Outstanding performances during elite-standard short and middle-distance finals and the hyperandrogenism regulation—A detailed analysis of Caster Semenya’s results

ABSTRACT

Recently, there has been much controversy over the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) regulations regarding eligibility to compete and natural testosterone levels in female athletes. Much interest lies in the analysis of Caster Semenya's extraordinary performance. The objective of this work were, a) Complete an analysis of Caster Semenya's results during the 800m finals and b) search for existing similar performances by other female athletes. We analysed the results of the finals of all IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games from 1984–2016, including the 800m results of the Diamond Leagues 2016–2018. Exponential curves were fit to the data to characterise and predict performance for each event. Caster Semenya's finishing times before her ineligibility to compete and after the suspension of the IAAF hyperandrogenism regulation were found to be 1.24% and 1.49%, respectively, faster than the characteristic performance of the elite-standard in the women’s 800m final. Other female athletes, with finishing times faster than the ones predicted by the characteristic curves were also discovered. The percentage difference in performance between Caster Semenya and the other participants did not reach 3% in the 800m event. No conclusions can be drawn regarding extraordinary results ever performed during the 100m, 200m or 400m finals.     

Executive power and scaled-up gender subtexts in Australian entrepreneurial universities

Deputy Vice Chancellor and Pro Vice Chancellor positions have proliferated in response to the global, corporatised university landscape [Scott, G., S. Bell, H. Coates, and L. Grebennikov. 2010. “Australian Higher Education Leaders in Times of Change: The Role of Pro Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor.” Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 32 (4): 401–418]. Senior leadership is the sphere where academic and management identities are negotiated and values around the role of the university are decided. This paper examines the changing and gendered nature of the senior leadership setting and its implications for diversity in and of university leadership. The analysis draws from a three-year empirical study funded by the Australian Research Council on leadership in Australian universities. It focuses on executive leaders in three universities – one which is research-intensive, the second, in a regional site, and the third, university of technology. The article argues that the university landscape and its management systems are being restructured in gendered ways. It utilises the notion of organisational gender subtexts to make explicit how gender works through structural and cultural reform.     

大学语文课中的性别意识教育——以小说《伤逝》的教学为例

性别意识作为人文精神的一个重要因素，直接影响到大学生的自我角色定位．并关涉其恋爱观、人生观和价值观等多个方面。当代大学生受传统观念的影响，在性别意识问题上存在误区。大学语文课作为高校人文素质教育的基础课程，应改变传统无性别教育状态，从多个角度切人性别意识教育。以《伤逝》的教学为例，通过探讨小说中的性别文化内涵及其对大学生性别意识教育的启示．说明大学语文课渗透性别意识教育的可行性和必要性。     

家园难觅情归何处——论20世纪80、90年代女性散文的不同特点

20世纪90年代的女性散文文本在女性意识的表达,对两性关系的探索及艺术表达方式方面与80年代散文都有很大的不同,这种不同背后又有着复杂的社会文化原因.     

An Ironic Imbalance: Coaching Opportunities and Gender in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) is a sport designed specifically for women. With roots in ballet, calisthenics and eugenics, it was meant to showcase femininity, beauty, and encourage healthy bodies for motherhood, therefore offering socially acceptable sporting opportunities for females. This paper considers whether such sporting opportunities extended to female coaches. We examine the recruitment patterns in relation to gender of some of the top coaches in Australia and New Zealand since the 1980s, who are predominantly migrants. Using archival sources, interviews and personal experience, this paper argues that while so-called feminine or artistic sports can offer greater opportunities for female coaches, WAG in Australia and New Zealand remains dominated by male coaches, who have held the majority of the head coach positions and in many cases, been actively recruited from overseas. The few females who have been employed in top positions have been appointments of ‘convenience’ rather than reflective of a shift away from these gendered employment patterns. Thus, while its creation as a specifically feminine sport may lead WAG to be viewed as a site of increased opportunities for women coaches, deeper exploration reveals an unresolved tension between the use of male and female coaches.     

