title: The effects of running a 12-km race on neuromuscular performance measures and the reliability of these measures

authors: Murray, Lauralee

subjects: intra-rater

abstract: There is an increasing number of individuals participating in organised races every year. Running involves repetitive movements and cyclical activation of lower extremity muscles, with foot-strike pattern and fatigue proposed to be contributing factors to running-related injuries. A variety of measures can be used to assess neuromuscular performance and gait of runners. The aims of this thesis were to: (1) systematically review and quality appraise articles addressing the reliability of plantar pressure (PP) distribution and centre of pressure (COP) measures in static stance, 2D video-based assessments of foot-strike pattern (FSP), and plantar-flexion isometric strength-endurance (PFisom) measures (Chapter One); (2) assess the test-retest reliability of these measures in a cohort of recreationally competitive runners (Chapter Two); (3) determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of 2D analyses of overground running in an outdoor environment (Chapter Three); and (4) investigate the effects of running a 12-km race on these measures (Chapter Four). 

As part of the systematic review in Chapter One, forty-three articles were assessed for their methodological quality, with only 21% obtaining a high quality score (≥ 75%) based on the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments. From the reviewed studies, the most reliable measures were: PP mean pressure, % body weight, and contact area; COP sway area and path length; FSP when using a two level classification system; and PFisom peak torque and peak force.

In Chapter Two, twenty-one (10 males, 11 females) recreational runners completed tests of PP distribution in a bilateral stance, a 30 second eyes-closed postural balance test, a self-selected running over task 15-m with video assessment, and a test to determine PFisom on two force plates in order to assess test-retest reliability. Measures of PP surface area, COP path length, FSP classification, foot-strike angle, and running speed were found to be the most reliable across intra-session and inter-session testing occasions. The reliability of PFisom measures could not be determined due to technical difficulties with the software and loss of data.

In Chapter Three, the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of 2D video analyses of overground running in an outdoor environment were assessed from 155 high-speed videos (240 Hz). These 2D video analyses were reliable for quantifying FSP, foot-strike angle, and running speed, although foot-strike angle errors of 2.5° were typical. The associated large CV (17.6%) is likely a reflection of the limited foot-strike angle range (42°) in our population.

In Chapter Four, twenty-four (15 males, 9 males) recreationally competitive runners completed PP distribution, postural balance, FSP, and PFisom tests before and after a 12-km organised race. Running a 12-km race influenced several neuromuscular measures, notably postural control (92.1% and 22.7% increase for area 95 ellipse and path length, respectively) and PFisom (10.8% decrease), confirming racing-induced fatigue. However, these alterations did not lead to observable changes in FSP, indicating that this measure might not be appropriate for quantifying fatigue in recreationally competitive runners.

Results from the systematic review highlight the need for higher quality methodological reliability studies to be undertaken to make stronger inferences about the reliability of measures of PP, COP, FSP and PFisom. The two reliability studies demonstrated measures of PP surface area, COP path length, FSP, foot-strike angle, and running speed to be the most reliable. Furthermore, quantifiable declines in COP and PFisom were observed post a 12-km race, confirming racing-induce fatigue.

text: The effects of running a 12-km race on neuromuscular performance measures and the reliability of these measures There is an increasing number of individuals participating in organised races every year. Running involves repetitive movements and cyclical activation of lower extremity muscles, with foot-strike pattern and fatigue proposed to be contributing factors to running-related injuries. A variety of measures can be used to assess neuromuscular performance and gait of runners. The aims of this thesis were to: (1) systematically review and quality appraise articles addressing the reliability of plantar pressure (PP) distribution and centre of pressure (COP) measures in static stance, 2D video-based assessments of foot-strike pattern (FSP), and plantar-flexion isometric strength-endurance (PFisom) measures (Chapter One); (2) assess the test-retest reliability of these measures in a cohort of recreationally competitive runners (Chapter Two); (3) determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of 2D analyses of overground running in an outdoor environment (Chapter Three); and (4) investigate the effects of running a 12-km race on these measures (Chapter Four). 

