90 research outputs found
United Nations Territorial Administration and the Development of the Charter
Get PDFThe competition in sports equipment and sports fashion today is fierce. And as e-commerce grows, the competing players has to remain accessible and usable regard-less of the device their customers visit the website on. Stadium is Swedens biggest player on the market and puts a lot of effort on their online activity. Something Stadium found interesting was the possibility of introducing elements that would increase the conversion rates directly into the product menu. This study explores the possibility to find a responsive solution for the product menu at Stadiums’ e-commerce website which could contribute to increased conversion rates. The study is built upon an experiment and the foundations of the experiment is based upon a market analysis of used design patterns for product navigation in the domain of sport resellers. Added to that, theories of usability and sales aspects, Stadiums own point of view, and known design patterns, have all contributed to the birth of a responsive product navigation concept. What started as sketches first evolved into three high fidelity design solutions (one for desktop devices, one for tablet devices, and one for smartphone devices) and then into working prototypes. The prototypes were tested by multiple users, following a set of tasks. The results was then compared with the same tasks conducted at Stadiums current website. The theories we have found clearly indicate that a good user experience greatly affects the potential for higher conversion rates and also increase the possibility of a higher customer loyalty towards the brand. Stadiums’ philosophy is focused on the product range and to show the products as the hero of the brand. The user testing conducted showed that the design solutions made by us didn’t meet the standard of the current Stadium product navigation. The statistics from the tests is spraw-ling and the lack of completness within the prototype shined through. Despite the sprawling results, the study concludes in a design solution that can act as a starting point for further investigations to find the best possible solution
Hydrate Formation in Small Bore Dead Legs in Subsea Processing Systems
Get PDFNatural gas hydrates, a crystalline compound forming at high pressures and low temperatures,
pose flow assurance issues in natural gas processing systems. Small bore dead legs, piping
containing stagnant process fluid, are prone to blocking by hydrate formation. This thesis aims
to provide design guidelines and best practices for small bore dead leg design in natural gas
subsea processing systems as well as providing a method for predicting hydrate thickness using
computational fluid dynamics (CFD). An experiment which measured the final thickness of
a hydrate in controlled conditions is recreated in CFD using three different approaches. One
approach, volume of fluid (VOF) melting-solidification, shows promise with similar results to
the experiment but with varying accuracy. Recommendations for future work on steady-state
hydrate modelling in CFD are given. The small bore dead leg designs are evaluated from
a conservative standpoint using CFD with the aim to provide general guidelines for a wide
range of use cases in terms of process fluid composition, operating conditions and dead leg bore
size. Design guidelines are given for common small bore dead leg functions, namely hydrocarbon
displacement and mono-ethylene glycol injection. Guidelines for maximum and minimum small
bore dead leg lengths are given for simple design geometries, such as straight pieces of piping.
More geometrically complex designs are evaluated with respect to hydrate blocking from a
thermal point of view. The guidelines and evaluated designs provide constraints and pre-verified
solutions for future small bore dead leg designs regarding hydrate blocking mitigation
“I hardly have a problem […] I have my period quite rarely too”: Female football players’ and their coaches’ perceptions of barriers to communication on menstrual cycle
Get PDFIntroduction: Symptoms related to the menstrual cycle (MC) affect the performance level and health of female athletes in various ways. Previous research has reported MC symptoms such as pain, mood disturbance, reduced coordination and competition distraction as well as diminished performance levels and an increased injury risk among female elite athletes. Despite this, the coach-athlete communication related to the female hormonal cycle is limited. The aim of the present study was to explore the perceptions of MC communication in a group of junior elite football players and their male coaches in a case study of one youth football team in a specific club in Norway. Methods: The study used a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. In total, 8 female junior elite players (aged 16-20) from a Norwegian football team and 2 of their male coaches participated in the study. Results: The data analysis revealed two main communication barriers: 1. interpersonal barriers (e.g., false assumptions about the coach/athletes and social discomfort) and 2. knowledge barriers (e.g., unaware/perceptions of insufficient knowledge levels). Discussion: As the players seemed to be unaware of their insufficient MC knowledge (e.g., failed to see a connection between the MC and their health and performance level), the coaches perceived their knowledge as insufficient and coped mainly by outsourcing MC communication to female staff and apps. Hence, the MC communication was hindered by both the athletes and the coaches (e.g., mutual avoidance). In line with previous research, this study supports that there is a need for developing effective strategies to overcome the interpersonal barriers and knowledge gaps.publishedVersio
