Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a global problem that stems from gender inequality. Increased migration from countries that perform FGM to England has led to the practice travelling across borders. FGM is subject to heightened political debate and media sensitivity in the England and across the Western world. Debates about FGM often proceed from a universal standpoint that the practice should be prohibited through law. However, the efficacy of FGM legislation is questionable and rarely subjected to scrutiny. Despite implementing a criminal offence of FGM in 1985 and introducing subsequent stringent legal changes, there has not been one conviction for a practice, which remains prevalent in England. A failure to secure convictions for a practice that continues suggests that the law has left women and girls unprotected. To understand why the practice persists in a context in which FGM is criminalised, this thesis aims to address the potential and limitations of social and cultural change through the law. My qualitative research findings are based on two focus groups each with 11 women from FGM-performing communities and 79 semi-structured interviews with women and stakeholders who are responsible for designing and enforcing FGM legislation, including legal professionals, police officers, Members of Parliament and Members of the House of Lords. I chose to interview these two groups of participants to understand the different perspectives of women subject to the law and stakeholders responsible for enforcing the law. The interview data shows the importance of an intersectional analysis of FGM that accounts for women’s experiences of gender, race, ethnicity, nation, nationality and religion. While FGM is performed upon girls and women’s bodies to control their sexuality, women also identified FGM as representative of other identity issues including race, group rights, migrant culture and religion. The data highlights the complex meanings women ascribe to FGM and the challenges they encounter in accessing the criminal justice system. In contrast, stakeholders believe anti-FGM legislation is a means for the state to eliminate ‘cultural’ violence against women and girls and enforce British values upon minority groups. The findings from the interviews with women and stakeholders revealed a stark divide in the two groups understanding of FGM and their attitudes towards the law. Examining FGM in the context of criminalisation from two different perspectives highlights the core barriers to the enforcement of law.

研究背景：婦科癌症的診斷及各種相關的治療，對性功能、生活質素及心理健康都有負面的影響。文獻指出心理教育對婦科癌症病人這方面的影響有正面的效果，但是效用的証據並不一致。 / 系統化綜述: 本研究首先進行系統化綜述，並根據喬安娜．布里格斯的方法進行，目的在於確定心理教育對婦科癌症病人的性功能、生活質素及心理健康的功效，以及辨認一套有效的心理教育課程給予婦科癌症病人。總共有十一份隨機控制實驗的文獻，包括九百七十五位婦科癌症病人，被納入本綜述，其中四份可比較的文獻進行了薈萃分析。根據兩份評估心理教育對抑鬱功效的文獻薈萃結果顯示，心理教育對改善抑鬱徵狀有顯著的改善。另外兩份文獻評估心理教育對生活質素的功效，薈萃結果顯示心理教育對身理方面的生活質素未有明顯的改善，相反地，提供資訊性的教育對婦科癌症病人心理方面的生活質素有明顯的功效。關於心理教育對性功能的功效，似乎對性生活有所改善，但是並未能在性功能的評估工具反映出來。關於心理教育對心理健康的功效，除了抑鬱以外，似乎未有足夠的証據顯示有顯著的功效。系統化綜述建議心理教育予婦科癌症病人應包括三種元素：資訊提供、行為治療及心理支持；形式可以是個人、個人及伴侶共同參予、或小組；應由護士提供；於癌症治療開始前進行，直至出院後；包括四堂課程，每堂三十分鐘至一小時完成。 / 試驗性研究目的：試驗性研究目的是測試提供一套根據系統化綜述結果設計的心理教育予香港婦科癌症病人的可行性，以及評估該課程對改善香港婦科癌症病人的性功能、生活質素、及心理健康的功效。 / 試驗性研究方法：試驗性研究採用隨機控制實驗的方法，把二十六位婦科癌症病人分配到兩個不同的組別。實驗組的參加者，接受一套心理教育；對照組的參加者於實驗組的同一時段收到研究員的訪問。不論哪個組別的參加者，都會進行指標評估，包括性功能、生活質素、不明朗、社交支持、焦慮及抑鬱的狀況。研究指標分別在手術前(T0)、手術後及住院期間(T1)，和手術後8星期(T2)。實驗組的參加者及於臨床工作的護士更會被邀請進行了簡單的傾談，從而了解她們對此心理教育的意見及感受。非參數統計推斷方法用以檢驗組內和組間於上述各指標的差異。實驗組的參加者及護士參予的面談，會進行錄音及內容分析。 / 研究結果：於兩組之間的比較，實驗組的參加者對疾病資料的不一致，有顯著的改善。但是，兩組之間的性功能、生活質素、不明朗、社交支持、焦慮及抑鬱均未有顯著的分別。參加者於面談中指出，心理教育可減低婦科癌症病人的壓力，對她們來說有著實際的用途。 / 研究結論：系統化綜述顯示心理教育對婦科癌症病人有正面的功效。雖然試驗性研究的定量資料結果指出心理教育對香港的婦科癌症病人，除了對疾病資料的不一致有所改善外，在其他各方面的評估，均未有顯著的功效，但是，品質數據的結果顯示婦科癌症病人確實需要心理教育，而此教育於臨床環境實行是可行的。 / Background: A diagnosis and treatment of gynecological cancer (GC) has adverse effects on the sexual functioning, quality of life and psychological outcomes of patients. Psychoeducational interventions (PEIs) are recommended for GC patients to improve their outcomes, but evidence for their effectiveness is far from conclusive. / Systematic review: A systematic review was first carried out according to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) approach to identify the best available evidence relating to the effectiveness of PEIs for GC patients in sexual functioning, quality of life and psychological outcomes. A total of 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 975 GC patients were included in the systematic review, but only four comparable studies were appropriate for meta-analysis. PEIs significantly improved depressive symptoms, standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.80, 95% CI [-1.05 to -0.54], p = < .00001, among the patients. However, there was no significant benefit to the physical aspect of quality of life, SMD = -0.12, 95% CI [-0.45 to 0.20], p = .46. Conversely, information-only therapy demonstrated significant effects on the mental aspects of quality of life, SMD = -0.41, 95% CI [-0.74 to -0.08], p = .01. In addition, from qualitative data, PEIs appeared to be helpful in improving sexual life, but changes in sexual functioning scores were not statistically significant. The interventions appeared to have only limited beneficial effect on anxiety, distress, adjustment to illness and uncertainty, and had no significant effect in improving mood, self-esteem or ability to cope. The review also suggested that PEIs for GC patients would incorporate information provision, behavior therapy and psychological support. The format might be individual, with or without a partner’s participation, or in a group. A nurse was found to be the ideal provider. The interventions could be arranged at the start of cancer treatment and then be continued after discharge, and the number of sessions might be four, each lasting between 30 minutes and one hour. / Aim of pilot study: A program of PEIs was designed based on the systematic review, and piloted on Hong Kong GC patients to test the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing the interventions in Hong Kong. / Pilot research plan: The pilot study was a single-blinded RCT and mix-method design. Twenty-six subjects were randomly assigned to either the intervention or attention control group. The intervention group received the program of PEIs, while the attention control group received attention from the researcher over the same period. Data collection was carried out at baseline (T0), after the operation and during the in-hospital period (T1) and eight weeks after the operation (T2). Qualitative data was collected from the intervention group and nurses working in the clinical setting at T2. Non-parametric tests were used to compare the baseline and various outcome variables within and between groups. Audio-tapes of semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim, and content analysis was performed to identify significant themes. / Key findings of pilot study: Participants in the intervention group had statistically significantly less inconsistent information on illness than the attention control group, but there were no statistically significant differences in all other outcome variables including sexual functioning, quality of life, uncertainty, social support, anxiety and depression. Qualitative data from the participants indicated the program of PEIs reduced their stress level and was useful. / Conclusion: The systematic review demonstrated evidence of the positive effects of PEIs on GC patients. Although there were no significant effects appearing in most quantitative results of the intervention program in the pilot study, the qualitative results indicated that the interventions were found desirable by Hong Kong GC patients. Nurses identified implementing the program as feasible in clinical settings. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Chow, Ka Ming. / Thesis (D.Nurs.