for the asymmetrical high effort task, namely a leg extension against resistance. Outcome of the high accuracy condition was found to significantly mediate alpha band power immediately prior to performance. In the final investigation, the alpha band powers of cricketers, non-cricketing sportsmen and non-sportsmen were compared as they performed a variety of Cricket related, throwing tasks. Significant differences were detected between the different groups and between the different tasks. Once again, success was found to mediate the pattern of alpha band power. It was concluded that the effects observed were probably due to changes in the Rolandic Wicket or Mu rhythm generated in the central and pre-central regions.

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Bilgic, Akif. "Zusammenspiel von Corporate Performance Management, business intelligence und business activity monitoring." Hamburg Diplomica-Verl, 2007. http://d-nb.info/987561170/04.

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Bilgic, Akif. "Zusammenspiel von Corporate Performance Management, Business Intelligence und Business Activity Monitoring /." Hamburg : Diplomica Verl, 2008. http://d-nb.info/987561170/04.

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Gikas, Petros. "Influence of biomass activity on the performance of immobilized cell bioreactors." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.309134.

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Spratt, Susanna Johanna. "Activity-based performance management at strategic logistical alliance / Susanna Johanna Spratt." Thesis, North-West University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/780.

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In the era of competitive global environment and technology-based organisations, managers are pressured to find ways to maintain their competitive advantage. Management has the responsibility to maintain their competitive advantage whilst maintaining the profitability of the organisation. This responsibility includes decisions regarding the retention of profitable customers, and the minimisation of costs to improve profitability of services. The analysis of cost and profitability of individual services and customers represents a critical issue with which Strategic Logistical Alliance (SLA) should be concerned SLA has proved to be a market leader within the logistics services market whilst maintaining profitability in most of its core business functions, with the exception of the warehousing and distribution function. The reasons for a lack of profitability in the warehousing and distribution function are inadequate planning, controlling and decision-making within these functions. The main reasons for these problems are incorrect cost allocations, the non-reflection of the true cost of activities, unprofitable pricing and the lack of effective performance management. 'The primary objective of this study is to analyse the existing cost allocation system, the cost management system and the performance management system of SLA, focusing on the warehousing and distribution functions. The study addresses the shortcomings of the existing system and recommends activity-based performance management as a possible solution. To achieve this primary objective, a number of secondary objectives were relevant. The research was conducted at SLA in Gauteng. The research comprised a literature study and an empirical survey using structured interviews to obtain information from relevant staff and managers. 'The empirical study was further extended by obtaining permission from top management to gather information by observation of activities and processes carried out by staff in the warehouse and distribution function. For management of SLA to achieve their goal of becoming a profitable leading third-party logistical service provider, a combination of tools should be used, which include activity-based costing, cost management and performance management. Activity-based performance management will enable management to gain useful information for decision-making to achieve their goal. Thesis (M.Com. (Management Accounting))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

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Yoo, So-Jin. "Environmental scanning activity and firm performance at the entrepreneurship/marketing interface?" Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.341776.

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Guerieri, Ashley Mahar Matthew. "Physical Activity, Academic Performance, and Physical Self-Description in Adolescent Females." [Greenville, N.C.] : East Carolina University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10342/2234.

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McLeod, Bruce Daniel 1968. "Performance evaluation of N-processor Time Warp using stochastic activity networks." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/278314.

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The speedup obtainable with Time Warp parallel discrete-event simulation varies greatly with the characteristics of the simulation and the Time Warp implementation. Analytic studies have been done to determine the expected speedup of Time Warp, but these studies have been limited to bound analysis or analysis considering a few overheads with the others assumed negligible. The models used in these studies have often been constructed directly in terms of a Markov process, making the construction process difficult. This thesis uses stochastic activity networks to construct a model of Time Warp at a higher level, enabling the construction of a more detailed underlying Markov process. The result is an analytic model for N-processor Time Warp that considers the combined effects of limited optimism, cascaded rollback, communication cost, and rollback cost. Given these effects, solutions for performance variables such as speedup, fraction of time blocked, and channel utilization are obtained.

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Wusk, Grace Caroline. "Psychophysiological Monitoring of Crew State for Extravehicular Activity." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/103386.

