title: “She Watches Over Her Household”: Wellbeing of mothers and children in motherled households

authors: Hunter, Rachel Lamdin

subjects: Wellbeing

abstract: Wellbeing is a term used in everyday conversation, and by health professionals, policy writers and analysts, economists and others, to sum up one’s ability to flourish and live a rewarding, fruitful life. Family is deemed a significant source and determinant of wellbeing. Here, people may expect to receive the love, nurturance, and belonging all humans need to thrive, as well as the most basic needs for food, shelter and warmth. The many forms of family in societies such asNew Zealand are of interest to those who posit that the conduct and wellbeing of mothers in families, is central to the flourishing of all within.
Some families are believed to hold better promise of wellbeing than others. Families with mothers at the helm, motherled households, are constructed in research and public discourse, and enacted in policy, as sites of social and economic peril. Studies abound in which women and children in motherled households are depicted as suffering social isolation, lacking moral support, and experiencing material poverty.
In this study I explore wellbeing in motherled households. My lived experience as nurse specialising in maternal, child and family health, and as a single mother for some time, is pertinent. Using Judi Marshall’s (1999) notion of life lived as the basis for inquiry, I grounded my study in a subjective, storied frame in which I troubled notions of wellbeing in families – notions which I had read in research, enacted in policy and practice, and questioned.
Berger and Luckmann (1966) theorised that what is understood as true or real, is a result of socially-fabricated claims to truth; that is, they posit the social construction of reality. I explore the conditions under which truths about families and motherhood are constructed, bolstered by research, enacted in and enacting institutionalised policy.
Institutionalised constructions of wellbeing and families constitute narratives writ large in research, policy and everyday conversation. I posit these as an example of the petrified grand narratives brought to my attention in the work of Boje (2008a). I read them now as monolithic, simplified and ultimately limited (and limiting) accounts of our humanity. The generation of living stories and their attendant many-voiced ante-narratives are seen as “bets on the future” (Boje, 2001), stories along the way to narrative. Antenarratives may interrupt or endorse a grand narrative. My thesis is a quest to story a version of those in motherled households which is rich and hopeful.
My noticing of contradictions in these grand narratives led me to seek conversations with mothers, and to share their stories in a reconstructed conversation. These mothers understood wellbeing in their motherled household as a deeply entwined and connected process. Women storied wellbeing in unique, individual, and evolving ways. These women valued their families as sites of purpose, wellbeing and intentionality, a version of family and wellbeing not told elsewhere.
Storytelling contributes to versions of mothering in which women and children flourish, foregrounding activist hopes for research about families. Reflexive storytelling approaches challenge those concerned with making a difference through research and policy formation, through individual practices and everyday conversation.

text: “She Watches Over Her Household”: Wellbeing of mothers and children in motherled households Wellbeing is a term used in everyday conversation, and by health professionals, policy writers and analysts, economists and others, to sum up one’s ability to flourish and live a rewarding, fruitful life. Family is deemed a significant source and determinant of wellbeing. Here, people may expect to receive the love, nurturance, and belonging all humans need to thrive, as well as the most basic needs for food, shelter and warmth. The many forms of family in societies such asNew Zealand are of interest to those who posit that the conduct and wellbeing of mothers in families, is central to the flourishing of all within.
Some families are believed to hold better promise of wellbeing than others. Families with mothers at the helm, motherled households, are constructed in research and public discourse, and enacted in policy, as sites of social and economic peril. Studies abound in which women and children in motherled households are depicted as suffering social isolation, lacking moral support, and experiencing material poverty.
In this study I explore wellbeing in motherled households. My lived experience as nurse specialising in maternal, child and family health, and as a single mother for some time, is pertinent. Using Judi Marshall’s (1999) notion of life lived as the basis for inquiry, I grounded my study in a subjective, storied frame in which I troubled notions of wellbeing in families – notions which I had read in research, enacted in policy and practice, and questioned.
Berger and Luckmann (1966) theorised that what is understood as true or real, is a result of socially-fabricated claims to truth; that is, they posit the social construction of reality. I explore the conditions under which truths about families and motherhood are constructed, bolstered by research, enacted in and enacting institutionalised policy.
Institutionalised constructions of wellbeing and families constitute narratives writ large in research, policy and everyday conversation. I posit these as an example of the petrified grand narratives brought to my attention in the work of Boje (2008a). I read them now as monolithic, simplified and ultimately limited (and limiting) accounts of our humanity. The generation of living stories and their attendant many-voiced ante-narratives are seen as “bets on the future” (Boje, 2001), stories along the way to narrative. Antenarratives may interrupt or endorse a grand narrative. My thesis is a quest to story a version of those in motherled households which is rich and hopeful.
My noticing of contradictions in these grand narratives led me to seek conversations with mothers, and to share their stories in a reconstructed conversation. These mothers understood wellbeing in their motherled household as a deeply entwined and connected process. Women storied wellbeing in unique, individual, and evolving ways. These women valued their families as sites of purpose, wellbeing and intentionality, a version of family and wellbeing not told elsewhere.
Storytelling contributes to versions of mothering in which women and children flourish, foregrounding activist hopes for research about families. Reflexive storytelling approaches challenge those concerned with making a difference through research and policy formation, through individual practices and everyday conversation.

year: 2017

title: Effects of a caffeine-carbohydrate mouth rinsing on sprinting kinetics and kinematics in fasted athletes

authors: Washif, Jad Adrian

abstract: Carbohydrate mouth rinsing during an intermittent fasting has been reported to be advantageous for endurance performance; however, there appears to be no clear effect on repeated sprints. What has not been investigated previously is the effects of combined caffeine and carbohydrate (CAF-CHO) mouth rinsing on speed-endurance performance commonly performed by track and field athletes during a fasted state.
PURPOSE: To determine the influence of CAF-CHO mouth rinsing on sprinting kinetics and kinematics, as well as subjective exertion during a speed-endurance bout performed in a fasted state. METHOD: In a counterbalanced, single-blind random order design, eleven (n = 11) well-trained National level male sprinters and middledistance runners performed three 15-sec all-out sprints on a Woodway nonmotorized force treadmill, interspersed with 2-min active recovery between sprints. Athletes rinsed 25 ml of CAF-CHO (4g carbohydrate, 5 mg caffeine), or a similarly coloured placebo solution (PLA) prior to warm-up (30-min pre-trial), 1-min pre-trial, and the mid-way of each period of active recovery. On one occasion, no mouth rinse (NMR) was administered. The study was conducted within the second and third quarters of Ramadan, and each session separated by at least 72 hours. RESULTS: At the start of each trial, the rating of perceived exertions (RPE), readiness to train, blood glucose, and lactate concentrations were similar (p > 0.05). A significant primary effect of trial (3 x 15 seconds sprint) was observed for the distance (p = 0.019), revealing a longer average distance achieved in the CAF-CHO compared to PLA trial (69.80 + 3.57 vs. 68.08 + 3.22; p = 0.026; EF: 0.5), and NMR (69.69 + 3.82; p = 0.680; EF: 0.2). The difference between NMR and PLA also approached significance (p = 0.073; ES: 0.5). The CAF-CHO intervention also obtained better results in all other sprint measures such as average velocity, peak acceleration, and peak horizontal force, although these differences were not significant. Post-trial RPE was higher during NMR (7.23 + 1.92) as compared to CAF-CHO (6.54 + 2.15) and PLA (6.38 + 1.94) (p = 0.247).
CONCLUSION: In challenging metabolic conditions, CAF-CHO mouth rinsing might have potential to improve measures of sprint training performance with a positive ergogenic effect on speed endurance performance

text: Effects of a caffeine-carbohydrate mouth rinsing on sprinting kinetics and kinematics in fasted athletes Carbohydrate mouth rinsing during an intermittent fasting has been reported to be advantageous for endurance performance; however, there appears to be no clear effect on repeated sprints. What has not been investigated previously is the effects of combined caffeine and carbohydrate (CAF-CHO) mouth rinsing on speed-endurance performance commonly performed by track and field athletes during a fasted state.
PURPOSE: To determine the influence of CAF-CHO mouth rinsing on sprinting kinetics and kinematics, as well as subjective exertion during a speed-endurance bout performed in a fasted state. METHOD: In a counterbalanced, single-blind random order design, eleven (n = 11) well-trained National level male sprinters and middledistance runners performed three 15-sec all-out sprints on a Woodway nonmotorized force treadmill, interspersed with 2-min active recovery between sprints. Athletes rinsed 25 ml of CAF-CHO (4g carbohydrate, 5 mg caffeine), or a similarly coloured placebo solution (PLA) prior to warm-up (30-min pre-trial), 1-min pre-trial, and the mid-way of each period of active recovery. On one occasion, no mouth rinse (NMR) was administered. The study was conducted within the second and third quarters of Ramadan, and each session separated by at least 72 hours. RESULTS: At the start of each trial, the rating of perceived exertions (RPE), readiness to train, blood glucose, and lactate concentrations were similar (p > 0.05). A significant primary effect of trial (3 x 15 seconds sprint) was observed for the distance (p = 0.019), revealing a longer average distance achieved in the CAF-CHO compared to PLA trial (69.80 + 3.57 vs. 68.08 + 3.22; p = 0.026; EF: 0.5), and NMR (69.69 + 3.82; p = 0.680; EF: 0.2). The difference between NMR and PLA also approached significance (p = 0.073; ES: 0.5). The CAF-CHO intervention also obtained better results in all other sprint measures such as average velocity, peak acceleration, and peak horizontal force, although these differences were not significant. Post-trial RPE was higher during NMR (7.23 + 1.92) as compared to CAF-CHO (6.54 + 2.15) and PLA (6.38 + 1.94) (p = 0.247).
CONCLUSION: In challenging metabolic conditions, CAF-CHO mouth rinsing might have potential to improve measures of sprint training performance with a positive ergogenic effect on speed endurance performance

year: 2018

title: Hangarau me te Māori: Māori and technology

authors: Keegan, Te Taka Adrian Gregory

subjects: Māori

abstract: A sign of a vibrant, healthy developing nation is the adaptation and uptake of new technologies. Māori have a long, but mostly unrecognised, history of ingenious innovation and adaption of new technologies. This chapter will reveal Māori ingenuity through discussion of historic examples and modern media usages by Māori, and the future implications these have for Māori.
Technology can be defined as tools, devices and machines that have been developed by the application of scientific knowledge. Māori technology, then, is Māori tools, devices and machines that have been developed by the application of Māori scientific knowledge. This chapter discusses some examples of innovative Māori technology and their adoption in both historic and modern times. It includes sections on historic Māori technology, Māori media innovation and Māori adoption of Internet technology. Two sections are further expanded on: Māori in social networking sites and te reo Māori in technology. The chapter concludes with the authors' thoughts on how the adoption of new technologies will shape tikanga Māori and te reo Māori into the future.

text: Hangarau me te Māori: Māori and technology A sign of a vibrant, healthy developing nation is the adaptation and uptake of new technologies. Māori have a long, but mostly unrecognised, history of ingenious innovation and adaption of new technologies. This chapter will reveal Māori ingenuity through discussion of historic examples and modern media usages by Māori, and the future implications these have for Māori.
Technology can be defined as tools, devices and machines that have been developed by the application of scientific knowledge. Māori technology, then, is Māori tools, devices and machines that have been developed by the application of Māori scientific knowledge. This chapter discusses some examples of innovative Māori technology and their adoption in both historic and modern times. It includes sections on historic Māori technology, Māori media innovation and Māori adoption of Internet technology. Two sections are further expanded on: Māori in social networking sites and te reo Māori in technology. The chapter concludes with the authors' thoughts on how the adoption of new technologies will shape tikanga Māori and te reo Māori into the future.

year: 2018