title: Advancements in running shoe technology and their effects on running economy and performance – a current concepts overview

authors: Hébert-Losier, Kim

subjects: Athletics

abstract: Advancements in running shoe technology over the last 5 years have sparked controversy in athletics as linked with clear running economy and performance enhancements. Early debates mainly surrounded ‘super shoes’ in long-distance running, but more recently, the controversy has filtered through to sprint and middle-distance running with the emergence of ‘super spikes’. This Current Concepts paper provides a brief overview on the controversial topic of super shoes and super spikes. The defining features of technologically advanced shoes are a stiff plate embedded within the midsole, curved plate and midsole geometry, and lightweight, resilient, high-energy returning foam that–in combination–enhance running performance. Since the launch of the first commercially available super shoe, all world records from the 5 km to the marathon have been broken by athletes wearing super shoes or super spikes, with a similar trend observed in middle-distance running. The improvements in super shoes are around 4% for running economy and 2% for performance, and speculatively around 1% to 1.5% for super spikes. These enhancements are believed multifactorial in nature and difficult to parse, although involve longitudinal bending stiffness, the ‘teeter-totter effect’, the high-energy return properties of the midsole material, enhanced stack height and lightweight characteristic of shoes.

text: Advancements in running shoe technology and their effects on running economy and performance – a current concepts overview Advancements in running shoe technology over the last 5 years have sparked controversy in athletics as linked with clear running economy and performance enhancements. Early debates mainly surrounded ‘super shoes’ in long-distance running, but more recently, the controversy has filtered through to sprint and middle-distance running with the emergence of ‘super spikes’. This Current Concepts paper provides a brief overview on the controversial topic of super shoes and super spikes. The defining features of technologically advanced shoes are a stiff plate embedded within the midsole, curved plate and midsole geometry, and lightweight, resilient, high-energy returning foam that–in combination–enhance running performance. Since the launch of the first commercially available super shoe, all world records from the 5 km to the marathon have been broken by athletes wearing super shoes or super spikes, with a similar trend observed in middle-distance running. The improvements in super shoes are around 4% for running economy and 2% for performance, and speculatively around 1% to 1.5% for super spikes. These enhancements are believed multifactorial in nature and difficult to parse, although involve longitudinal bending stiffness, the ‘teeter-totter effect’, the high-energy return properties of the midsole material, enhanced stack height and lightweight characteristic of shoes.

year: 2022

title: Functional trait variation along a hydrological gradient and trait-based predictions of the composition of a wetland plant community

authors: Purcell, Adam

subjects: functional trait

abstract: Predicting the assembly of plant communities is considered the Holy Grail of functional ecology and has never been more important as we head into an era of environmental change. Studying plant functional traits provides the best opportunity for understanding the community assembly processes that determine the abundance and distribution of plant species. Plant functional traits provide information on the direct physiological adaptations of plants to various environmental conditions. The assembly of plant communities is driven by filtering processes that select for or against certain functional traits and a plant can only be present within a community if it contains the functional traits necessary to germinate, survive and compete in the environment of the community. An understanding of how functional traits are filtered by the environment and biotic interactions provides the foundations for predictive community assembly models. However, the understanding of how functional traits are filtered along hydrological gradients is poor for the majority of functional traits. 
In this thesis I aimed to identify how plant functional traits respond to variation in soil hydrology in the presence and absence of grazing and determine whether a trait-based model of environmental filtering could predict the composition of an ephemeral wetland plant community. To achieve these aims, I performed a survey of the plant community in an ephemeral wetland in grazed and ungrazed transects. The survey was conducted along a hydrological gradient that was split into an elevation gradient above the flood line and a flooding gradient below the flood line. I measured nine root, leaf and shoot traits on 885 plant samples collected during the community survey and investigated the response of community-weighted and individual-level traits along the hydrological gradient using Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) and Generalized Linear Models (GLMs). To determine whether a trait-based model of environmental filtering could predict the composition of the plant community, I incorporated the individual-level trait relationships into a community assembly model known as Traitspace and predicted the relative abundance of the 23 most common species found within the Kettlehole.
Community-weighted root traits were more strongly related to the hydrological gradient than aboveground traits. Root aerenchyma increased as the number of days submerged increased while root dry matter content (RDMC), specific root length (SRL), root tissue density (RTD) and root branching intensity (RBI) decreased with increasing flooding. Community-weighted specific leaf area (SLA) and root tissue density were more closely related to the elevation gradient than any other traits. SLA decreased as elevation above the flood line increased while RTD increased with elevation. The relationships between individual-level traits and the elevation and flooding gradients were far weaker than community-weighted traits but showed similar trends in the directions of trait responses along the gradients. Grazing reduced the community-weighted trait values of all traits except SLA and aboveground dry matter content (AGDMC) along the flooding gradient and had little effect on the trait values observed along the elevation gradient.
Using environmental filtering of functional traits, the Traitspace model was able to predict the distribution and abundance of a number of key species within the wetland plant community but was unable to accurately predict the abundance and distribution of other species. The accuracy of the Traitspace model was best when all nine functional traits were used to produce predictions of species abundances but SLA and height were recognised as the two traits to provide the most predictive ability.
The strong filtering of root traits illustrate the important information that root traits provide in terms of the adaptations of plants in environments with varied soil hydrology. Easily measurable aboveground traits are often favoured in functional ecology but these results highlight the importance of measuring root traits in trait-based research. Traitspace has the ability to predict the abundance and distribution of some species within a wetland plant community using environmental filtering of functional traits. Community assembly at small spatial scales is mostly driven by biotic interactions rather than environmental filtering which may limit the power of current predictive models. The inclusion of biotic interactions into trait-based models will improve the predictions of community composition at small spatial scales in wetland ecosystems and help us to progress towards achieving the goal of accurately predicting the composition of plant communities.

