title: Adding omega-3 fatty acids to a protein-based supplement during pre-season training results in reduced muscle soreness and the better maintenance of explosive power in professional Rugby Union players

authors: Black, Katherine Elizabeth

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation could reduce muscle soreness and maintain muscle function following eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage. The aim of this applied field study was to investigate the effectiveness of consuming a protein-based supplement containing 1546 mg of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (551 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 551 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) twice daily (FO) compared to a protein-based placebo (P) on muscle soreness, countermovement jump (CMJ) performance and psychological well-being in 20 professional Rugby Union players during 5 weeks of pre-season training. Players completed a 5-point-Likert soreness scale with 5 indicating “no soreness” and a questionnaire assessing fatigue, sleep, stress and mood each morning of training, plus they performed CMJ tests once or twice per week. Data were analysed using magnitude-based inferential statistics and are presented as percent beneficial/trivial/harmful. On day 35, there was a likely (% beneficial/trivial/harmful: 94/5/1) moderate (0.75, standardized mean difference (SMD)) beneficial effect of FO vs. P on the change in lower body muscle soreness compared with day 0 (FO: −3.8 ± 21.7%; P: −19.4 ± 11.2%). There was a likely (92/7/0) moderate (SMD: 0.60) beneficial effect of FO vs. P on CMJ performance (change from baseline to day 35, FO: +4.6 ± 5.9%; P: −3.4 ± 8.6%). From day 20, a moderate beneficial effect of FO on fatigue was observed. In terms of practical relevance, the moderate beneficial effect of adding fish oil to a protein-based supplement on muscle soreness translated into the better maintenance of explosive power in elite Rugby Union players during pre-season training.

text: Adding omega-3 fatty acids to a protein-based supplement during pre-season training results in reduced muscle soreness and the better maintenance of explosive power in professional Rugby Union players Evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation could reduce muscle soreness and maintain muscle function following eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage. The aim of this applied field study was to investigate the effectiveness of consuming a protein-based supplement containing 1546 mg of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (551 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 551 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) twice daily (FO) compared to a protein-based placebo (P) on muscle soreness, countermovement jump (CMJ) performance and psychological well-being in 20 professional Rugby Union players during 5 weeks of pre-season training. Players completed a 5-point-Likert soreness scale with 5 indicating “no soreness” and a questionnaire assessing fatigue, sleep, stress and mood each morning of training, plus they performed CMJ tests once or twice per week. Data were analysed using magnitude-based inferential statistics and are presented as percent beneficial/trivial/harmful. On day 35, there was a likely (% beneficial/trivial/harmful: 94/5/1) moderate (0.75, standardized mean difference (SMD)) beneficial effect of FO vs. P on the change in lower body muscle soreness compared with day 0 (FO: −3.8 ± 21.7%; P: −19.4 ± 11.2%). There was a likely (92/7/0) moderate (SMD: 0.60) beneficial effect of FO vs. P on CMJ performance (change from baseline to day 35, FO: +4.6 ± 5.9%; P: −3.4 ± 8.6%). From day 20, a moderate beneficial effect of FO on fatigue was observed. In terms of practical relevance, the moderate beneficial effect of adding fish oil to a protein-based supplement on muscle soreness translated into the better maintenance of explosive power in elite Rugby Union players during pre-season training.

year: 2018

title: Recognising Autistic women: A minority within a minority

authors: Hefferon, Kyle Anne

subjects: autism

abstract: Evidence is emerging from the Western world that, when seeking assistance, Autistic women are remaining unrecognised, or are being misdiagnosed with mental illness by the clinical professionals they approach. However, as a result of their relative invisibility there is very limited academic literature on the occurrence of the mis(sed)diagnosis of Autistic women, as these women only draw statistical interest when they eventually become formally diagnosed. This thesis provides for an exploration of this usually hidden topic. As such it is an exploratory, inductive study that is guided by a transformative worldview. I use triangulation as a methodology in the corroboration of views found to be underpinned by opposing philosophical stances. I then consider the lived experience of unrecognised autism, the clinical context of mental healthcare, and the guiding documents and reports for the provision of autism services and support for Autistic adults in the government-funded New Zealand healthcare system. This information is supported by data collected from an online questionnaire of healthcare practitioners with a specialised knowledge of autism, specifically how it presents in females. I conclude that there is a longstanding and harmful relationship between Autistic women and madness in part driven by a negative interface between psychiatric services and women in general. Issues for Autistic women are exacerbated by a lack of understanding over time of neurodevelopmental conditions within the healthcare professions that I contend could be contributing to the ongoing, and harmful phenomenon of under-recognition of Autistic women.

text: Recognising Autistic women: A minority within a minority Evidence is emerging from the Western world that, when seeking assistance, Autistic women are remaining unrecognised, or are being misdiagnosed with mental illness by the clinical professionals they approach. However, as a result of their relative invisibility there is very limited academic literature on the occurrence of the mis(sed)diagnosis of Autistic women, as these women only draw statistical interest when they eventually become formally diagnosed. This thesis provides for an exploration of this usually hidden topic. As such it is an exploratory, inductive study that is guided by a transformative worldview. I use triangulation as a methodology in the corroboration of views found to be underpinned by opposing philosophical stances. I then consider the lived experience of unrecognised autism, the clinical context of mental healthcare, and the guiding documents and reports for the provision of autism services and support for Autistic adults in the government-funded New Zealand healthcare system. This information is supported by data collected from an online questionnaire of healthcare practitioners with a specialised knowledge of autism, specifically how it presents in females. I conclude that there is a longstanding and harmful relationship between Autistic women and madness in part driven by a negative interface between psychiatric services and women in general. Issues for Autistic women are exacerbated by a lack of understanding over time of neurodevelopmental conditions within the healthcare professions that I contend could be contributing to the ongoing, and harmful phenomenon of under-recognition of Autistic women.