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A spacewalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA), is one of the most mission critical and physically and cognitively challenging tasks that crewmembers complete. With next-generation missions to the Moon and Mars, exploration EVA will challenge crewmembers in partial gravity environments with increased frequency, duration, and autonomy of operations. Given the distance from Earth, associated communication delays, and durations of exploration missions, there is a monumental shift in responsibility and authority taking place in spaceflight; moving from Earth-dependent to crew self-reliant. For the safety, efficacy, and efficiency of future surface EVAs, there is a need to better understand crew health and performance. With this knowledge, technology and operations can be designed to better support future crew autonomy. The focus of this dissertation is to develop and evaluate a psychophysiological monitoring tool to classify cognitive workload during an operationally relevant EVA task. This was completed by compiling a sensor suite of commercial wearable devices to record physiological signals in two human research studies, one at Virginia Tech and one at NASA Johnson Space Center. The approach employs supervised machine learning to recognize patterns in psychophysiological features across different psychological states. This relies on the ability to simulate, or induce, cognitive workload in order to label data for training the model. A virtual reality (VR) Translation Task was developed to control and quantify cognitive demands during an immersive, ambulatory EVA scenario. Participants walked on a passive treadmill while wearing a VR headset to move along a virtual lunar surface. They walked with constraints on time and resources, while simultaneously identifying and recalling waypoints in the scene. Psychophysiological features were extracted and labeled according to the task demands, i.e. high or low cognitive workload, for the novel Translation Task, as well as for the benchmark Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB). Predictive models were created using the K Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithm. The contributions of this dissertation span the simulation, characterization, and modeling of cognitive state. Ultimately, this work tests the limits of extending laboratory psychophysiological monitoring to more realistic environments using wearable devices, and of generalizing predictive models across participants, times, and tasks. This work paves the way for future field studies and real-time implementation to close the loop between human and automation. Doctor of Philosophy A spacewalk is one of the most important and physically and mentally challenging tasks that astronauts complete. With next-generation missions to the Moon and Mars, exploration spacewalks will challenge astronauts in reduced-weight environments (1/6 and 1/3 Earth's gravity) with longer, more frequent spacewalks and with less help from mission control. To keep astronauts safe while exploring there is a need to better understand astronaut health and performance (physical and mental) during spacewalks. With knowledge of how astronauts will respond to high workload and stressful events, we can plan missions and design tools that can best assist them during spacewalks on the Moon and Mars when help from Earth mission control is limited. Traditional tools of quantifying mental state are not suitable for real-time assessment during spacewalks. Current methods, including subjective surveys and performance-based computer tests, require time and attention to complete and cannot assess real-time operations. The focus of this dissertation is to create a psychophysiological monitoring tool to measure mental workload during a virtual reality (VR) spacewalk. Psychophysiological monitoring uses physiological measures, like heart rate and breathing rate, to predict psychological state, like high workload or stress. Physiological signals were recorded using commercial wearable devices in two human research studies, one at Virginia Tech and one at NASA Johnson Space Center. With machine learning, computer models can be trained to recognize patterns in physiological measures for different psychological states. Once a model is trained, it can be tested on new data to predict mental workload. To train and test the models, participants in the studies completed high and low workload versions of the VR task. The VR task was specifically designed for this study to simulate and measure performance during a mentally-challenging spacewalk scenario. The participants walked at their own pace on a treadmill while wearing a VR headset to move along a virtual lunar surface, while balancing their time and resources. They were also responsible for identifying and recalling flags along their virtual path. Ultimately, this work tests the limits of extending laboratory psychophysiological monitoring to more realistic environments using wearable devices, and of generalizing predictive models across participants, times, and tasks. This work paves the way for future field studies and real-time implementation to close the loop between human and automation.

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Hill, Edwin. "The Effects of Student Activity Dashboards on Student Participation, Performance, and Persistence." NSUWorks, 2018. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/1026.

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Researchers have turned their attention to the use of learning analytics and dashboard systems in education. Schools are using knowledge gained in this area to address the issue of persistence to increase graduation rates. While dashboard systems have been developed and are starting to be implemented, it is not yet clear how activity and performance data from dashboards influences student behavior. In addition, much of the research has been focused on instructor-facing dashboards rather than student-facing dashboards. The current study implemented a student-facing dashboard in the learning management system and measured how information on the dashboard may have influenced participation in discussions, student performance on graded items, and persistence in future courses. A dashboard tool was developed for this study. Activity, performance, and persistence data was collected from all participating students. The study followed an experimental design approach that involved assigning a random group of students from multiple courses to a dashboard tool which showed the individual student’s activity and performance compared with that of their peers. Activity indicators included frequency of posting, average length of posts, percent of posts made to peers, and percent of posts made to instructor. The current score for the student, as a measure of performance, was also shown on the dashboard along with the current class average. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in participation as measured by number of posts, word count of posts, and percent of posts to peers or performance as measured by final grade. Chi Squared analysis was used to determine whether there were significant differences in persistence as a measure of whether students registered for and attended the following session. The analysis of results indicated no significant differences in participation or performance between the experimental and control groups (f(4, 59) = .947, p = .443). Similarly, no significant differences were found in persistence between the two groups (χ2(2) = .960, p = .619). Further research is needed to more fully understand the use of student dashboard interfaces and their impact on student behavior. Future studies using a similar methodology should incorporate larger sample sizes and include all students in the class, rather than using self-selected samples. A better understanding of how the use of dashboards influences participation, performance, and persistence is needed in order to develop effective strategies for supporting students.

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Freitas, Catarina Melo Sousa Jarnac de. "Entrepreneurial activity among dismissed individuals : evidence from Portugal." Master's thesis, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/15165.

