title: Screening for risk of Low Energy Availability in elite female netball athletes and the prevalence of injury

authors: Davie, Courtney

abstract: Low Energy Availability (LEA) is a condition commonly seen in female athletes, often as a consequence of insufficient dietary intake relative to energy expenditure, resulting in an energy deficit. A negative energy balance can severely impact normal physiological functions, often causing the body to downregulate to conserve energy as a means to survive. LEA poses a significant health risk, which has been associated with a plethora of unfavourable health and performance outcomes such as; reproductive function, bone health, gastrointestinal function, cardiovascular health, immune function and psychological impairment. Until now, limited research has been available for the prevalence of LEA in the team sport population, as most previous studies have concentrated on endurance and/or individual sport athletes. As highlighted in the literature review in the first part of this thesis, the prevalence of LEA ranges from 2-100% in various sports and disciplines, however the few studies to investigate the prevalence of LEA in team sport athletes have found reasonably high rates of LEA present.  The associated health outcomes are continuously emerging in research, alongside the multiple measures to screen and diagnosis for LEA, which are explained in the literature review. The second part of this thesis comprises of an original study investigating the prevalence of LEA within elite female netball athletes in New Zealand. Fifty-three elite netballers volunteered to participate in this study and were required to complete an adapted version of the Low Energy Availability in Females questionnaire (LEAF-Q) to identify risk of LEA. Analysis found a concerning prevalence of 53% of participants considered ‘at-risk’ of developing LEA, with additional findings discovering 85.7% of the ‘at-risk’ athletes had sustained an injury within the last 12 months. The final section of this thesis summarises the overall findings of the thesis, as well as providing practical applications, and highlighting direction for future research in this area.

text: Screening for risk of Low Energy Availability in elite female netball athletes and the prevalence of injury Low Energy Availability (LEA) is a condition commonly seen in female athletes, often as a consequence of insufficient dietary intake relative to energy expenditure, resulting in an energy deficit. A negative energy balance can severely impact normal physiological functions, often causing the body to downregulate to conserve energy as a means to survive. LEA poses a significant health risk, which has been associated with a plethora of unfavourable health and performance outcomes such as; reproductive function, bone health, gastrointestinal function, cardiovascular health, immune function and psychological impairment. Until now, limited research has been available for the prevalence of LEA in the team sport population, as most previous studies have concentrated on endurance and/or individual sport athletes. As highlighted in the literature review in the first part of this thesis, the prevalence of LEA ranges from 2-100% in various sports and disciplines, however the few studies to investigate the prevalence of LEA in team sport athletes have found reasonably high rates of LEA present.  The associated health outcomes are continuously emerging in research, alongside the multiple measures to screen and diagnosis for LEA, which are explained in the literature review. The second part of this thesis comprises of an original study investigating the prevalence of LEA within elite female netball athletes in New Zealand. Fifty-three elite netballers volunteered to participate in this study and were required to complete an adapted version of the Low Energy Availability in Females questionnaire (LEAF-Q) to identify risk of LEA. Analysis found a concerning prevalence of 53% of participants considered ‘at-risk’ of developing LEA, with additional findings discovering 85.7% of the ‘at-risk’ athletes had sustained an injury within the last 12 months. The final section of this thesis summarises the overall findings of the thesis, as well as providing practical applications, and highlighting direction for future research in this area.

year: 2021

title: Is multilateralism in crisis?

authors: Bigdeli, Sadeq Z.

abstract: Since 2006, more than a quarter of the requests for consultation at the WTO have invoked the SCM Agreement more than half of which have involved China - mostly as respondent. 
I think the nature of 21st century subsidy disputes that along with AD cases, are clearly on the rise - not only in terms of number but more importantly in terms of scope of government actions and regulatory areas they cover - is as much about economic conflicts as they are about ideational and at some deeper level ideological conflicts over the "proper" role of the state in a market economy.

text: Is multilateralism in crisis? Since 2006, more than a quarter of the requests for consultation at the WTO have invoked the SCM Agreement more than half of which have involved China - mostly as respondent. 
I think the nature of 21st century subsidy disputes that along with AD cases, are clearly on the rise - not only in terms of number but more importantly in terms of scope of government actions and regulatory areas they cover - is as much about economic conflicts as they are about ideational and at some deeper level ideological conflicts over the "proper" role of the state in a market economy.

year: 2012

title: Māori beekeepers: Reframing New Zealand’s apiculture narratives

authors: Dimitrov, Dara

abstract: New Zealand’s historical apiculture narratives are dominated by the colonial settlers' experiences of beekeeping, which marginalised Māori experiences.  This has perpetuated the notion that historically, Maori had little to do with beekeeping.  However, this article contests this notion and demonstrates that after the introduction of the western honeybee, Māori were active participants in the apiculture industry, both as traders and beekeepers.  Moreover, this article explores the current contributions that Māori beekeepers make to New Zealand’s apiculture industry but continue to be ignored by the apiculture industry.  Despite this, this article shows that Māori beekeepers are making important contributions in the apiculture research space, working with researchers and research institutions to explore climate change impacts, floral honey diversity in the native forests and aspects of honeybee colony health.

text: Māori beekeepers: Reframing New Zealand’s apiculture narratives New Zealand’s historical apiculture narratives are dominated by the colonial settlers' experiences of beekeeping, which marginalised Māori experiences.  This has perpetuated the notion that historically, Maori had little to do with beekeeping.  However, this article contests this notion and demonstrates that after the introduction of the western honeybee, Māori were active participants in the apiculture industry, both as traders and beekeepers.  Moreover, this article explores the current contributions that Māori beekeepers make to New Zealand’s apiculture industry but continue to be ignored by the apiculture industry.  Despite this, this article shows that Māori beekeepers are making important contributions in the apiculture research space, working with researchers and research institutions to explore climate change impacts, floral honey diversity in the native forests and aspects of honeybee colony health.

year: 2024