Keeping gender on the agenda : theorising the systematic barriers to women lawyers in corporate legal practice

Despite the implementation of policies and procedures to redress the gender imbalance at the higher echelons in Australian corporate law firms, only a paucity of women successfully tread the path to equity partnership. In this article, it is argued that it is the systemic, rather than the overt, barriers that present the major obstacle to sexual equality within the corporate legal workplace. Neo-Marxian thought, in particular the work of Charles Derber on the proletarianisation of professional workers, as well as contemporary feminist thought, is utilised to explore why profoundly gendered assumptions in relation to the \u27ideal worker\u27 norm remain deeply embedded in the mindsets and attitudes of those organising the legal workplace. It is suggested that fear of change to work practices within firms has not only an ideological but also a material base. It is economically determined. Highly trained women lawyers with family work responsibilities who take up flexible work arrangements in firms are fulfilling a proletarian role and their under-utilised labour is being extracted to increase profit share at the apex and facilitate the progress of their unencumbered colleagues along the path to partnership

From line to dots: an improved computerised rod and frame system for testing subjective visual vertical and horizontal

Background Perception of subjective visual vertical (SVV) and horizontal (SVH) has traditionally been measured by rotating a mechanical rod either with or without a frame present. The computerised rod and frame (CRAF) system has previously only been used to measure SVV. We have expanded the use of this system by testing its feasibility to measure SVH. This was done by comparing two groups of subjects (n = 103) randomly assigned to be tested for SVV or SVH. Findings Preliminary results showed a higher than expected percentage of individuals with SVH errors < 0.5°. This was attributed to additional visual cues provided by the changing appearance of the rod as it approached the horizontal. A solution to this problem was sought by replacing the rod by two dots to mark its ends. In a second investigation 30 subjects were tested using both the "rod as line" and "rod as dots" presentation. Bland and Altman analysis showed no difference between the rod and dots presentations in the measurement of SVV, but confirmed a fixed error of -0.93° between rods and dots for SVH. Changing the rod from a line to dots in the computer system resulted in errors for both SVV and SVH that were comparable to previous studies using manual systems. Conclusions The computerized rod and frame system may be improved by replacement of the line with two dots. This reduces clues provided to the subject by the appearance of the rod on the screen

Alat komunikasi optis menggunakan led sebagai sumber cahaya

ABSTRAK Telah dilakukan pembuatan alat komunikasi optic untuk sistem komunikasi serat optik menggunakan LED sebagai sumber cahaya. Hasil eksperimen memberikan data spesifikasi alat sebagai berikut : LED warna merah, panjang gelombang X (635 ± 5) nm, daya keluaran maksimum (40±2) mW, prosen modulasi (50±5)%, sistem transmisi analog dart pemodulasiannya adalah amplitudo modulasi. Untuk komunikasi dua arch ditambahkan kopler model V dengan sudut sebesar 23° , dengan menggunakan kopler ini memberikan hasil yang cukup baik. Kebocoran sinyal yang mungkin terjadi adalah di sekitar sambungan antara kopler dengan serat optik sebagai medium transmisinya. Kata Kunci: komunikasi-alat, Ied sumber cahay

Rod and frame alignment times increase when the frame is tilted.

The Rod and Frame test measures an individual’s subjective assessment of visual vertical and horizontal in the presence of a surrounding tilted frame. Attention has focused upon the effects of the surrounding frame upon spatial accuracy (Spatial Frame Effect). We have investigated if the tilted frame also affects the time that subjects take to make the alignment (Temporal Frame Effect). Results: 125 subjects performed a computerised Rod and Frame test to investigate the effects of a tilted frame on subjective visual vertical and horizontal. In addition the program recorded the time taken to make each alignment. For most subjects the mean Spatial Frame Effect was small (vertical 1.62, SD 0.93; horizontal 1.9, SD 1.43). The mean time taken to make alignments in the presence of a tilted frame was longer than when the frame was not tilted (vertical, +3.4s, SD 4.4; horizontal, +3.2s, SD 4.5). Differences in the times taken when the rod and frame were presented congruently and incongruently could be fully accounted for by the differences in steps needed to move the rod to its final alignment. No relationship was found between the spatial accuracy and the time to make the alignment and there was no relationship between the Spatial and Temporal Frame Effects. Conclusions: This study suggests that the Spatial, and Temporal, Frame Effects provide information about different aspects of the process of resolving conflicting visual information when making judgments on alignment. In everyday functions such as the maintenance of balance or susceptibility to motion sickness, the increased time taken may be as important as spatial accuracy

Young and Older Adults Differ in Integration of Sensory Cues for Vertical Perception.

