Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Women in science Australia'
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Ball, Colleen. "Homebirth in WA: Why women make this choice." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2014. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1277.
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Background: Homebirths in Western Australia (WA) account for approximately 0.8% of all births. Two consecutive reports from the Perinatal and Infant Mortality Monitoring Committee found increased rates of perinatal mortality in homebirths and recommended a prospective cohort study to assess mortality and morbidity outcomes for women with planned home births in WA. The Homebirth in WA Study, of which this thesis is a component, has been funded by a directed research grant.
Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the specific reasons why women in WA choose homebirth. Research on homebirths is focused on perinatal outcomes and comparisons of satisfaction between hospital and homebirth. Based on these comparisons, assumptions are made as to why women choose to have a homebirth or make this choice. There is a paucity of research directly addressing the reasons why women make this choice.
Methods: This is a quantitative prospective observational study. Pregnant women planning a homebirth in WA were invited to participate in the study. Women recruited into this study (n=135) were asked about their obstetric history and associated satisfaction with their previous birth experience, and were asked to select from any of 27 options as being their reasons for choosing homebirth, with the option to provide additional reasons of their own. They were also asked to select the three most important reasons. Women were asked to rank their perception of how important it is for them to have a homebirth, their perception of the safety, their level of confidence and the support they have received from their spouse and family and friends for their choice. The women were also invited to share further comments.
Results: The majority of women (n=107) received care from the Community Midwifery Program and the remainder (n=28) from privately practicing Midwives. In this study 50 women were nulliparous and 85 multiparous. Women who previously had a homebirth reported a higher level of satisfaction (4.7/5) for the birth experience, compared to women who had hospital births (2.3/5). Avoiding unnecessary intervention was the dominan reason for choosing home birth in 95.5% of participants, regardless of parity, education or previous birth experience; this was followed by the comfort and familiarity of the home (93%) and the freedom to make their own choices (86%). Avoiding unnecessary intervention ranked the highest of the 3 most important reasons. Women reported a high level of support for their choice from their spouse (4.65/5) and substantially less from family and friends (3.68/5). They ranked the safety of homebirth highly and had a high level of confidence. The women who elected to share further comments referred most frequently (28%) to GP’s and obstetricians not presenting homebirth as an option, and also made frequent reference to their negative attitude in relation to the women’s choice. Women also commented on the negative attitudes encountered from family and friends, and additional references reflected their attitudes regarding intervention.
Conclusion: Women choosing homebirth in WA do so to avoid unnecessary intervention and have the freedom to make their own choices in the surrounds of the home. They receive limited support for their choice from GP’s and obstetricians as well as friends and relatives. This study underscores the reaction of some women to the current rates of obstetric intervention.
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Baker, Tagen Towsley. "The Farm as Place in a Changing Climate: Capturing Women Farmers' Experiences in Idaho, United States and Victoria, Australia." DigitalCommons@USU, 2019. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7675.
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In Australia and the US, women play a vital role in the agricultural sector. However, historically farmwomen’s contributions to agriculture as well as their individual knowledge and social resilience to stressors like climate and climate change have been unrecognized and rendered invisible. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship from geography and the humanities, this dissertation explores the farm as place in a changing climate, drawing on women farmers’ experiences, under three distinct themes: identity, place, and photography. The dissertation research includes three distinct parts. First, incorporating non-fiction writing and photography, I explore my agricultural and religious heritage, as well as familial connections to the landscape of rural Idaho. Second, and in conjunction with The Invisible Farmer Project, the largest ever study of Australian women on the land, I analyze women’s photo voices, relying primarily on interview and Facebook data, as well as photographs, to understand women’s emotive connections to the farm as place, farmer identities, and roles in the agricultural sector. Analysis of the Facebook posts revealed how women are establishing a new dialog about what it means to be a woman farmer and how emotion is the foundation for establishing community and connection. Women's posted photo voices allow us to gain new insights into the women farmers' connections to the farm as place as well as their diversified perspectives and identities. Third, using integrative methods, I study women farmers and ranchers in Idaho, United States and Victoria, Australia through an environmental history lens. Examining the history of water in each region, and how the layering of social and environmental factors shapes the farm as place, resilience, and women’s work, I study how the identities of the women farmers and the farm as place cannot be separated. In both the second and third parts, I seek to redefine "farmer" by revealing experiences that have been invisible in the traditional agricultural sector. Rural women farmers have diverse identities and experiences, and their contributions to the agricultural sector are significant. They perceive and adapt to climate impacts and they are resilient. Their experiences with the farm as place is at the center of their identities, resilience, day-to-day work, and shapes their adaptation strategies and emotional well-being.
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Lindquist, Anthea Clare. "The impact of socioeconomic position on outcomes of severe maternal morbidity amongst women in the UK and Australia." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:3ec55671-e8b8-42c6-a777-fb7667b33e6e.
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Aims: The aims of this thesis were to investigate the risk of severe maternal morbidity amongst women from different socioeconomic groups in the UK, explore why these differences exist and compare these findings to the setting in Australia. Methods: Three separate analyses were conducted. The first used UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS) data to assess the incidence and independent odds of severe maternal morbidity by socioeconomic group in the UK. The second analysis used quantitative and qualitative data from the 2010 UK National Maternity Survey (NMS) to explore the possible reasons for the difference in odds of morbidity between socioeconomic groups in the UK. The third analysis used data from the Victorian Perinatal Data Collection (VPDC) unit in Austra lia to assess the incidence and odds of severe maternal morbidity by socioeconomic group in Victoria. Results: The UKOSS analysis showed that compared with women from the highest socioeconomic group, women in the lowest 'unemployed' group had 1.22 (95%CI: 0.92 - 1.61) times greater odds associated with severe maternal morbidity. The NMS analysis demonstrated that independent of ethnicity, age and parity, women from the lowest socioeconomic quintiJe were 60% less likely to have had any antenatal care (aOR 0.40; 95%CI 0.18 - 0.87), 40% less likely to have been seen by a health professional prior to 12 weeks gestation (aOR 0.62; 95%CI 0.45 - 0.85) and 45% less likely to have had a postnatal check with their doctor (aOR 0.55; 95%CI 0.42 - 0.70) compared to women from the highest quintile. The Victorian analysis showed that women from the lowest socioeconomic group were 21% (aOR 1.21 ; 95% CI 1.00 - 1.47) more likely and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women were twice (aOR 2.02; 95%CI 1.32 - 3.09) as likely to experience severe morbidity. Discussion: The resu lts suggest that women from the lowest socioeconomic group in the UK and in Victoria have increased odds of severe maternal morbidity. Further research is needed into why these differences exist and efforts must be made to ensure that these women are appropriately prioritised in the future planning of maternity services provisio n in the UK and Australia.