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Mestrado em Finanças Face à actual situação económica e de desemprego vivida em Portugal é crucial entender se ser desempregado aumenta a intenção de criar uma empresa e se existe uma relação entre o capital humano dos desempregados empreendedores e o desempenho das suas empresas. As medidas utilizadas para avaliar o desempenho destas empresas são: A taxa de crescimento da dimensão da empresa e a sua sobrevivência no mercado. Este estudo é particularmente relevante em Portugal uma vez que o governo oferece incentivos para os indivíduos desempregados se tornarem empreendedores: Estes têm a possibilidade de receber antecipadamente o montante acumulado de todo o seu subsídio de desemprego para investir na nova empresa e têm acesso junto dos bancos a taxas de juros mais baixas para financiarem as novas firmas. Os resultados sugerem que a perda de emprego aumenta em 1% a probabilidade de criar uma nova empresa e que o capital humano destes fundadores tem um impacto positivo no desempenho destas novas empresas. Adicionalmente os nossos resultados sugerem que a faixa etária dos fundadores que cria mais oportunidades de emprego é a que inclui as idades entre 20 e 29 anos de idade. Given the disastrous unemployment situation lived in Portugal, it is crucial to understand if dismissal events increase the entrepreneurial intent and whether there is a link between the human capital of the dismissed entrepreneurs and their firms' performance. The measures we use to evaluate the firms' performance are: the 0employment growth rate and the firm survival. Our research is particularly relevant in Portugal, where the Portuguese government provides incentives to unemployed individuals so that they can become entrepreneurs. They have the chance to receive upfront all the unemployment benefit to invest in a new venture and the banks give them access to lower interest rates. In the literature, there are many criticisms about this kind of entrepreneurship (called "necessity entrepreneurship") and about the measures promoted by the governments to push unemployed individuals to entrepreneurship. Previous literature suggests that this type of entrepreneurship does not contribute to economic growth. Our results suggest that dismissal events increase 1% the probability to establish a new firm and that the human capital of these founders positively affect firms' performance. We also conclude that the founders' age makes a difference: between the age group of 20 to 29 years their firms create more employment opportunities. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

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Gourwitz, Jillian. "iPads for Students with ASD: Comparing Delivery Modes for Visual Activity Schedules." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2014. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/6279.

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Visual Activity Schedules (VAS) are tools that present an abstract concept, such as time, in a more concrete and manageable form. VAS allow students to anticipate upcoming events and activities, develop an understanding of time, and facilitate the ability to predict change. Prior investigations have used VAS to increase on-task behavior while enhancing the student's ability to independently make transitions from one activity to another and are particularly appropriate as they capitalize on the visual strengths exhibited by many students with autism. Mobile devices such as the iPad are becoming a tool for teaching students with disabilities, and research is currently underway to determine the effectiveness of specific applications on student performance. This research examined the impact of VAS delivered via the iPad, compared to a paper-based VAS, on the percentage of on-task behavior and median transition time for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during academic center activities in an inclusive classroom setting. An alternating-treatment, single-subject research design was used to determine whether a divergence exists between the paper-based VAS and the iPad VAS. This study included three student participants who (a) had a diagnosis of ASD as stated on the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), (b) were in grade level K-1, (c) received instruction through Language Arts activity centers taught within one classroom, and (d) had difficulty with independent on-task behavior as reported by the participant's teacher. Visual analysis of the data for on-task behavior revealed mixed results. Student 1 had a divergence between on-task behavior, with the paper-based VAS being a superior treatment condition to the iPad VAS 80% of the time. Student 2 also had a divergence between percentage of on-task behavior, with the iPad VAS being a superior treatment condition to the paper-based VAS 80% of the time. Student 3 had no clear divergence in percentage of on-task behavior between the iPad VAS and the paper-based VAS. All three participants had highly variable baseline and intervention data for transition time with a level stability range of 20% to 60%. Student 1 and Student 3 had no clear difference in transition time when comparing the paper-based VAS to the iPad VAS. Student 2 had a divergence in transition time data between the iPad VAS and the paper-based VAS, with the paper-based VAS being a superior treatment condition 90% of the time. Ph.D. Doctorate Education and Human Performance Education; Exceptional Education Track

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Haffey, Mark K. D. "An approach, insights and methodology for performance improvement through process activity management." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.438462.

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Roesch, J. Richard. "Hand grip performance with the bare hand in the extravehicular activity globe." Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/91148.

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Astronauts have complained of difficulty in grasping tools, hand fatigue, and hand/forearm pain during extravehicular activities. This study was conducted to examine hand grip performance with a bare hand and in a spacesuit glove at two different pressures, with three hand positions and two elbow positions. Sixteen subjects, selected from the suited-subject pool at the Johnson Space Center, gripped a hand dynamometer encased in a vacuum chamber designed to simulate the operating pressures in space. The results for the bare hand condition showed a significant effect for hand position and a significant elbow/hand interaction. The spacesuit glove at operating pressure was responsible for an average 42% grip strength decrement from the bare hand condition. A new procedure for determining hand size from projected hand surface area revealed that bare and gloved-hand grip strength was highly correlated with hand size, as were body weight, height, and forearm circumference. M. S.

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Nash, Michelle I. "Exploring the Effects of Depression and Physical Activity on Pattern Separation Performance." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2015. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6028.