year: 2020

title: Ngā niho tēte o Pekehāua: An indigenous articulation of governance

authors: Mahuika, Rangimarie

subjects: Indigenous Governance

abstract: This thesis originally set out to examine the structures and models available within New Zealand for a post-settlement tribal governance framework that would meet the Office of Treaty Settlements requirements while empowering the needs and aspirations of Ngāti Rangiwewehi. During the course of the study, as a result of the fast-tracking of our tribal settlement this emphasis changed. With Ngāti Rangiwewehi electing to utilise the government recommended templates for the post-settlement entity, the research shifted to consider the evolution of governance within the tribe, looking at the ways tribal governance had developed from traditional practices to our current governance frameworks. It was anticipated that gaining a deeper understanding of the factors that have shaped and influenced our governance would also give us the necessary insights to adapt the Crown model the tribe had adopted to ensure it was able to meet Ngāti Rangiwewehi’s future aspirations. This belief was grounded in an understanding that prior to the arrival of Pākehā to Aotearoa/New Zealand Ngāti Rangiwewehi, along with all other iwi Māori, had their own systems of Governance. Our governance frameworks, encapsulated within our tikanga and kawa, operated to produce a strong, vibrant, and self-determining society. Through colonisation, and its imposed Western frameworks for governance within Aotearoa New Zealand, traditional Māori frameworks for law and governance were undermined, deconstructed, or marginalised to make way for the civilizing discourses and structures of the Settler, as enforced by the British Crown. Although the dominant system of law and frameworks for governance may have changed, Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Māori desires for self-determination have not.
Against this background the central question of this study has itself evolved, initially contemplating to what extent Ngāti Rangiwewehi might be able to remain self-determining in and through their post-settlement governance arrangements. The overwhelming conclusion the study could not avoid was that any governance approach drawn from the settler-colonial Eurocentric system currently dominant in New Zealand would be incapable of supporting tribal aspirations for self-determination. What was equally evident was the continued determination that the tribe, collectively and individually, maintained to mediate the imposed governance frameworks that interfere in our ability to fully exercise our tino rangatiratanga, or in our iwi-specific context, our tino Rangiwewehitanga. This observation led to the final iteration of the thesis question which asks what frameworks for governance would best empower Ngāti Rangiwewehi to be self-determining in and beyond this post-settlement governance era? Throughout the research what became apparent was the potential to utilise our traditional frameworks for governance, described and encapsulated within this study as Rangiwewehitanga, a decolonial paradigm for tribal governance. Viewed in this way, Rangiwewehitanga expands our understanding of governance beyond the limited perspectives imposed through colonization and requires our people to recognise and return to the wisdom of our ancestral teachings to craft the most appropriate pathways forward.

text: Ngā niho tēte o Pekehāua: An indigenous articulation of governance This thesis originally set out to examine the structures and models available within New Zealand for a post-settlement tribal governance framework that would meet the Office of Treaty Settlements requirements while empowering the needs and aspirations of Ngāti Rangiwewehi. During the course of the study, as a result of the fast-tracking of our tribal settlement this emphasis changed. With Ngāti Rangiwewehi electing to utilise the government recommended templates for the post-settlement entity, the research shifted to consider the evolution of governance within the tribe, looking at the ways tribal governance had developed from traditional practices to our current governance frameworks. It was anticipated that gaining a deeper understanding of the factors that have shaped and influenced our governance would also give us the necessary insights to adapt the Crown model the tribe had adopted to ensure it was able to meet Ngāti Rangiwewehi’s future aspirations. This belief was grounded in an understanding that prior to the arrival of Pākehā to Aotearoa/New Zealand Ngāti Rangiwewehi, along with all other iwi Māori, had their own systems of Governance. Our governance frameworks, encapsulated within our tikanga and kawa, operated to produce a strong, vibrant, and self-determining society. Through colonisation, and its imposed Western frameworks for governance within Aotearoa New Zealand, traditional Māori frameworks for law and governance were undermined, deconstructed, or marginalised to make way for the civilizing discourses and structures of the Settler, as enforced by the British Crown. Although the dominant system of law and frameworks for governance may have changed, Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Māori desires for self-determination have not.
Against this background the central question of this study has itself evolved, initially contemplating to what extent Ngāti Rangiwewehi might be able to remain self-determining in and through their post-settlement governance arrangements. The overwhelming conclusion the study could not avoid was that any governance approach drawn from the settler-colonial Eurocentric system currently dominant in New Zealand would be incapable of supporting tribal aspirations for self-determination. What was equally evident was the continued determination that the tribe, collectively and individually, maintained to mediate the imposed governance frameworks that interfere in our ability to fully exercise our tino rangatiratanga, or in our iwi-specific context, our tino Rangiwewehitanga. This observation led to the final iteration of the thesis question which asks what frameworks for governance would best empower Ngāti Rangiwewehi to be self-determining in and beyond this post-settlement governance era? Throughout the research what became apparent was the potential to utilise our traditional frameworks for governance, described and encapsulated within this study as Rangiwewehitanga, a decolonial paradigm for tribal governance. Viewed in this way, Rangiwewehitanga expands our understanding of governance beyond the limited perspectives imposed through colonization and requires our people to recognise and return to the wisdom of our ancestral teachings to craft the most appropriate pathways forward.

year: 2019