Golf : gentlemen only ladies forbidden, or is it golden oldies live forever? : a 152.800 (100 point) research thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies at Massey University

Appendices A, B, D, E. contain newspaper clippings which have been removed due to copyright restrictions. Please see print copy held in Library.The focus of this research will be on gender relations that affect the organisational processes of golf in New Zealand. This area of research is of interest to me because during my experience both as a financial member of a private golf club and as a woman, I have experienced restrictions in the availability of playing opportunities. As an avid sportsperson I decided to play the game of golf in the late 1990s. Initially, I took up the game as a replacement sport due to a severe leg injury I received while playing squash; hence I now limit my involvement in sports that involve sudden movements and quick changes of direction. I have been involved with a large number of sporting organisations. Being a white New Zealand female, then in my late 30s, I found the traditional and reserved nature of the golf environment both fascinating and frustrating. For example, the times when women are allowed to play are restricted to specific times of the day during the working week and weekends. This format is known as the designated playing times for women and normally represent a smaller time percentage of the week when compared to the times that men are assigned as specific to them for the playing of golf. Generally, golf clubs perceived women as additional members, and their membership is considered as an associated membership rather than a full-playing and financial membership. This perception was reflected in the dollar value that women paid for their membership fees as they generally paid a lesser amount than did men (Appendix A). The assumption was that because women did not pay the same as men they did not therefore have the right to full access to the course and resources. The limited membership for women meant that golf clubs were perceived as being organised and controlled by men for the benefit of men and their golf, and women's golf was considered secondary to the development of the club membership and the promotion of the game (Alliss, 1989; Campbell, 1986). Having talked with a number of women members and women from other clubs it became apparent to me that the majority of clubs at that time operated in this manner and very few had what is now known in golfing circles as "equal rights" for men and women. [From Introduction

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication