"We are in the world, but not of the world," a maxim frequently spoken in evangelical Christian culture, provides insight into how these individuals view their relationship with secular culture. They presume to share the same temporal plane with secular culture, but do not participate in it. In this dissertation, I explore whether the division between evangelical Christian culture and secular culture is as clear as this aphorism implies. To facilitate this investigation, I examine media Christian content creators created for an American evangelical Christian young adult audience in the early twenty-first century, specifically focusing on novel-length fiction, comics and graphic novels, and video games. Guided by a methodology informed by structuralist and poststructuralist theories, I uncover patterns in these media. I conclude that the boundaries between evangelical Christian culture and secular culture are less distinct than might first appear, which indicates significant contact and influence between these cultures.

"A Master's paper submitted to the faculty of the School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Library Science." / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 25, 2006). "May 2004." Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-47).

The development of the novel cannot be separated from discussions about literary history, gender relations, performance, and the power literature has to instruct its audience. Women and young people have always comprised a substantial part of the novel’s readership, and this makes them powerful. The history of the novel is the history of dangerous literature; it is the history of works that have enchanted readers with “the power of example,” as Samuel Johnson wrote in the eighteenth century, that can lead them to change their behavior. This thesis explores how women in young adult literature—in the eighteenth century through Frances Burney’s Evelina (1778) and today through Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games (2008)—use performance and vision to reveal and resist the social systems that try to define them. Evelina and Katniss, the heroines of these novels, provide their readers with examples of behaving in ways different than the normative model. Their stories, and the young women who read their stories, threaten the established social order of their worlds. The creative addition to this thesis provides readers with another young heroine who uses her powers, in a fantastical world, to reveal and resist the structures in her life.

The study of young adult literature has become widespread within Children’s and Young Adult Literature specifically and literary studies as a whole. However, the term “young adult” which defines and focalizes both the literature itself and the ostensible readers for whom it is produced remains a poorly-examined area. The present study examines the creation of one branch of what we now call “young adult literature” from its roots in the United States in the early twentieth century to its emergence as a dominant literary form in the mid-to-late 1960s. In doing so, it seeks to reconcile emerging professional, psychological, sociological, pedagogical, cultural, and ideological discourses concerning adolescence and young adulthood with works of fiction prepared specifically for their consumption. It also seeks to position the changing role of adolescent subjects into the larger framework of American Studies by examining how these texts reflected, tested, and reinforced dominant paradigms of thought surrounding how adolescents would become actualized American subjects. At the same time, it broaches concerns within these dominant paradigms that have been overlooked in constructing historical approaches to the development of young adult literature, and it suggests a few methodologies by which to recover these undiscussed threads.

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In this mini-dissertation, the main aim is to investigate and to describe the representation of gender identity in the four short stories in Mmualebe (A.M. Malope). It also implies developing a critique of the representation of gender identity in the four short stories of Mmualebe; comparing traditionalism and modernity with regard to the representation of gender identity; describing possible responses of the implied readers (male and female) with regard to reception aesthetics and developmental psychology; and to supply the variants and constants regarding the representation of gender identity in the four short stories of Mmualebe. In developing a critique of the representation of gender identity, some important literary techniques are used. Through these techniques, the role of the conflict between traditionalism and modernity regarding the representation of gender identity is determined. In general, it is evident that all theories used in this study, when integrated, can help with the development of a positive gender identity. Men and women need to be made aware of gender equality and equity and at the same time not to abuse their gender rights. / Thesis (M.A. (African Languages))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

In this mini-dissertation, the main aim is to investigate and to describe the representation of gender identity in the four short stories in Mmualebe (A.M. Malope). It also implies developing a critique of the representation of gender identity in the four short stories of Mmualebe; comparing traditionalism and modernity with regard to the representation of gender identity; describing possible responses of the implied readers (male and female) with regard to reception aesthetics and developmental psychology; and to supply the variants and constants regarding the representation of gender identity in the four short stories of Mmualebe. In developing a critique of the representation of gender identity, some important literary techniques are used. Through these techniques, the role of the conflict between traditionalism and modernity regarding the representation of gender identity is determined. In general, it is evident that all theories used in this study, when integrated, can help with the development of a positive gender identity. Men and women need to be made aware of gender equality and equity and at the same time not to abuse their gender rights. / Thesis (M.A. (African Languages))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