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-204). / Abstracts also in Chinese; appendixes includes Chinese. / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Aims and significance of the study --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3 --- Overview of the thesis --- p.4 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- LITERATURE REVIEW / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.6 / Chapter 2.2 --- Impact of GC on sexual functioning --- p.6 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Mixed types of GC --- p.7 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Ovarian cancer --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Cervical cancer --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Impact of GC on sexual functioning in Chinese culture --- p.15 / Chapter 2.3 --- Impact of GC on quality of life --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Mixed types of GC --- p.19 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Cervical cancer --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Impact of GC on quality of life in Chinese culture --- p.24 / Chapter 2.4 --- Impact of GC on psychological well-being --- p.25 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Mixed types of GC --- p.26 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Cervical cancer --- p.29 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Impact of GC on psychological well-being in Chinese culture --- p.30 / Chapter 2.5 --- Current nursing practice on sexuality with GC patients --- p.30 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Attitudes of health-care professionals towards sexuality --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- Information needs of GC patients --- p.33 / Chapter 2.5.3 --- Sexuality assessment --- p.35 / Chapter 2.5.4 --- Sexuality interventions --- p.37 / Chapter 2.6 --- Psychoeducational interventions (PEIs) --- p.38 / Chapter 2.6.1 --- Theoretical background --- p.38 / Chapter 2.6.2 --- Effects of PEIs on cancer patients --- p.40 / Chapter 2.6.3 --- Effects of PEIs on GC patients --- p.42 / Chapter 2.7 --- Summary --- p.44 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- SYSTEMATIC REVIEW (PHASE I) / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.46 / Chapter 3.2 --- Review objectives and questions --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3 --- Inclusion criteria --- p.48 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Types of studies --- p.48 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Types of participants --- p.48 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Types of interventions --- p.48 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Types of outcome measures --- p.49 / Chapter 3.4 --- Search strategy --- p.50 / Chapter 3.5 --- Methods of the review --- p.52 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Assessment of methodological quality --- p.52 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Data extraction --- p.52 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Data synthesis --- p.53 / Chapter 3.6 --- Systematic review results --- p.54 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Description of studies’ retrieval and selection --- p.54 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Methodological quality of the included studies --- p.57 / Chapter 3.6.2.1 --- Randomization --- p.57 / Chapter 3.6.2.2 --- Blinding --- p.57 / Chapter 3.6.2.3 --- Consent and completion rates --- p.58 / Chapter 3.6.2.4 --- Power estimation --- p.58 / Chapter 3.6.2.5 --- Result data --- p.58 / Chapter 3.6.3 --- Details of the included studies --- p.59 / Chapter 3.6.3.1 --- Country of origin --- p.59 / Chapter 3.6.3.2 --- Samples --- p.59 / Chapter 3.6.3.3 --- Components of PEIs --- p.59 / Chapter 3.6.3.4 --- Comparison group --- p.61 / Chapter 3.6.3.5 --- Format of PEIs --- p.62 / Chapter 3.6.3.6 --- Provider of PEIs --- p.62 / Chapter 3.6.3.7 --- Provision time frame of PEIs --- p.63 / Chapter 3.6.3.8 --- Duration of PEIs --- p.63 / Chapter 3.6.3.9 --- Outcome measurements --- p.64 / Chapter 3.6.4 --- Effects of PEIs on outcomes --- p.64 / Chapter 3.6.4.1 --- Sexual