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Cognitive performance declines in depression and increases with physical activity. These changes may in part be due to changes in the level of neurogenesis (the generation and survival of adult-born neurons), which decreases with depression and increases with physical activity. Pattern separation (the formation of distinct neural representations of incoming information through orthogonalizing similar patterns of activation) has also been linked to neurogenesis. This project explores pattern separation within these two populations through three experiments.Experiment 1. Previous research has found impaired pattern separation among individuals with higher depression scores, but who have not been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). This experiment sought to expand these findings and evaluated behavioral differences during the performance of a continuous recognition pattern separation task among women with MDD and age- and education-matched controls. It was hypothesized that clinically depressed participants would have lower pattern separation scores and would be more likely to incorrectly identify lure stimuli as "old". Contrary to this prediction, clinically depressed participants had higher pattern separation scores, while controls were more likely to misidentify lure items as "old".Experiment 2. While there are many known benefits of regular physical activity, the majority of individuals in the United States do not engage in the recommended levels of fitness training. Furthermore, there have only been a limited number of studies evaluating the effect physical activity may have on cognitive abilities and neurological components and none have evaluated what effect the recommended levels of fitness may have on these areas. The second experiment evaluated differences between individuals with varying levels of physical activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the performance of a continuous recognition pattern separation task. It was hypothesized that participants with self-reported higher levels of physical activity would have greater activation in the CA3/dentate gyrus subregions of the hippocampus than those with lower fitness levels and sedentary individuals. Surprisingly, there were no activation differences across groups. Experiment 3. The final experiment explored diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) differences in physical activity levels with the same sample used in Experiment 2. It was hypothesized that participants with self-reported higher levels of physical activity would have indications of increased white matter integrity compared to those with lower fitness levels and sedentary individuals. There were significant differences across groups in DTI measures of white matter integrity (axial diffusivity or AD) in bilateral cingulum, the left temporal middle gyrus, and the right uncinate fasciculus.

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Sulin, Jennifer P. "Psychometric measurement of physical performance in older adults." Thesis, This resource online, 1996. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-08292008-063609/.

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Borg, Ann-Louise. "Investigation of a Method for Determination of Anticomplementary Activity (ACA) in Octagam." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-21468.

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This Master Thesis was conducted at Octapharma AB in Stockholm.Anticomplementary activity (ACA) is a measure of the product’s abilities to activate the complement system. IgG aggregates are mainly responsible for this activation. Two different performances of a method for determination of ACA in Octagam® are available. The two performances are based on the reference method for test of ACA in immunoglobulins in the European Pharmacopoeia Commission Guideline 6.0 (chapter 2.6.17). The method is carried out either in test tubes or on microtiter plates. The test tube method can be performed either in a manual manner or modified, being more automated. The latter performance has been applied in this study. The plate method is more automated than both of the tube methods. The plate method and the manual tube method have earlier seemed to result in different outcomes, which was the basis for this thesis.The plate method and the modified test tube method have been compared and robustness parameters have been studied in order to see which factors influence on the end result. The adequacy of using Human Biological Reference Preparation (human BRP) as a control for the ACA method in general has also been investigated. Samples of the product are outside the scope of this thesis and have not been investigated.According to this study, the plate method and the modified tube method are not comparable with regard to complement titration results and to ACA of the BRP control. A higher precision is gained with the plate method. This in combination with the higher degree of automation makes the plate method advantageous in several aspects. When it comes to the robustness of the ACA method in general, the sheep red blood cells (SRBC) used are critical. Haemolysin dilution and complement activity seem to be critical as well.Human BRP is, according to this study more adequate as a reference for the plate method than for the tube method. An In house control is believed to be more representative to the ACA method in general as it is of the same nature as the samples analysed, in contrast to the human BRP.

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Мушта, Марина Андріївна. "Analysis of nature protecting activity of the Ukrainian airports." Thesis, Національний авіаційний університет, 2020. https://er.nau.edu.ua/handle/NAU/49656.

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Робота публікується згідно наказу ректора від 21.01.2020 р. №008/од "Про перевірку кваліфікаційних робіт на академічний плогіат у 2019-2020 навчальному році". Керівник проекту: доцент кафедри екології, к.т.н., Радомська Маргарита Мирославівна Object of research – the formation of environment pollution due to airports activities. Subject of research – management of environment protection activities at Ukrainian airports. Aim оf the work – to analyze the environmental performance of Ukrainian airports. Methods of research: search, analysis and synthesis of information, comparative analysis, visual observations of maps.

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Мушта, Марина Андріївна. "Analysis of nature protecting activity of the Ukrainian airports." Thesis, Національний авіаційний університет, 2020. http://er.nau.edu.ua/handle/NAU/43592.

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Робота публікується згідно наказу ректора від 21.01.2020 р. №008/од "Про перевірку кваліфікаційних робіт на академічний плогіат у 2019-2020 навчальному році". Керівник проекту: доцент кафедри екології, к.т.н., Радомська Маргарита Мирославівна Object of research – the formation of environment pollution due to airports activities. Subject of research – management of environment protection activities at Ukrainian airports. Aim оf the work – to analyze the environmental performance of Ukrainian airports. Methods of research: search, analysis and synthesis of information, comparative analysis, visual observations of maps.