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Evans, Kiah Lee. "The experience of role balance among Australian working women with multigenerational caring responsibilities." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2016. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1918.
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Approximately 10% of women in developed countries are working sandwich generation women, who combine paid employment with ongoing multigenerational caring responsibilities for at least one child under 18 years and one parent or parent-in-law. This role combination is expected to become more common due to the increased workforce participation of women, childbirth at an older age, reduced fertility rates, an ageing population and a trend towards community based care. Although there are numerous benefits related to membership in the working sandwich generation, there are also a range of costs related to role participation and quality of life. In particular, these women face a complex array of challenges to achieving a satisfactory level of role balance. This thesis describes a two-staged research project, where multiple methods were utilised to explore role balance related experiences and strategies among Australian working sandwich generation women. The Model of Juggling Occupations was developed to provide a conceptual framework linking the six papers contained within this thesis.
The first stage of this research project focused on exploring role balance experiences among 18 working sandwich generation women through a case study approach, where data were collected through a questionnaire, time diary and interview (Papers I – IV). The three methodological approaches were utilised to investigate the within-role factors of activity participation, values, interests, perceived competence and habits for the three defining roles of mother, parental carer and working, along with the enriching and conflicting between-role interactions. A combination of qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were utilised to reveal that working sandwich generation women tended to experience a moderate level of role balance. Interests and habits were the two within-role factors most strongly associated with the experience of role balance. Although enriching interactions between roles facilitated role balance to some extent, between role conflict posed a greater barrier to role balance outcomes.
The second stage of this research project focused on identifying the role balance strategies utilised by working sandwich generation women (Papers V – VI). This was achieved through interviews with the 18 women from the case study approach, along with a viewpoint study of 31 working sandwich generation women and 42 occupational therapists. Findings from the interviews revealed the women used six types of within-role balance strategies: living with integrity, being the best you can, doing what you love, loving what you do, remembering why, and searching for signs of success. The women also described six types of between-role balance strategies: maintaining health and wellbeing, repressing perfectionism, managing time and energy, releasing responsibility, nurturing social connection, and reciprocating. The viewpoint study revealed the most helpful specific role balance strategies were allowing enough time for rest, sleep and ‘me time’, along with relinquishing control, embracing realistic expectations and using time management techniques.
Overall, this thesis provides evidence that role balance among Australian working sandwich generation women is a desirable and achievable state, despite numerous challenges and complexities. These women often achieved role balance at the level of “doing” activities associated with their multiple roles. However, they struggled at times with “being” in a single role in the moment due to conflicting demands on their attention. It is possible that achieving a higher level of role balance is reliant on the process of “becoming” a working sandwich generation woman, where they balance “doing” and “being” aspects within and between their multiple roles. These findings add substantial knowledge to this field and have the potential to guide the development of services to improve role balance among working women with multigenerational caring responsibilities, along with the introduction of policies to optimise their participation within their homes, workplaces and communities.
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Larsson, Ulrika. "Genusordningens järngrepp- en internationell studie kring kvinnliga lärares arbetssituation." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle (LS), 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-30893.
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Detta examensarbete avser att beskriva hur kvinnliga lärare ser på deras arbetsvillkor och hur maktstrukturer påverkar deras arbete. Två kvinnor och en manlig lärare har blivit intervjuade i New South Wales, Australien och två kvinnor och en man har blivit intervjuade i södra Sverige. Jag har använt mig av genusteorier för att analysera mina informanter svar. Resultatet i denna uppsats visar på att genusordningen påverkar lärarens roll, arbetsvillkor och status negativt. Detta eftersom de regler som finns för både profession och status är uppbyggda efter manliga normer och läraryrket består främst av kvinnor. Min uppsats visar dessutom på hur de egenskaper som tillskrivs kvinnliga lärare inte anses vara lika betydelsefulla som de egenskaper som tillskrivs manliga lärare.This study aims to describe female teachers’ view of their working conditions and how power structures impact upon their work. Two female and one male teacher have been interviewed in New South Wales, Australia and two females and one male teacher have been interviewed in the south of Sweden. Gender theories have been used to analyze the interviewees’ answers. The findings in this assignment show how the gender order impact negatively on the teachers role, status and working conditions. This is because the system of both professions and status are built after male norms and the teacher profession mainly consists of women. Furthermore, my essay shows that characteristics attributed to female teachers are not as valuable as those characteristics that are attributed to male teachers.
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Edwards, Marlene. "The social organization of a secondhand clothing store : informal strategies and social interaction amongst volunteer workers." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 1988. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phe2655.pdf.
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Davies, Kerryn. "Women's suffrage in South Australia /." Title page, contents and conclusion only, 1993. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09ard2562.pdf.
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Higgins, Jennifer R. 1952. "Vanguards of postmodernity : rethinking midlife women." Monash University, School of Political and Social Inquiry, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8896.
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Grace, Felicity. "(Dis)continuous disadvantage : accounting for money, gender and sexuality in Australia /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2001. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe16170.pdf.
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McLean, Kirsten Elizabeth 1972. "Identifying as bisexual : life stories of Australian bisexual men and women." Monash University, School of Political and Social Inquiry, 2003. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/5755.
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Hollingworth, Samantha. "The contraceptive behaviour of young women in Australia /." St. Lucia, Qld, 2002. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe17767.pdf.
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Strehlow, Kathleen Stuart. "Aboriginal women in Central Australia, a preliminary account." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape2/PQDD_0025/MQ50372.pdf.
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Huntley, Rebecca. ""Sex on the Hustings" : labor and the construction of 'the woman voter' in two federal elections (1983, 1993)." Connect to full text, 2003. http://setis.library.usyd.edu.au/adt/public_html/adt-NU/public/adt-NU20040209.113517/index.html.
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Taylor, Tracy Lynn School of History UNSW. "Women, sport and ethnicity: exploring experiences of difference in netball." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of History, 2000. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/17816.
