title: The digital lives of Muslim sportswomen: Navigating the spaces of sport, culture, and social media

authors: Ahmad, Nida

subjects: Muslim women

abstract: This research focuses on the multiple and diverse ways that Muslim sportswomen navigate a range of online spaces. In exploring the digital lives of Muslim sportswomen, this research moves beyond stereotypical representations and binaries (e.g., the hijab vs non-hijabi athlete). It also considers the broader context of ongoing racial, cultural, religious, and gender inequalities to recognise the complexities of Muslim sportswomen’s lived experiences and interactions with social media. Adopting an intersectional feminist approach, this thesis explores how Muslim women negotiate various dimensions of their identities (e.g., religion, ethnicity, nationality, culture, gender) within and across offline and online spaces.

Adopting a digital ethnographic approach, this research is informed by observations of the social media platforms of 26 Muslim sportswomen conducted over eight months. The primary platforms studied included Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Participants are from eight countries and participate in a wide range of sports (e.g., football, mountaineering, CrossFit, snowboarding). In-depth semi-structured interviews with the Muslim sportswomen provided further space for the women to share how they navigate various social media platforms to represent aspects of their sporting, social, and cultural identities. Findings are organised into three analysis chapters, each being informed by feminist theories on intersectionality. Chapter Four explores how Muslim sportswomen negotiate power and surveillance within and across the different digital platforms. Chapter Five examines the multifaceted digital practices of Muslim sportswomen, particularly their self-branding strategies, which they navigate in culturally specific ways. Chapter Six explores how Muslim sportswomen are ‘invading’ digital spaces and disrupting stereotypical discourses of Muslim women. These chapters expand current understandings of sportswomen’s use of social media, as well as contemporary understandings of the challenges and strategies of Muslim women living within and across online and offline worlds. Adopting a feminist intersectional analysis, this research offers new ways of thinking about and doing research in the interstitial spaces of Muslim women’s sporting and digital lives.

text: The digital lives of Muslim sportswomen: Navigating the spaces of sport, culture, and social media This research focuses on the multiple and diverse ways that Muslim sportswomen navigate a range of online spaces. In exploring the digital lives of Muslim sportswomen, this research moves beyond stereotypical representations and binaries (e.g., the hijab vs non-hijabi athlete). It also considers the broader context of ongoing racial, cultural, religious, and gender inequalities to recognise the complexities of Muslim sportswomen’s lived experiences and interactions with social media. Adopting an intersectional feminist approach, this thesis explores how Muslim women negotiate various dimensions of their identities (e.g., religion, ethnicity, nationality, culture, gender) within and across offline and online spaces.

Adopting a digital ethnographic approach, this research is informed by observations of the social media platforms of 26 Muslim sportswomen conducted over eight months. The primary platforms studied included Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Participants are from eight countries and participate in a wide range of sports (e.g., football, mountaineering, CrossFit, snowboarding). In-depth semi-structured interviews with the Muslim sportswomen provided further space for the women to share how they navigate various social media platforms to represent aspects of their sporting, social, and cultural identities. Findings are organised into three analysis chapters, each being informed by feminist theories on intersectionality. Chapter Four explores how Muslim sportswomen negotiate power and surveillance within and across the different digital platforms. Chapter Five examines the multifaceted digital practices of Muslim sportswomen, particularly their self-branding strategies, which they navigate in culturally specific ways. Chapter Six explores how Muslim sportswomen are ‘invading’ digital spaces and disrupting stereotypical discourses of Muslim women. These chapters expand current understandings of sportswomen’s use of social media, as well as contemporary understandings of the challenges and strategies of Muslim women living within and across online and offline worlds. Adopting a feminist intersectional analysis, this research offers new ways of thinking about and doing research in the interstitial spaces of Muslim women’s sporting and digital lives.

year: 2019

title: Water requirements for 'Hass' avocado flowering and fruit development in New Zealand

authors: Kaneko, Teruko

subjects: avocado

abstract: The aim of this work was to determine water requirements for Persea americana 'Hass’ avocado trees (mature, ca. 9 years and young, ca. 3 years) from November 2014 to October 2015 in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. In addition, the effect of water deficit on flowering and early fruit development was investigated in young avocado (ca. 3 years) trees. 

Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was calculated by the FAO Penman-Monteith equation based on weather information at the orchard. Crop evapotranspiration (ETc) of avocado was measured by sap flow measurements using the compensation heat pulse method (CHPM), and daily crop evapotranspiration was also estimated from a soil water balance (Ewb). Avocado tree water requirements were calculated as crop coefficients (Kc - the ETo/ETc ratio).
•	Monthly cumulative ETo showed a gradual reduction from 145.9 mm in January to 297.7 mm in June. Monthly cumulative ETc for both the mature and young plants was highest at 75 and 41.8 mm in January, and the lowest at 22.4 and 13.53 mm in July, respectively. The results showed a close correlation between ETc and ETo. 
•	Ewb was higher than ETc by 22 % for the mature and 55 % for the young plants, probably caused by drainage which was not measured.
•	In summer, monthly average Kc varied between 0.45-0.60 for the mature and 0.25-0.30 for the young plants. In winter, Kc increased to 0.9-1.0 for the mature and 0.45-0.55 for the young plants.   

To investigate the effect of water deficit on flowering and fruit development, rainout shelters were set up under the young trees from mid-October 2014. During this treatment, the control plants were well irrigated and fertilized, while the drought plants received no irrigation, precipitation, or fertilizers. The rainout shelters were removed in early-May 2015, and monitoring was continued until late-October.
•	During the rainout treatment, at a depth of 0-30 cm, soil water contents of the drought treated plants dropped to 0.13 m3/m3, while that of the control remained above 0.2 m3/m3. However, from March, soil water content of the drought plants was stable at 0.20 m3/m3 at a depth of 31-60 cm and 0.25 m3/m3 at a depth of 61-90 cm. Spatial soil moisture demonstrated the soil was  drier close to the drought treated trees, but wetter near the edge of the rainout shelters. These measurements suggest the drought plants were able to obtain some water from the deeper soil or outside the shelters. 
•	Predawn leaf water potential (PLWP) of the drought plants was lower by 0.06-0.22 MPa than that of the control plants during the flowering season. However, in December, there was no significant difference in stomatal conductance (gs) between the two treatments. The drought leaf water potential (LWP) and stem water potential (SWP) were more negative than the control LWP and SWP. In January and February, the drought LWP and SWP dropped to -0.43 MPa and -0.30 MPa, whereas the control LWP and SWP were around -0.25 MPa and -0.23 MPa, respectively, assuming the rainout shelters caused moderate water stress in the drought-treated plants.
•	Throughout the flowering season, in total, 1382 open female flowers on the control plants and 1515 flowers on the drought plants were marked and their fates monitored. About 21 % of control flowers and 23 % of the drought flowers remained on the tree 16 days after anthesis. 100 days after anthesis, only 4 control and 1 drought fruit from the monitored flowers were retained on the plants. 
•	The two treatments had significant fruit drop in summer, about 70 % of marked fruit dropped in January and February, and a second peak of fruit abscission occurred in winter, caused by frost. At harvest, the retention rate of fruit for the control and drought treatments were 15 % and 5 %, respectively. Moreover, the drought plants had smaller fruit size than fruit of the control plants by 21 % at harvest. The differences in fruit abscission and fruit size were probably caused by the combined effects of water deficit, nutrient deficiency, and crop load. 
•	The control had higher average yield at 36.4 ± 1.1 kg per plant than the drought plants at 27.8 ± 1.0 kg per plant. The dry matter content of the control fruit was 30.4 ± 0.3 %, 7% higher than that of the drought fruit. 

The results can be used to develop irrigation recommendations, and that under the conditions described here the trees were difficult to drought stress in spring and flowering did not appear to be very sensitive to drought stress. However, early fruit growth was very sensitive to water deficits, resulting in a large reduction in fruit size.

text: Water requirements for 'Hass' avocado flowering and fruit development in New Zealand The aim of this work was to determine water requirements for Persea americana 'Hass’ avocado trees (mature, ca. 9 years and young, ca. 3 years) from November 2014 to October 2015 in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. In addition, the effect of water deficit on flowering and early fruit development was investigated in young avocado (ca. 3 years) trees. 

Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was calculated by the FAO Penman-Monteith equation based on weather information at the orchard. Crop evapotranspiration (ETc) of avocado was measured by sap flow measurements using the compensation heat pulse method (CHPM), and daily crop evapotranspiration was also estimated from a soil water balance (Ewb). Avocado tree water requirements were calculated as crop coefficients (Kc - the ETo/ETc ratio).
•	Monthly cumulative ETo showed a gradual reduction from 145.9 mm in January to 297.7 mm in June. Monthly cumulative ETc for both the mature and young plants was highest at 75 and 41.8 mm in January, and the lowest at 22.4 and 13.53 mm in July, respectively. The results showed a close correlation between ETc and ETo. 
•	Ewb was higher than ETc by 22 % for the mature and 55 % for the young plants, probably caused by drainage which was not measured.
•	In summer, monthly average Kc varied between 0.45-0.60 for the mature and 0.25-0.30 for the young plants. In winter, Kc increased to 0.9-1.0 for the mature and 0.45-0.55 for the young plants.   

To investigate the effect of water deficit on flowering and fruit development, rainout shelters were set up under the young trees from mid-October 2014. During this treatment, the control plants were well irrigated and fertilized, while the drought plants received no irrigation, precipitation, or fertilizers. The rainout shelters were removed in early-May 2015, and monitoring was continued until late-October.
•	During the rainout treatment, at a depth of 0-30 cm, soil water contents of the drought treated plants dropped to 0.13 m3/m3, while that of the control remained above 0.2 m3/m3. However, from March, soil water content of the drought plants was stable at 0.20 m3/m3 at a depth of 31-60 cm and 0.25 m3/m3 at a depth of 61-90 cm. Spatial soil moisture demonstrated the soil was  drier close to the drought treated trees, but wetter near the edge of the rainout shelters. These measurements suggest the drought plants were able to obtain some water from the deeper soil or outside the shelters. 
•	Predawn leaf water potential (PLWP) of the drought plants was lower by 0.06-0.22 MPa than that of the control plants during the flowering season. However, in December, there was no significant difference in stomatal conductance (gs) between the two treatments. The drought leaf water potential (LWP) and stem water potential (SWP) were more negative than the control LWP and SWP. In January and February, the drought LWP and SWP dropped to -0.43 MPa and -0.30 MPa, whereas the control LWP and SWP were around -0.25 MPa and -0.23 MPa, respectively, assuming the rainout shelters caused moderate water stress in the drought-treated plants.
•	Throughout the flowering season, in total, 1382 open female flowers on the control plants and 1515 flowers on the drought plants were marked and their fates monitored. About 21 % of control flowers and 23 % of the drought flowers remained on the tree 16 days after anthesis. 100 days after anthesis, only 4 control and 1 drought fruit from the monitored flowers were retained on the plants. 
•	The two treatments had significant fruit drop in summer, about 70 % of marked fruit dropped in January and February, and a second peak of fruit abscission occurred in winter, caused by frost. At harvest, the retention rate of fruit for the control and drought treatments were 15 % and 5 %, respectively. Moreover, the drought plants had smaller fruit size than fruit of the control plants by 21 % at harvest. The differences in fruit abscission and fruit size were probably caused by the combined effects of water deficit, nutrient deficiency, and crop load. 
•	The control had higher average yield at 36.4 ± 1.1 kg per plant than the drought plants at 27.8 ± 1.0 kg per plant. The dry matter content of the control fruit was 30.4 ± 0.3 %, 7% higher than that of the drought fruit. 

The results can be used to develop irrigation recommendations, and that under the conditions described here the trees were difficult to drought stress in spring and flowering did not appear to be very sensitive to drought stress. However, early fruit growth was very sensitive to water deficits, resulting in a large reduction in fruit size.

year: 2016

title: Inter-propositional relations: An investigation of authentic Māori texts signalled in te reo Māori

authors: Whaanga, Hēmi

subjects: Māori manuscripts

abstract: I report here on a part of a research project involving the investigation of a range of authentic Māori texts in terms of two types of meaning relation - those that operate within propositions (referred to here as 'intra-propositional relations'), and those that link propositions or groups of propositions (referred to here as 'inter-propositional relations'). In focus here is the second of these types, that is, inter-propositional relations, and in particular, the ways in which they are signalled in te reo Māori. The implications of the findings for the teaching and learning of te reo Māori are also discussed.

text: Inter-propositional relations: An investigation of authentic Māori texts signalled in te reo Māori I report here on a part of a research project involving the investigation of a range of authentic Māori texts in terms of two types of meaning relation - those that operate within propositions (referred to here as 'intra-propositional relations'), and those that link propositions or groups of propositions (referred to here as 'inter-propositional relations'). In focus here is the second of these types, that is, inter-propositional relations, and in particular, the ways in which they are signalled in te reo Māori. The implications of the findings for the teaching and learning of te reo Māori are also discussed.

year: 2007-09