The Physical and Physiological Demands of Elite International Female Field Hockey Players During Competitive Match-Play.

The aim of the current investigation was to quantify the physical and physiological demands of elite international female field hockey match-play across halves of play. Thirty-eight participants (24 ± 5 years; 173 ± 5 cm; 72 ± 5 kg) took part in nineteen competitive matches during the 2014 - 2015 season. Participants were monitored with GPS technology and heart rate monitors. Players were categorized based on three different playing positions. Activity was categorized into total (m), high-speed running distance (m; >16 km·h) and relative distance (m·min) due to the use of rolling substitutions. Heart rate was classified based on the percentage of players individual HRpeak determined via a Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 1 test. Players spent on average 44 ± 7 min in match-play. The total distance covered was 5558 ± 527 m (125 ± 23 m·min) with 589 ± 160 m (13 ± 4 m·min) completed at high-speed. Defenders covered a greater total distance compared to other positions of play (p ≤ 0.001). Midfield players covered a greater distance at high-speed (p ≤ 0.001) with the forwards having a higher relative distance (p ≤ 0.001). The HRpeak of the players was 199 ± 1 bmin with a mean exercise intensity of 86 ± 7.8 % of HRpeak. The time spent >85% HRpeak decreased significantly across the halves (p = 0.04, η = 0.09, Small). Defenders were found to spend more time >85 % HRpeak when compared to forwards (p ≤ 0.001). The current investigation provides normative data that coaches should consider when constructing training regimen

Political budget cycles and effects of the excessive deficit procedure: The case of Greece

We study the existence, magnitude, and determinants of political budget cycles in Greece over the past 40 years. We find that the Greek economy has been characterised by extensive electorally-motivated cycles, which are not typical of a developed country. However, we show that the corrective fiscal measures imposed by the European institutions in the face of the Greek debt crisis suppressed these pre-electoral fiscal policy manipulations. In particular, the imposition of the Excessive Deficit Procedure of the Stability and Growth Pact reduced the ability of domestic politicians to increase public deficits to the point where it eliminated, albeit only marginally, political budget cycles

Domestic vs. External Economic Sectors and the Political Process: Insights from Greece

Building on the well-established relationship between economic dynamics and political processes, we focus on the most important element of the political process, namely, general (or national) elections, and look into their effects on public finance and total economic output. In this vein, the present study has three objectives: (i) to investigate political budget cycles in Greece during the period known as the ‘Third Hellenic Republic’ (in Greek, ‘Metapolitefsi’, hereafter THR) since 1974; (ii) to assess whether national elections affect total economic activity in a stabilizing or destabilizing way; and (iii) to examine the possible effects of the external sector of the economy on the budget balance. The empirical findings of our analysis document how the Greek economy was characterized by sharp political budget cycles in correspondence with the THR, exerting a destabilizing effect on the total output of the economy. Performances of the external sector of the economy have significantly affected budget balances in Greece