title: The effects of menstrual cycle phase on physical performance in female rugby athletes: A case-study

authors: Sella, Francesco Stefano

abstract: Limited research exists on the effects of menstrual phase on athletic performance in team sport athletes. In this case-study we investigated the potential effect of menstrual cycle phase on several physical qualities in rugby athletes. Four eumenorrhoeic female rugby athletes completed a battery of physical tests weekly for 5-9 weeks, including 10-m sprint, countermovement (CMJ) and drop (DJ) jumps, isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), and Bronco. Concurrently, athletes tracked their menstrual cycle with a smartphone application (FitrWomanTM). To investigate differences in physical performance between phases, data were allocated into four different menstrual phases at the date of each weekly test. A mixed linear model was created for each physical quality of interest. Mean changes between phases were estimated using magnitude-based inferences with 90% confidence intervals. Individual differences between the average score for each menstrual phase with the value predicted by the trend of the other three phases were also assessed. At a group-level, possible greater performances were observed in the CMJ during the late luteal phase compared with menstruation, in the DJ during late luteal compared with luteal, and in the IMTP during late luteal compared with follicular to ovulation (Δ% = 4.9-7.0%). A variety of responses were observed between individuals for all the tests conducted. Understanding and accounting for individual responses during the menstrual cycle will likely be beneficial to training prescription and interpreting performance monitoring results.

text: The effects of menstrual cycle phase on physical performance in female rugby athletes: A case-study Limited research exists on the effects of menstrual phase on athletic performance in team sport athletes. In this case-study we investigated the potential effect of menstrual cycle phase on several physical qualities in rugby athletes. Four eumenorrhoeic female rugby athletes completed a battery of physical tests weekly for 5-9 weeks, including 10-m sprint, countermovement (CMJ) and drop (DJ) jumps, isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), and Bronco. Concurrently, athletes tracked their menstrual cycle with a smartphone application (FitrWomanTM). To investigate differences in physical performance between phases, data were allocated into four different menstrual phases at the date of each weekly test. A mixed linear model was created for each physical quality of interest. Mean changes between phases were estimated using magnitude-based inferences with 90% confidence intervals. Individual differences between the average score for each menstrual phase with the value predicted by the trend of the other three phases were also assessed. At a group-level, possible greater performances were observed in the CMJ during the late luteal phase compared with menstruation, in the DJ during late luteal compared with luteal, and in the IMTP during late luteal compared with follicular to ovulation (Δ% = 4.9-7.0%). A variety of responses were observed between individuals for all the tests conducted. Understanding and accounting for individual responses during the menstrual cycle will likely be beneficial to training prescription and interpreting performance monitoring results.

year: 2021

title: Indonesia’s great power and superpower environment in the post Cold War era: A study of Indonesia’s search for a dynamic regional equilibrium

authors: Syofian, Ahmad

subjects: Indonesia

abstract: Against the backdrop of regional transformation, during President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) period of office from 2004 – 2014, Indonesian officials have frequently expressed an expectation of a peaceful region through the promotion of a concept called the maintenance of a dynamic equilibrium. The concept was developed in the light of the rise of China, the US’ reengagement and Japan’s transformation, and is a response to the great power and superpower interactions in the region.
This study is thus timely, significant and relevant as well as important in contemporary Indonesia. First, it analyses the impact of regional dynamics on Indonesia, which have been perceived differently and with uncertainty especially by Indonesian elites. Secondly, it provides a study on Indonesia’s foreign relations in pursuit of the country’s search for a dynamic regional equilibrium. In so doing, it sheds light on Indonesia’s foreign policy which, for some scholars, is considered less focused and irrelevant, especially in responding to great powers dynamics in the region.
This thesis uses two main techniques of data collection to explore its main objectives: interviewing and textual / documentary investigation. The data collection was conducted, first, during the SBY Administration (from March to September 2014) and, secondly, during the Jokowi Administration (from June to September 2016). The data collection was primarily through in-depth interviews, which were semi-structured, with more than 50 officials and eminent persons involved in the process of Indonesian foreign policy making. The textual, or documentary, investigation was conducted using both primary and secondary resources. This research is qualitative in nature, but it contains data and statistics to support the analysis. This study sets its time frame into the end of 2016.
The research has two main findings. First, the great powers and superpower dynamics and interactions in the region generate opportunities for and threats to Indonesia’s interests. On the one hand, their presence and interactions enhance Indonesia’s hedging and even-handed policy that provide an opportunity to earn maximal gains and avoid a total loss. On the other, the element of competition between them has the potential to trigger disputes and creates instability in the region. In addition, some elements of opportunities also come along with threatening factors. Secondly, the research finds that Indonesia has displayed an array of efforts conforming to the policy of equilibrium maintenance. Indeed, despite some weaknesses, there has been a degree of maintaining a policy for balancing or even-handed strategies in Indonesia’s foreign relations with the US, China and Japan, as well as in the country’s participation in ASEAN and the Family.
At the end, this research finds that Indonesia’s relations with the superpower and great powers, as well as in ASEAN and the Family, are only a part of Indonesia’s foreign policy practices in the region. Accordingly, the discussion of Indonesia’s foreign policy towards the US, China and Japan in relation to a search for the maintenance of a dynamic equilibrium, is not distinct from that towards other countries in the region. In this respect, promoting a regional dynamic equilibrium is a collaborative effort that requires the support and participation of all states in the region.

