Usefulness of a self-reported history of chickenpox in adult women in the Top End

Early determination of immune status is essential for the prevention and/or amelioration of disease following exposure to chickenpox. This is of particular significance for pregnant women because of the additional risks to the foetus or newborn.1 To determine the usefulness of a self-reported history of chickenpox in adult women in the Top End, we compared it with serological evidence of immunity.

Women in prison : where are we going?

Female imprisonment rates have dramatically increased over the last two decades at state, national and international levels. This paper reviews women's imprisonment in Australia and looks at sentence management and programs, highlighting the critical issues which impact daily on female inmates.

Overview of complex systems in sport

The complex systems approach offers an opportunity to replace the extant pre-dominant mechanistic view on sport-related phenomena. The emphasis on the environment-system relationship, the applications of complexity principles, and the use of nonlinear dynamics mathematical tools propose a deep change in sport science. Coordination dynamics, ecological dynamics, and network approaches have been successfully applied to the study of different sport-related behaviors, from movement patterns that emerge at different scales constrained by specific sport contexts to game dynamics. Sport benefit from the use of such approaches in the understanding of technical, tactical, or physical conditioning aspects which change their meaning and dilute their frontiers. The creation of new learning and training strategies for teams and individual athletes is a main practical consequence. Some challenges for the future are investigating the influence of key control parameters in the nonlinear behavior of athlete-environment systems and the possible relatedness of the dynamics and constraints acting at different spatio-temporal scales in team sports. Modelling sport-related phenomena can make useful contributions to a better understanding of complex systems and vice-versa.

Martha and her sisters : women in films about journalism

HBO's Hemingway and Gellhorn (Philip Kaufman, 2012), broadcast in May on US television and starring Nicole Kidman as the pioneering female foreign correspondent, hasn't been well reviewed by the majority of critics. Variety described the biopic (with Clive Owen as Hemingway) as “swollen and heavy-handed”, while the Huffington Post declared it an “expensive misfire … a gigantic missed opportunity, a jaw-droppingly trying waste of time”. Regardless of whether such criticisms are fair—as this essay went to press I had been unable to see the film, so I cannot judge one way or the other—Hemingway and Gellhorn should be viewed as a significant addition to the filmography of journalism, retrieving from history as it does the achievements of one of the most significant of the early female practitioners. Gellhorn was a pioneer in a patriarchal press universe, a foreign and war correspondent at a time when this branch of the profession was seen very much as man's work. She covered the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War, and with just as much viscerality as any man.

Starting out in STEM : a study of young men and women in first year science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses

In late 2011, first year university students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses across Australia were invited to participate in the international Interests and Recruitment in Science (IRIS) study. IRIS investigates the influences on young people's decisions to choose university STEM courses and their subsequent experiences of these courses. The study also has a particular focus on the motivations and experiences of young women in courses such as physics, IT and engineering given the low rates of female participation in these fields. Around 3500 students from 30 Australian universities contributed their views on the relative importance of various school and non-school influences on their decisions, as well as insights into their experiences of university STEM courses so far. It is hoped that their contributions will help improve recruitment, retention and gender equity in STEM higher education and careers.

An examination of microfinance self-help groups and the poorest of the poor women in Tamil Nadu, India

This study examined the formation and operation of women's microfinance self-help groups in southern India and investigated whether or not the poorest of the poor women were accepted as members of those groups. The study found that caste was used as a selection criterion. Many eligible women excluded themselves from joining the self-help group due to their own lack of education, age, poor health, poverty and lack of trust in the system. The research revealed that self-help groups enhanced women's income and education, improved village infrastructure, and reduced household conflict. Factors that might prevent inclusion of the poorest of the poor in future microfinance programs were identified.

