Framing sexual harassment through media representations

This article examines mainstream news media texts reporting sexual harassment in four industrialized countries. The study first identifies the aspects of sexual harassment cases considered newsworthy by asking how the media texts characterize such cases. Second, the study illuminates the discourses evident in these texts, which are theorized as a mode by which understandings of workplace gender (in)equality shape, and are shaped by, individuals, organizations and the community. The analysis reveals that the media most frequently reports “classic” sexual harassment and emphasizes scandalous allegations and overtly sexualized conduct. The hegemony of a discourse of sexual harassment as an individualized problem of inappropriate employee behavior is also evident. By contrast, discourses presenting sexual harassment as a systemic issue, or as symptomatic of broader gender inequality, are less frequent. We argue that these media representations limit opportunities to frame sexual harassment as dynamic, complex, and part of the practice of gendering in and beyond organizational boundaries.

Overdue choices : how information and role in decision-making influence women's preferences for induction for prolonged pregnancy

Background: Enabling women to make informed decisions is a crucial component of consumer-focused maternity care. Current evidence suggests that health care practitioners’ communication of care options may not facilitate patient involvement in decision-making. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of specific variations in health caregiver communication on women’s preferences for induction of labor for prolonged pregnancy. Methods: A convenience sample of 595 female participants read a hypothetical scenario in which an obstetrician discusses induction of labor with a pregnant woman. Information provided on induction and the degree of encouragement for the woman’s involvement in decision-making was manipulated to create four experimental conditions. Participants indicated preference with respect to induction, their perceptions of the quality of information received, and other potential moderating factors. Results: Participants who received information that was directive in favor of medical intervention were significantly more likely to prefer induction than those given nondirective information. No effect of level of involvement in decision-making was found. Participants’ general trust in doctors moderated the relationship between health caregiver communication and preferences for induction, such that the influence of information provided on preferences for induction differed across levels of involvement in decision-making for women with a low trust in doctors, but not for those with high trust. Many women were not aware of the level of information required to make an informed decision. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the potential value of strategies such as patient decision aids and health care professional education to improve the quality of information available to women and their capacity for informed decision-making during pregnancy and birth. (BIRTH 39:3 September 2012)

Gender and Leader Effects in the 2010 Australian Election

The impact of voters’ gender on leader evaluations in parliamentary systems has been largely unexplored, while the impact of female leaders on voter attitudes and preferences remains to be fully established. This paper uses Julia Gillard’s historic candidacy in the 2010 Australian federal election to explore how voters evaluated Australia’s first female prime minister, and to test the impact of their assessments on vote choice. The authors also examine whether Gillard’s high-profile candidacy affected women’s levels of political interest, awareness and engagement in what had been largely a ‘man’s game’. Their findings confirm that Gillard enjoyed a gender-affinity effect in 2010 in terms of both leader evaluations and vote choice, and women’s political engagement was significantly affected by the Gillard candidacy.

Workable solutions : the intersubjective careers of women with families

This chapter considers to what degree the careers of women with young families, both in and out of paid employment, are lived as contingent, intersubjective projects pursued across time and space, in the social condition of growing biographical possibilities and uneven social/ideological change. Their resolutions of competing priorities by engaging in various permutations of home-work and paid work are termed ‘workable solutions’, with an intentional play on the double sense of ‘work’ – firstly as labour, thus being able to perform work, whether paid or not; secondly as in being able to make things work or function in the family unit’s best interests, however defined.

Achieving at university and beyond : does it help to be good looking?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between attitudes to academic achievement and post university success using perceptions of attractiveness, gender, ethnic identity, personality, and social acceptance as antecedents. Design/methodology/approach – An online questionnaire was completed by male (N=116) and female (N=126) university students from various cultural backgrounds. To evaluate the proposed relationships, multiple regression analysis was used. Findings – The findings suggest that attractiveness is related to attitudes to academic achievement and success through its association with social appeal and acceptance. Ethnic identity is also related to both academic achievement and post university success. Personality is not positively related to academic achievement. Finally, social acceptance is positively related to academic achievement for males and to success for females. Research limitations/implications – Whilst the survey targeted students from various cultural backgrounds studying in Australia, it did not look at university students from other countries. A cross-cultural perspective could reveal further differences in attitudes. Originality/value – This study links attractiveness and academic achievement theories. The findings have implications for tertiary institutions and suggest academics and policy-makers to vigorously promote core personality and values such as intelligence, communication skills, and sincerity, rather than allow superficial values such as attractiveness to be placed at the centre stage of students' endeavour.

