Women's bodies, self perception and physical activity : a naturalistic study of women's participation in aerobics classes

The aim of this study was to describe the behaviour and perceptions of women in aerobic or exercise to music classes. In particular, the study examined the meaning women attach to this activity choice and the interaction of aerobics participation with cultural pressures and beliefs such as that of the ‘ideal female bodyshape’. A naturalistic method of study was chosen in order to gain a comprehensive view of the subjective experience of aerobics participation. Approximately fifty female health club members were observed over a three month period in order to identify and describe patterns of involvement, behaviour and perception and the factors affecting them. Six groups of women were identified. These were ‘Naturals’, ‘Compulsive’, ‘Functional Feminist’. Several factors were observed as potentially contributing to the patterns observed. These included attitude toward perceived cultural ideals and pressures of female expectation and shape, perceptions of aerobics and exercise, pre-occupation with slenderness and bodyshape, self-image and body image. The relationship between these factors was found to be dynamic and reciprocal, with participation possibly intensifying or alternately reducing bodyshape concern. Aerobics was seen to have a multifaceted yet very individual and important appeal to the women observed.

Kurunuavanua: Fijian bodies and the economy of war

In Kurunavanua (the trembling of the earth) Bolatagici investigates representations of Pacific Island masculinity, Fiji and the economy of war. Her ongoing research is concerned with neo-colonial encounters between the US, Australia, Britain and Pacific Island nations. This exhibition is informed by research into the exploitation of the Pacific by comparing the participation of Fijian soldiers in the nuclear tests at Christmas Island in the 1950s to the current recruitment of Fijians to work for Private Security Military Companies in the Middle East.

The regulation of research by funding bodies : an emerging ethical issue for the alcohol and other drug sector?

The degree to which funding bodies can and do control the content and dissemination of research products raises important issues which need to be openly debated by the alcohol and other drug (AOD) sector. Current policies relating to censorship and other means of controlling research topics or output are explored alongside an examination of how some institutions, particularly some academic journals, deal with such issues. We argue that regulation of research by funding bodies clearly contravenes the scientific ideal of freedom of information and open access to knowledge. Using international ethical guidelines, we also demonstrate that regulation raises concerns in relation to the ethical concept of beneficence. A number of examples specific to harm reduction strategies are presented in order to demonstrate how censorship might conceivably increase the harms associated with drug use. The commentary closes with recommendations concerning the establishment the prevalence of censorship and other forms of control over research in the AOD sector, and the role that ethics committees, journal editorial boards and professional societies might play in resisting the imposition of unacceptable conditions on publication of findings.

Severed heads and compliant bodies? a speculation about principal identities

When I had to reapply for my own position as principal I felt as if I was facing the prospect of losing a part of myself. Conversations with other women colleagues confirmed that I was not alone in this response. Taking this as my cue, I explore the notion of principal “identification” practices—that is the continuing process of forming a “principal identity”—through personal narrative, a Cartesian metaphor and emerging research evidence. In particular, I focus on how conditions of entrepreneurial governance change a continuing policy commitment to heroic leadership, and how principal and school identities are conflated through accountability regimes, marketing requirements and work intensification. I propose that a study of changing principal identities might fruitfully add to critical leadership and management scholarship, complementing the emergent corpus on emotions in leadership.

Fertile bodies - the sexual politics of contraception : a radical feminist perspective

A critical feminist investigation of the sexual politics of contraception over the last hundred years, within an international context. It is contended that the very idea of contraception perpetuates a "heterosexual monoculture of the body" and as a consequence, men can continue to avoid taking responsibility for their "uncontrolled" fertility.

Executive architect : designers becoming leaders through the "stakeholder approach"

The traditional role of an architect in today's competitive markets is no longer feasible. To remain competitive, the architect must combine business, design and technology to enhance and expand his services, redefine his role as a leader, and finally, transform into an "executive architect"

Dream bodies

This doctorate consists of a novel and an exegesis, which focus on the topic of intersex; children who are born with variant sex characteristics and the doctors who surgically intervene. The research reveals the deceit surrounding these practices and culminates in the first Australian novel to be written about intersex.

The fishery, biology and management of three inland water-bodies, Vietnam

This study was carried out from 1997 to 2004 and its findings have significantly enhanced our understanding on fishery, biology, and management of three inland water bodies in Vietnam. The study also provides insights into development of management guidelines and recommendations for future fisheries development in the research area.

Executive women in Australia

Women currently comprise approx. 25% of the Australian workforce in the Australian Bureau of Statistics category of Managers & Administrators. Little is known of their health status. HBA Health Management made available the results of corporate health assessments of 600 female clients in this category to carry out this health status study based on a range of medical, lifestyle and fitness indicators. Comparisons were drawn from women working within other occupational categories. Analysis showed there to be few detrimental health effects associated with being employed as a Manager & Administrator or with being married. Being a mother and employed does have some negative health effects.

Return to the mother : male surrealists - female bodies

The exegesis examines Surrealist writing and visual art, arguing that the Surrealists assumed the patriarchal role of the mythological hero whose subjective quest was to return to, and conquer, the Mother. The other part of the thesis is an exhibition which parodies and plays alongside Surrealist ideologies.

The role of osmiophilic bodies and Pfg377 expression in female gametocyte emergence and mosquito infectivity in the human malaria parasite plasmodium falciparum

Osmiophilic bodies are membrane-bound vesicles, found predominantly in Plasmodium female gametocytes, that become progressively more abundant as the gametocyte reaches full maturity. These vesicles lie beneath the subpellicular membrane of the gametocyte, and the release of their contents into the parasitophorous vacuole has been postulated to aid in the escape of gametocytes from the erythrocyte after ingestion by the mosquito. Currently, the only protein known to be associated with osmiophilic bodies in Plasmodium falciparum is Pfg377, a gametocyte-specific protein expressed at the onset of osmiophilic body development. Here we show by targeted gene disruption that Pfg377 plays a fundamental role in the formation of these organelles, and that female gametocytes lacking the full complement of osmiophilic bodies are significantly less efficient both in vitro and in vivo in their emergence from the erythrocytes upon induction of gametogenesis, a process whose timing is critical for fertilization with the short-lived male gamete. This reduced efficiency of emergence explains the significant defect in oocyst formation in mosquitoes fed blood meals containing Pfg377-negative gametocytes, resulting in an almost complete blockade of infection.

Representing Fijian bodies and the economy of war

This paper traces representations of the black body, which I have related to contemporary masculine identities in Fiji. I have linked historical representations to what I perceive as the ongoing commodification of the Fijian body and argue that opportunities that have arisen from conflict in the Middle East have had a significant impact on employment opportunities for Fijians. I have framed the discussion around a description and analysis of my own photographic and installation artworks produced between 2007 and 2009.