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This thesis investigates how sports organisations and discourses have impacted on the sports participation of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia. A series of national participation studies have documented that women from minority ethnic backgrounds have significantly lower participation rates in sports and physical activity than Anglo-Australian women. However, the explanations and dimensions of this difference have not been examined in previous research. The experiences of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are used in this thesis to explore sports discourses and organisation and the embodiments of their interrelationship. The present research proposes that sports organisations and discourses within Australia have historically served to marginalise women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The arguments for this position are explored using a local narrative which details the situated nature of women????s experiences of sports. These experiences are located within a historical context that traces migration policies, the growth and development of sports and women????s social relations since white settlement of Australia. It is argued that contemporary sports discourses and organisation are inextricably tied to Australia????s colonial and imperialist past. Theories of ethnicity, gender and sports are analysed. The theoretical perspective taken in this thesis builds on feminist ideologies and ethnicity studies. Empirical analysis is undertaken using gender relations to situate sport as a site of cultural struggles best understood through investigations of history and diversity. Aspects of power, control and influence are central to this thesis. The empirical component of this thesis uses secondary data sources, surveys and interviews to investigate the research proposition. This is achieved on two levels. The first level interrogates existing data to create a macro level analysis of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in sports. A survey of 972 schoolgirls was undertaken to collect information on sports participation and attitudes to sports. This was followed by 30 interviews with women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds that explored individual sports experiences and perspectives on sports. The second level of investigation employed the case study of netball to examine the research question as it related to a specific sports organisation. The case study component of the research involved document and archival analysis, a survey of 372 netball players and interviews with 18 women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and former and current netball administrators. The thesis analyses the empirical data as it relates to the organisation and discourse of sports in Australia. The principal conclusion reached is that sports organisation and discourses are located within a societal power structure that places women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds on its margins. Sports participation is predicated on conformity to existing cultural practices and expectations and it does little to facilitate cultural diversity. The women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who participated in the research did not perceive sports as particularly inclusive of gender and culture. The examination of netball demonstrated that netball has not been concerned with ????other???? women, rather it has focussed its efforts on appealing to ????mainstream???? women. While netball has not explicitly excluded the involvement of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, neither has it actively encouraged cultural diversity. This thesis makes a contribution to knowledge in the field of sports studies with its empirical research and through the ensuing development of a framework for locating the implications of inclusion or exclusion in sports organisations and discourses. This understanding can be used to assess and inform future sports policy development and practice. Principally, the thesis seeks to acknowledge and legitimise the sports experiences of women from diverse backgrounds and in doing so provides insights into a better theoretical understanding about the nexus of gender, ethnicity and sports.
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Holubowycz, Oksana T. "An Australian study of alcohol dependence in women : the significance of sex role identity, life event stress, social support, and other factors." Title page, contents and summary only, 1988. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phh7585.pdf.
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Buckley, Amma. "Persecution complex : women, gender and refugee determination in Australia /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2003. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe16981.pdf.
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Rudd, Dianne Marie. "Women and migration : internal and international migration in Australia /." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 2004. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phr914.pdf.
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Oxley, Deborah. "Convict maids : the forced migration of women to Australia /." Cambridge : Cambridge university press, 1996. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37714745m.
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Wu, Yue. "Vitamin D related behaviours among pregnant women in Australia." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2013. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/63633/1/Yue_Wu_Thesis.pdf.
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Vitamin D deficiency is common in pregnancy, and it has numerous health implications in both the mother and the baby. Vitamin D is made by skin from sun exposure or ingested from the diet. As there is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women, it is important to understand how pregnant women behave in relation to sun exposure and for vitamin D intake. This thesis aimed to answer this question. Through this study, public health and other intervention strategies to facilitate appropriate sun exposure and vitamin D intake will be developed.
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Cranwell, Caresse. "Women, environments and spirituality : a study of women in the Australian environment movement." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1991. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09ENV/09envc891.pdf.
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Vasey, Katherine Elizabeth. "A country welcome : emotional wellbeing and belonging among Iraqi women in rural Australia /." Connect to thesis, 2006. http://eprints.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00002889.
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Parslow, Michelle Lisa. "Women, science and technology : the genealogy of women writing utopian science fiction." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10036/3058.
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For centuries utopian and science fiction has allowed women to engage with dominant discourses, especially those which have been defined as the “domain” of men. Feminist scholars have often characterized this genealogy as one which begins with the destabilization of Enlightenment ideals of the rational subject in the Romantic Revolution, with the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) in particular. This thesis demonstrates that there has in fact been an enduring history of women’s cognitive and rational attempts to explore key discourses such as science, technology and architecture through Reason, as opposed to rage. This is a genealogy of women writing utopian science fiction that is best illuminated through Darko Suvin’s of the novum. Chapter One reveals how the innovative utopian visions of Margaret Cavendish (1626-1673) proffer a highly rational and feminist critique of seventeenth-century experimental science. Chapter Two demonstrates how Sarah Scott’s Millenium Hall (1762) explored the socio-political significance of the monstrous-looking “human” body some fifty years before Shelley’s Frankenstein. Following this, Chapter Three re-reads Frankenstein in light of the early nineteenth century zeitgeist of laissez-faire economics, technological advancement and global imperialism and argues that these were also the concerns of other utopian science fiction works by women, such as Jane Loudon’s The Mummy! (1827). Chapter Four analyses how the function of the novum is integral to L.T. Meade’s (1854-1915) depictions of male/female interaction in the scientific field. Chapter Five considers how important it is to acknowledge the materialist concern with popular science that informs texts such as Joanna Russ’s The Female Man (1975) and Pat Cadigan’s cyberpunk novel Synners (1991). This is the history of how women have used the form of utopian science fiction as a means with which to present a rational female voice. In addition to the historical works by women, it employs a range of utopian and science fiction theory from Suvin and Fredric Jameson to historical and contemporary feminism.
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Kannan, Sharmini, and mikewood@deakin edu au. "Pappadums in paradise? Journeys of Indian migrant women to Australia." Deakin University. School of Communication and Creative Arts, 2002. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20050915.113531.
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The blue glass is always the hardest to find. On the beach you catch the waves bringing back the glass from forgotten tossed bottles, frosted green, clear, or mottled pale brown. But the blue glass - that's the real thing.
I search for days without finding any. Sometimes there are slivers; other days, small chunks. Like a beachcomber, I comb the sands for it.
I take the glass home and make some into jewellery and touchstones for people to hang on to; pour essential oils on others so the scents waft heavenward and meld together with the glass to form a bond.
Words are like that. They can fuse with each other and ignite, or just quietly combine, On sunny days, I take my books with me to the beach. I toss words back and
forth in my mind, like churning waves. I cobble them together, A phrase here. A sentence there.
The water. The sun. The sand. The glass. The words. The paper. The Connection. I find myself enveloped in it all.
The glass is from bottles tossed into the surf by unthinking people - picnickers, vacationers, those who don't have to return here and live with the remnants of their actions. Over time, the broken glass is ground and moulded by the action of the waves; the sharp edges are softened and etched by the sand and water, The sea glass is washed up on shore and picked up by beachcombers. Some recycle it for other uses like me; others just keep it as a reminder of a day at the beach.