functioning --- p.65 / Chapter 3.6.4.2 --- Quality of life --- p.65 / Chapter 3.6.4.3 --- Psychological outcomes --- p.68 / Chapter 3.6.4.3.1 --- Anxiety and depression --- p.68 / Chapter 3.6.4.3.2 --- Distress --- p.70 / Chapter 3.6.4.3.3 --- Adjustment to illness --- p.71 / Chapter 3.6.4.3.4 --- Mood --- p.71 / Chapter 3.6.4.3.5 --- Self-esteem --- p.72 / Chapter 3.6.4.3.6 --- Uncertainty --- p.72 / Chapter 3.6.4.3.7 --- Coping --- p.72 / Chapter 3.6.4.4 --- Brief summary --- p.72 / Chapter 3.6.5 --- Design of PEIs --- p.73 / Chapter 3.6.5.1 --- Effective components --- p.73 / Chapter 3.6.5.2 --- Effective format --- p.75 / Chapter 3.6.5.3 --- Effective provider --- p.76 / Chapter 3.6.5.4 --- Effective provision time frame --- p.76 / Chapter 3.6.5.5 --- Effective duration --- p.77 / Chapter 3.7 --- Discussion --- p.78 / Chapter 3.7.1 --- Effects of PEIs on sexual functioning --- p.80 / Chapter 3.7.2 --- Effects of PEIs on quality of life --- p.82 / Chapter 3.7.3 --- Effects of PEIs on psychological outcomes --- p.84 / Chapter 3.7.3.1 --- Anxiety and depression --- p.84 / Chapter 3.7.3.2 --- Distress --- p.86 / Chapter 3.7.3.3 --- Adjustment to illness --- p.87 / Chapter 3.7.3.4 --- Mood --- p.87 / Chapter 3.7.3.5 --- Self-esteem --- p.88 / Chapter 3.7.3.6 --- Uncertainty --- p.88 / Chapter 3.7.3.7 --- Coping --- p.89 / Chapter 3.7.4 --- Design of PEIs --- p.89 / Chapter 3.7.4.1 --- Effective components and theories --- p.89 / Chapter 3.7.4.2 --- Effective format --- p.92 / Chapter 3.7.4.3 --- Effective provider --- p.93 / Chapter 3.7.4.4 --- Effective provision time frame --- p.93 / Chapter 3.7.4.5 --- Effective duration --- p.94 / Chapter 3.8 --- Summary of systematic review --- p.95 / Chapter 3.8.1 --- Implications for practice --- p.95 / Chapter 3.8.2 --- Implications for research --- p.97 / Chapter 3.9 --- Summary --- p.100 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- METHODOLOGY OF PILOT STUDY (PHASE II) / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.102 / Chapter 4.2 --- Rationale for conducting a pilot study --- p.102 / Chapter 4.3 --- Aims and objectives --- p.103 / Chapter 4.4 --- Operational definition --- p.104 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Psychoeducational interventions (PEIs) --- p.104 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Sexual functioning --- p.105 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Quality of life --- p.105 / Chapter 4.4.4 --- Uncertainty --- p.105 / Chapter 4.4.5 --- Anxiety --- p.106 / Chapter 4.4.6 --- Depression --- p.106 / Chapter 4.4.7 --- Social support --- p.106 / Chapter 4.5 --- Interventions --- p.107 / Chapter 4.5.1 --- Program of PEIs --- p.107 / Chapter 4.5.1.1 --- Theoretical framework underpinning the interventions --- p.107 / Chapter 4.5.1.2 --- Components of the program of PEIs --- p.113 / Chapter 4.5.1.2.1 --- Information provision --- p.113 / Chapter 4.5.1.2.2 --- Behavioral therapy --- p.113 / Chapter 4.5.1.2.3 --- Psychological support --- p.114 / Chapter 4.5.1.3 --- Design of the program of PEIs --- p.115 / Chapter 4.5.2 --- Attention control --- p.121 / Chapter 4.5.3 --- Usual care --- p.122 / Chapter 4.6 --- Methodology --- p.123 / Chapter 4.6.1 --- Study design --- p.123 / Chapter 4.6.2 --- Study setting --- p.125 / Chapter 4.6.3 --- Sample --- p.126 / Chapter 4.6.3.1 --- Sampling method --- p.126 / Chapter 4.6.3.2 --- Sample size determination --- p.127 / Chapter 4.6.3.3 --- Recruitment process --- p.128 / Chapter 4.7 --- Data collection --- p.129 / Chapter 4.7.1 --- Measures --- p.129 / Chapter 4.7.2 --- Study instruments --- p.130 / Chapter 4.7.2.1 --- Demographic data sheet --- p.130 / Chapter 4.7.2.2 --- Sexual functioning --- p.131 / Chapter 4.7.2.2.1 --- Justification for choosing the instrument --- p.134 / Chapter 4.7.2.3 --- Quality of life --- p.134 / Chapter 4.7.2.3.1 --- Justification for choosing the instrument --- p.136 / Chapter 4.7.2.4 --- Uncertainty --- p.136 / Chapter 4.7.2.4.1 --- Justification for choosing the instrument --- p.138 / Chapter 4.7.2.5 --- Social support --- p.139 / Chapter 4.7.2.5.1 --- Justification for choosing the instrument --- p.141 / Chapter 4.7.2.6 --- Anxiety and depression --- p.141 / Chapter 4.7.2.6.1 --- Justification for choosing the instrument --- p.143 / Chapter 4.7.2.7 --- Semi-structure interview --- p.144 / Chapter 4.7.2.7.1 --- Intervention recipients --- p.144 / Chapter 4.7.2.7.2 --- Health-care providers --- p.144 / Chapter 4.7.3 --- Data collection procedure --- p.145 / Chapter 4.8 --- Data analysis --- p.149 / Chapter 4.8.1 --- Quantitative data --- p.149 / Chapter 4.8.1.1 --- Comparison of baseline data --- p.151 / Chapter 4.8.1.2 --- Comparison of outcome variables --- p.151 / Chapter 4.8.2 --- Qualitative data --- p.153 / Chapter 4.9 --- Ethical considerations --- p.154 / Chapter 4.1 --- Summary --- p.155 / Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- RESULTS OF THE PILOT STUDY / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.156 / Chapter 5.2 --- Recruitment of participants --- p.157 / Chapter 5.3 --- Characteristics of all participants --- p.159 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Demographic and clinical characteristics --- p.159 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Homogeneity of the participants --- p.161 / Chapter 5.4 --- Baseline outcome variables --- p.164 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Baseline outcome variables of all participants --- p.164 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Comparison of baseline outcome variables between intervention and attention control groups --- p.166 / Chapter 5.5 --- Outcome variables within-group changes --- p.168 / Chapter 5.5.1 --- Quality of life --- p.168 / Chapter 5.5.2 --- Uncertainty --- p.170 / Chapter 5.5.3 --- Social support --- p.174 / Chapter 5.5.4 --- Anxiety and depression --- p.179 / Chapter 5.6 --- Outcome variables between-group changes --- p.181 / Chapter 5.6.1 --- Sexual functioning --- p.181 / Chapter 5.6.2 --- Quality of life --- p.184 / Chapter 5.6.3 --- Uncertainty --- p.185 / Chapter 5.6.4 --- Social support --- p.187 / Chapter 5.6.5 --- Anxiety and depression --- p.190 / Chapter 5.7 --- Feasibility of implementing the PEI program in Hong Kong clinical settings --- p.191 / Chapter 5.7.1 --- Intervention recipients’ perspective --- p.191 / Chapter 5.7.1.1 --- Emotional support --- p.192 / Chapter 5.7.1.1.1 --- Offering psychology support --- p.192 / Chapter 5.7.1.1.2 --- Removing worries about sexual life --- p.192 / Chapter 5.7.1.2 --- Informational support --- p.193 / Chapter 5.7.1.2.1 --- Acquiring knowledge on illness --- p.193 / Chapter 5.7.1.2.2 --- Behavioral therapy helpful in post-operative care --- p.193 / Chapter 5.7.1.2.3 --- Resources available in the community --- p.194 / Chapter 5.7.1.3 --- Elements of the program --- p.194 / Chapter 5.7.1.3.1 --- Appropriate design of the interventions --- p.194 / Chapter 5.7.1.3.2 --- Content of information provided --- p.195 / Chapter 5.7.1.4 --- Feelings towards the program --- p.195 / Chapter 5.7.1.4.1 --- Appreciation of the interventions --- p.195 / Chapter 5.7.1.4.2 --- Lack of GC health education --- p.196 / Chapter 5.7.2 --- Health-care providers perspective --- p.196 / Chapter 5.7.2.1 --- Opinions regarding the program --- p.197 / Chapter 5.7.2.1.1 --- Quality of information provided --- p.197 / Chapter 5.7.2.1.2 --- Usefulness of the interventions --- p.197 / Chapter 5.7.2.2 --- Suggestions for improvement --- p.198 / Chapter 5.7.2.2.1 --- Content of information provided --- p.198 / Chapter 5.7.2.2.2 --- Format of the interventions --- p.199 / Chapter 5.7.2.2.3 --- Coverage of the patient population --- p.199 / Chapter 5.7.2.3 --- Feasibility of implementing the program in Hong Kong --- p.200 / Chapter 5.7.2.3.1 --- Anticipated barriers --- p.200 / Chapter 5.7.2.3.2 --- Solutions to the barriers --- p.201 / Chapter 5.8 --- Summary --- p.201 / Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- DISCUSSION OF THE PILOT STUDY / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.205 / Chapter 6.2 --- Baseline characteristics of the participants --- p.205 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Demographic and clinical characteristics --- p.206 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Baseline outcome variables --- p.208 / Chapter 6.3 --- Effectiveness of the PEI program --- p.211 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Quality of life --- p.211 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Uncertainty --- p.214 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- Social support --- p.216 / Chapter 6.3.4 --- Anxiety and depression --- p.218 / Chapter 6.3.5 --- Sexual functioning --- p.221 / Chapter 6.4 --- Feasibility of implementing the PEI program in Hong Kong --- p.223 / Chapter 6.4.1 --- Intervention recipients’ perspective --- p.223 / Chapter 6.4.2 --- Health-care providers’ perspective --- p.226 / Chapter 6.5 --- Limitations of the pilot study --- p.229 / Chapter 6.5.1 --- Four types of validity threats --- p.229 / Chapter 6.5.2 --- Limitations in attention placebo, intervention format and integrity --- p.232 / Chapter 6.6 --- Summary --- p.234 / Chapter CHAPTER 7 --- CONCLUSION / Chapter 7.1 --- Introduction --- p.235 / Chapter 7.2 --- Implications for nursing practice --- p.235 / Chapter 7.3 --- Implications for future research --- p.236 / Chapter 7.4 --- Conclusion --- p.239 / REFERENCES --- p.241 / APPENDICES --- p.267

The success of firm lawyers depends largely upon their ability to develop a clientele. Naturally, access to potential clients and the relationships between lawyers and their clients and potential clients are exceedingly important for client development. Various factors likely play into relationships between lawyers and business leaders, two important factors being homophily and in-group preferences. Both homophily and in-group preferences mechanisms would predict that law firms are more likely to assign clients to associates who bear certain similarities to those clients. Accordingly, associates who are more similar to the business community they serve are more likely to be assigned clients and awarded responsibility. In this way, a lawyers' success depends in part on the composition of the business community in which they operate. In making partnership decisions, law firms value associates' aptitude for client relations, thus incorporating these effects into promotion evaluations. This study asks the question: at the state level, to what extent does the success of female-owned businesses correlate to the success of female lawyers who work at law firms? Using a national survey of lawyers seven years after admission to the bar, logistic regression demonstrates that it is not the percentage of businesses in a state that are female-owned that influences the likelihood of making partner for female associates. Rather, the results show that the percentage of sales generated by female-owned businesses is the influential variable: as women generate a greater percent of a state's economic activity, female lawyers are in turn more likely to achieve the status of partner.

A group of 44 high-orgasm-consistency and 34 low-orgasmconsistency women were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, a Sexual Behavior Questionnaire, and the Fall Back Task. Excitatory and inhibitory controlling attitudes as manifested in hypnotic susceptibility, reported control of thinking and movement during coitus, causal attributions, and attitude toward alcoholic beverages were related to orgasm consistency. Women experiencing expectancy disconfirmation for coital outcomes attributed outcomes to unstable factors, supporting the application of Weiner's achievement model to the domain of coital orgasm. High and low consistency women showed different patterns of causal attribution for coital outcomes. High consistency women's attributions fit their reported sexual experiences, while low consistency women's attributions suggested the presence of self-esteem enhancing cognitive distortions.