Master of Public Health / Department of Human Nutrition / Tandalayo Kidd / Parenthood is a major life event that requires considerable lifestyle changes. As young adults become married they start a change in lifestyle that influences their health and their future children. Some couples understand that they need to change their behavior, but do not know how to do so healthfully. The poor lifestyle behaviors that produce excessive weight gain place an increased risk for premature death, heart disease, diabetes, other health problems as well as threatens their quality of life. These transitional experiences present a unique challenge that warrants exploration in the context of the young adult life stage and perceptions about health and quality of life. Currently, there is limited research of the concerns or perceptions young adults have regarding quality of life and diet related health behaviors. The purpose of this study is to identify behaviors that impact life satisfaction and health of young adult families. Two-90 minute focus groups were conducted, with pre-recruited community members 18-24 years of age. All participants were recruited from community service organizations, day care facilities and university educational classes. Participants were parents and/or married. Nutrition and Exercise majors were excluded. Both focus groups were asked seven key questions along with probing questions. All focus groups were audio taped and then transcribed verbatim. The transcriptions were coded manually by assigning a label in the margins of the transcripts for each quality of life issue that appeared. Coding allowed the data to be assembled into categories that can be used to develop quality of life and health interventions for young adults. Several issues impacting satisfaction with life and barriers to a healthy lifestyle were identified. However, money, time, family, stress, and children were primary concerns. This study identified the need to completed additional assessments to quantify the needs of young adult parents and families, so community-based partnerships can effectively develop programming and interventions.

Sjuksköterskans arbete innebär att kunna ge en bra vård till människor med olika typer av etnisk bakgrund, tro och värderingar. Ätstörning är ett tillstånd av psykisk ohälsa där den drabbade har utvecklat vad som kan likna en fobi för normal kroppsvikt. Den fysiska hälsan blir också påverkad på grund av de olika metoder som den drabbade använder för viktnedgång samt på grund av näringsnedsättning. Livskvailtet är hur en människa upplever sin tillvaro och om personen känner någon mening i sitt liv. Syftet med studien var att beskriva hur ungdomar och unga vuxna med ätstörningar upplever sin livskvalitet. Författaren har använt sig av 10 olika vetenskapliga artiklar som med syftet att beskriva hur tonåringar och vuxna med ätstörningar upplever sin livskvalitet. I resultatet fann forskarna att de drabbade  hade en låg livskvalitet. Vid jämförelser med människor utan ätstörningar, visade värdena att de med ätstörningar hade sämre resultat både fysiskt med framför allt psykiskt vid mätning av livskvalitet. Män och pojkar hade riskfaktorer som fysisk träning och kroppsmissnöje, medan flickor och kvinnors riskfaktorer var en önskan om smalhet, kroppsmissnöje och kroppsobjektifiering. Det visade sig även att drabbade med mycket socialt stöd hade en bättre livskvalitet än de utan socialt stöd.  Oberoende av ålder och kön, så har patienter med ätstörningar sämre livskvalitet. Det är viktigt för sjuksköterskor att hjälpa denna patientgrupp genom att våga se deras lidande på andra plan när de söker sig till vården. / The nurse's work means being able to give good care to people with different ethnic backgrounds, beliefs and values. When working with young people, the nurse was lacking the expertise to provide the right kind of support to help with mental illness, substance abuse, self-harm behavior and eating disorders. Eating disorders are a condition of mental illness in which the patient has developed what may resemble a phobia of normal body weight. Physical health is also affected because of the different methods that the victim uses for weight loss and because of loss of nutrient. Quality of life is how people perceive their existence and if the person feels they have a meaning in life. The aim of this study was to describe how adolescents and young adults with eating disorders perceive their quality of life. The author has used 10 different scientific articles which described how teenagers and adults with eating disorders perceive their quality of life. In the result, the researchers found that those affected by eating disorders had a low quality of life, age and gender didn’t matter. When compared to people without eating disorders, values ​​show that those with eating disorders had worse results both physically but primarily psychological, in tests of quality of life. Men and boys had risk factors such as physical activity and body dissatisfaction, while girls and womens risk factors were a desire for thinness, body dissatisfaction and body objectification. It was also found that sufferers with social support had a better quality of life than those without social support. The conclusion could be made that regardless of age and sex, patients with eating disorders have a poorer quality of life. It is important for nurses to help this population by daring to see their suffering on other levels when they seek out health care.