An Australian Idol of Modernist Consumerism: Minnie Tittell Brune and the Gallery Girls

The Australian career of the young American actor Minnie Tittell Brune exemplifies the complex cultural and economic forces operating on the institution of live theatre at the beginning of the twentieth century. Brune focalizes the contemporary processes which reconstituted the international institution of mass entertainment out of the traditional cultural practices of theatre. The theatrical star is seen as both engaging with and resisting the commodification of her labour power; image and talent resulting from her ambiguous industrial role as magnetic 'star' and as managerial commodity. However, the iconic and affective power of the actor evokes strong attachment from significant sections of the newly heterosocial popular audience, in particular from the gallery girls, the young female audience who idolized Brune as a performative personality enacting social self-realization and glamorous transformation. Through reading Brume's repertoire, her social persona as 'star' and her 'emotional' performative style, it is demonstrated how artistic retro-glamour, religious evangelicalism and discourses of sexuality and femininity serve to manage theatre's move into the mass-entertainment age.

Investigation of a model of weight restricting behaviour amongst adolescent girls

Objective: This study examined the validity of a model predicting weight restricting behaviour both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Method: Participants comprised 1207 girls aged from 12 to 14 years. The girls completed self-report questionnaires at three time points over 1-year intervals. Results: The cross-sectional results suggested that weight preoccupation and body dissatisfaction directly predicted weight restricting behaviour. In addition, upset induced by teasing, depressive symptoms, BMI and negative attributional style demonstrated indirect effects on weight restricting behaviour through their effects on body dissatisfaction and/or weight preoccupation. Longitudinally however, only weight restricting behaviour and body dissatisfaction were significant in the prediction of weight restricting behaviour. Discussion: The implications of the results are discussed, together with suggestions for future research. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Energy and calcium stores are preserved in girls and young women with CF, independent of disease severity: An explanation for the 'gender gap'?

Bioenergetics differ between males and females of many species. Human females apportion a substantial proportion of energy resources towards gynoid fat storage, to support the energetic burden of reproduction. Similarly, axial calcium accrual is favoured in females compared with males. Nutritional status is a prognostic indicator in cystic fibrosis (CF), but girls and young women are at greater risk of death despite equivalent nutritional status to males. The aim of this study was to compare fat (energy) and calcium stores (bone density) in males and females with CF over a spectrum of disease severity. Methods: Fat as % body weight (fat%) and lumbar spine (LS) and total body (TB) bone mineral density (BMD) were measured using dual absorption X-ray photometry in 127(59M) control and 101(54M) CF subjects, aged 9–25 years. An equation for predicted age at death had been determined using survival data and history of pulmonary function for the whole clinic, based on a trivariate normal model using maximum likelihood methods (1). For the CF group, a disease severity index (predicted age at death) was calculated from the derived equations according to each subjects history of pulmonary function, current age, and gender. Disease severity was classified according to percentile of predicted age at death (‘mild’ ≥75th, ‘moderate’ 25th–75th, ‘severe’ ≤25th percentile). Wt for age z-score was calculated. Serum testosterone and oestrogen were measured in males and females respectively. Fat% and LSBMD were compared between the groups using ANOVA. Results: There was an interaction between disease severity and gender: increasing disease severity was associated with greater deficits in TB (p=0.01), LSBMD (p

Go home fascist

Girls with placard during visit of former South Vietnamese vice president Nguyen Cao Ky to Brisbane, Australia in January 1967. Placard reads Go home fascist

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in schoolchildren: Effects of ear asymmetry, handedness and gender

The present study examined effects of ear asymmetry, handedness, and gender on distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) obtained from schoolchildren. A total of 1003 children (528 boys and 475 girls), with a mean age of 6.2 years (SD = 0.4, range = 5.2-7.9 years), were tested in a quiet room at their schools using the GSI-60 DPOAE system. A distortion-product (DP)-gram was obtained for each ear, with f2 varying from 1.1 to 6.0 kHz and the ratio of f2/f1 at 1.21. The signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) (DPOAE amplitude minus the mean noise floor) at the tested frequencies 1.1, 1.5, 1.9, 2.4, 3.0, 3.8, 4.8, and 6.0 kHz were measured. The results revealed a small but significant difference in SNR between ears, with right ears showing a higher mean SNR than left ears at 1.9, 3.0, 3.8, and 6.0 kHz. At these frequencies, the difference in mean SNR between ears was less than 1 dB. A significant gender effect was also found. Girls exhibited a higher SNR than boys at 3.8, 4.8, and 6.0 kHz. The difference in mean SNR, as a result of the gender effect, was about 1 to 2 dB at these frequencies. There was no significant difference in mean SNR between left-handed and right-handed children for all tested frequencies.

High frequency (1000 Hz) tympanometry in normal neonates

The characteristics of high frequency (1000 Hz) acoustic admittance results obtained from normal neonates were described in this study. Participants were 170 healthy neonates (96 boys and 74 girls) aged between 1 and 6 days (mean = 3.26 days, SD = 0.92). Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs), and 226 Hz and 1000 Hz probe tone tympanograms were obtained from the participants using a Madsen Capella OAE/middle ear analyser. The results showed that of the 170 neonates, 34 were not successfully tested in both ears, 14 failed the TEOAE screen in one or both ears, and 122 (70 boys, 52 girls) passed the TEOAE screen in both ears and also maintained an acceptable probe seal during tympanometry. The 1000 Hz tympanometric data for the 122 neonates (244 ears) showed a single-peaked tympanogram in 225 ears (92.2 %), a flat-sloping tympanogram in 14 ears (5.7 %), a double-peaked tympanogram in 3 ears (1.2 %) and other unusual shapes in 2 ears (0.8 %). There was a significant ear effect, with right ears showing significantly higher mean peak compensated static admittance and tympanometric width, but lower mean acoustic admittance at +200 daPa and gradient than left ears. No significant gender effects or its interaction with ear were found. The normative tympanometric data derived from this cohort may serve as a guide for detecting middle ear dysfunction in neonates.

USA: Not so pretty in pink

Pink is a favourite colour of marketers targeting the coveted purchasing power of girls and young women. It is used to sell everything from mobile telephones to golf clubs and pop music. Tobacco companies have also cashed in on this stereotypical colour with products such as Pink Dreams cigarettes.

Media influence to suicide: The search for solutions

This review explores the influence to suicide in print and electronic media, and considers both real and fictional deaths. The conclusion appears inescapable that reports about celebrities which are multi-modal, repeated, explicit, front page, glorify the suicide, and describe the method lead to an increase in deaths from suicide, particularly in the region in which reports are published. The paper argues that even if there was multi-national agreement to international guidelines, media will continue to report suicide when it is considered to be a matter of public interest. What appears crucial is a collaborative approach between professionals and the media to promote a negative attitude toward suicide without increasing stigma toward those with mental health problems.