Gender and the Cybersangha: Buddhist women's online activism and practice

The experiences of Buddhist women across the world today are widely diverse, reflecting their geographical and social location, the type of Buddhism practiced, whether they are lay or ordained, as well as their individual personalities. However, the perception that there is also a shared experience for women who practice Buddhism that is partly defined by a sense of "unequal opportunity" has given rise to a number of organizations and networks particularly since the late 1980s that aim to link this eclectic group of female Buddhist practitioners and activists. Buddhist scholars, nuns and practitioners have been at the forefront of global Buddhist organizations, challenging gender disparities and striving for equality for women in all Buddhist traditions. In recent years, more of this Buddhist women's social movement activity has been conducted digitally through websites, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. Some organizations, such as Sakyadhita ("Daughters of the Buddha"), which was founded in 1987 before the Internet explosion, have an online presence to complement their offline activities. Others, such as the Alliance for Bhikkhunis and the Yogini Project, have been formed more recently and their web presence is fundamental, with core activities that are web-reliant, including online fundraising and the sharing of digital material. In addition to organizations that are specifically orientated towards women, Buddhist women globally make use of a wider range of web-based opportunities to network with other Buddhists as well as to learn about Buddhist traditions and practices.

Genetic variation and obesity in Australian women: A prospective study.

Objective: A number of candidate genes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity in humans. This study examines associations between longitudinal changes in body mass and composition and the presence of polymorphisms in the ß-3 adrenergic receptor, tumor necrosis factor-α, leptin, and leptin receptor (Lepr) in a cohort of Australian women.

Research Methods and Procedures: Healthy white Australian women (n = 335) were randomly selected from the Barwon region of Victoria and underwent baseline anthropometry and double-energy X-ray absorptiometry for assessment of body mass and adiposity. These measurements were repeated again at 2-year follow-up. Genomic DNA was extracted and used for polymerase chain reaction-based genotyping of all polymorphisms.

Results: The Pro1019Pro Lepr polymorphism was associated with longitudinal increases in body weight (p = 0.02), fat mass (p = 0.05), and body mass index (p = 0.01) in this study, and individuals homozygous for the A allele at this locus had a greater propensity to gain body fat over time. The largest effects on body composition seemed to be in individuals already obese at baseline. Changes in body weight, fat mass, percent body fat, and body mass index over a 2-year period were not associated with genetic variation in the ß-3 adrenergic receptor (Trp64Arg), tumor necrosis factor-α promoter, or leptin genes in non-obese or obese women.

Discussion: These results suggest that a Lepr polymorphism is involved in the regulation of body mass and adiposity in obese Australian white women, which may have implications for the treatment of obesity in this population.

Longitudinal relationships among overweight, life satisfaction, and aspirations in young women

Objective: This study investigated associations of overweight status and changes in overweight status over time with life satisfaction and future aspirations among a community sample of young women.
Research Methods and Procedures: A total of 7865 young women, initially 18 to 23 years of age, completed two surveys that were 4 years apart. These women provided data on their future life aspirations in the areas of further education, work/career, marital status, and children, as well as their satisfaction with achievements to date in a number of life domains. Women reported their height and weight and their sociodemographic characteristics, including current socioeconomic status (occupation).
Results: Young women's aspirations were cross-sectionally related to BMI category, such that obese women were less likely to aspire to further education, although this relationship seemed explained largely by current occupation. Even after adjusting for current occupation, young women who were obese were more dissatisfied with work/career/study, family relationships, partner relationships, and social activities. Weight status was also longitudinally associated with aspirations and life satisfaction. Women who were overweight or obese at both surveys were more likely than other women to aspire to "other" types of employment (including self-employed and unpaid work in the home) as opposed to full-time employment. They were also less likely to be satisfied with study or partner relationships. Women who resolved their overweight/obesity status were more likely to aspire to being childless than other women.
Discussion: These results suggest that being overweight/obese may have a lasting effect on young women's life satisfaction and their future life aspirations.

Death, mortality and religious diversity

Developed in partnership between the Immigration Museum and Deakin University, this exhibition examines how eight different groups in Victoria deal with death. It includes representatives of Moslem, Hindu, Christian (Catholic, Anglican, Greek Orthodox), Jewish, Buddhist faiths and those with no religion.

Serum vitamin D and falls in older women in residential care in Australia

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in older people in residential care and the influence that the level of vitamin D may have on their incidence of falls.

Design: Prospective cohort.

Setting: Residential care facilities for older people in several states of Australia.

Participants: Six hundred sixty-seven women in low-level care and 952 women in high-level care, mean age 83.7 years.

Measurements: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D) levels and recognized risk factors for falls including current medication use, a history of previous fractures, weight, tibial length (as a surrogate for height), cognitive function, walking ability, and frequency of going outdoors were determined. The women in low-level care and high-level care were followed for an average of 145 and 168 days, respectively. Falls were recorded prospectively in diaries completed monthly by residential care staff.

Results: Vitamin D deficiency (defined as a serum 25D level below 25 nmol/L) was present in 144 (22%) women in low-level care and 428 (45%) in high-level care. After excluding 358 bed-bound residents and adjusting for weight, cognitive status, psychotropic drug use, previous Colles fracture, and the presence of wandering behavior, log serum 25D level remained independently associated with time to first fall. The adjusted hazards ratio was 0.74 (95% confidence interval=0.59–0.94; P=.01), implying a 20% reduction in the risk of falling with a doubling of the vitamin D level.

Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is common in residential care in Australia. A low level of serum vitamin D is an independent predictor of incident falls.

`Out on the borderlands`: Time, generation and personal agency in women`s lives

What tools can we use in attempting to understand the recurring patterns of some girls’ early school leaving and consequent exclusion from well-paid employment? From which disciplinary fields can we take them? Using Bourdieu’s concept of the ‘scholastic point of view’ - the inherent intellectual bias of a discipline, in his case sociology - as a springboard, we suggest that if one turns to different ‘fields’, approaches might be found which point towards differing perspectives. This article brings Bourdieu into dialogue with the work of feminist historians and their conceptual tools. Carolyn Steedman’s notion of the politics of envy and Sally Alexander’s appropriation from psychoanalysis of the idea of repetition offer generative ways of exploring the ‘unthought categories of thought which delimit the thinkable and predetermine the thought’ (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992: 40). In their focus on gender, they have much in common with feminist sociologists’ responses to Bourdieu’s work, suggesting that a gendered ‘perspective’ offers a way of avoiding the ‘singular viewpoint’ inherent in any one discipline.

Is the perception of time pressure a barrier to healthy eating and physical activity among women?

Objectives To describe the proportion of women reporting time is a barrier to healthy eating and physical activity, the characteristics of these women and the perceived causes of time pressure, and to examine associations between perceptions of time as a barrier and consumption of fruit, vegetables and fast food, and physical activity.
Design A cross-sectional survey of food intake, physical activity and perceived causes of time pressure.
Setting A randomly selected community sample.
Subjects A sample of 1580 women self-reported their food intake and their perceptions of the causes of time pressure in relation to healthy eating. An additional 1521 women self-reported their leisure-time physical activity and their perceptions of the causes of time pressure in relation to physical activity.
Results Time pressure was reported as a barrier to healthy eating by 41 % of the women and as a barrier to physical activity by 73 %. Those who reported time pressure as a barrier to healthy eating were significantly less likely to meet fruit, vegetable and physical activity recommendations, and more likely to eat fast food more frequently.
Conclusions Women reporting time pressure as a barrier to healthy eating and physical activity are less likely to meet recommendations than are women who do not see time pressure as a barrier. Further research is required to understand the perception of time pressure issues among women and devise strategies to improve women’s food and physical activity behaviours.

Associations between physical activity and depressive symptoms in women

Background : The high prevalence of depression in women is an increasing public health concern. Although studies have found associations between physical activity (PA) and depression, little is known about the optimal domain, dose and social context of PA for reducing the risk of depression. This study aimed to investigate associations between specific components of PA (domain, dose and social context) and odds of depressive symptoms in women.

Methods : The sample included 1,501 women, aged 18–65. Analyses were performed using cross-sectional data collected from a mail-out survey in 2004. The survey included self-report measures of PA behaviours and depressive symptoms. Crude and adjusted (age, marital status and physical health) odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for each component of PA and odds of depressive symptoms using logistic regression analyses.

Results : Those who reported more than 3.5 hours leisure-time PA per week had lower odds of depressive symptoms when compared to those who undertook less than this. No other domains of PA (eg. work-related, transport-related or domestic activity) were associated with odds of depressive symptoms. Odds of depressive symptoms were lower among women who reported more than 1.5 hours of moderate-intensity (OR = 0.67, CI = 0.45–0.98) or more than 1.75 hours vigorous-intensity (OR = 0.60, CI = 0.42–0.84) leisure-time PA per week. Being discouraged to be active by others was associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms (OR = 2.28, CI = 1.00–5.16), whilst being active with a family member was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms (OR = 0.61, CI = 0.43–0.87).

Conclusion : Acknowledging the cross-sectional design, these findings suggest that the domain and social context of PA may be more important for mental health among women than simply the total dose of PA.

Psychosocial factors and survival of young women with breast cancer: a population-based prospective cohort study

Purpose: Most women with early-stage breast cancer believe that psychosocial factors are an important influence over whether their cancer will recur. Studies of the issue have produced conflicting results.

Patients and Methods: A population-based sample of 708 Australian women diagnosed before age 60 years with nonmetastatic breast cancer was observed for a median of 8.2 years. Depression and anxiety, coping style, and social support were assessed at a median of 11 months after diagnosis. Hazard ratios for distant disease-free survival (DDFS) and overall survival (OS) associated with psychosocial factors were estimated separately using Cox proportional hazards survival models, with and without adjustment for known prognostic factors.

Results: Distant recurrence occurred in 209 (33%) of 638 assessable patients, and 170 (24%) of 708 patients died during the follow-up period. There were no statistically significant associations between any of the measured psychosocial factors and DDFS or OS from the adjusted analyses. From unadjusted analyses, associations between greater anxious preoccupation and poorer DDFS and OS were observed (P = .02). These associations were no longer evident after adjustment for established prognostic factors; greater anxious preoccupation was associated with younger age at diagnosis (P = .03), higher tumor grade (P = .02), and greater number of involved axillary nodes (P = .008).

Conclusion: The findings do not support the measured psychosocial factors being an important influence on breast cancer outcomes. Interventions for adverse psychosocial factors are warranted to improve quality of life but should not be expected to improve survival.