The First International Conference of the Nobel Women's Initiative : women redefining peace in the Middle East and beyond

The Nobel Women’s Initiative (NWI) was formed in August 2006. It was a response to a suggestion by Iranian laureate Shirin Ebadi that women recipients of the Peace Prize should collectively endeavor to use the power and influence concomitant with being Nobel laureates to advance the cause of women internationally, by bringing their voices and experiences to the direct attention of the international community and media sources. NWI represents an attempt to help fill a gap that mars the present system of international relations. Over the past half-century, global standards have developed in earnest. One of these standards is women’s equality with men. Despite the codification of this precept in international law, gender discrimination against women remains a globally unresolved problem. Women are seriously underrepresented at local, national, regional, and international levels of governance, and their voices and experiences remain marginalized from negotiations toward conflict resolution and the formation of viable democratic institutions.

Multiple barriers to obtaining child support : experiences of women leaving violent partners

This article reports on a study which explores how policies and practices shape the experiences of single parents when seeking and using child support from violent ex-partners. The findings of this and similar research studies on violence, child support and poverty indicate that the receipt of child support is a multi-step process plagued with multiple barriers.

International collaboration for women in IT : how to avoid reinventing the wheel

This paper uses information contributed by ACM-W Ambassadors from nine countries to build a picture of women working to improve the gender balance in IT around the world. The focus on women’s participation in education, the workforce and the political arena is presented using Hofstede and Hofstede’s (2005) dimensions of cultural masculinity, power distribution and individuality for each of the ACM-W Ambassador countries to set the scene. It is apparent from this compilation of information that different social and cultural climates in many parts of the world will necessitate different actions by ACM-W Ambassadors in their respective countries. While the ACM-W Ambassador program provides a forum for ideas, support and strategies to deal with the under-representation of women in IT, many of the current Ambassadors have more pressing issues to deal with, and indeed a ‘one size for all’ model for programs to promote IT to women will not be suitable. Exploring the network from an Australian perspective this work demonstrates that much is to be gained from increasing international networks to share the strategies and support required to encourage more women into IT.

I'm the slice of pie that's ostracised.... : Foucault's technologies, and personal agency, in the voice of women who are homeless, Adelaide, South Australia

In contrast to the international research (particularly in the United Kingdom and North America), much of the Australian literature regarding homelessness to date omits the perspective of people who are homeless. In contributing to the fledgling Australian literature in the field, the following article adopts a secondary approach to the data analysis of original research. When analysed, the voices of homeless women from an agency in Adelaide, South Australia exhibit elements of both Foucault’s technologies of domination and the self. While the results show that the women do have a powerful sense of the broader external issues exerted on them (reflecting both technologies of domination and the self), the analysis also reveals ambiguities in their responses. Apparent in the voice of homeless women is a sense of personal agency which appears to be absent in Foucault’s technologies. By considering the viewpoints of homeless women, various policy implications can also be drawn. Indeed, this is one of the motivations of the article, namely to inject into policy debate and development the voices of the people most adversely affected by it. The policy implications of the women’s voices centre around the desire to be included rather than remain on the margins, the need for supportive relationships, the necessity to take small steps to independent living, and the need for more affordable, independent housing.

An international survey of contact lens prescribing for presbyopia

Purpose:  The aim was to determine world-wide patterns of fitting contact lenses for the correction of presbyopia.

Methods:  Up to 1,000 survey forms were sent to contact lens fitters in each of 38 countries between January and March every year over five consecutive years (2005 to 2009). Practitioners were asked to record data relating to the first 10 contact lens fittings or refittings performed after receiving the survey form.

Results:  Data were received relating to 16,680 presbyopic (age 45 years or older) and 84,202 pre-presbyopic (15 to 44 years) contact lens wearers. Females are over-represented in presbyopic versus pre-presbyopic groups, possibly reflecting a stronger desire for the cosmetic benefits of contact lenses among older women. The extent to which multifocal and monovision lenses are prescribed for presbyopes varies considerably among nations, ranging from 79 per cent of all soft lenses in Portugal to zero in Singapore. There appears to be significant under-prescribing of contact lenses for the correction of presbyopia, although for those who do receive such corrections, three times more multifocal lenses are fitted compared with monovision fittings. Presbyopic corrections are most frequently prescribed for full-time wear and monthly replacement.