Diabetes health program development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women

According to Australian Health (2008), the area of endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders (mainly diabetes) yields the highest cause of death for Indigenous Australian women at 10.1%. Indigenous Brisbane North women’s results reiterate this with slightly higher percentages and are a cause for concern and action due to the noted levels of undiagnosed/unaware Indigenous Brisbane North women with abnormal blood glucose levels, whom participated in the research. A sub-sample of the group (N=17) were piloted to test the feasibility of method of eliciting health information on Indigenous Women within this community. This pilot study revealed the following health information regarding this group of women. 41.2% of Indigenous Brisbane North women were found to have blood glucose levels that were outside normal ranges, however only 29.4% had been diagnosed with diabetes and or endocrine abnormalities. These findings highlight that 11.8% of participants have signs indicating that they may have undiagnosed diabetes or/and pre diabetes juxtaposed to unacceptable endocrine levels compatible with health and wellness. The percentages of Indigenous Brisbane North Women whom have indicated that they have a diagnosis of diabetes have been compared to both National Indigenous peoples percentages and the national percentages for the wider Australian community (all Australians). The rate of diabetes within this population is 9 times that of the wider Australian community and 5 times that of the wider Australian Indigenous community. Data was collected from Indigenous participants on arrival and the attendance numbers of 112 women was recorded for comparison with other current health prevention wellness programs being delivered. Data was also collected through the use of specially designed culturally safe questionnaires undertaken in conjunction with health checks and health service information given to participants.

Determinants of place identity and dependence : the case of international tourism in Tanzania

This research examines the effects of expectation (perceived attractiveness) on satisfaction, place identity, and place dependence. Place identity and place dependence are viewed as relational components of choice and relate to deeper needs. This study proposes that these two relational components depend on transactional expectations, which are emergent and determined by past experiences and visitor goals. In a theoretically elaborated and tested Structural Equation Model (SEM) this study assumes that these relationships vary according to intentions to return. The study addresses the conditions under which loyalty intentions influence the deeper place attachments (place identity and place dependence) that visitors associate with attractive cultural and natural destinations. The model is tested on a sample of 504 international tourists visiting Tanzania during fall 2010, and explains 59% of variance in the predicted dependent variables. The results are linked to a discussion on loyalty programs.

The classic white formal shirt : a powerful emblem of social change

The classic white formal shirt is a widely and readily familiar object with considerable historical cultural significance to diverse social groups, and is therefore deserving of iconic status. For more than two hundred years, this singular item of apparel has been able to define and represent status, wealth, gender shifts and fashion norms. This garment, which has historically been relinquished to undergarment status, deserves an escalation of standing. The classic white formal shirt, for both men and women, can be used as a mirror to map considerable social change and the diversity of influence can be traced through many examples, including: Beau Brummell’s dandy status with his legendry white shirting; the Gibson Girl with her decorated white shirt style blouse defining ideals of female beauty; IBM business employees in the 1920s marketing trustworthiness through the uniformity of white shirts; the fictional advertising creation of the Arrow Collar Man, with his rigid white shirt, promoting American masculine ideals; and the iconic 1980s Hugo Boss style crisp white dress shirt symbolising power. The origins of the influence of the white shirt can be best traced in the Victorian era where it was an important symbol of wealth and class distinction and a powerful emblem of sobriety and uniformity for men. The pure white colour fulfilled masculine ideals of resolute austerity and the shirt, through its constancy, epitomised conformity and dependability. For women, the white cloth of the ‘shirt-waist’ from this period was also linked to ideals of cleanliness and purity and was seen as an iconic symbol of the new independent working class woman. This paper will propose that the classic white formal shirt, for both men and women, has been a powerful marker of social shifts in Western society and this underrated item of apparel, with limited scholarly writing, is worthy of iconic status. The discussion will trace the historical development of both the men’s and women’s white shirt, each with their own unique history, and in doing so highlight the considerable historical cultural significance associated with the white formal shirt. Discussed first will be the men’s white formal shirt.