text: Indonesia’s great power and superpower environment in the post Cold War era: A study of Indonesia’s search for a dynamic regional equilibrium Against the backdrop of regional transformation, during President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) period of office from 2004 – 2014, Indonesian officials have frequently expressed an expectation of a peaceful region through the promotion of a concept called the maintenance of a dynamic equilibrium. The concept was developed in the light of the rise of China, the US’ reengagement and Japan’s transformation, and is a response to the great power and superpower interactions in the region.
This study is thus timely, significant and relevant as well as important in contemporary Indonesia. First, it analyses the impact of regional dynamics on Indonesia, which have been perceived differently and with uncertainty especially by Indonesian elites. Secondly, it provides a study on Indonesia’s foreign relations in pursuit of the country’s search for a dynamic regional equilibrium. In so doing, it sheds light on Indonesia’s foreign policy which, for some scholars, is considered less focused and irrelevant, especially in responding to great powers dynamics in the region.
This thesis uses two main techniques of data collection to explore its main objectives: interviewing and textual / documentary investigation. The data collection was conducted, first, during the SBY Administration (from March to September 2014) and, secondly, during the Jokowi Administration (from June to September 2016). The data collection was primarily through in-depth interviews, which were semi-structured, with more than 50 officials and eminent persons involved in the process of Indonesian foreign policy making. The textual, or documentary, investigation was conducted using both primary and secondary resources. This research is qualitative in nature, but it contains data and statistics to support the analysis. This study sets its time frame into the end of 2016.
The research has two main findings. First, the great powers and superpower dynamics and interactions in the region generate opportunities for and threats to Indonesia’s interests. On the one hand, their presence and interactions enhance Indonesia’s hedging and even-handed policy that provide an opportunity to earn maximal gains and avoid a total loss. On the other, the element of competition between them has the potential to trigger disputes and creates instability in the region. In addition, some elements of opportunities also come along with threatening factors. Secondly, the research finds that Indonesia has displayed an array of efforts conforming to the policy of equilibrium maintenance. Indeed, despite some weaknesses, there has been a degree of maintaining a policy for balancing or even-handed strategies in Indonesia’s foreign relations with the US, China and Japan, as well as in the country’s participation in ASEAN and the Family.
At the end, this research finds that Indonesia’s relations with the superpower and great powers, as well as in ASEAN and the Family, are only a part of Indonesia’s foreign policy practices in the region. Accordingly, the discussion of Indonesia’s foreign policy towards the US, China and Japan in relation to a search for the maintenance of a dynamic equilibrium, is not distinct from that towards other countries in the region. In this respect, promoting a regional dynamic equilibrium is a collaborative effort that requires the support and participation of all states in the region.

year: 2018

title: Editorial Introduction: The utility and futility of 'the nation' in histories of Aotearoa New Zealand.

authors: Coleborne, Catharine

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: An introduction is presented which discusses articles in the issue on New Zealand history, including one on interracial rape and sexual violence in the 1860s, one on postcolonial methodology and the historical concept of the British World, and one on Whanganui Māori claims to the Whanganui River.

text: Editorial Introduction: The utility and futility of 'the nation' in histories of Aotearoa New Zealand. An introduction is presented which discusses articles in the issue on New Zealand history, including one on interracial rape and sexual violence in the 1860s, one on postcolonial methodology and the historical concept of the British World, and one on Whanganui Māori claims to the Whanganui River.

year: 2011