In her own right : women officers and equality in the Salvation Army

The nature of women's equality in the Army, during the 19th century, was unprecedented, and even today women can rise to positions of power and authority not easily equalled in the community. In the 20th century the principle of equality remained the same, but the practice did not. Any major turnaround in women's officership will require an orientation to first identifying and understanding the forces that effect women's advancement in the Army, plus the introduction of fairly exact and regulated remedial measures.

Gender stereotypes and drinking cognitions as indicators of moderate and high risk drinking among young women and men

The study examined differences in gender stereotypes, restrained drinking and self-efficacy for alcohol refusal between moderate and high risk drinkers among a university sample of 301 women and 118 men. Both female and male high risk drinkers displayed a response conflict, typified by high scores on restrained drinking but low scores on self-efficacy. This pattern of response conflict was more pronounced for high risk drinking women, who also identified poorly with feminine traits (e.g. ‘nurturing’, ‘love children’, ‘appreciative’). The findings are discussed in relation to society's double standard that accepts intoxication in men but condemns it in women.

Mature women and the New Zealand qualifications framework : realising the potential of recognising prior learning

Against a background of 'second-wave' lifelong learning in Aotearoa New Zealand a new framework for post-compulsory national qualifications was introduced. The resulting competency-based system was argued to present a number of benefits for mature women including flexibility in curriculum and delivery and portability across educational sectors. Competency-based education was to include provision for recognition of prior skills and knowledge gained in formal learning environments and the workplace as well as informal learning environments such as the home and the community. Such recognition was a significant factor in gaining support from women’s groups given the potential to recognize and value the domestic labour of women and the skills and knowledge that flow from it. This article explores the rhetoric around recognition of prior learning and discusses approaches to realise its potential. It then draws on research undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand to suggest that the potential of recognition of prior learning is yet to be realised.

Rural women and local economic development in south-west Victoria

In the 1990s, the appearance of women in leadership roles in local economic development organisations in small south-west Victorian towns heralded a change in gender relations in rural Australia. This paper contributes to an understanding of this process by investigating the actions and motives of women in leadership roles in small rural towns in south-west Victoria. The paper begins by establishing a framework of analysis based upon a notion of ‘paradigms in progress’. The argument is that in an increasingly interconnected world broader economic, social and political concerns encroach upon local cultures. In this process, older social paradigms or popularly accepted models for how the world works are either transformed, discarded or replaced on different levels. The different levels to which this paper refers are the macromodels of patriarchy, the mesomodels of economic development and the micromodels of leadership. It is the way that these levels intersect and how they are being changed that informs the explanation of women and leadership in south-west Victoria. The paper applies this framework to an analysis of interviews with 15 women in small towns in south-west Victoria. The paper concludes that women in the south-west have been able both to feminise the politics of local economic development as well as reposition the feminine in local social discourses.

Emotional reactions following exposure to idealized bodies predict unhealthy body change attitudes and behaviors in women and men

Objective: We explored the extent to which changes in emotional states following exposure to images of idealized bodies predict unhealthy body change attitudes and behaviors in women and men, and whether particular psychological traits mediate these effects. Method: One hundred thirty-three women and 93 men were assessed for unhealthy attitudes and behaviors related to body weight and muscles using the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire, and the strategies to increase muscles subscale of the Body Change Inventory. Psychological traits assessed included body dissatisfaction (EDI-2), internalization of the thin/athletic ideal (Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3), body comparison (Body Comparison Scale), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II), and identity confusion (Self-Concept Clarity Scale). Participants were then exposed to photographs of thin female models and muscular male models, and visual analogue scales were used to measure changes in postexposure state body dissatisfaction, anger, anxiety, and depression.
Results: Postexposure increases in state anger, anxiety, depression, and body dissatisfaction correlated with drive for thinness and disordered eating symptomatology in women, while postexposure increases in state body dissatisfaction correlated with muscle development in men. Analyses revealed that internalization and body comparison mediated these relationships, with trait body dissatisfaction, trait depression, self-esteem, and self-concept/identity confusion serving as mediators for women only. Conclusion: These results are indicative of gender differences in: (a) reactions to idealized bodies; (b) psychological traits that predispose individuals to experience these reactions; and (c) types of body change behavior that are associated with these reactions.