The words I sift through as I sit on the sand are measured in the sea glass. I pick each word up and look through it to see how much light shines through. What use do 1 have for it? A poem? An essay? A fragment of a sentence, for something to be said in the future? I watch the sun rest uneasily on its bed of water and slide slowly, farther down. I know the hot summer is coming to a close and I am loath to let go of the closeness I feel with nature.
I live to find the blue glass, and sometimes it just happens.
My search for Indian migrant women was like my quest for the blue glass. It was not an easy task. It became a process of rummaging through other people's lives, searching for fragments and relics. Eventually I was able to fit pieces together to form a mosaic of their lives in that other time, that other place. And also in this present time, in this place they now call home, Australia.
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Birch, Elisa Rose. "The determinants of labour supply and fertility behaviour : a study of Australian women." UWA Business School, 2005. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2005.0061.
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There are many potential determinants of women?s labour supply including wages, unearned income, human capital endowments, demographic characteristics and family traits. Fertility behaviour, including the number of children and age of children, is also an important factor in women’s labour supply decisions. Many factors which affect women’s decisions on participating in the labour market and hours of work are also key influences on their decisions on starting a family and having a desired number of children. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of labour supply and fertility behaviour of Australian women. Using cross-sectional data, labour supply models corrected for sample selection bias, and fertility models examining different aspects of family size, the thesis finds that women’s labour supply decisions are largely influenced by their wages and fertility behaviour. Their decisions on completed fertility, starting a family and having additional children are largely influenced by their actual or potential wages.
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Wilson, Heather Belle. "Women, faith and reform in late nineteenth century South Australia /." Title page, contents and introduction only, 1987. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09arw748.pdf.
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Ziaian, Tahereh. "The psychological effects of migration on Persian women immigrants in Australia /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2000. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phz64.pdf.
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Beaumont, Nerida. "The relative importance of barriers to cervical cancer screening in older women : A review of 140 women and their pap smear providers." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1999. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1218.
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Cervical cancer remains a significant cause of death in women. There is a notable age related decrease in levels of screening and women aged over 50 years with later, more invasive disease. One hundred and forty women aged between 50 and 69 years (M "'58.21 years) and 23 Pap smear providers completed a Cervical Cancer Screening Questionnaire designed to identify the relative importance of barriers to attendance for cervical screening, as well as providers own barriers and issues. Responsibility for health, familiarity with, and ratings of the usefulness of Pap smears were the major dimensions along which regular and non-regular attenders differed supporting the hypothesis. Additionally, women who had regular Pap smears were younger, with higher levels of confidence in their provider, in the ability of the test to detect cervical cancer and in their overall value for the usefulness of the test. The application of the findings of the present study may improve the currently inconsistent promotion of cervical screening to older women. The use of a theoretical framework informed by the Theory of Reasoned Action and Multi-Attribute Utility Theory showed promising results in incorporating the diverse factors involved in participating. in preventative health screening. Recommendations are made on the necessity of both targeted and general intervention strategies to increase the uptake of preventative screening by at-risk groups.
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Tibe-Bonifacio, Glenda Lynna Anne. "Filipino women and their citizenship in Australia in search of political space /." Access electronically, 2003. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20041222.122054.
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Connelly, James Timothy. "Ordained ministry as a second career : a study of attitudes and practices within the Anglican Church in Victoria and Tasmania." Monash University, Faculty of Arts, 2004. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/5325.
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Aizpurúa, Romina Iebra. "Through the women's eyes Latin American women's experience of immigration to Australia /." full-text, 2008. http://eprints.vu.edu.au/2051.
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Watters-Cowan, Ch??rie School of Music & Music Education UNSW. "Reconstructing the creative life of Australian composer Margaret Sutherland: the evidence of primary source documents." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Music and Music Education, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/24913.
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Margaret Ada Sutherland (1897-1984) is respected as one of the leading musicians in Australia in the twentieth century. She is widely recognised as having made significant contributions to the development of Australian musical composition and contemporary creative life. While a significant body of scholarly work has been completed on Sutherland and while it is varied in scope and purpose, to date, no study has been undertaken with a strong focus on the identification and examination of primary sources relating to Sutherland. Research on Sutherland and her creative life has been consistently hampered by problems such as numerous lacunae in the composer???s corpus of works and the transmission of errors from one study to the next. It is the thesis of this study that these problems can be addressed by a reevaluation of all previously-used primary documents as well as the study of newlyfound primary source material: returning to primary sources has uncovered a considerable amount of material, both by and about the composer, which has remained previously unexplored. In order to address omissions in Sutherland???s work list, the starting point for the current study is the compilation of a thorough catalogue of works which incorporates all known compositions by Sutherland. This catalogue is derived from the collation of comprehensive primary source material. Further to this, the close examination of extensive primary sources relating to Sutherland???s life and music provides insights into aspects of the contemporary musical network in which she worked and also into the particular problems she encountered as a female composer in a geographically isolated country. The diversity of her achievements is also illuminated. The resources used in this thesis provide the material which will enhance, augment, and sometimes offer new perspectives relating to the current understanding of Sutherland???s creative life. Thus, Sutherland???s contribution to Australian music can be more deeply understood.
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Ghezzi, Beverley J. "Women and science in Japan." Thesis, McGill University, 1993. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=68094.
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In recent years, very few Japanese women have entered the fields of science and technology despite the fact that Japan has specialized in these areas. This study attempts to develop a preliminary profile of those women who have despite odds, made careers in science. Generally, these women were found to come from families of high socio-economic status. These families had socialization patterns typical of middle and upper classes which included the teaching of universal, rather than of local, values, little sex-stereotyping, non-arbitrary verbal communication between generations, and field-independent views.Families of respondents valued education and were interested in science. In many cases they included persons who were causal and creative. Familial males shared their activities with respondents and familial females modelled an independent, nonpassive role. Respondents often had their first positive science experience within the family, but there were also teachers, primarily at secondary and university levels, who encouraged them. In addition, critical experiences and role models also influenced them. Role models were sometimes persons the respondents knew; in other cases, they were literary figures.
In spite of frustrations and some gender discrimination in the workplace, respondents for the most part are happy to have chosen science as their profession.
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Stella, Leonie C. "Trawling deeper seas: the gendered production of seafood in Western Australia." Thesis, Stella, Leonie C. (1998) Trawling deeper seas: the gendered production of seafood in Western Australia. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 1998. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/346/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explores the sexual division of labour in three worksites associated with the Western Australian Fishing industry: fishers' households, a seafood processing company and fishing vessels. There has been no previous substantial study of the labour of women in Australian fishing industries.
