Women in research? Investigating research opportunities for female academics in Australia

Women continue to be surprisingly under-represented in academia, given the increasing numbers of female postgraduate students and the flexible working conditions offered by most Australian Universities. To date, research has emphasised multiple causes for the 'gender gap' in academia, including the structural characteristics of the university system, cultural and societal barriers to the advancement of women, the influence of marital status on the productivity of women academics and the interaction of cultural, social and personality factors on women's professional careers. However, the implications of a 'gender gap' in academic rank reach beyond arguments of equality between sexes, to questions regarding consequences of a male-dominated professoriate to the nature and subjects of academic research in Australia. The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors that determine the rank of Australian academics and in part, to investigate whether there is a gender gap of rank or authority, through an analysis of data collected on all Australian academics by the Federal Department of Education, Science and Training. The implications of these findings on opportunities for female academic researchers and for research outcomes will be discussed.

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.

Scriptural Archeology: Excavating the Presence of Women in the Torah

Women's roles in religious history have been traditionally described in terms of their relation and value to men. The normative religious texts provide an androcentric perspective on the gender relationships within the early community, the growth of Judaism in "Jacob's House" and the monotheistic worship of God. Yet these literary representations omit an entire half of the experience of the Jewish community: the perspective and participation of women. As Judith Plaskow argues extensively in Standing Again at Sinai, women are defined not in her own terms or in her own voice, but by her relationship and value to men through the androcentric vocabulary of the Torah. This statement is textually illustrated by the authorial and editorial presentation of women and their place in ancient Israelite society in the Torah. As Judaism grew increasingly androcentric in its leadership, women were increasingly reduced to marginal figures in the community by authorial and editorial revisions. Yet the participation of women of ancient Israel is not lost. Instead, the presence of women is buried beneath the androcentric presentation of the early Judaic community, waiting to be excavated by historical and scriptural examination. The retelling of the past is influenced by the present; memory is not static but takes on different shapes depending on the focus of concentration. However, tradition greatly influences the interpretation of religious history as well. In the book of Genesis, the literature emphasizes the divine appointment of male figures such as Abraham the father of the covenant and Jacob who is renamed and claimed by God as "Israel," placing them at the center of Jewish history. As a result, the other figures in these biblical narratives are described in relation to the patriarchs, those male bearers of the covenant, by their service or their value to him. Women are at the bottom of this hierarchy. Although female figures of exceptional quality are noted in later chronicles, such as Ruth, Deborah and Miriam, it is the very nature of their exception that highlights the androcentric editorial focus of the Torah. I agree with Peggy Day, whose own scriptural examination in Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, makes the important distinction between the literary representation and the reality of ancient Israelite culture: they are not coextensive nor equivalent. Although the text represents the culture of ancient Israel as male dominated from the time of Abraham, this presentation omits the perspective of half of the population-the women. By beginning at the point of realization that women did exist and were active in their culture, and placing aside the androcentric perspective of the text and its editors, the reality of women's place in ancient Israel may be determined. Through this new perspective, the women of the Torah will emerge as the archetypes of strength, leadership and spiritual insight to provide Jewish women of the present with female, ancestral role models and a foundation for their gender's heritage, a more complete understanding of the partial record of Jewish history recorded in the Torah. Those stories that appear as the exception of women's presence will unveil an exceptional presence. As Tamar Frankiel eloquently states in The Voice of Sarah, "the women we call our 'Mothers'-Sarah, Rivkah (Rebekah), Rachel, and Leah-are not merely mothers, any more than the 'Fathers'-Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-are merely fathers "(Frankiel 5).

Prevalence of genital human papillomavirus DNA in a sample of senior school-aged women in the Australian Capital Territory

Background: A strong association between persistent infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer is well established. Small numbers of international studies examining adolescent HPV infection and the risk factors associated are published, but there is currently no evidence on the prevalence and risk factors for HPV in an Australian, sexually active female adolescent population. Methods: To provide prevalence and risk factors for HPV in a female sexually active, senior high school population in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), a convenience sample of 161, 16–19-year-old females attending a senior high school was evaluated. The sample formed part of a larger sample recruited for a study of sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne viruses in senior high school students. A clinical record was used to collect information about sexual and other risk behaviours, while self-collected vaginal swabs were tested for HPV DNA detection and genotyping using polymerase chain reaction. Results: The prevalence of HPV DNA in this sample overall was 11.2%, with multiple genotypes in 38%. No statistically significant associations were found between HPV DNA and the number of male partners, age of coitarche, time since first sexually active, condom use, smoking or alcohol intake. Conclusions: This is the first Australian study that has examined the prevalence and risk factors for genital HPV in this demographic group. The prevalence of HPV infection is slightly lower than reported in similar age groups overseas and is lower than other Australian studies in older women and those attending sexual health centres. Of HPV-positive young women, high-risk genotypes were found in over half, with more than one-third of HPV existing as multiple genotypes. Large community-based prevalence studies are needed to guide the development of recommendations for the vaccination of young women against HPV and to support other health promotion initiatives.