To stand by the women of the Orient : Australian women and China in the twentieth century

This paper will examine the history of Australian women living and working in China in the twentieth century. To do this I will compare the Australian experience with research on American, British and New Zealander women. The paper includes a study of two categories of Australian women in China: the expert observers, and the secular reformers. Using current theorising of post-colonialism, I will identify the specific contribution and dimensions of Australian women's experience in China.

Synchronicity, science, and religion

In this sixth and final part of the anthology I will discuss major areas of concern about synchronicity from the perspectives of science, religion, archetypes, causality, meaning, and psi. For convenience, I have spread these major areas across three chapters. In this first chapter I will briefly consider the synchronicity construct from the perspective of its definitions and how it sits epistemologically in the framework of science and the everyday world. I also review the lives of Jung and Pauli, rind discuss their joint effort to integrate science and religion through the principle of synchronicity.

Dancing on a moving floor : lay women and the principalship in Catholic education

Female disadvantage has been the explanation given in previous studies to explain the under-representation of laywomen who achieve principalships in Catholic Education. Women, themselves, have overcome many of the barriers that disadvantage them. These include an apparent inability to cope with financial management and time constraints due to family commitments. The introduction of Equal Opportunity legislation and related programmes has assisted this process, but as my research shows the under-representation of women in principalship in proportion to the numbers of women teachers in Catholic Education still remains. This thesis examines the phenomenon in three dioceses in three Australian states. I have investigated this problem using a feminist research approach which is characterised by an emphasis on the significance of everyday life. Statistical material as to percentages of teachers in comparison with percentages of female principals was collected; dates of formulation and acceptance of relevant policies at diocesan levels were checked and questionnaires compiled. The questionnaires were distributed to appropriate stakeholders. Following the compilation of data from the questionnaires, themes emerged which provided the initial questions for focus groups made up of male and female principals and potential principals. These focus groups were then conducted in all three dioceses. Through all stages I carried out cross-referencing with my own journal sentries (Power, 1993—1999) . The qualitative and quantitative data generated from the focus groups was examined and analysed drawing on feminist concepts. I have found two major features emerging from the materials that I have generated. The first was the unpredictable, ambiguous and often contradictory relations that occur within Catholic Education, and how they were experienced by lay women. This aspect gave rise to the title of my thesis: 'Dancing on a Moving Floor' as many women felt the rules changed the closer they got to achieving principalship. Then both male and female participants highlighted 'male advantage' in terms that have been identified in other education systems, but this factor emerged as being further heightened in Catholic Education and occurring at systemic, organisational and individual levels. I have made a number of policy recommendations that could possibly change attitudes and practices for each of these levels. I conclude with some suggestions for further research.

Study of relationships between colonial women and black Australians

The study is concerned with the history of black and white women in Australia during the colonial period. Particular emphasis is on the variety of cross-cultural relationships which developed between women during that time. As a starting point, male frontier violence is discussed and compared with the more moderate approach taken by women faced with threatening situations. Among Europeans, women are revealed as being generally less racist than men. This was a significant factor in their ability to forge bonds with black women and occasionally with black men. The way in which contacts with Aborigines were made is explored and the impact of them on the women concerned is assessed, as far as possible from both points of view. Until now, these experiences have been omitted from colonial history, yet I believe they were an important element in racial relations. It will be seen that some of these associations were warm, friendly and satisfying to both sides, and often included a good deal of mutual assistance. Others involved degrees of exploitation. Both are examined in detail, using a variety of sources which include the works of modern Aboriginal writers. This study presents a new aspect of the female experiences which was neglected until the emergence of the feminist historians in the 1960’s. It properly places women, both black and white, within Australian colonial history.