Introduction: The subjective visual vertical (SVV) measures the perception of a person's spatial orientation relative to gravity. Weighted central integration of vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive inputs is essential for SVV perception. Without any visual references and minimal proprioceptive contribution, the static SVV reflects balance of the otolith organs. Normal aging is associated with bilateral and progressive decline in otolith organ function, but age-dependent effects on SVV are inconclusive. Studies on sensory reweighting for visual vertical and multisensory integration strategies reveal age-dependent differences, but most studies have included elderly participants in comparison to younger adults. The aim of this study was to compare young adults with older adults, an age group younger than the elderly. Methods: Thirty-three young and 28 older adults (50-65 years old) adjusted a tilted line accurately to their perceived vertical. The rod's final position from true vertical was recorded as tilt error in degrees. For otolithic balance, visual vertical was recorded in the dark without any visual references. The rod and frame task (RFT) with tilted disorienting visual frames was used for creating visuovestibular conflict. We adopted Nyborg's analysis method to derive the rod and frame effect (RFE) and trial-to-trial variability measures. Rod alignment times were also analyzed. Results: There was no age difference in signed tilts of SVV without visual reference. There was an age effect on RFE and on overall trial-to-trial variability of rod tilt, with older adults displaying larger frame effects and greater variability in rod tilts. Alignment times were longer in the tilted-frame conditions for both groups and in the older adults compared to their younger counterparts. The association between tilt accuracy and tilt precision was significant for older adults only during visuovestibular conflict, revealing an increase in RFE with an increase in tilt variability. Correlation of σSVV, which represents vestibular input precision, with RFE yielded exactly the same contribution of σSVV to the variance in RFE for both age groups. Conclusions: Older adults have balanced otolithic input in an upright position. Increased reliance on visual cues may begin at ages younger than what is considered elderly. Increased alignment times for older adults may create a broader time window for integration of relevant and irrelevant sensory information, thus enhancing their multisensory integration. In parallel with the elderly, older adults may differ from young adults in their integration of sensory cues for visual vertical perception

Inspiratory Conductance does not vary with Height, Weight, Body Mass Index, Age, Sex or Spirometric Volumes in Healthy Adults

Introduction and objective: We previously showed that inspiratory conductance (IC) can be calculated from early inspiratory pressure fall and initial acceleration of the inspiratory air column. To characterize IC further we conducted a study to determine whether its value varies with height, weight, BMI, age, sex and lung volumes. Methods: We measured IC, height, weight, FEV1, FVC and PEFR in 147 healthy volunteers’ age 18-50 years. Results: During tidal breathing at rest the mean (SD) IC was 8.31 (3.15) L s-1 kPa-1. No significant correlation was found between IC and height (r=0.04), weight (r=0.142), BMI (r=0.058), FEV1 (r=0.275), FVC (r=0.019), PEFR (r=0.182) or age (r=0.017) and there was no significant difference between men and women. The same was found for IC measured during slow deep breathing and rapid breathing. Conclusion: IC is independent of age, sex, height, weight, BMI and spirometric lung volumes so there is no imperative to correct for those factors in an individual. Within-subject directional changes in IC within the context of a short clinical timeframe might be the best potential for clinical application

Is spatial orientation affected by Ramadan fasting?

Purpose: Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF) has produced heterogeneous and domain-specific effects on cognitive function. This study aims to investigate the effect of RIF on verticality perception or estimation of subjective visual vertical (SVV) in young adults. The significance of SVV is that it is essential for spatial orientation, upon which many daily activities depend. Methodology Verticality perception was assessed with a computerized rod and frame test (CRFT) in two visual conditions: without a surrounding frame and with a distracting tilted frame. The tilted frame condition measures level of visual dependence or reliance of visual cues for posture and orientation. In total, 39 young adult men were recruited at different stages of Ramadan fasting: 21 were tested at the end of the first week (Week 1) and 18 others at the end of the third week (Week 3) of Ramadan. Also, 39 participants were recruited to serve as a non-fasting control group. Factorial ANOVA analyses were conducted to identify the main effects of fasting status, time-of-day and the interaction between them on blood glucose levels, nocturnal sleep duration and vertical alignment errors. Findings The main effect of fasting status on glucose level was significant (p = 0.03). There was a significant time-of-day main effect on glucose levels (p = 0.007) and sleep duration (p = 0.004) only in fasting participants. Neither the main effects of fasting status nor time-of-day were significant for rod alignment errors in both visual conditions. The interaction of fasting status and time-of-day was not significant either. This may indicate that any negative effect of Ramadan fasting on activities that are critically dependent on verticality perception and spatial orientation, such as sports and driving, may not be due to verticality misperception. Originality The present study was the first to investigate the effect of Ramadan fasting on spatial orientation. It demonstrated robustness of verticality perception to fasting status and the point of fasting during Ramadan. Verticality perception was also unaffected by time-of-day effects in non-fasting and fasting groups at two different points of Ramadan. This study corroborates others reporting heterogeneous effects of Ramadan fasting on cognitive function

The gender trap : flexible work in corporate legal practice

Despite the fact that women comprise well over 50 per cent of law graduates in many parts of the world, women lawyers continue to be clustered disproportionately in the lower echelons of the profession. This paper considers the role of flexible work as a gender equity strategy and is illuminated by interviews with lawyers in elite corporate firms in Australia. It is argued that far from being a panacea, flexible work is being invoked to confine women to subordinate roles and to restrict access to partnerships. Not only is there a residual suspicion of the feminine in positions of authority and resistance to the idea of bodily absence from the workplace, but also the contemporary market discourse has erased a commitment to social justice and equality