Feminist “Sisterhood” has been a debatable term throughout multiple generations and its ideology is mostly rejected by feminists in the younger generation. The concept mainly denotes a sense of collectivity and it is viewed as a gendered term due to its coinage by second wave feminists as a response to patriarchy. Hence, “Sisterhood” authorizes a collective identity that portrays women as victims and thereby the ideology that is associated with this term reduces the complexity and fluidity of female identity. Various representations of female bonds, in the political, literary and filmic spheres, have valued the idea of collectivity among females, even up to our present day. In order to deconstruct the attempts to redeem “Sisterhood” as an all-inclusive term, I trace representations of the ideology of “Sisterhood” in selected literary, theatrical and televisual works from multiple generations to argue for the rejection of this term and the inability to validate it as inclusive due to its insistence on a collective identity that imposes a blindness to and an underrepresentation of otherness. I explore how “Sisterhood” results in the objectification of females’ experiences in order to serve identity molds that restrict a female’s representation as an individual. I highlight this problematic ideology in Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë and a theatrical adaptation of the novel by James Willing and Leonard Rae (1879); The Women of Brewster Place (1982) by Gloria Naylor; Big Little Lies (2014) by Liane Moriarty and an adaptation of the novel as a miniseries on HBO (2017). While deconstructing the ideology of perceiving female bonds through the lens of “Sisterhood,” I conclude that the concept is problematic in relation to the portrayal of “other” females, and I demonstrate how it is also flawed on a general level since it takes away from the individuality of each woman portrayed throughout this ideology in order to meet specific commonalities among her “sisters.” Although the ideology of “Sisterhood” is outdated and restrictive, we can’t deny, as I further explore, that the investment in portraying it has contributed to raising important female issues.

Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), a common practice among Sierra Leonean women, carries significant psychological and physical risks. Prior to this study, a substantial need existed for inquiry of the experiences and belief systems within this cultural group to better understand the effects of FGM/C on women and girls. Guided by feminist theory and the theory of cultural relativism, the goal of this phenomenological study was to review the cultural perspectives and experiences of Sierra Leonean women who underwent FGM/C to investigate their concerns about safety and their perceptions of the practices. In addition, this study explored concerns among Sierra Leonean women about the procedure performed on their daughters and to what they attributed the continued practice of FGM/C. Participants included a purposeful sample of 12 women from Sierra Leone who had experienced FGM/C. Data were collected via in-person, semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically. Analysis revealed differences in participant definitions of FGM/C, cultural and social aspects of the procedure, personal beliefs and perceptions of the procedures. Results provide new understandings to help health and human rights organizations implement proactive safety measures for these women and girls. Positive social change from this investigation may occur via proper education about FGM/C. Goals include helping women understand the risks associated with the practice and to make their own informed decisions regarding the procedure. Findings revealed that a powerful strategy for protecting women's health and well-being related to FGM/C may be through education on the facts of the procedure.

Family-of-origin aggression (FOOA) is an established risk factor for adult partner aggression. The research presented in this thesis tested a model proposing that (FOOA) is mediated through attachment and attributions to influence male and female partner aggression and withdrawal in early stage couple relationships. Study 1 tested the influence of FOOA, attachment, and attributions on partner aggression in a sample of 73 newlywed couples. FOOA was associated with male-to-female aggression, but not female-to-male aggression. Therefore the hypothesis that the influence of FOOA on partner aggression was mediated through attachment and attributions was tested only for men. Attachment was significantly associated with attributions, but there was no association between FOOA and attachment or between attributions and male partner aggression. Study 2 tested the influence of FOOA, attachment, and attributions on partner aggression and withdrawal in a sample of 101 dating couples. Structural equation model analyses found different results for men and women. For male partner aggression, the influence of FOOA was partially mediated through attachment and attributions. For male withdrawal, the influence of FOOA on withdrawal was fully mediated through attachment and attributions. The association between FOOA and withdrawal was also mediated through attachment independent of attributions, and through attributions independent of attachment. For female partner aggression and female withdrawal, the predicted associations were found for the attachment anxiety models but not for the attachment avoidance models. The current findings suggest that attachment and attributions should be intervention targets for improving relationship outcomes. The gender differences in model fit emphasise the importance of investigating risk factors for partner aggression and withdrawal separately for men and women.