My research has been primarily undertaken by interviewing women and men who work in the Western Australian fishing industry, and my findings are presented through a comparison with overseas literature relative to each site.
As I found, in the households of fishermen, women do unpaid and undervalued labour which includes servicing men and children; managing household finances and operating fishing enterprises. In seafood processing companies women are allocated the lowest paid and least rewarding work which is regarded as women's work. On-the factory floor issues of class, race/ ethnicity and gender intersect so that the majority of women employed in hands-on processing work are migrant women from a non-English speaking background. The majority of women who work at sea are cook/ deckhands who are confronted by a rigid sexual division of labour, and work in a hyper-masculine workplace.
The few other women who have found a niche which enables them to enjoy an outdoor lifestyle while they earn their own living, are those who work as autonomous independent small boat fishers. In each site there is evidence that women, individually and collectively, exercise some power in determining how and where they work, but they remain marginalised from the more lucrative sites of the industry, and have limited access to economic and social power.
34
Stella, Leonie C. "Trawling Deeper Seas: the Gendered Production of Seafood in Western Australia." Murdoch University, 1998. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040913.155811.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explores the sexual division of labour in three worksites associated with the Western Australian Fishing industry: fishers' households, a seafood processing company and fishing vessels. There has been no previous substantial study of the labour of women in Australian fishing industries.
My research has been primarily undertaken by interviewing women and men who work in the Western Australian fishing industry, and my findings are presented through a comparison with overseas literature relative to each site.
As I found, in the households of fishermen, women do unpaid and undervalued labour which includes servicing men and children; managing household finances and operating fishing enterprises. In seafood processing companies women are allocated the lowest paid and least rewarding work which is regarded as "women's work". On-the factory floor issues of class, race/ ethnicity and gender intersect so that the majority of women employed in hands-on processing work are migrant women froma non-English speaking background. The majority of women who work at sea are cook/ deckhands who are confronted by a rigid sexual division of labour, and work in a hyper-masculine workplace.
The few other women who have found a niche which enables them to enjoy an outdoor lifestyle while they earn their own living, are those who work as autonomous independent small boat fishers. In each site there is evidence that women, individually and collectively, exercise some power in determining how and where they work, but they remain marginalised from the more lucrative sites of the industry, and have limited access to economic and social power.
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Andrew, Monica, and n/a. "The internet experiences of women living in rural and regional Australia." University of Canberra. Professional Communication, 2004. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060410.122445.
Full textAbstract:
This study explores the internet experiences of women living in rural and regional
Australia, their motives for internet uptake and use, the benefits they gain from using the
internet, the difficulties they encounter in using the internet and whether the benefits are
affected by technical factors, such as computer equipment and telecommunication
infrastructure, availability of opportunities for developing online skills, and perceptions
of the internet. Data was collected via an email snowball technique to contact women
living in rural and regional Australia, resulting in participation by 40 women from
throughout rural and regional areas.
The research drew on the literature of internet research and media uses-and-gratifications.
Although the internet is a relatively new communication technology, it has attracted a
large amount of scholarly interest. However, there has been little research into internet
use by individual populations. Women living in rural and regional areas of Australia
experience geographical and social isolation, with limited access to goods, services and
information, and could be expected, therefore, to gain significant benefits from use of the
internet. However, the potential benefits of the internet could be offset by difficulties
with internet use in rural and regional areas. A narrative approach was used to determine
the motives for internet use by women living in rural and regional Australia, the benefits
they gain from using the internet, the difficulties they encounter in using it and whether
the difficulties affect the benefits they gain from internet use.
The research findings show that, more than anything else, women living in rural and
regional Australia use the internet to build and maintain relationships, including keeping
in touch with family and friends, re-connecting with friends for the past and making new
friends online. They also use the internet to facilitate involvement in community
organisations, to contribute to social issues at the national, state and local level and to
participate in community projects and events. In addition, women living in rural and
regional Australia use the internet to undertake business and education related activities,
pursue personal interests, seek emotional support and undertake practical tasks, such as
finding and disseminating information, banking and shopping. However, the many
benefits of the internet are offset to some extent by the many frustrations encountered in
using it, particularly in regard to technical factors and developing online skills. Spam
mail and viruses also cause considerable inconvenience.
36
Dalgleish, S. H. R. "'Utopia' redefined : Aboriginal women artists in the Central Desert of Australia." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.365051.
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Lewin, Erica. "Anglo-Indian women in Western Australia: Past, present and future identities." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2002. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/756.
Full textAbstract:
The Anglo-Indian community and Anglo-Indian women in particular have been described as 'mixed-race' and 'hybrid'. This study seeks to explore the identity of Anglo-Indian women through the process of migration and settlement in Australia, by following the lives of twenty-six women. Twenty of these women emigrated from India between 1963 and 1977; one arrived in Australia significantly earlier in 1947 and another significantly later, in 1996. Four women were Australian-born. This study traces their identity through their memories of life in India and the process of migration and settlement for themselves and their children, some of whom were born in Australia. Gender and ethnicity have shaped the identities of these women, which are analysed using social identity theory and self-categorisation theory. This theoretical framework is applied to the changing context of the lives of Anglo-Indian women. This context includes the traditional and historical markers of Anglo-Indian identity, skin colour, interaction between ethnic groups and the idea of 'belonging' and 'home'. Feminist theories help to analyse the gendered nature of these women's lives, both historically and in the present. The context of Anglo-Indian women's lives was initially in their country of origin, India. This context changed when they migrated to Western Australia. Intercultural exchange and interaction within the colonial context resulted in the origin and development of the Anglo-Indian community in India. The migration of Anglo-Indian women to Western Australia has resulted in intercultural exchange and socialisation with a range of groups within a 'multicultural' context. This change has impacted on their identity and that of their children. The thesis investigates aspects of identity and how migration can impact on that identity. In the case of Anglo-Indian women, they moved from an environment where Anglo-Indian identity had meaning within the Indian ethnic landscape, to Australia, where these women find they have to redefine themselves. The changed context of their lives has meant that their 'hybrid' identity has lost relevance. Many have chosen to assimilate into mainstream society or to take on aspects of their partner's ethnicity rather than maintain a separate identity. This work considers this process of adaptation to the Australian environment. Feminist and social psychological theories of identity inform much of this thesis, which utilises a qualitative approach to explore the lives of Anglo-Indian women who live in Western Australia. Anglo-Indian women have demonstrated agency in shaping and redefining their identities in the Australian environment. This process has entailed a critical analysis on the part of participants of many aspects of Angie-Indian identities. Their redefinition and negotiation of identity indicates the dynamic and contextual nature of ethnic identity. The social relevance of Anglo-Indian identity in the Australian environment is brought into question in this study, and indicates the need for new directions in identity - a challenge that is taken up in various ways by women of Anglo-Indian descent in Western Australia.
