title: Wrist injury prevention in gymnastics: Gymnast and coach perspectives

authors: Dalal, Sneha

subjects: gymnastics injuries

abstract: This study assesses the understanding and awareness of injury prevention programmes in minimising wrist injuries in gymnastics. The study uses a mixed-method approach, collecting extensive data via an anonymous online survey for gymnasts and their parents or guardians, and interviews with coaches. The research aims to understand program awareness, implementation, barriers, and outcomes from various perspectives. The findings from the study contribute to the existing body of knowledge on wrist injury prevention in gymnastics and provide valuable insights for improving training practices and program design to create safer gymnast-centric training programs. The study shows that flexibility and strength training alone do not significantly reduce wrist injuries in gymnastics, suggesting the need for a more comprehensive injury prevention approach. Findings also highlight the importance of balancing training frequency with adequate rest days to minimise injury risk. The lack of awareness and inconsistent implementation of injury prevention programs indicates a need for better communication and education among gymnasts, coaches and their parents/guardians. Interviews with coaches emphasise gradual training progression, strength building, and holistic well-being, underscoring the importance of a multifaceted approach to injury prevention. The study concludes that injury prevention programs must be prioritised and implemented effectively to further reduce the risk of wrist injuries, highlighting the importance of a multifaceted individualised approach to wrist injury prevention in gymnastics.

text: Wrist injury prevention in gymnastics: Gymnast and coach perspectives This study assesses the understanding and awareness of injury prevention programmes in minimising wrist injuries in gymnastics. The study uses a mixed-method approach, collecting extensive data via an anonymous online survey for gymnasts and their parents or guardians, and interviews with coaches. The research aims to understand program awareness, implementation, barriers, and outcomes from various perspectives. The findings from the study contribute to the existing body of knowledge on wrist injury prevention in gymnastics and provide valuable insights for improving training practices and program design to create safer gymnast-centric training programs. The study shows that flexibility and strength training alone do not significantly reduce wrist injuries in gymnastics, suggesting the need for a more comprehensive injury prevention approach. Findings also highlight the importance of balancing training frequency with adequate rest days to minimise injury risk. The lack of awareness and inconsistent implementation of injury prevention programs indicates a need for better communication and education among gymnasts, coaches and their parents/guardians. Interviews with coaches emphasise gradual training progression, strength building, and holistic well-being, underscoring the importance of a multifaceted approach to injury prevention. The study concludes that injury prevention programs must be prioritised and implemented effectively to further reduce the risk of wrist injuries, highlighting the importance of a multifaceted individualised approach to wrist injury prevention in gymnastics.

year: 2025

title: A capabilities approach to freedom of employment: Hierarchical capabilities

authors: Blight, Damian

subjects: Capabilities approach

abstract: When people in New Zealand are unhappy with their current employment, they are often advised to find a new job. Implicit here is the assumption that a new job will be better, but it is not entirely clear that this is always the case. In this thesis I aim to navigate the complexities of this suggestion in order to ascertain whether or not the task of finding new employment, that is more meaningful to the individual, is as simple as it sounds. To do this I have developed a hierarchical chart, in combination with the capabilities approach from Amartya Sen. The capabilities approach allows us to focus on the options that are available to the individual, rather than ensuring that everyone is given access to everything, including things that they do not need. By looking at freedom of employment as a capability, we may identify meaningful options for individuals even if some options are closed off to them. However, if there are not enough available options then individuals may lack access to meaningful freedom of employment.
By ordering the capabilities that are required for individuals to enjoy meaningful freedom of employment into a hierarchy, I am able to structure them such that any necessary capabilities can be investigated based on how many available options individuals have to achieve them. I will investigate three main groups of capabilities that are required by individuals in their pursuit of meaningful freedom of employment; find meaningful employment, achieve education and training, and receive adequate government intervention, to see if there are adequate options available for individuals to have access to meaningful freedom of employment. Employment plays a large role in the ability of individuals to live a life that is meaningful to themselves. For this reason, it is important that individuals have access to freedom of employment in a meaningful way.
The capabilities of individuals may be obstructed through power discrepancies between the government, employers and employees, which the capabilities approach is able to highlight. In later chapters I will discuss who ought to keep their finger on the scale and offer some suggestions in the conclusion as to how this may be achieved. Using this approach, I hope to provide some additional insight into the complexities of meaningful employment, which may be used to develop new policies to ensure access to the capabilities that are required for meaningful freedom of employment for everyone who resides in New Zealand.

