The Unpopular Practice: Being Feminist in an Anti-Feminist Age

The position being explored within this dissertation is that feminism has been deemed \u27passe\u27 within contemporary western popular culture. The research wishes to counteract this overriding negative impression of feminism, which extends through from popular culture, into the institutions of academia, and beyond, into the gallery context. Female artists are often subjected to gender based readings of their artwork such as \u27feminine\u27 or \u27feminist\u27, which serve as a way of dismissing the importance of their work. Labelling work feminine involves similar implications as work labelled feminist - both can be seen as negative, which in turn can render the work of women artists ineffectual. I would suggest that the unpopular position of feminism places not only feminist, but female arts practitioners in a position of having little market value, and consequently affects the showing of those works. The dissertation will explore these notions, and will look at ways of \u27re-visiting\u27 the site of feminism through multi-valent and subversive practices in order to address and possibly reinvigorate its position within a contemporary western context

Material murmurings

This thesis, Material Murmurings, comprising of exegesis and creative practice, focuses on the central research question: “How do we understand the materiality of glass and what happens when said materiality is approached through feminist scholarship?” This question forms the basis for an investigation through creative practice and analysis via an interpretive framework of feminist knowledges of the body. The creative practice embraces glass as the central medium with a series of exhibitions that responded to the interpretive paradigm. It is expected that Material Murmurings will highlight and make evident the value of post-technical approaches in glass art which have only recently become an acknowledged form of contemporary visual arts within Australia and, to a lesser degree, the broader international context. The intention of this thesis is to address the lack of dialogue surrounding glass as a contemporary visual arts material by discussing how female artists have been using glass within their practice through a paradigm of feminist scholarship of the body. A lack of formalised inquiry into the material depth of glass exists. Through formalising this discussion via a framework of feminist knowledges, the study will open up the possibilities for writing about glass, allowing for the expansion of the dialogue surrounding contemporary glass art. The study will also make visible and highlight the breadth and diversity of contemporary glass works being produced particularly by female visual artists, embracing the material itself for its depth and wealth of possible meaning. The exegesis pays particular attention to the work of female artists who have embraced glass for its materiality. Materiality is understood as the insistence of meaning that a material contributes to a work of art; the qualities, history and function beyond the decorative or aesthetic value that the material contributes to the artwork. My feminist visual arts praxis has provided the motivation for this exegesis and my obsession with glass has driven the choices of artists and theorists discussed. The exegesis demonstrates how glass can be interpreted/read/understood within the visual arts through a feminist lens. Various exhibitions through the research period culminated in a final exhibition titled Material Murmurings (2013). These exhibitions revealed different ways of critically interpreting and locating glass works beyond the traditional craft paradigm. This research has responded to the contemporary scholarly call for a need for visual arts critical review to be more inclusive of contemporary glass works, and has provided through practice-led research that is inclusive of materiality, praxis and process, a basis for this, with significant outcomes exhibited as artefact/object/publication

Moral Distress, Wellness, and Professional Quality of Life in Play Therapists

Play therapy is a developmentally appropriate form of therapy for children that uses their natural mode of communication-play-to help them process experiences, thoughts, and feelings (Kottman, 2011; Kottman & Meany-Walen, 2016; Landreth, 1991). The unique nature of play therapy, however, is hypothesized to be more emotionally demanding and thus has potential for increased levels of work-related stress (Eastwood & Ecklund, 2008; McGarry et al., 2013; Perron & Hiltz, 2006; Van Hook & Rothenburg, 2009). This study investigated the relationships among moral distress, wellness, and professional quality of life (i.e., compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress) in Registered Play Therapists, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisors, and School Based-Registered Play Therapists (N = 161). Results indicated wellness was positively correlated with both burnout and secondary traumatic stress and negatively correlated with compassion satisfaction. Additionally, more experienced play therapists had higher levels of moral distress. Both moral distress and wellness were significant predictors for burnout; however, only wellness was a significant predictor for compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress. Finally, play therapists overwhelmingly indicated creativity as an integral part of their wellness endeavors

The Relationship Between Trauma Symptoms, Developmental Work Personality, and Vocational Identity

Developmental work personality and vocational identity can be greatly affected by traumatic events in an individual’s life. Although studies exist examining the relationship between trauma and career development, more research is needed to understand the relationship between the two. This study examined the relationship between trauma symptoms, developmental work personality, and vocational identity. Results indicate that participants who experienced high levels trauma had lower scores on developmental work personality and vocational identity

The Role of Fear and Stigma in Perpetuating Racial Health Orientation Disparities in Emerging Adults

This study examined relationships between cancer fear, race, anticipated stigma of chronic illness, and health orientation in emerging adults (N = 152). Hierarchical regressions and moderation analyses were used to evaluate the predictive nature of these variables on health orientation, as well as to determine the moderating role of race between cancer fear, anticipated stigma of chronic illness, and health orientation. Family history of chronic illness and cancer fear were both found to predict health orientation scores significantly. In addition, although people of color reported greater levels of anticipated stigma of chronic illness, race did not moderate the relationship between anticipated stigma of chronic illness and health orientation. With the findings of this study in mind, mental health professionals have an opportunity to work with clients, particularly clients of color, to combat stigma of chronic illness

The Relationship Between Trauma Symptoms, Developmental Work Personality, and Vocational Identity

Developmental work personality and vocational identity can be greatly affected by traumatic events in an individual’s life. Although studies exist examining the relationship between trauma and career development, more research is needed to understand the relationship between the two. This study examined the relationship between trauma symptoms, developmental work personality, and vocational identity. Results indicate that participants who experienced high levels trauma had lower scores on developmental work personality and vocational identity

Tables to accompany "Personality dimensions and attitudes towards peace and war" Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research

Document consists of the three Tables referred to as integrally accompanying: Blumberg, H.H., Zeligman, R., Appel, L. and Tibon-Czopp, S. (2017), "Personality dimensions and attitudes towards peace and war", Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-05-2016-023

Ariel - Volume 2 Number 3

Editors Delvyn C. Case, Jr. Paul M. Fernhoff News Editors Richard Bonanno Daniel B. Gould Robin A. Edwards Lay-Out Editor Carol Dolinskas Sports Editor James J. Nocon Contributing Editors Michael J. Blecker Lin Sey Edwards Jack Guralnik W. Cherry Light Features Editor Steven A. Ager Donald A. Bergman Stephen P. Flynn Business Manager Nick Greg