As part of the systematic review in Chapter One, forty-three articles were assessed for their methodological quality, with only 21% obtaining a high quality score (≥ 75%) based on the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments. From the reviewed studies, the most reliable measures were: PP mean pressure, % body weight, and contact area; COP sway area and path length; FSP when using a two level classification system; and PFisom peak torque and peak force.

In Chapter Two, twenty-one (10 males, 11 females) recreational runners completed tests of PP distribution in a bilateral stance, a 30 second eyes-closed postural balance test, a self-selected running over task 15-m with video assessment, and a test to determine PFisom on two force plates in order to assess test-retest reliability. Measures of PP surface area, COP path length, FSP classification, foot-strike angle, and running speed were found to be the most reliable across intra-session and inter-session testing occasions. The reliability of PFisom measures could not be determined due to technical difficulties with the software and loss of data.

In Chapter Three, the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of 2D video analyses of overground running in an outdoor environment were assessed from 155 high-speed videos (240 Hz). These 2D video analyses were reliable for quantifying FSP, foot-strike angle, and running speed, although foot-strike angle errors of 2.5° were typical. The associated large CV (17.6%) is likely a reflection of the limited foot-strike angle range (42°) in our population.

In Chapter Four, twenty-four (15 males, 9 males) recreationally competitive runners completed PP distribution, postural balance, FSP, and PFisom tests before and after a 12-km organised race. Running a 12-km race influenced several neuromuscular measures, notably postural control (92.1% and 22.7% increase for area 95 ellipse and path length, respectively) and PFisom (10.8% decrease), confirming racing-induced fatigue. However, these alterations did not lead to observable changes in FSP, indicating that this measure might not be appropriate for quantifying fatigue in recreationally competitive runners.

Results from the systematic review highlight the need for higher quality methodological reliability studies to be undertaken to make stronger inferences about the reliability of measures of PP, COP, FSP and PFisom. The two reliability studies demonstrated measures of PP surface area, COP path length, FSP, foot-strike angle, and running speed to be the most reliable. Furthermore, quantifiable declines in COP and PFisom were observed post a 12-km race, confirming racing-induce fatigue.

year: 2018

title: Usability and open-source software development

authors: Nichols, David M.

subjects: computer science

abstract: Open-source is becoming an increasingly popular software development method. This paper reports a usability study of the open-source Greenstone Digital Library collection-building software. The problems highlighted by the study are analysed to identify their likely source within the social context of Greenstone’s development environment. We discuss how characteristics of open-source software development influence the usability of resulting software products.

text: Usability and open-source software development Open-source is becoming an increasingly popular software development method. This paper reports a usability study of the open-source Greenstone Digital Library collection-building software. The problems highlighted by the study are analysed to identify their likely source within the social context of Greenstone’s development environment. We discuss how characteristics of open-source software development influence the usability of resulting software products.

year: 2001

title: For staff at the Eastern Institute of Technology, is Ōtātara a placeless geography? Or a geography of significance?

authors: Passey, Emma

subjects: Ōtātara

abstract: This thesis explores the experience of place for a group of tertiary employees in a regional area of New Zealand. Staff based at EIT Hawke’s Bay in Taradale, Napier can see the Ōtātara Pā Reserve from several vantage points on campus, and often visit because of its immediate proximity. Originally, joined and now adjacent, the cultural significance of this land for Māori over some centuries prior to Pākehā settlement, is still being uncovered. Through a series of interviews, the historical significance of this place is joined with the experiences of staff in being in this space. A range of meanings including belonging, attachment and sense of location were described by participants, showing the development over time of threads of connection for themselves, family, community and also staff members.

Ideas in the literature of place were considered including attachment to meaningful locations and landscape. A particular interest in the thesis was bringing this more general literature into focus for a New Zealand place, which has substantial Māori history connections including for participants of both Māori and Pākehā backgrounds. Several methodological issues were discussed within a series of interviews including cultural appropriateness and representation. The researchers transition from an English cultural upbringing, to developing and extending indigenous landscape knowledge, illustrates the changing recognition and involvement in an increasingly bi-cultural New Zealand, and demonstrates the implications of this in understanding place attachment.