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Farrell, Rita. "Dangerous women: Constructions of female criminality in Western Australia 1915-1945." Thesis, Farrell, Rita (1997) Dangerous women: Constructions of female criminality in Western Australia 1915-1945. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 1997. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/51361/.
Full textAbstract:
In the last three decades the subject of female criminality has received a great deal of attention. Many studies have criticised existing models of male-oriented criminology and have attempted to formulate femaleoriented models. Others have analysed patterns of female offending in an attempt to explain the motivations for particular types of offences. This thesis does not offer explanations for offences; nor does it address patterns of offending. Rather, it examines the rates of prosecution and conviction on a broad range of offences to assess the treatment that women received once they entered the criminal justice system as offenders.
Despite the attention devoted to female criminality in the last thirty years recent studies indicate that the differential treatment of female offenders remains unexplained. Three distinct arguments have been put forward to account for the way in which female offenders are dealt with by the courts: the chivalry or paternalist thesis argues that women are treated more leniently than men; the 'evil woman' hypothesis contends that women are dealt with more harshly; and the 'equal treatment' theory is based on the contention that the criminal justice system does not discriminate between the sexes.
This thesis argues that these hypotheses are merely variations of an argument which assumes that gender is the only explanatory framework within which the treatment of female offenders can be understood. It argues that the treatment women received in the criminal justice system throughout the period under review was dependent on a number of factors: the degree to which these women conformed to prevailing gender expectations; the nature of the offences with which they were charged; the differing philosophies of the Police Act and Criminal Code which defined those offences; and, significantly, the culture of the courts within which the offences were heard.
In analysing a broad range of offences over a thirty year period, the treatment of women as offenders is placed firmly within a social context. Far from assuming that the law operates as a neutral discourse, this thesis argues that the criminal justice system was one of the mechanisms by which the social order was managed and that the criminal laws were interpreted within the broader frameworks of the need to maintain social stability and the prevailing understandings about the nature of femininity.
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Marsh, Gloria June. "Working women : the terrain between dependence and independence." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1995.
Find full textAbstract:
In the past twenty years there has been a fundamental change in the roles of women, particularly in relation to women and work. These changes are linked, in part, to women's demands for greater equality such as equal pay, divorce reform, and childcare facilities. In the past the Government reinforced and maintained many of the gender inequalities but in recent years this has changed.
Workforce participation for women is now encouraged, or even expected, especially for those women who receive income support from the State. Most research on women and employment has concentrated on well educated women who have professional occupations; little has been done to explore the attitudes and expectations of women who do not fit into this category. This study set out to explore women's attitudes and perceptions about paid and unpaid work; careers and career women; about working mothers and about financial dependence, either on the State or a partner. In-depth interviews with four groups of women were used: those working full time and part time; those who were unemployed and looking for work, and those not looking for work.
This study found that the majority of these women wanted to work in the paid workforce but they also wanted to work the hours that fitted into other circumstances of their lives. For some this was the needs of their family roles and for others it was study or other interests. Most of these women supported the right of women with children to paid work but thought that women were most responsible for children. In contrast, housework was seen to be a shared responsibility, although few had experienced this. Most of these women saw a
career as being different from having a job, and saw career women as being women whom they respected but did not personally identify with. While many of these women worked, or wanted to work for the financial rewards, many saw
paid employment as providing them with financial independence, either from their partner or from State income support.
40
Beale, Barbara L., of Western Sydney Nepean University, and Faculty of Nursing and Health Studies. "Maternity services for urban Aboriginal women : experiences of six women in Western Sydney." THESIS_FNHS_XXX_Beale_B.xml, 1996. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/316.
Full textAbstract:
The use of mainstream maternity services by urban Aboriginal women is an important issue for health professionals. Aboriginal mothers are much more likely to die in childbirth than are non-Aboriginal mothers and their excessive risk does not appear to have changed over the last two decades. The infant mortality rate is three times higher than for non-Aboriginal infants. Therefore, this project aimed to discover the cultural needs of urban Aboriginal women who use mainstream maternity services. Six Aboriginal women who were attending the ante-natal clinic at Daruk Aboriginal Medical Service were interviewed. The thesis included the following recommendations and strategies for their implementation: 1/. Establishment of a discrete Aboriginal women's health unit in Western Sydney. 2/. Provision of culturally acceptable education about pregnancy and childbirth. 3/. Promotion of breastfeeding. 4/. Education and encouragement for non- Aboriginal health professionals.Master of Nursing (Hons)
41
Reid, Patricia Mary, and n/a. "Whiteness as Goodness: White Women in PNG & Australia, 1960's to the Present." Griffith University. School of Arts, Media and Culture, 2005. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20070130.140518.
Full textAbstract:
In this thesis I examine the contemporary nexus between White women and the raced and classed institution of White womanhood. More specifically, I focus on White Australian women who are middle class, rich in cultural capital, and generally consider themselves to be progressive; that is race privileged women but women who are not usually associated with overt racism. My analysis unfolds White Australian women in the discursive context of the ideologies of feminism and feminist-influenced anti-racist politics, as well as the ideologies of femininity. The thesis shows how this nexus is enacted through a vision of White women as Good as expressed in the political commitments, mentalities, relationships, narratives and corporeality of such women. The research problem that I identified and worked through in the thesis is as follows: for middle class White women, (who can be seen and see themselves as generic 'women'), Whiteness has been seen and played out as Goodness. Further, in the playing out of this Goodness White women accumulate and defend the prestige and privileges of Whiteness. Specifically, I argue that Whiteness is reproduced in some of the discourses and practices of White feminism, by the progressive White women involved in anti-racist politics, and in the femininity industry and the ways it is taken up. The nub of the problem I identify is that White women's involvement in the structures and narratives that support Whiteness is often grounded in the very qualities of character and conduct that emerge from the colonial and class-constructed ideal of White womanhood and which have historically distinguished them from denigrated others. These qualities- notably virtue, innocence and self-restraint- whilst differently nuanced in other contexts are an ongoing expression of the uses made of White womanhood as the visible sign of race and class superiority. The work examines four key periods: the Australian colony of PNG during the decolonising 1960's and 1970's; the high years of 1970's and 1980's feminism; the race debates of the 1990's; and the bodily practices of present day White women gripped by fears of fat and aging. I explore the ways in which White women's Whiteness is played out in benevolent Black/White relationships, the over-reach of difference feminism, particular kinds of anti-racist identities and activism, and body-improvement practices. In all these cultural sites, White women's Whiteness is often represented as a kind of moral being and deployed as moral authority in ways that are consonant with the raced and classed construction of White women as moral texts. My research approach was determined by the research problem I identified. Given my argument that White women mis-recognise Whiteness as Goodness in a race-structured society, then the collecting of data through interviews or surveys would have yielded material subject to this blindness. Instead, I explored sites and material where moral claims were being pressed, and case studies where 'women' were enacting themselves or being represented or interpellated as moral texts. My selection of primary source material ranges from feminist newsletters, women's and other magazines, literature, film, event programs and flyers, radio and television broadcasts, newspapers and websites, as well as reflections on my own experiences. Secondary source material includes feminist theoretical texts as well as texts drawn from a range of other disciplines, and other historical background materials. I lay out and support my arguments using a technique not dissimilar to collage, aiming to construct a picture that is compelling in its detail as well as coherent in its overall effect. This thesis is a contribution to the de-naturalisation of Whiteness. Navigating a course between the opposing hazards of essentialising Whiteness and understating its effects in contemporary Australian society, I have brought into clearer view some of the strategies which maintain the authority of Whiteness.
