Womens satisfaction with their breast prosthesis: What determines a quality prosthesis

The aim of this study is to determine what factors constitute a quality prosthesis and ascertain which factors affect prosthesis satisfaction. Sixty-four women who received full funding for their prosthesis and 38 women who received their hospital’s usual fundingwere recruited. Women rated the information provided about breast prostheses very highly, with 85% reporting that it was "very good" or "excellent." Satisfaction was significantly associatedwith how well the prosthesis fit (1 week,p=.001; 3 months,p=.01), level of comfort (3 months,p=.005), and appearance of the prosthesis when worn (6 months,p = .001). Quality was significantly associated with how well it fit (1 week,p = .001; 3months,p = .001), how natural it felt (1 week,p = .001; 6months,p=.01), the weight of the prosthesis (3 months,p=.003), and appearance when worn (6 months,p = .03). The results will be used to improve women’s access to a quality prosthesis.

Access to breast prostheses via a government-funded service in Victoria, Australia

For many women, the only alternative to breast reconstruction following a mastectomy is to use external prostheses, which need replacing regularly at a cost of up to $395 per prosthesis. Commonwealth and state governments across Australia have responded to this need by providing subsidies to assist in the purchase of breast prostheses. However, current arrangements have been highly variable and sometimes difficult to access. As part of a larger review of breast pros-thesis services in Victoria, Australia, the aim of this research was to evaluate client satisfaction among Victorian women who accessed funds through the State Government's Aids and Equipment Program, compare the responses of the program service providers with the experiences of clients accessing funding, and identify opportunities to improve service provision.

Risk and resilience, knowledge and imagination: the enlightenment of David Almond's Skellig

In what Ulrich Beck calls "risk society," and Anthony Giddens a "runaway world," a climate of fear and insecurity has been created by scientific progress, leading to a loss of confidence in the ability of experts to manage risk. Resilience is at the forefront of psychology research informing child-rearing strategies (Luthar, et al.); it entails an approach to child welfare that focuses on fostering internal (psychological) and external (cultural) assets that develop a child's ability to triumph over adversity in the form of individual, familial, and cultural stresses.

David v. Goliath: the gay games, the Olympics, and the ownership of language

The Gay Games is firmly established on the contemporary global sports calendar, but is seldom canvassed in mainstream sports media, or considered a model for sports administrators. This is regrettable, as the Games’ ethos offers many clues into the relationships between individual and communal empowerment for homosexual and heterosexual participants alike, while providing a site of resistance against entrenched norms of elitism, nationalism, victory and record-breaking indicative of the modern Olympic movement. Credit for this inclusive ethos rests with the vision of inaugural Gay Games organiser Dr. Tom Waddell. Drawing on Games archives, this paper outlines Waddell’s vision, then discusses the impact of a protracted legal dispute instigated by the United States Olympic Committee in 1982 over the use of the term ‘Olympics’ in association with Gay Games I and II. Four United States Federal court rulings are examined, with particular reference to the contrasting hierarchy of private intellectual property and public civil rights considered under United States law of the time. Domestic and international legacies of the dispute are also briefly examined, focusing on the inherent tensions between the state-sanctioned protection of Olympic terminology, the ideals of free speech, the ownership of common sporting terms, and the potential discriminatory effects of selective trademark enforcement. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of how Waddell’s vision superseded each of these legal technicalities to ensure the Games continues to provide a viable model for inclusive and engaged participation for all people.

Book reviews : David Palmer, Ross Shanahan, and Martin Shanahan, eds., Australian Labor history reconsidered

An objective of this collection is to bring the history of the Australian labor movement to international attention. The editors introduce the collection with a brief overview of Australian labor history, emphasizing differences between the Australian and American experiences. The introduction argues that a unique aspect of Australian labor history is “laborism,” which is defined as the central place of the labor movement in Australian culture, as compared with the more marginal position of the labor movement in America. In Australia, this centrality is reflected in the embedding of trade unions and labor in the state through wage-fixing tribunals, a social security system designed to support the families of male wage earners, and the Australian Labor Party's strong links to the trade union movement. The introduction is informative and especially benefits from the insights of David Palmer, an American historian teaching at Adelaide's Flinders University. However, the introduction was apparently written later at the suggestion of an American reader and has thus not been fully integrated into the structure of the book.