“Mission impossible”? How a successful female cross-country skier managed a dual career as a professional athlete and medical student A case study
Get PDFThe aim of the present case study is to illuminate the factors contributing to the initiation, maintenance and discontinuation of the dual career of a Norwegian world-class athlete and medicine student. We additionally aimed to highlight contextual factors facilitating and impeding the dual career development. The participant Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen was a Norwegian student-athlete in the 2005–2020 period when she concurrently achieved 10 FIS World Championship medals, one Olympic medal, and 43 World Cup podiums in cross-country ski- ing. Day-to-day training diary data, study load and progress, performance, and interviews were analysed. In most years, the participant’s annual training vol- ume was c. 800–900 hrs/year. No significant differences in athletic performance were seen between the years with full-time studies, part-time studies, and study breaks. The participant Jacobsen experienced conflicting schedules and a lack of dual career support from stakeholders as the major challenges. Hence, the present single-case study provides unique data on the process and management of a dual career.“Mission impossible”? How a successful female cross-country skier managed a dual career as a professional athlete and medical student A case studypublishedVersio
Tick-Tock Goes the Biological Clock: Challenges Facing Elite Scandinavian Mother-Athletes
Get PDFAuthor's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Human Kinetics Journals in
Elsevier in Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal on 21/8/2023.Available online: https://doi.org/10.1123/wspaj.2022-0094Challenges facing mother-athletes (MAs) have aroused research and media attention in recent years, with an increasing number of sportswomen attempting to successfully combine pregnancy and motherhood with an elite athletic career. The aims of this study were to explore how MA-specific challenges manifest in elite cross-country skiing in Scandinavia and to better understand how female athletes balance their priorities as they initiate, maintain, and/or discontinue their role as a MA. Qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews with 13 female cross-country skiers from Norway and Sweden. Thematic analyses revealed four MA-specific challenges facing the athletes: (a) Biological clock versus peak performance, (b) Maintaining fitness versus training safely, (c) Receiving support versus facing deselection, and (d) Balancing competing MA demands. Many of the athletes felt pressured into prioritizing either motherhood or athletic excellence, particularly in their early to mid-30s when the window of opportunity for building a family was considered limited. Further, maintaining fitness and training safely during pregnancy were perceived as a challenge, as was balancing the MA role after childbirth. In many cases, athletes felt uncertain about whether they would receive support from their team or federation. Moreover, there were expectations of incompatibility surrounding the MA role. More research and educational efforts to promote MA-specific knowledge, as well as developing structured processes and providing policies to support female athletes, are identified as vital future steps. These measures may prolong athletic careers and enhance well-being for elite female athletes.acceptedVersio
Finding the optimal balance: father-athlete challenges facing elite Nordic skiers
Get PDFBackground: In the last decade, a growing body of research has focused on the
many aspects and challenges of combining parenthood with elite sport.
Although the number of father-athletes is significantly higher than the number
of mother-athletes, few studies to date have focused on male athletes’
experiences in a parenting context.
Aim: The aims of the present study were to explore how father-athlete
challenges manifest among elite Nordic skiers in Norway, and to better
understand how male athletes balance their priorities as they initiate, maintain,
and/or discontinue their athletic career as a father-athlete.
Methods: Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews
with 10 world-class male Nordic skiers in Norway (3 athletes without a child, 4
current father-athletes and 3 former father-athletes) and the content was
analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results: Four main stages were identified in the father-athlete transition: (a)
Expecting incompatibility (b) Taking the step, (c), The first blow, and (d) Finding
the optimal balance. Through these stages the informants expected/had
experienced challenges such as performance decline, disturbed sleeping
patterns, fear of sickness and role conflicts. To manage these challenges, the
father-athletes had developed various strategies to balance their dual roles
(e.g., adapting training and competition seasons). Among the benefits, the
father-athletes mentioned that they had become more structured, time
efficient and ruthless with their priorities, enhanced motivation to train and a
better work-life balance.