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Fry, Anne J., University of Western Sydney, College of Social and Health Sciences, and of Nursing Family and Community Health School. "Understanding attempted suicide in young women from non-English speaking backgrounds: a hermeneutic and narrative study." THESIS_CSHS_NFC_Fry_A.xml, 2002. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/643.
Full textAbstract:
This study seeks to attain understanding of attempted suicide in young women from non-English speaking backgrounds, constructing meaning(s) of attempted suicide and eliciting information about sociocultural influences and guided by philosophical hermeneutics and narrative inquiry using life story methods. Thematic analysis was used to explicate from the text 30 sub-themes, five themes (being in a gap between cultures and creating space for themselves, being traumatised and diminished by abuse, surviving dangerous relationships, suffering psychic pain, expressing the self by attempting suicide), and a meta-theme (paradoxically asserting the indefinite self). Interpretation was predicated on the belief that life stories are statements about self-identity, and represent coming into being through the interaction of coherence (the ability to establish connections between events, unifying themes, frames of reference and goal states), continuity (a longitudinal and sequential perspective on life) and connectedness (intrapersonal, interpersonal and transpersonal relationships). The paradox is that being unable to overcome the uncertainties of incoherence, discontinuity and problematic connectedness, participants were predisposed to act against self as a means of asserting agency. This understanding of attempted suicide represents a hermeneutic narrative reconceptualisation of the phenomenon, which places it outside discourses that sanction the language of psychopathology and provides a basis for developing alternative nursing theory and informing education and practiceDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
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Abeysinghe, Tharindu Hasantha. "Mapping Invasive Phragmites australis in the Old Woman Creek Estuary Using Remote Sensing." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1546430964233226.
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Weigl, Engelhard. "Acclimatization : the Schomburgk brothers in South Australia." Universität Potsdam, 2003. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/3499/.
Full textAbstract:
Together with their wives Otto and Richard Schomburgk arrived in Port Adelaide (South Australia) on August 16th 1849. The essay looks at how these two brothers, who had received their scientific training and promotion in the circle surrounding Alexander von Humboldt, reacted to the unfamiliar conditions in the young British colony. Some indication will be given as to the differences between the Schomburgk brothers treatment of the natural resources of the new colony and that of the English colonists of the time.Otto und Richard Schomburgk erreichten zusammen mit ihren Frauen Port Adelaide (Südaustralien) am 6. August 1849. Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, wie die Brüder, die ihre wissenschaftliche Ausbildung und Förderung im Umkreis von Alexander von Humboldt erhalten haben, auf die unbekannten klimatischen Bedingungen in der noch jungen englischen Kolonie reagierten. Dabei soll die Differenz der Schomburgk Brüder zu den englischen Kolonisten im Umgang mit den Ressourcen der neuen Kolonie sichtbar werden.
45
Stella, Leonie. "Trawling deeper seas : the gendered production of seafood in Western Australia /." Access via Murdoch University Digital Theses Project, 1998. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040913.155811.
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Sayakhot, Padaphet. "Perceptions and experiences of Laotian women living in Australia with managing menopause." Thesis, 2005. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/33015/.
Full textAbstract:
A more universal approach to an understanding of menopause can offer health
professionals a broader view of the phenomenon. Menopause is an important time in a
woman's life. As her body is going through changes that can affect her social life, her
feelings about herself and her ability to work. In the past, menopause was often surrounded
by misconceptions and myths. Now, it is recognized that menopause is a natural step in the
process of aging. However, different ethnic cultures perceive and experience menopause
differently. Women in some Asian cultures, such as Chinese, Indian and Laotian cultures
hold more esteemed positions in their culture when they are older and menopausal, while
western societies may devalue the role of women as they age.
The purpose of this thesis was to examine the perceptions and the experiences of women
with Laotian cultural backgrounds living in Victoria, Australia, in regards to how they
manage menopause, and to examine the Laotian cultural influence on the perceptions of
menopause. The research methodology was decided to use surveys or structured interviews
as the means of collecting data. The survey was used to collect demographic data, and
record social demographic and cultural factors, menopausal symptoms and menopausal
management. Data was collected from 55 Laotian women residing in Victoria.
Participating women were recruited by word of mouth, and through a Laotian community
representative of Victoria. One of the three methods, such as interviewer-administered
questionnaire, self-administered questionnaire and telephone interviewing was used to
survey Laotian women who were aged between 45 and 65years old.
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Dillon, Joanne. "Thirty years of feminist activism : women in welfare education reflect." Thesis, 2007. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/30246/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis traces the economic and socio-political changes in Australia over the final
three decades of the twentieth century from the perspective of 25 women engaged in
social work and welfare education. A period of significant change in its social,
economic and political history, Australia moved from Keynesian inspired trends to
social democracy under Whitlam, through the corporatist experiment of the
Hawke/Keating regime to an embrace of free market economics under the current
Howard coalition government. Utilising a narrative approach and framing the
research within feminist historical materialist standpoint, after Smith (1991) and
Naples (2003), I explore the ways in which this group of women experienced changes
to the policy context, theories as they informed their education and practice and, of
particular interest, changes to feminist theory and the impact of the women's
movement on social policy, service delivery and in each woman's personal lives.
Participants reported general feelings of frustration at the erosion of hard won gains,
especially for women and living the adage 'the personal is political ', and increased
pressures in their work and private lives over time. There was a sense of distancing of
social work from social policy alongside increasing alienation from a women's
movement that they saw as largely out of touch with an increasingly diverse and
globalised world. In this context however, the women generally remained positive for
the future, providing clear strategies as to the contribution a reinvigorated feminism
and women's movement could make to social work and social policy of the future.