The association between social support and levels of psychological distress in pregnant women in Australia

The purpose of this study was to explore associations between forms of social support and levels of psychological distress during pregnancy. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 2,743 pregnant women from south-east Queensland, Australia, was conducted utilising data collected between 2007-2011 as part of the Environments for Healthy Living (EFHL) project, Griffith University. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler 6; social support was measured using the following four factors: living with a partner, living with parents or in-laws, self-perceived social network, and area satisfaction. Data were analysed using an ordered logistic regression model controlling for a range of socio-demographic factors. Results: There was an inverse association between self-perceived strength of social networks and levels of psychological distress (OR = 0.77; 95%CI: 0.70, 0.85) and between area satisfaction and levels of psychological distress (OR = 0.77; 95%CI: 0.69, 0.87). There was a direct association between living with parents or in-laws and levels of psychological distress (OR = 1.50; 95%CI: 1.16, 1.96). There was no statistically significant association between living with a partner and the level of psychological distress of the pregnant woman after accounting for household income. Conclusion: Living with parents or in-laws is a strong marker for psychological distress. Strategies aiming to build social support networks for women during pregnancy have the potential to provide a significant benefit. Policies promoting stable family relationships and networks through community development could also be effective in promoting the welfare of pregnant women.

Herpes simplex 2 risk among women in a polygynous setting in rural West Africa

OBJECTIVES: To determine risk factors for herpes simplex 2 (HSV2) infection in women in a polygynous rural Gambian population. METHODS: Data from women who participated in a cross-sectional survey of reproductive health were matched to their own and, for women who had been or were married (ever-married), their spouses' data collected in a cross-sectional survey of fertility interests, including information on marital histories. RESULTS: Data were available on 150 never-married and 525 ever-married women. HSV2 prevalence was 16% amongst never-married women and 36% amongst ever-married women. For ever-married women, their own personal characteristics (age, ethnicity and genital cutting status) and events from their husbands' marriage history were important determinants of HSV2 infection. Women whose husbands married for the first time over age 35 were at greater risk than women whose husbands married by age 24 [odds ratio (OR) 2.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20-6.10]. Women whose husband reported interest in a new marriage were more likely to be HSV2 positive (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.18-3.09). Women whose husbands were currently monogamous but had had previous marriages (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.30-5.88) and women in currently polygynous marriages (OR 2.88, 95% CI 1.66-5.01) were three times as likely to be HSV2 positive as women who were their husband's only wife ever. CONCLUSION: Much transmission of HSV2 in this setting occurs within marriage where opportunity for personal protection is limited. High levels of transmission within marriage may undermine the impact of sexual behaviour change programmes aiming to reduce HSV2 and HIV incidence and complicate their evaluation.

The dynamics of expertise acquisition in sport : the role of affective learning design

Objectives The aim of this position paper is to discuss the role of affect in designing learning experiences to enhance expertise acquisition in sport. The design of learning environments and athlete development programmes are predicated on the successful sampling and simulation of competitive performance conditions during practice. This premise is captured by the concept of representative learning design, founded on an ecological dynamics approach to developing skill in sport, and based on the individual-environment relationship. In this paper we discuss how the effective development of expertise in sport could be enhanced by the consideration of affective constraints in the representative design of learning experiences. Conclusions Based on previous theoretical modelling and practical examples we delineate two key principles of Affective Learning Design: (i) the design of emotion-laden learning experiences that effectively simulate the constraints of performance environments in sport; (ii) recognising individualised emotional and coordination tendencies that are associated with different periods of learning. Considering the role of affect in learning environments has clear implications for how sport psychologists, athletes and coaches might collaborate to enhance the acquisition of expertise in sport.

ANZAC Day media representations of women in Perth, 1960 – 2012

The annual Anzac Day observance is a focus for articulating popular notions of Australian national identity. Early Anzac Day observations were characterised by a diversity of observational modes, many distinctly masculine and militarist in character; including sports, competitions and marches. It was from the late 1920s that the now characteristic structure of the day (dawn service - march -follow-on - afternoon celebrations including eating, drinking and playing of the gambling game two-up, illegal on every other day of the year} became the dominant form. 1 Widely believed to have experienced an extended nadir in the 1960s and 1970s, since the 1980s Anzac Day has arguably become the single most important national event in the Australian calendar, involving probably the largest-numbers of Australians, many of them young, in the same temporal observance in a multitude of locations across the country and around the world.2 To date, there is a rich literature around Anzac Day observations and meanings focussing on its cultural I folkioric role'; the production of (masculinised) national identity;pilgrimage;' popular memory I history;' and the contemporary reshaping of the Anzac myth by and for indigenous participants.'