‘What on Earth are They Doing in a Racing Car?’: Towards an Understanding of Women in Motorsport

Abstract

Motorsport is an under-researched area of socio-historical study. There is particularly limited academic understanding of female involvement in the social world of motorsports. Therefore, this paper focuses on the role of the media in presenting and establishing motorsport for women. In particular, a documentary analysis of articles published by a UK national newspaper group from 1890, and a case study of an all-female UK-based motor-racing championship are used to account for gendered processes that have influenced attitudes and behaviours towards women motor racers. The motor car emerged through technological progress in an overtly masculine-dominated industrial period. Traditional assumptions and biologically deterministic attitudes towards women were used by men to position motoring and motor-racing as a male preserve. Newspaper reporting throughout the 1930s suggests an era of heightened success for women motor racers as a result of gaining access to a key resource in the form of Brooklands motor-racing circuit. Following the Second World War, there was increasing commercialization and professionalization of male-dominated motorsport, as well as renewed marginalization and trivialization of female participants within the newspapers. These processes continue to influence perceptions of women in contemporary motorsport.     

A case study on the experiences of university-based Muslim women in physical activity during their studies at one UK higher education institution

The case study explores the experiences of Muslim women in the area of physical activity participation conducted whilst they were studying at one UK University. Previous research in the field indicated that Muslim women can be denied opportunities to participate in areas of sport-related physical activity through multiple factors such as socio-cultural, familial, religious or sporting structural constraints. Despite increased knowledge about the inclusion of Muslim girls in school-based physical education and sport, there is a dearth of literature on Muslim women's experiences post their school years. Informed by socio-cultural theories of the body, identity and embodied cultures, the study focuses on Muslim women's early physical activity experiences, university-based participation patterns and reflections on the influences that shaped their attitudes and beliefs towards such participation. Open-ended questionnaires, 34/50 returned (68%), and 6 in-depth interviews were conducted with volunteers studying a wide range of programmes. Content analysis revealed that values, attitudes and behaviours were largely influenced by the family; prior to university, the women's physical activity experiences were mixed and dependent on family activity patterns and school-based opportunities; university recreational sport-related provision did not cater for the women's Islamic needs denying them opportunities to participate. Religious belief and cultural expectations made a significant contribution to the women's preferences for participation environments that respected their Islamic beliefs.     

Sex-specific associations of moderate and vigorous physical activity with physical fitness in adolescents

The present study examined the sex-specific associations of moderate and vigorous physical activity (VPA) with physical fitness in 300 Japanese adolescents aged 12–14 years. Participants were asked to wear an accelerometer to evaluate physical activity (PA) levels of various intensities (i.e. moderate PA (MPA), 3–5.9 metabolic equivalents (METs); VPA, ≥6 METs; moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), ≥3 METs). Eight fitness items were assessed (grip strength, bent-leg sit-up, sit-and-reach, side step, 50?m sprint, standing long jump, handball throw, and distance running) as part of the Japanese standardised fitness test. A fitness composite score was calculated using Japanese fitness norms, and participants were categorised according to their score from category A (most fit) to category E (least fit), with participants in categories D and E defined as having low fitness. It was found that for boys, accumulating more than 80.7?min/day of MVPA may reduce the probability of low fitness (odds ratio (ORs) [95% confidence interval (CI)]?=?0.17 [0.06–0.47], p?=?.001). For girls, accumulating only 8.4?min of VPA could reduce the likelihood of exhibiting low fitness (ORs [95% CI]?=?0.23 [0.05–0.89], p?=?.032). These results reveal that there are sex-specific differences in the relationship between PA and physical fitness in adolescents, suggesting that sex-specific PA recommendation may be needed to improve physical fitness in adolescents.     

试论社会转型期的性别平等问题

文章在阐释性别平等内涵的基础上,分析了我国社会转型期性别不平等问题凸显的表现及成因,并提出了遏制性别关系逆转,推进性别平等进程的具体对策。