Education : South Asia

South Asia, a source of great literary and literacy traditions and a generator of great philosophies, also contains a large percentage of illiterate people, the majority of them women. South Asia includes India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma and Afghanistan. The progress of these countries is dependent on female literacy because health, hygiene, and nutrition problems can be partly overcome through educating women. “Illiteracy is closely related to underdevelopment and poverty, and the elimination of illiteracy represents an essential condition for the development and well-being of peoples and nations" (UNESCO PROAP, 1989: II ). In South Asia, women constitute nearly two- thirds of illiterate adults. There is an inherent contradiction in the region between modern amenities, modern educational systems, and advanced communication systems, on the one hand, and the high level of illiteracy and significant backwardness, on the other.

Young women's drinking experiences in public drinking venues

Alcohol-related mortality and morbidity represents a substantial financial burden to communities across the world. In Australia, conservative estimates place the societal cost (2004-2005) for alcohol abuse at approximately 15.3 billion dollar annually (Collins & Lapsley, 2008). Research has found that adolescence and young adulthood is a peak period for heavy episodic alcohol consumption, with over a third of all people aged 14-19 years having been at risk for acute alcohol-related harm at least once in the prior 12 months (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], (2008). While excessive alcohol consumption has, for a long time, been seen as a male problem; there has been a gradual shift towards a social acceptance of female drinking which has resulted in a diminishing gap in drinking quantity and style between men and women (Roche & Deehan, 2002). There is substantial evidence that women are at higher risk than men for detrimental physical, medical, social and psychological effects of at-risk alcohol consumption (Epstein, et al., 2007). Research outlining the epidemiology of women’s substance use emphasises the need for further examination into influences that may be gender specific and culturally defined (Matheson, 2008; Measham & Ostergaard, 2009). As such, there is a need to utilise female perspectives in examining alcohol consumption and alcohol related problems in order to reflect a more balanced and competent version of drinking in today’s culture (Allamani, 2008). Currently a number of reasons are offered to explain the observed trends including reduction in traditional sanctions and social norms against women drinking, financial emancipation, cultural shift and targeted advertising to name a few. However, there is yet comparatively little research examining drinking by young women in order to understand this ‘new’ drinking pattern. Most research into alcohol use and subsequent intervention and prevention campaigns have been based on male perceptions and constructs of drinking. While such approaches have provided important information regarding the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption by women, they do not address the important question of why. To understand the why, research needs to explore the difference between males and females in the meaning of the behaviour and the place that drinking holds to them.

Book review: "Ideologies of Breast Cancer : Feminist Perspectives" Edited by Laura K. Potts. New York: St. Martin’s Press

Laura K. Potts’s edited collection of research on the meanings of breast cancer includes authors from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada whose perspectives draw on literary criticism, sociology, psychology, and cultural studies among others. The research employs various methodological approaches—for example, media analysis (Saywell et al.), autobiographical narratives (Potts), and analysis of social activism (Fishman)—to elucidate the multiple dimensions and diversity of breast cancer experiences. The first of two parts, “Meanings of Breast Cancer,” presents the problematical relationship between biomedicine and women’s constructions of breast cancer knowledge, the sexualized and maternalized breast in the print media about breast cancer, environmental risks to women’s health in the Bay Area of San Francisco, and women’s narratives of breast cancer and situating the self. In part 2, “Discourses of Risk and Breast Cancer,” examination of the discourses of prevention and risks to health are taken up in relation to breast cancer screening, the problem of prophylactic mastectomy for hereditary breast cancer, and environmental activism...