Conclusion: This study offers valuable insights into father-athlete challenges
that can be used to support career longevity and work-life balance among
male athletes
“Mission impossible”? How a successful female cross-country skier managed a dual career as a professional athlete and medical student : A case study
Get PDFThe aim of the present case study is to illuminate the factors contributing to the initiation, maintenance and discontinuation of the dual career of a Norwegian world-class athlete and medicine student. We additionally aimed to highlight contextual factors facilitating and impeding the dual career development. The participant Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen was a Norwegian student-athlete in the 2005–2020 period when she concurrently achieved 10 FIS World Championship medals, one Olympic medal, and 43 World Cup podiums in cross-country ski- ing. Day-to-day training diary data, study load and progress, performance, and interviews were analysed. In most years, the participant’s annual training vol- ume was c. 800–900 hrs/year. No significant differences in athletic performance were seen between the years with full-time studies, part-time studies, and study breaks. The participant Jacobsen experienced conflicting schedules and a lack of dual career support from stakeholders as the major challenges. Hence, the present single-case study provides unique data on the process and management of a dual career.publishedVersio
Comparing talent development environments of girls and boys in handball and ice hockey in Norway
Get PDFCurrently, there is little research on successful talent development environments (TDEs) focusing on women and girls. In response, the main aim of the present study was to compare TDEs of age-specific national teams for girls and boys in the Norwegian context (N = 216: 92 girls and 124 boys). Gender differences were investigated in the two different sports of handball and ice hockey, which in the Norwegian context represent more and less successful sports (handball and ice hockey, respectively). Before investigating gender differences in the two sports, a necessary first step was to investigate the psychometric properties of Norwegian version of the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ-5). Results support the Norwegian TDEQ-5 to be a reliable and valid measure within the Norwegian context. The successful sport of Norwegian handball showed no significant gender differences regarding TDE. The less successful and male dominated sport of Norwegian ice hockey showed girls to score lower on several TDEQ factors compared to boys. Results also showed ice hockey having lower TDEQ scores compared to handball. We argue that handball provide similarly functional TDEs for girls and boys, making gender equality a characteristic feature of a TDE that is successful both in terms of mass participation and international achievements.publishedVersio
Effects of apples and specific apple components on the cecal environment of conventional rats: role of apple pectin
Get PDF<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Our study was part of the large European project ISAFRUIT aiming to reveal the biological explanations for the epidemiologically well-established health effects of fruits. The objective was to identify effects of apple and apple product consumption on the composition of the cecal microbial community in rats, as well as on a number of cecal parameters, which may be influenced by a changed microbiota.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of cecal microbiota profiles obtained by PCR-DGGE targeting bacterial 16S rRNA genes showed an effect of whole apples in a long-term feeding study (14 weeks), while no effects of apple juice, purée or pomace on microbial composition in cecum were observed. Administration of either 0.33 or 3.3% apple pectin in the diet resulted in considerable changes in the DGGE profiles.</p> <p>A 2-fold increase in the activity of beta-glucuronidase was observed in animals fed with pectin (7% in the diet) for four weeks, as compared to control animals (P < 0.01). Additionally, the level of butyrate measured in these pectin-fed animal was more than double of the corresponding level in control animals (P < 0.01). Sequencing revealed that DGGE bands, which were suppressed in pectin-fed rats, represented Gram-negative anaerobic rods belonging to the phylum <it>Bacteroidetes</it>, whereas bands that became more prominent represented mainly Gram-positive anaerobic rods belonging to the phylum <it>Firmicutes</it>, and specific species belonging to the <it>Clostridium </it>Cluster XIVa.</p> <p>Quantitative real-time PCR confirmed a lower amount of given <it>Bacteroidetes </it>species in the pectin-fed rats as well as in the apple-fed rats in the four-week study (P < 0.05). Additionally, a more than four-fold increase in the amount of <it>Clostridium coccoides </it>(belonging to Cluster XIVa), as well as of genes encoding butyryl-coenzyme A CoA transferase, which is involved in butyrate production, was detected by quantitative PCR in fecal samples from the pectin-fed animals.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings show that consumption of apple pectin (7% in the diet) increases the population of butyrate- and β-glucuronidase producing <it>Clostridiales</it>, and decreases the population of specific species within the <it>Bacteroidetes </it>group in the rat gut. Similar changes were not caused by consumption of whole apples, apple juice, purée or pomace.</p
Comparing talent development environments of girls and boys in handball and ice hockey in Norway
Get PDFCurrently, there is little research on successful talent development environments (TDEs) focusing on women and girls. In response, the main aim of the present study was to compare TDEs of age‐specific national teams for girls and boys in the Norwegian context (N = 216: 92 girls and 124 boys). Gender differences were investigated in the two different sports of handball and ice hockey, which in the Norwegian context represent more and less successful sports (handball and ice hockey, respectively). Before investigating gender differences in the two sports, a necessary first step was to investigate the psychometric properties of Norwegian version of the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ‐5). Results support the Norwegian TDEQ‐5 to be a reliable and valid measure within the Norwegian context. The successful sport of Norwegian handball showed no significant gender differences regarding TDE. The less successful and male dominated sport of Norwegian ice hockey showed girls to score lower on several TDEQ factors compared to boys. Results also showed ice hockey having lower TDEQ scores compared to handball. We argue that handball provide similarly functional TDEs for girls and boys, making gender equality a characteristic feature of a TDE that is successful both in terms of mass participation and international achievements
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