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Brennan, Martha. "Stress reduction as a link between aerobic activity and academic performance experienced by undergraduate women through the use of the Student Recreation Center at Texas A&M University." Texas A&M University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/5958.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between aerobic activity and academic performance through stress reduction using a student recreational facility. Research indicated that learning in college tends to focus on the academic aspects of the undergraduate experience - the classroom, laboratory, and the library - not other factors potentially affecting academic performance (Kuh et al., 1991). Forty women were randomly selected from the undergraduate population at Texas A&M University in order to analyze the relationship between aerobic activity and academic performance by measuring perceived stress levels. All participants completed an on-line stress questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), every three weeks. Exam scores from an introductory sociology course and an educational statistics course were used for data analysis also. The experimental group (exercise group) used twelve weeks of regular aerobic exercise, while the control group (non-exercise) remained sedentary. During the twelve-week period, all participants self-reported data for additional qualitative data. Research findings of this study included: 1. The main benefit from aerobic activity was that women who exercised regularly felt more positive about academics and non-academic activities than women who did not exercise regularly. 2. There was no statistical significant difference between exam scores and academic performance of women who exercised regularly and those who did not exercise regularly. 3. There was no statistical significant difference between stress levels of women who exercised regularly and women who did not exercise regularly. Based on the findings of the study, researcher recommendations include: 1. Continue to investigate the changing demographics of college students - namely, age, sex, and non-traditional students. This study was limited to fulltime women between the ages of 18-24. Men and part-time students need to be included in a comparable study, providing campuses with more data that reflects the entire student population. 2. Explore additional areas in sociology and psychology that address exercise behavior trends in college students. Results from this study indicated that there are many variables, including stress, that affect college students in the behavioral sciences that can be attributed to differences in physical activity between sedentary and non-sedentary people. 3. Analyze health factors, which include amount of exercise, nutrition, and sleep patterns.

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Brown, Richard S. "Capabilities, Strategic Intent and Firm Performance: An Empirical Investigation." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2013. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/218602.

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Business Administration/Strategic Management Ph.D. This dissertation consists of three papers that are linked through the topic of organizational capabilities. The first paper, entitled "Organizational Core Capabilities, Strategic Intent and Performance: A Study of the Pharmaceutical Industry," looks at the association between capabilities, strategic intent and performance. Employing capabilities theory and the strategic intent literature, I model (i) the association of firm-level capabilities and rigidities on performance, (ii) the association of strategic intent and performance and (iii) the interaction effects of capabilities and strategic intent upon performance. Our sample consists of pharmaceutical firms during the years 1993 to 2003 and I find that both capabilities and strategic intent are negatively associated with firm performance. The interaction of the two main effects is positively related to performance conditional on firms having high strategic intent. The findings point to potential evidence of core rigidities theory as well as strategic intent theory, which has yet to be empirically tested by scholars. The second paper is entitled "The Impact of Political Capabilities on Firm Performance: An Empirical Investigation." In this paper, I integrate capabilities theory with the literature on corporate political activity (CPA). The CPA literature has been robust in addressing the determinants of a firm's choice to engage in political activities but has been less robust in modeling the CPA-performance link. I address this by first integrating capabilities theory and political action and then by testing a number of constructs on a sample of Fortune 500 firms from varying industries. Specifically, I find that political action committee (PAC) intensity and lobbying intensity is associated with higher firm performance. I then interact PAC intensity with lobbying intensity and also find positive association between this interaction and performance, denoting that these two activities are complements and not substitutes. Finally, I moderate these relationships with industry concentration and find that performance increases for politically active firms as industries become more concentrated. The third paper is titled "Political Capabilities and Rigidities: The Case of AT&T's Acquisition Attempt of T-Mobile USA." This paper studies, in an in-depth case study, the political capabilities of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), focusing on the years 1984-2011. Using capabilities and rigidities theory from management, I provide detailed evidence of (i) AT&T's intent to compete on political capabilities, (ii) the success derived from these political capabilities and (iii) situational failure resulting from an over-reliance on these political capabilities. In the empirical section, I show how the firm failed to assess external information that it needed to adjust its competitive strategy and, as a result, failed to acquire a key competitor. This paper makes contributions to capabilities research, rigidities research and corporate political activity. Temple University--Theses

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Liu, Tong. "Groupme: city data and multi-preference activity allocation." Master's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2015. http://amslaurea.unibo.it/8398/.

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Classic group recommender systems focus on providing suggestions for a fixed group of people. Our work tries to give an inside look at design- ing a new recommender system that is capable of making suggestions for a sequence of activities, dividing people in subgroups, in order to boost over- all group satisfaction. However, this idea increases problem complexity in more dimensions and creates great challenge to the algorithm’s performance. To understand the e↵ectiveness, due to the enhanced complexity and pre- cise problem solving, we implemented an experimental system from data collected from a variety of web services concerning the city of Paris. The sys- tem recommends activities to a group of users from two di↵erent approaches: Local Search and Constraint Programming. The general results show that the number of subgroups can significantly influence the Constraint Program- ming Approaches’s computational time and e�cacy. Generally, Local Search can find results much quicker than Constraint Programming. Over a lengthy period of time, Local Search performs better than Constraint Programming, with similar final results.

