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This study examined (1) the perception of running shoes between China (Beijing) and Singapore and (2) whether running shoe preference depended on assessment methods. One hundred (n = 50 each country) Chinese males subjectively evaluated four shoe models during running by using two assessment procedures. Procedure 1 used a visual analogue scale (VAS) to assess five perception variables. Procedure 2 was a 'head-to-head' comparison of two shoes simultaneously (e.g. left foot: A and right foot: B) to decide which model was preferred. VAS scores were consistently higher in Beijing participants (p < .001), indicating a higher degree of liking. Singapore participants used the lower end but a wider range of the 15 cm scale for shoe discrimination. Moderate agreement was seen between the VAS and 'head-to-head' procedures, with only 14 out of 100 participants matched all 6 pairwise comparisons (median = 4 matches). Footwear companies and researchers should be aware that subjective shoe preference may vary with assessment methods. Practitioner Summary: Footwear preference depends on country and assessment methods. Running shoe perception differed between Beijing and Singapore Chinese, suggesting that footwear recommendation should be country-specific. Individuals' shoe preference measured by visual analogue scale when wearing complete pairs may not reflect that when directly comparing different models in left and right feet.

Regression modeling is a useful tool for running-shoe manufacturers to more precisely evaluate how individual factors contribute to the subjective assessment of running footwear.

This paper introduces four FPGA-based designs for radiation-tolerant time-of-flight (TOF) systems for sub-atomic particles: Snapshot, Vernier, Fast-Clocking and Hybrid designs. The designs measure TOFs ranging from 0 to 240 ns and are compared based on resolution, thermal performance, FPGA I/O pin usage and area, particle processing rate, and power consumption. All designs are implemented and tested on an Actel ProASIC 3E A3PE1500 FPGA using only the features available on the radiation-tolerant Actel RTAX 2000 S/SL. The designs achieve resolutions of 130 ps to 25 ns and particle rates of 1.63 to 40 MHz, use from 0.02% to 7.5% of the FPGA area, and consume from 396 to 448 mW. The TOF measurements of the Fast-Clocking Design show no thermal variation across the ranges of -25°C to 55°C. The other three designs vary linearly with temperature, but this variation can be calibrated using a temperature sensor. All four designs offer a flexible, inexpensive TOF measurement system that can be implemented across a broad range of FPGAs.

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