Conclusions:  Despite apparent improvements in multifocal design and an increase in available multifocal options in recent years, practitioners are still under-prescribing with respect to the provision of appropriate contact lenses for the correction of presbyopia. Training of contact lens practitioners in presbyopic contact lens fitting should be accelerated and clinical and laboratory research in this field should be intensified to enhance the prospects of meeting the needs of presbyopic contact lens wearers more fully.

Conclusion : gender and politics and the changing status of women today

This book concerns a new body of knowledge and an emerging set of questions that has accompanied national, cross national and international global political movements aimed at trying to understand and to improve the situation of women by eliminating gender inequities and injustices.

STEM: country comparisons: international comparisons of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Final report.

From 22 studies of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) policies and practices around the world the STEM: country comparisons report makes 24 key findings which highlight a number of challenges for Australia with STEM participation and provides a basis of ideas to tackle these.

'Of course I didn't work … only when I had to': narratives of women's working lives and what really counted

There was a long-held belief, that, prior to the 1970s, women were no longer involved in paid labour once they were married or began to have children. Official statistics also supported this particular national narrative. This paper argues that this narrative did not accurately reflect the historical situation because the methods used to determine who worked and when did not fully capture all of women's paid labour at the time. This is reflected in a small study of older women and their recollections of paid employment. Some women initially claimed that they did no paid work after marriage, but with low key, in-depth and persistent questioning, it became clear that many women did work in an unofficial capacity (in the black economy) or alongside their husbands in their paid employment. This is a preliminary study that underlines the importance of life-course narratives in the social sciences to delve deeply into women's memories and thus their experiences.

Anti-müllerian hormone serum concentrations of women with germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations

STUDY QUESTION Do women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations have reduced ovarian reserve, as measured by circulating anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration?SUMMARY ANSWER Women with a germline mutation in BRCA1 have reduced ovarian reserve as measured by AMH.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY The DNA repair enzymes encoded by BRCA1 and BRCA2 are implicated in reproductive aging. Circulating AMH is a biomarker of ovarian reserve and hence reproductive lifespan.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION This was a cross-sectional study of AMH concentrations of 693 women at the time of enrolment into the Kathleen Cuningham Foundation Consortium for research in the Familial Breast Cancer (kConFab) cohort study (recruitment from 19 August 1997 until 18 September 2012). AMH was measured on stored plasma samples between November 2014 and January 2015 using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay platform.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Eligible women were from families segregating BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations and had known mutation status. Participants were aged 25–45 years, had no personal history of cancer, retained both ovaries and were not pregnant or breastfeeding at the time of plasma storage. Circulating AMH was measured for 172 carriers and 216 non-carriers from families carrying BRCA1 mutations, and 147 carriers and 158 non-carriers from families carrying BRCA2 mutations. Associations between plasma AMH concentration and carrier status were tested by linear regression, adjusted for age at plasma storage, oral contraceptive use, body mass index and cigarette smoking.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Mean AMH concentration was negatively associated with age (P < 0.001). Mutation carriers were younger at blood draw than non-carriers (P ≤ 0.031). BRCA1 mutation carriers had, on average, 25% (95% CI: 5%–41%, P = 0.02) lower AMH concentrations than non-carriers and were more likely to have AMH concentrations in the lowest quartile for age (OR 1.84, 95% CI: 1.11–303, P = 0.02). There was no evidence of an association between AMH concentration and BRCA2 mutation status (P = 0.94).LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION AMH does not directly measure the primordial follicle pool. The clinical implications of the lower AMH concentrations seen in BRCA1 mutation carriers cannot be assessed by this study design.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Women with a germline mutation in BRCA1 may have reduced ovarian reserve. This is consistent with other smaller studies in the literature and has potential implications for fertility and reproductive lifespan.STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) kConFab is supported by a grant from the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation, and previously by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Queensland Cancer Fund, the Cancer Councils of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and the Cancer Foundation of Western Australia. K.A.P. is an Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation Practitioner Fellow. J.L.H. is a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow. M.H. is a NHMRC Practitioner Fellow. R.A.A. reports personal fees from Roche Diagnostics & Beckman Coulter outside the submitted work and C.S. reports other earnings from Melbourne IVF outside the submitted work. The remaining authors have nothing to declare and no conflicts of interest.