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Geldenhuys, Brandon Lindsay. "Dissolution and antiviral activity of a novel nevirapine formulation." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/4653.

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Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm The author’s objective was to follow the product life-cycle process of a novel antiretroviral, nevirapine formulation in South Africa, to generate and compile data to pursue market registration. Five supramolecular co-crystals, viz. nevirapine-saccharin (NVSC), nevirapine-DL-tartaric acid (NVTTA), nevirapine-maleic acid (NVMLE), nevirapine-glutaric acid (NVGLT) and nevirapine-salicylic acid (NVSLI) were reproduced and confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). A pre-formulation study ensued to identify the most appropriate co-former candidate to formulate a tablet dosage form comparative to the proprietor brand, Viramune®. The co-crystals were synthesized by the co-precipitation and solvent-drop grinding techniques and identified by hot stage microscopy (HSM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), fourier transform infra-red spectrophotometry (FTIR), PXRD and single X-ray diffraction (SXRD). The solubility, dissolution and antiviral activity profiles of these co-crystals were assessed and compared to pure NV and NV:co-former mixtures in a 1:1 ratio. The preliminary dissolution analysis applied the BP 2005 rotating-basket method with water as dissolution medium. Initially, the dissolution samples were assayed with UV/VIS spectrophotometry which led to a more convincing quantitative approach where dissolution samples were assayed by HPLC. Solubility data revealed a fivefold increase in solubility of NV co-crystallized with maleic acid. Dissolution data, however revealed NVGLT as the best performing co-crystal with a 59 % NV drug release in water (dissolution media) with the remaining 4 co-crystals all indicating an enhanced aqueous solubility of NV. The antiviral activity of all 5 co-crystals performed by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases of South Africa determined whether the co-crystals had an improved antiviral activity against HIV-1 compared to pure NV. The results indicated that NVSC and NVSLI had the greatest antiviral activity compared to pure NV and the remaining co-crystals. The pre-formulation results formed the basis for the selection of the best co-former candidate for a NV co-crystal tablet formulation by direct compression. All solid dosage form quality control tests according to the USP 364 was performed on the prototype co-crystal tablet and the Viramune® tablet. Comparative dissolution analysis to evaluate bioequivalence was conducted and assayed by HPLC. The dissolution analysis utilized 3 media, viz. HCl buffer (pH 1.2), acetate buffer (pH 4.5) and a phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) which displayed no similarity in the dissolution profile of the prototype and the proprietor brand. Solution stability of NV in these buffered media was assessed after 4 weeks exposure of the dissolution samples to cold chain (2 - 8 °C, 0 % RH) and accelerated environmental conditions (40 °C, 75 % RH). The results indicated no significant degradation of NV in the prototype co-crystal tablet and the proprietor brand during the accelerated stability tests. Cytotoxicity against a host cell 293T and antiviral activity against the pseudo-HIV-1 virus of the prototype and proprietor brand was further determined. The antiviral activity results were favourable for both the prototype co-crystal and the proprietor brand tablet.

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Nazareth, Alina. "Factors Affecting Adult Mental Rotation Performance." FIU Digital Commons, 2015. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2185.

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Research on mental rotation has consistently found sex differences, with males outperforming females on mental rotation tasks like the Vandenberg and Kuse (1978) mental rotation test (MRT; D. Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995). Mental rotation ability has been found to be enhanced with experience (Nazareth, Herrera & Pruden, 2013) and training (Wright, Thompson, Ganis, Newcombe, & Kosslyn, 2008) and the effects of training have been found to be transferable to other spatial tasks (Wright et al., 2008) and sustainable for months (Terlecki, Newcombe, & Little, 2008). Although, we now are fairly certain about the malleability of spatial tasks and the role of spatial activity experience, we seem to have undervalued an important piece of the puzzle. What is the mechanism by which experiential factors enhance mental rotation performance? In other words, what is it that develops in an individual as a consequence of experience? The current dissertation sought to address this gap in the literature by examining cognitive strategy selection as a possible mechanism by which experiential factors like early spatial activity experience enhance mental rotation performance. A total of 387 adult university students were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions. The three experimental conditions differed in the amount and type of non-spatial information present in the task stimuli. Participant eye movement was recorded using a Tobii X60 eye tracker. Study I investigated the different types of cognitive strategies selected during mental rotation, where eye movement patterns were used as indicators of the underlying cognitive strategies. A latent profile analysis revealed two distinct eye movement patterns significantly predicting mental rotation performance. Study II examined the role of early spatial activity experience in mental rotation performance. Male sex-typed spatial activities were found to significantly mediate the relation between participant sex and mental rotation performance. Finally, Study III examined the developmental role of early spatial activity experience in cognitive strategy selection and strategy flexibility to enhance mental rotation performance. Strategy flexibility was found to be significantly associated with mental rotation performance. Male sex-typed spatial activity experiences were found to be significantly associated with cognitive strategy selection but not strategy flexibility. Implications for spatial training and educational pedagogy in the STEM fields are discussed.