Research has shown that elite female athletes competing in competitive sports may experience weight consciousness and face demands to conform to unrealistic standards of body weight. The purpose of this research was to investigate body image and dieting behaviours in adolescent female athletes and non-athletes. A self-reporting questionnaire was administered to 60 athletes aged between 13-16 years derived from eight different sporting populations, and a control group consisting of 60 non-athletes or inactive individuals aged between 13-16 years. Two major areas relating to weight and eating behaviours were examined: disordered eating and distorted body image. Other variables under investigation included current attempts at weight loss, level of acceptance of thin female stereotypes promoted by the media, reasons for dieting, and perception of one’s own body image. Results indicated that the majority of the athletes displayed a positive body image and were generally happy with their overall body shape. This group was less likely to employ weight loss behaviours. However, the non-athletes were more likely to display distorted body image and distorted eating behaviours. Consistent with the cultural expectations of thinness, large proportions of the non-athletes wished to lose weight, even though their actual weight (i.e. Body Mass Index) was normal or underweight. Weight concerns in the non-athlete group related more to attaining a media driven “ideal” of femininity. The weight concerns recorded amongst a small number of athletes were related more to improving sporting performance. Although no clinically diagnosed cases of eating disorders were recorded, eating behaviours, weight reduction practices and body image beliefs indicated that the adolescent female non-athletes may be at risk of developing disordered eating and body image problems.

This thesis examines the Ballarat Female Refuge, the first such institution on the Australian goldfields, as a case study of the interrelationship between charity and power. Established in 1867 by a group of twenty-six Protestant women with the intention of reforming prostitutes, the Refuge became a shelter for single mothers. An analysis of its history over the period 1867 to 1921 highlights attitudes towards female sexuality, and demonstrates how moral authority was exercised through this highly-gendered institution. The thesis locates the Ballarat Female Refuge within both an international history of female refuges and the network of voluntary charities which developed in nineteenth-century Ballarat. It argues that such charities were influential in the consolidation of class barriers in the goldfields city. While they were founded as a result of both evangelical religious fervour and humanitarian concern, they sought to impose middleclass moral values on their inmates, simultaneously conferring status and prestige on their committee members The thesis analyses the Protestant Ballarat Female Refuge through an examination of its committee, staff and residents in order to identify aspects of both power and mutuality in the charity relationship. It also looks at the symbolic systems operating at the Refuge, in particular the meanings of the wall and the laundry in the processes of exclusion and reformation. Drawing on narrative, biographical, statistical and genealogical sources, it details the ways in which moral authority was exercised through the Ballarat Female Refuge.

There are many methods to measure the physical fitness of athletes, including tests that can be applied in the field or in the laboratory. Much of the recent research with regard to fitness of team sport players has been undertaken using laboratory testing to measure aerobic power, anaerobic power and capacity, strength and flexibility. Field tests are an alternative method to measure the fitness of players without the expense, time and expertise required for the laboratory testing, especially in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to establish procedures for the application of contemporary sports science practice for Indonesian female field hockey players, including determination of the precision of field tests of the physical and performance characteristics of field hockey players in Indonesia; determination of the physical and performance characteristics of Indonesian female field hockey players; identification of the performance demands and distance covered during competitive field hockey at the national level in Indonesia; comparison of the physical and performance characteristics of national level female field hockey players in Indonesia with those of club level players in Australia; and determination of the relationships between field and laboratory tests of physiological performance capacity for field hockey. Due to conversion problems, five paragraphs have been omitted. For full abstract, see 01front.pdf. In conclusion, the present study found that the Indonesian female field hockey players (at the national level) were comparable to the Australian female field hockey players (at the club level) in some physical and performance test results. However, they were also different on other physical and performance characteristic measurements, with the Indonesian players generally have lower values, for other performance measurements.