Findings from this research were organised in three main chapters. The first, recounted historical material about Ōtātara, Māori and Pākehā times, exploring ideas of place and belonging. It also provided a natural anchor for the second and third chapters, which reported the findings of EIT staff enjoying being within, and feeling the presence of that history. Several themes emerged and were summarised as embodied landscape experiences, and the intriguing dimensions of social relationships and place for these tertiary staff.
Place is important across the social sciences as it is for other disciplines. It evokes on the one hand aspirations and ideals of an aesthetic and spiritual nature but at the same time, reminds human beings of their literal and biological being in time and space. The present study has contributed to this wider narrative by looking at one example and in one national bi-cultural setting.

The question posed at the start of the thesis considered whether EIT staff view Ōtātara as a place of significance or a geography which does not matter. The historical connections and physical closeness between EIT and Ōtātara, mean that the Institution and the landscape are inextricably linked. People are equally bonded to this place through culture and lived experiences. Often unconscious or incidental associations are handed down through the generations, within the organisation and throughout the wider community.
How we now occupy this place in a modern world, how we share the (hi)stories and become authors of new ones, will have a profound influence on the ways that staff continue to connect and develop feelings of belonging. Related to this, an idea about an institutional-wide hīkoi around the boundaries of the campus and Ōtātara is offered as an addendum. Our responsibility as educators is to signal to future generations that this is a landscape of significance ensuring that Ōtātara continues to be acknowledged as a taonga for EIT employees, and that it is nurtured in the same way as it nurtures us.

text: For staff at the Eastern Institute of Technology, is Ōtātara a placeless geography? Or a geography of significance? This thesis explores the experience of place for a group of tertiary employees in a regional area of New Zealand. Staff based at EIT Hawke’s Bay in Taradale, Napier can see the Ōtātara Pā Reserve from several vantage points on campus, and often visit because of its immediate proximity. Originally, joined and now adjacent, the cultural significance of this land for Māori over some centuries prior to Pākehā settlement, is still being uncovered. Through a series of interviews, the historical significance of this place is joined with the experiences of staff in being in this space. A range of meanings including belonging, attachment and sense of location were described by participants, showing the development over time of threads of connection for themselves, family, community and also staff members.

Ideas in the literature of place were considered including attachment to meaningful locations and landscape. A particular interest in the thesis was bringing this more general literature into focus for a New Zealand place, which has substantial Māori history connections including for participants of both Māori and Pākehā backgrounds. Several methodological issues were discussed within a series of interviews including cultural appropriateness and representation. The researchers transition from an English cultural upbringing, to developing and extending indigenous landscape knowledge, illustrates the changing recognition and involvement in an increasingly bi-cultural New Zealand, and demonstrates the implications of this in understanding place attachment.

Findings from this research were organised in three main chapters. The first, recounted historical material about Ōtātara, Māori and Pākehā times, exploring ideas of place and belonging. It also provided a natural anchor for the second and third chapters, which reported the findings of EIT staff enjoying being within, and feeling the presence of that history. Several themes emerged and were summarised as embodied landscape experiences, and the intriguing dimensions of social relationships and place for these tertiary staff.
Place is important across the social sciences as it is for other disciplines. It evokes on the one hand aspirations and ideals of an aesthetic and spiritual nature but at the same time, reminds human beings of their literal and biological being in time and space. The present study has contributed to this wider narrative by looking at one example and in one national bi-cultural setting.

The question posed at the start of the thesis considered whether EIT staff view Ōtātara as a place of significance or a geography which does not matter. The historical connections and physical closeness between EIT and Ōtātara, mean that the Institution and the landscape are inextricably linked. People are equally bonded to this place through culture and lived experiences. Often unconscious or incidental associations are handed down through the generations, within the organisation and throughout the wider community.
How we now occupy this place in a modern world, how we share the (hi)stories and become authors of new ones, will have a profound influence on the ways that staff continue to connect and develop feelings of belonging. Related to this, an idea about an institutional-wide hīkoi around the boundaries of the campus and Ōtātara is offered as an addendum. Our responsibility as educators is to signal to future generations that this is a landscape of significance ensuring that Ōtātara continues to be acknowledged as a taonga for EIT employees, and that it is nurtured in the same way as it nurtures us.

year: 2021