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Böö, Rickard. "Video game playing, academic performance, educational activity, and motivation among secondary school students." Thesis, Örebro universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Örebro Universitet, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-35525.

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Ching-Ho, Liu. "A strategic activity model and management performance of American, Japanese, and Taiwanese firms." Thesis, University of the West of Scotland, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360229.

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Parrish, Loni, Alyson Jo Chroust, Brandi Eveland-Sayer, Kara Boynewicz, and Andrew Dotterweich. "Serial Spatial Memory Performance and Physical Activity in Children 5-11 Years Old." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/asrf/2019/schedule/126.

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Visuospatial memory supports cognitive functioning and guides one’s navigation through the environment. Spatial processing allows individuals to remember procedural sequence of steps to achieve a certain goal. It plays a vital role in learning, reasoning, problem solving and language comprehension. Additionally, aerobic fitness enhances cognitive functions such that children that have higher levels of aerobic fitness and motor skills also have better attention, spatial memory, and school achievement. The current study measured spatial memory in children (2nd – 5th grade) to assess developmental differences. Moreover, the study investigated whether spatial memory and running speed were related. It was hypothesized that the data will reconstruct the classic serial position effect and there will be developmental differences in spatial memory performance. Furthermore, participants’ running speed will be negatively associated with their performance on the spatial memory task. That is, the faster their running time, the higher their spatial memory score. Two tasks were presented to children as part of a larger project. The first was a visual-spatial memory task that was presented on a computer using an eye-tracker. The second was a 100-ft shuttle run. Fifty-one children (M age = 104 months, SD = 25.05; 27 female) were introduced to the spatial memory task with a story about a dog walker who lost a puppy. The task had three periods: presentation, retention, and recall. During the presentation period, participants saw the puppy appear in five spatial positions. Next, participants had the opportunity to see all of the positions the puppy visited as teal boxes reappeared in the same locations and remained on the screen for ten seconds. Lastly, during the recall period, participants were asked to recall the order that the puppy visited the five positions. The percentage of correctly recalled items was the dependent measure. A mixed analysis of variance was conducted on percent correct with item position (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th) as a within-subject factor and participant grade (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th) as a between-participant factor. There were main effects of sequential position, F(4, 188) = 10.46, p< .001, h2 = .18 and grade, F(1, 47) = 5.32, p= .003, h2 = .25. The extent of serial position effect was comparable across grade levels, with no sign of floor or ceiling effect in any group. Overall, older participants had a higher percentage correct recall than younger participants. Additionally, across grade-levels, first-item primacy and last-item recency effects were apparent. Furthermore, there was a significant association between running speed and spatial memory performance, r= -0.396, p= .004. In summary, the results of the current study suggest that the serial position effect is present by 5-years of age and that children’s memory for spatial locations improves with age. Moreover, children with higher percentages of recalled items on the spatial memory task had faster times on the shuttle run. Future research should consider other measurements of physical activity (e.g., strength, agility, coordination) to see whether physical activity, more broadly, relates to spatial memory performance in children.

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Hamblin, Denise Lee, and n/a. "The effect of mobile phone emitted electromagnetic fields on human brain activity and performance." Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. http://adt.lib.swin.edu.au./public/adt-VSWT20061110.100936.