text: Functional trait variation along a hydrological gradient and trait-based predictions of the composition of a wetland plant community Predicting the assembly of plant communities is considered the Holy Grail of functional ecology and has never been more important as we head into an era of environmental change. Studying plant functional traits provides the best opportunity for understanding the community assembly processes that determine the abundance and distribution of plant species. Plant functional traits provide information on the direct physiological adaptations of plants to various environmental conditions. The assembly of plant communities is driven by filtering processes that select for or against certain functional traits and a plant can only be present within a community if it contains the functional traits necessary to germinate, survive and compete in the environment of the community. An understanding of how functional traits are filtered by the environment and biotic interactions provides the foundations for predictive community assembly models. However, the understanding of how functional traits are filtered along hydrological gradients is poor for the majority of functional traits. 
In this thesis I aimed to identify how plant functional traits respond to variation in soil hydrology in the presence and absence of grazing and determine whether a trait-based model of environmental filtering could predict the composition of an ephemeral wetland plant community. To achieve these aims, I performed a survey of the plant community in an ephemeral wetland in grazed and ungrazed transects. The survey was conducted along a hydrological gradient that was split into an elevation gradient above the flood line and a flooding gradient below the flood line. I measured nine root, leaf and shoot traits on 885 plant samples collected during the community survey and investigated the response of community-weighted and individual-level traits along the hydrological gradient using Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) and Generalized Linear Models (GLMs). To determine whether a trait-based model of environmental filtering could predict the composition of the plant community, I incorporated the individual-level trait relationships into a community assembly model known as Traitspace and predicted the relative abundance of the 23 most common species found within the Kettlehole.
Community-weighted root traits were more strongly related to the hydrological gradient than aboveground traits. Root aerenchyma increased as the number of days submerged increased while root dry matter content (RDMC), specific root length (SRL), root tissue density (RTD) and root branching intensity (RBI) decreased with increasing flooding. Community-weighted specific leaf area (SLA) and root tissue density were more closely related to the elevation gradient than any other traits. SLA decreased as elevation above the flood line increased while RTD increased with elevation. The relationships between individual-level traits and the elevation and flooding gradients were far weaker than community-weighted traits but showed similar trends in the directions of trait responses along the gradients. Grazing reduced the community-weighted trait values of all traits except SLA and aboveground dry matter content (AGDMC) along the flooding gradient and had little effect on the trait values observed along the elevation gradient.
Using environmental filtering of functional traits, the Traitspace model was able to predict the distribution and abundance of a number of key species within the wetland plant community but was unable to accurately predict the abundance and distribution of other species. The accuracy of the Traitspace model was best when all nine functional traits were used to produce predictions of species abundances but SLA and height were recognised as the two traits to provide the most predictive ability.
The strong filtering of root traits illustrate the important information that root traits provide in terms of the adaptations of plants in environments with varied soil hydrology. Easily measurable aboveground traits are often favoured in functional ecology but these results highlight the importance of measuring root traits in trait-based research. Traitspace has the ability to predict the abundance and distribution of some species within a wetland plant community using environmental filtering of functional traits. Community assembly at small spatial scales is mostly driven by biotic interactions rather than environmental filtering which may limit the power of current predictive models. The inclusion of biotic interactions into trait-based models will improve the predictions of community composition at small spatial scales in wetland ecosystems and help us to progress towards achieving the goal of accurately predicting the composition of plant communities.

year: 2016

title: Cultural Conversations in a Counselling Context

authors: Harkness, Jane

subjects: counselling

abstract: This research project focuses on counselling practice with Māori women who have engaged in counselling in relation to overcoming the effects of both historic and recent sexual abuse. The researcher / counsellor is pakeha. The counsellor / researcher, researches her practice and its possible effects through research interviews with three women. The project offers a reflection on her practice ethics and on what she learns from the women. In particular, she explores the intentions and effects of an orientation to counselling that includes offering and taking up conversations about aspects of cultural identity. She explores the effect of the counselling conversations where aspects of ethno-cultural identity have been included on the women‟s sense of identity. She explores what she draws on as a Pakeha counsellor when offering and taking up conversations about aspects of cultural identity. She also explores the effects of offering and taking up conversations about aspects of cultural identity for the work of counselling. The project shows the researcher‟s responses to the research meetings and the learning she takes to her ongoing counselling practice.

text: Cultural Conversations in a Counselling Context This research project focuses on counselling practice with Māori women who have engaged in counselling in relation to overcoming the effects of both historic and recent sexual abuse. The researcher / counsellor is pakeha. The counsellor / researcher, researches her practice and its possible effects through research interviews with three women. The project offers a reflection on her practice ethics and on what she learns from the women. In particular, she explores the intentions and effects of an orientation to counselling that includes offering and taking up conversations about aspects of cultural identity. She explores the effect of the counselling conversations where aspects of ethno-cultural identity have been included on the women‟s sense of identity. She explores what she draws on as a Pakeha counsellor when offering and taking up conversations about aspects of cultural identity. She also explores the effects of offering and taking up conversations about aspects of cultural identity for the work of counselling. The project shows the researcher‟s responses to the research meetings and the learning she takes to her ongoing counselling practice.

year: 2008