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Aizpurúa, Romina Iebra. "Through the women's eyes: Latin American Women's Experience of Immigration to Australia." Thesis, 2008. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/2051/.
Full textAbstract:
Although immigration has been widely investigated, academic research regarding the female immigration remains limited. As a result of relocation, immigrant women – compared to male immigrants – are considered to experience greater hardships, often connected to the influence of traditional gender values and roles, restricted political support, and the lack of adequate social services to facilitate their integration.
Australia is, essentially, a land of immigrants. International immigration represents one of its major sources of population and economic growth. However, the integration of immigrants is a controversial and often conflictive issue. In spite of Australia’s endorsement of multiculturalism, the influence of the historic white Australian ideals remains as an informal expectation to assimilate ethnically divergent minorities.
The Latin American community in Australia is large and has contributed, not only to the economic prosperity of the country, but also to its cultural diversity. Despite official discourses, however, Latin American immigrants do not encounter the same labour and economic opportunities, and often experience severe social challenges and discrimination.
In seeking to understand the specific acculturation challenges of Latin American females in Australia, 13 women – living in Australia for an average of 32 years – were interviewed using an open-ended schedule. The data from the interviews was qualitatively analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Main findings indicate that most participants – although some achieved positive levels of labour integration – remained socially separated from the mainstream society, exchanging mostly with other immigrants. The maintenance of traditional gender roles within their households, restricted sources of social support and family assistance in Australia, and poor support from the mainstream society translated into low levels of psychological adjustment. These factors interacted, rather than operating as separate variables. Under the socio-politic and ideological circumstances encountered in Australia, a complete integration was not possible. Acculturation, to most women, was experienced as a never-ending process where many conflictive issues remained unresolved.
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Bolyos, Elizabeth. "An investigation of experiences and depression rates in women who have difficulties in establishing a satisfactory breastfeeding process with their baby : an exploratory study." Thesis, 2010. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/18966/.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigated the experiences and post-natal depression rates in women experiencing problems in establishing and maintaining a successful breastfeeding process with their babies. There were two phases in the project. Phase 1 gathered categorical data about this client group, their partner and baby, the breastfeeding problems experienced and screened the women for post-natal depression. Phase 2 involved semi-structured, in-depth interviews with ten of the women involved in Phase 1. The interviews explored women’s physical and emotional experiences of the breastfeeding problem(s); how this/these impacted on their relationship with their baby and partner; sought to elicit and evaluate the professional assistance they have received to remedy the problem(s); examined the amount and quality of family and social support received by the women; and invited participants to provide suggestions as to how other women in the same situation could be assisted. The results obtained found that this sample group had a higher level of PND than found by most previous researchers; that breastfeeding problems had a considerable physical and emotional impact on the women; they supported previous findings that professional, family and social supports are very important to new mothers; and that professional assistance and support to these women could be improved. It is recommended that further investigation is warranted – with a larger and more representative sample - to explore whether breastfeeding problems contribute to the aetiology and exacerbation of post-natal depression.
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O'Flaherty, Veronica Ann. "A very dim light, a very steep hill: women in the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party." 2005. http://eprints.vu.edu.au/1481/1/OFlaherty.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis presents a contemporary approach to the problem of the lack of recognition of women in Australian society and politics using the Australian Labor Party (ALP) as background and the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party as a test case. It examines the paradox that women have had the vote in Australia for over a hundred years yet, in the largest political party officially dedicated to social equality, they still fail to hold leadership positions with the exception of Jenny Macklin who is Deputy Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party (FPLP). Several writers have drawn attention to this puzzle of the lack of effective participation in general by women in Australian political life. Authors such as Joy Damousi, Anne Henderson, Marian Sawer and Marian Simms among others have begun the process of theoretical and historical analysis of women in politics in this country. Sawer and Simms are both prominent female academics in the field of Political Science. Their book, A Woman’s Place: Women and Politics in Australia (1993), is a good example of an emerging genre. Given my own particular academic interests, the thesis is based in the discipline of Political Science. It is not located primarily in the area of Women’s Studies, but feminist theories and ideas are applied, as are historical surveys and sociological perspectives to support my arguments and buttress conclusions. The aim of the work is to examine the Victorian Branch of the ALP between 1946 and 2005 and tests the hypothesis that a combination of societal and structural factors has been responsible for the exclusion of women for the most part from leadership positions in the Party. The Victorian Branch was chosen partly for reasons of access and manageable size, but also because it is representative of general trends in Australian politics. Essentially, this thesis is about the role of women in a major political party committed to the cause of working-class people. It does not deal with policy formulation or the dynamics of the parliamentary arena. Rather, it concentrates on the party’s culture and the structural and organisational factors which affect the participation rates and levels of influence of women. This thesis will contribute to knowledge by analysing the reasons for the exclusion of women from positions of power in the Victorian Branch of the ALP; it also draws lessons about the nature of politics in Australia. Indeed, it constitutes the first major study of the role of women in Victorian ALP politics—no such study currently exists. My own personal case studies will determine how and why and if male-dominated ‘traditions’ (patriarchy) are restricting the progress of women in the public sphere in this country. The research material from interviews with past and present female MPs (including former Victorian Premier Joan Kirner) and State Executive members will provide a great deal of invaluable information and opinion for other students of party politics. The thesis will give an opportunity for female ALP views to be expressed. A further contribution to knowledge will be to establish why injustices, inequalities and constraints have been placed on women which hinder their rise to power in the ALP and the Victorian Branch. It is significant to state that throughout Australia’s largely patriarchal history the nonrecognition, or misrecognition, of Australian women has been a form of exclusion resulting in their under- representation in leadership roles in the ALP and its Victorian Branch. Therefore, by studying the particular processes of how gender diversities are formed within a historical and ideological context, we can start to hypothesis on how and why women have been marginalised with the male-dominated ALP and the Victorian Branch. This thesis will examine why women in the Victorian Branch of the ALP have been largely excluded from decision-making positions. Has a combination of cultural, historical, sociological and structural reasons contributed to their exclusion until some thirty years ago when things began to appear to change? Are attempts to make the Branch more inclusive real or are they simply a form of Marcusian repressive tolerance? Therefore, in order to clarify specific aims of the project, one should ascertain why, despite the attainment of legal, political and social rights, there exists a significant inequality between the genders when it comes to achieving and exercising power and influence in the Federal ALP and the Victorian Branch. By researching those factors that create inequality, I hope to ascertain why women have been excluded from decision-making positions in the ALP and the Victorian Branch and document what changes have occurred and suggest future directional aims.