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As mobile phone connections approach two billion worldwide and become steadily more available and affordable, demands for scientific studies on the effect of such EMFs on human functioning similarly increase. The current thesis systematically investigated the effects of acute mobile phone exposure on human brain activity and performance using an in-vivo approach. The research question comprised the following parts: First, is human neural function sensitive to acute mobile phone exposure? Second, if so, what processes are affected? Third, if so, do these neural changes affect gross measures of performance or behaviour? A review of the previous literature found that there was some, but not conclusive evidence that mobile phone exposure affects neural function and some aspects of human performance, and that the studies in question required replication with reliable and realistic dosimetry, double-blinding and additional technical tests to ensure that the experimental set-up was free of artefact contamination. A pilot study was conducted to provide an indication of possible future results, assist in the formation of hypotheses for the main study, and highlight what technical issues required attention before the main study could begin. Results of the pilot study indicated that EMFs emitted by GSM900 mobile phones may alter human brain activity during an auditory task, particularly in proximity to the phone. Both early sensory and later more cognitive ERP components were significantly altered during active compared to sham exposure. Results also suggested that mobile phone exposure may hinder human performance, with longer RTs during the active exposure relative to the sham exposure. However, due to the small sample size of the pilot investigation and questions remaining as to possible technical limitations of the study, these results were treated with caution and used primarily in the formation of future hypotheses for the larger experimental study. Subsequent technical tests provided improvement and validation of the experimental set-up and exposure delivery system, and ensured that future research would be free from such technical limitations. These tests included the characterisation of spectral emissions by the test phone; ensuring that EMFs emitted by the test phones would not interfere with, nor distort, data from the response pad or that processed by the electrode leads; determining whether electrode leads cause an increase or decrease in SAR; and examining the issue of experimenter interference. These tests enabled the conclusion that a positive finding from the large experimental trial would be due to the active exposure of the mobile phone, or in the case of a null finding, would not be due to insufficient or unreliable exposure. Applying the knowledge gained from these technical tests, the main study aimed to provide results of a definitive nature by employing a sample size of 120 sufficient statistical power to detect relatively subtle effects, and a stringent methodological design to account for past limitations. The main study also increased the scope of investigation beyond that achieved in previous research by including endpoints related to sensory processing (auditory and visual tasks), higher cognitive processing (cardsorting task), performance (reaction time and accuracy) and cortical activation (EEG alpha power). To increase this scope even further, within these tasks, the study used data from each scalp electrode and offered insights into the effect of laterality (ipsi- versus contralateral in relation to the exposure source), psychological arousal, perception of transmission, and between-subject factors such as age, gender, previous mobile phone use and hemisphere exposed (right versus left hemisphere exposure). The results of the main study suggested that acute exposure to GSM900 mobile phone significantly reduced levels of psychological arousal, particularly in relation to selfratings of Energy. Results also indicated that only minutes of active exposure can lead to enhanced alpha EEG activity during active exposure relative to sham exposure. Interestingly, this effect was found to be transient, decreasing below sham levels after ten minutes of active exposure and up until ten minutes after exposure cessation. These exposure-induced changes in EEG alpha power were here interpreted as representing an overall reduction in integrative brain function, possibly caused by the physiological response to neural interference or altered synaptic transmission. Acute exposure did not alter human brain activity in the form of the early sensory or later cognitive ERP responses during an auditory or visual task, or EEG synchronisation during a higher cognitive task. The findings also suggested that resultant behaviour, as indexed by RT and accuracy, is unaffected by exposure. Conversely, exploration into specific groups within the sample resulted in some interesting interactions, which raised the possibility that active mobile phone exposure may affect individuals differently as a function of age, gender and which hemisphere is exposed. Specifically, the auditory processing of older individuals was particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of mobile phone exposure compared to their younger counterparts. Results of the visual task suggested that the performance of females may also be particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of active exposure, compared to males. Overall, the present study has confirmed that there are mobile phone-related bioeffects at the low levels that mobile phones are permitted to operate at. Although various effects have been observed, there is no indication from the present results that cumulative effects or any health consequences exist as this was not the focus of the research. It is argued that future investigation into mobile phone-related bioeffects should apply more sophisticated methodologies to the investigation of acute exposure on EEG alpha power and higher cognitive functioning, as well as larger sample sizes and fewer carefully planned comparisons in order to detect small effects. Further investigation into exposure-induced effects on different groups according to age, gender and which hemisphere is exposed should also be a priority.

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Murray, Alan. "Do markets value companies' social and environmental activity? : an inquiry into associations among social disclosure, social performance and financial performance." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2010. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1770/.

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In the context of a changing world, and faced with a scientific analysis that unequivocally links corporate activity with climactic changes which might threaten humankind, any study of financial reporting needs to be placed in perspective. If the science is correct, then it is the contention of this thesis that capital market activity is complicit in the destruction of the Earth’s biosphere and that accounting, in terms of the rules that govern corporate activity and the financial reporting, is an essential link in this chain. Previous research has sought to demonstrate links among social disclosure, social performance and financial performance and this thesis seeks to extend that literature by conducting two further studies, not to aid investors in their quest for further abnormal returns, but to understand the potential for financial markets to contribute to responsible business practice and the quest for sustainable development. The first study was a statistical examination of the relationships between social and environmental disclosures and market performance of the UK’s largest companies. It utilised longitudinal and cross-sectional data over a 10 year period and was tested for linear and non-linear relationships. As expected, no direct relationship between share returns and social disclosure was detected but, on further examination, the longitudinal data revealed a relationship between consistently high (or low) returns and a predisposition to high (or low) disclosure. The second study was a qualitative, interview based inquiry into what companies report in terms of social and environmental information and how markets gather and utilise that information. Senior executives from twelve FTSE companies were interviewed to gain an understanding of why this practice had grown so significantly over the last two decades, who their intended audience might be and the place such information had in their interactions with capital markets. Thereafter, senior executives from three Mutual Assurance Companies were interviewed to seek an understanding of the nature of information they required, and upon which their investment decisions were based. The findings of this study confirmed that social and environmental issues are of limited interest to markets except where they can be identified as relevant in terms of risk or governance. It also confirmed that there is a strong PR motivation in releasing social and environmental reports, which has little to do with improving social performance. On the market side there was confirmation that financial returns, even in ethical funds, were the main driver behind portfolio selection. The rather depressing conclusion from these studies is that serious moral and ethical issues are eschewed by companies and markets alike, where the focus remains on short-term performance measures.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Activity performance'

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