text: A capabilities approach to freedom of employment: Hierarchical capabilities When people in New Zealand are unhappy with their current employment, they are often advised to find a new job. Implicit here is the assumption that a new job will be better, but it is not entirely clear that this is always the case. In this thesis I aim to navigate the complexities of this suggestion in order to ascertain whether or not the task of finding new employment, that is more meaningful to the individual, is as simple as it sounds. To do this I have developed a hierarchical chart, in combination with the capabilities approach from Amartya Sen. The capabilities approach allows us to focus on the options that are available to the individual, rather than ensuring that everyone is given access to everything, including things that they do not need. By looking at freedom of employment as a capability, we may identify meaningful options for individuals even if some options are closed off to them. However, if there are not enough available options then individuals may lack access to meaningful freedom of employment.
By ordering the capabilities that are required for individuals to enjoy meaningful freedom of employment into a hierarchy, I am able to structure them such that any necessary capabilities can be investigated based on how many available options individuals have to achieve them. I will investigate three main groups of capabilities that are required by individuals in their pursuit of meaningful freedom of employment; find meaningful employment, achieve education and training, and receive adequate government intervention, to see if there are adequate options available for individuals to have access to meaningful freedom of employment. Employment plays a large role in the ability of individuals to live a life that is meaningful to themselves. For this reason, it is important that individuals have access to freedom of employment in a meaningful way.
The capabilities of individuals may be obstructed through power discrepancies between the government, employers and employees, which the capabilities approach is able to highlight. In later chapters I will discuss who ought to keep their finger on the scale and offer some suggestions in the conclusion as to how this may be achieved. Using this approach, I hope to provide some additional insight into the complexities of meaningful employment, which may be used to develop new policies to ensure access to the capabilities that are required for meaningful freedom of employment for everyone who resides in New Zealand.

year: 2021

title: ‘Hospitality’, boundary crossing and thresholds applied in education: Embodying manaakitanga and whanaungatanga

authors: Wright, Noeline

abstract: In everyday understanding, ‘hospitality’ refers to paid work contexts; commodities and transactional tasks. Hospitality can, however, have much broader significance. It can be understood in cultural and social terms within and beyond transactional contexts. In Māori cultural knowledge and practices for example, hospitality has reciprocal, relational nuances. Perhaps both views imply that ‘hospitality’ is an act of ‘crossing boundaries […] or thresholds’ as Still (2013: 4) suggested. Relational, reciprocal, boundary-crossing practices may also infer ritual understandings of respect, kindness, generosity and harmony. Crossing thresholds is a central concept in Māori knowledge and practices and is central to this article exploring concepts and practices of hospitality in a new primary school focused on building its practices on relational and reciprocal values. In Aotearoa New Zealand educational contexts, hospitality is a cultural, social reciprocal and relational practice. Thus, through examining ‘hospitality’, ‘borders’ and ‘thresholds’ across the boundaries of education and commerce, we hope to illuminate both connections and differences. We do so through reviewing both literature about ‘hospitality’, ‘borders’ and ‘thresholds’ and interview data from a new school intentionally valuing whanaungatanga.

text: ‘Hospitality’, boundary crossing and thresholds applied in education: Embodying manaakitanga and whanaungatanga In everyday understanding, ‘hospitality’ refers to paid work contexts; commodities and transactional tasks. Hospitality can, however, have much broader significance. It can be understood in cultural and social terms within and beyond transactional contexts. In Māori cultural knowledge and practices for example, hospitality has reciprocal, relational nuances. Perhaps both views imply that ‘hospitality’ is an act of ‘crossing boundaries […] or thresholds’ as Still (2013: 4) suggested. Relational, reciprocal, boundary-crossing practices may also infer ritual understandings of respect, kindness, generosity and harmony. Crossing thresholds is a central concept in Māori knowledge and practices and is central to this article exploring concepts and practices of hospitality in a new primary school focused on building its practices on relational and reciprocal values. In Aotearoa New Zealand educational contexts, hospitality is a cultural, social reciprocal and relational practice. Thus, through examining ‘hospitality’, ‘borders’ and ‘thresholds’ across the boundaries of education and commerce, we hope to illuminate both connections and differences. We do so through reviewing both literature about ‘hospitality’, ‘borders’ and ‘thresholds’ and interview data from a new school intentionally valuing whanaungatanga.

year: 2021-03-01