Measuring the impact of intimate partner violence on the health of women in Victoria, Australia

Objective: Using burden of disease methodology, estimate the health risks of intimate partner violence (IPV) among women in Victoria, Australia.

Methods: We calculated population attribute fractions (from survey data on the prevalence of IPV and the relative risks of associated health problems in Australia) and determined health outcomes by applying them to disability-adjusted life year estimates for the relevant disease and injury categories for Victoria, Australia for 2001.

Findings: For women of all ages IPV accounted for 2.9% (95% uncertainty interval 2.4-3.4%)  of the total disease and injury burden.  Among women 18-44 years of age, IPV was associated with 7.9% (95% uncertainty interval 6.4-935%) of the overall disease burden and was a larger risk to health than risk factors traditionally included in burden of disease studies, such as raised blood pressure, tobacco use and increased body weight.  Poor mental health contributed 73% and substance abuse 22% to the disease burden attributed to IPV.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that IPV constitutes a significant risk to women's health.  Mental health policy-makers and health workers treating common mental health problems need to be aware that IPV is an important factor.  Future research should concentrate on evaluating effective interventions to prevent women being exposed to violence, and identifying the most appropriate mental health care for victims to reduce short- and long-term disability

Feminism's marginal problem: Women in management

Contemporary feminism has, from its inception, been ambivalent in its responses to the issue of women in management. On the one hand, feminists have recognised as a problem the limited numbers of women in management and the barriers that they encounter. They have promoted the development of programs such as affirmative action with, arguably, greater, or lesser success. At the same time, there has been a reluctance by some feminists to attach too much importance to the issue, given the manifestly more severe forms of discrimination encountered by other groups of women. According to this view, the problems of a privileged elite are a lesser priority, that is, marginal to more pressing feminist concerns.

This paper is based on research into career success predictors. It draws on work on culture and models of change in higher education to show that while interventions such as legislation granting maternity leave are significant initiatives to be strongly supported, the impact of such policies is mediated by the social rules of the organisation. These rules are a corollary of enduring value structures which are embedded in organisational cultures.

Research findings showed that the value systems, and especially the social rules which operate within organisations impact on men and women's career success differently. This research provides valuable insights into the mechanisms operating at several levels (at the organisational level as well as at the level of individual women) which tend to construct women as marginal in management.

Seeking to understand the marginality experienced by women in management has benefits that extend well beyond improving the lot of individual women managers. This is because better conceptualisations of marginality and, concomitantly, power in organisations can provide leverage for more far reaching changes for women generally.

Uncommon ground : white women in aboriginal history (Book review)

Book review of "Uncommon ground : white women in aboriginal history" by Anna Cole, Victoria Haskins, & Fiona Paisley.

Theorising men's violence towards women in refugee families : towards in intersectional feminist framework

Violence against women perpetrated by male partners, or ex-partners. is one of the most concerning and prevalent public health issues in the world today and is a major cause of injury and mental illness among women and children. Violence against women occurs in most societies irrespective of culture, socio-economic status or religion. Nevertheless, it has been identified that immigrant and refugee women are particularly at risk in cases of domestic violence (Easteal 1996: Narayan 1997; Human Rights Watch 2000; Walter 2001: Perilla 2003: Kang Kahler & Tesar 2003:). To make sense of this issue. we articulate an intersectional feminist framework that we used to analyse the results of an empirical investigation of men's violence against women in refugee families in Melbourne. II)

Although this research has investigated the complex field of domestic violence, culture. trauma and historical and contemporary disadvantage, it has a fundamental prerequisite standing that regardless of past and current experiences; men must take responsibility for their violence against women. Our concern is to understand how male domination manifests itself within each culture and emerging, changing cultures in the diaspora, to explore the connections with men's violence against women within the unique domain of the refugee experience.