Aerial Stars: Femininity, Celebrity & Glamour in the Representations of Female Aerialists in the UK & USA in the 1920s and Early 1930s

The research conducted in this doctoral thesis was rewritten and published as ‘Female Aerialists in the 1920s and early 1930s: Femininity, Celebrity and Glamour’ by Routledge in November 2021. The book expands the ideas in this thesis by incorporating new scholarship, additional primary sources and new information on the aerialists Barbette and Winnie Colleano. It also includes new information on the contemporary significance of these artists that takes in changes in the industry and includes analysis of the celebrity singer and aerialist P!nk. The book is available via the DOI in this recordFemale solo aerialists of the 1920s and early 1930s were internationally popular performers in the largest live mass entertainment of the period in the UK and USA. Yet these aerialists and this period in circus history have been largely forgotten by scholars. I address this omission by arguing these stars should be remembered for how they contributed to strength being incorporated into some stereotypes of femininity. Analysing in detail Lillian Leitzel, Luisita Leers and, to a lesser extent the Flying Codonas, I employ a cross-disciplinary methodology unique to aerial scholarship that uses embodied understanding to reinvigorate archival resources. This approach allows me to build on the wider scholarly histories of Peta Tait, drawing important conclusions about the form including how weightlessness is constructed and risk is performed. In the introduction I re-evaluate the nostalgic histories of circus to establish circus’ and aerialists’ popularity in this period, before exploring how engagements shaped careers. Chapter 1 considers the difference in experiencing aerialists in the USA and UK by bringing together previously unrelated data on circus, variety and vaudeville venues. Aerialists made good celebrities because their acts, located above audience members’ heads, challenged the conventional relationship between ticket prices and sightlines. Chapter 2 explores how the kinaesthetic fantasy evoked by experiencing aerial action created glamour and how glamour had the power to reframe femininity in the 1920s. Glamour and celebrity have often been confused and Chapter 3 distinguishes the two before considering what characterises aerial celebrity. Reconfiguring Joseph Roach’s public intimacy as skilful vulnerability allows me to analyse how risk was gendered and performed in relationship to skill. The gendering of risk leads me to consider what in society contributed to aerial stardom by drawing upon Richard Dyer’s argument that celebrities embody a cultural ambiguity. Female aerialists reframed their femininity in a similar way to women who aspired to the modern girl stereotype in wider society. In the final chapter I expand on the activity of the modern girl, comparing strategies used by young exercising women to female aerialists. This enables me to draw conclusions about how witnessing these stars tapped into national ideas of citizenship, and to designate aerialists as the first to use the power of glamour to make muscular femininity acceptable.AHR

Gotts Island, Maine

A brief history of Gotts Island and surrounding areas of Mount Desert Island. Summarizes history from 1604 to the 1800s and provides anecdotes of island life from the 1920s and 1930s

Educational experiences as fields of influence in physics: an exploration of the critical incidents in student education

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the field of influences on the occupational trajectories of physics graduates in the United Kingdom. My research examines the assumptions by government and policy makers that school education holds the key to providing more physicists available for employment in physics-related occupations. The research analyses qualitative data from current and recently graduated students to explore the field of influences on their decisions to take physics, and how these experiences influence their identity as a scientist. My hypothesis tests these assumptions by examining the significant events, or critical incidents, during the educational experience on a physics degree. The research design is a case study of the physics departments of two UK institutions. A series of interviews provides insight into the educational journeys of current and recently graduated physics students and the consequent analysis identifies emergent themes. These themes include how the influences of school education and social and individual expectations engage people into enrolling on a physics degree. Further analysis explores how events occurring on the degree courses may influence occupational trajectories. My findings identify attitudes to laboratory work and institutional feedback as significant influences to this sample of individuals during their degree experience. This work has implications for highlighting the significance of laboratory work in future science education policies, as well as contributing to the extant research on STEM education

Farmer's experiences as victims of crime:An exploratory study on the Isle of Anglesey

Farming is not only a profession, for many it is a lifestyle. Farmers’ place of work is often their home and this reality poses several questions about the challenges farmers face with regard to dealing with victimisation and creating an effective crime prevention strategy. This paper reports on the findings of an exploratory study of farmers’ views on the Isle of Anglesey. A mixed method design was used based on postal surveys and interviews, to explore farmers’ experiences as victims of crime, and opinions on the support provided by local government agencies, the police, and the community. Findings suggest that farmers had minimal experience as victims of crime, which resulted in complacency towards crime prevention and reliance on the local community to identify trustworthy employees and potential crime threats

Essential Skills for Success: Feedback from Beginning Teachers of Students with Emotional / Behavioral Disorders

This exploratory, case study used qualitative measures to investigate the perceptions of recent college graduates who were teaching students with emotional impairments / behavioral disorders on their preparedness to teach in the field. Structured open-ended interviews were conducted to explore how well their teacher education programs prepared them to work with this population and to meet the mandate of preparing students for entry in a global society. Findings garnered positive comments regarding global competencies and suggestions for improvements in teacher preparation. Effective communication and collaboration with school personnel and parents, organizing paperwork and data collection, decision making, and more relevant field placements were areas considered to be in need of increased focus

The Use of Wearable Technology to Measure Energy Expenditure, Physical Activity and Sleep Patterns in Dementia.

Project Description Unexplained weight loss is frequently observed in dementia leading to further cognitive decline, frailty and disability. Apparent mechanisms that could lead to weight loss (lower energy intake and/or higher expenditure) remain unresolved and may be different in the various stages and types of dementia. During the progression of the illness, the extent to which altered sleep duration and variable physical activity patterns (intermittent or constant pacing/lying down) could affect weight loss is unknown. We have used an innovative light weight physical activity monitor (Sensewear TM Armband, Body Media, Pittsburgh, PA) to objectively determine total energy expenditure (TEE), sleep duration, physical activity and number of steps in people with dementia living in care homes. The armband was placed around the left upper triceps for up to 7 days. The device measures tri-axial acceleration, skin temperature, galvanic skin response and heat flux and has been shown to be valid in resting, exercise and free-living conditions in older people. The mean age of the residents (n=20) was 78.5 (58-99) years, 50% were women with confirmed diagnosis of a range of dementia types. Body Mass Index (BMI) was 23.0 (range 13.7-30.0) kg/m2 with 40% classified as underweight, 50% normal range, 10% overweight. Duration of sleeping ranged from 0.4-12.5 (mean 5.9) hrs/d and time spent lying down was 1.0-16.0 (8.1) hrs/d. On average residents spent 17.4 (6.0-23.7) hrs/d undertaking sedentary activity. Sleeping duration was inversely related to body weight (r= -0.46, p<0.05) and TEE (r= -0.59, P<0.01). There was an inverse association between time lying down for both body weight (r= -0.45, p<0.05) and TEE (r= -0.62, p<0.01).TEE was positively correlated with number of steps per day (r= 0.45, p<0.05). There was no relationship between TEE or BMI and the amount of physical activity. Variable patterns of physical activity and sleep duration demonstrates the need to recognise the influence of these factors on meeting energy requirements and the challenge of providing appropriate food and nutrition within the care home environment. Thus wearable technology has the potential to offer real-time feedback to support better nutritional management and improve efforts to prevent weight loss in dementia