This study describes a content analysis of six contemporary young adult fiction novels. Adolescence is a time of great change, particularly for girls. It is during this time that female adolescents develop their voice and identity. As literature reflects the reader’s world, it also affects in part how female adolescents perceive their identity. Latent content analysis was used to code eight variables to determine if select contemporary young adult fiction novels appropriately describe the development of identity among adolescent females. All of the novels included in the study provided sufficient evidence of accurate portrayal of female adolescent identity development, by having examples of at least four out of eight variables, with most having examples of seven out of eight variables.

Estudi emmarcat en el projecte de recerca europeu: Young Adults in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain and Portugal (YAGISSP) que estudia l'estil de vida dels joves que tenen entre 20 i 30 anys a Europa, els objectius a aconseguir són:-Cercar els trets comuns i les diferències entre els joves-adults de Barcelona, Munic i Milà, en relació a 4 escales que són: prendre conductes de risc, depressió, explosivitat i tendència a l'ira i autoestima negativa.-Analitzar les diferències entre els joves de les tres ciutats pel que fa referència a aspectes sociodemogràfics i mesurar-ne la influència en les quatre escales esmentades.És un estudi transcultural de diferències psicològiques, no experimental i transversal. Realitzat a partir d'una mostra de 1.653 joves, entre 20 i 30 anys, de Barcelona, Munic i Milà als que se'ls va administrar el qüestionari YAGISSP que recull informació com: dades sociodemogràfiques, ajustament psicològic, relacions de parella, relacions amb la família d'origen, etc. L'explotació de les dades s'ha fet en tres fases: 1- Estudi descriptiu en el que es comparen les característiques sociodemogràfiques dels joves-adults a les tres ciutats. 2- Estudi inferencial en el que es cerquen trets comuns i diferències de l'ajustament psicològic entre els joves-adults de Barcelona, Munic i Milà. 3- Creació de models jeràrquics lineals per cercar i mesurar quines característiques sociodemogràfiques influencien en l'ajustament psicològic del jove-adult.Un cop analitzats els resultats, podem concloure que els joves de Barcelona, Munic i Milà, presenten més trets comuns que diferències tant pel que fa a característiques sociodemogràfiques com pel que fa al risc, la depressió, l'explosivitat i l'autoestima negativa. També podem concloure que la ciutat d'origen és un factor que té influència en els aspectes estudiats i que també tenen influencia altres variables, en diferent mesura depenent de l'escala estudiada, com ara: el sexe, l'edat, el nivell educatiu, tenir parella i, en menor mesura no viure amb els pares o estar treballant. / Estudio enmarcado en el proyecto de investigación europeo: Young Adults in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain and Portugal (YAGISSP) que estudia el estilo de vida de los jóvenes que tienen entre 20 y 30 años en Europa, los objetivos a conseguir son:· Encontrar los rasgos comunes y las diferencias entre los jóvenes-adultos de Barcelona, Múnich y Milán, en relación a 4 escalas que son: tomar conductas de riesgo, depresión, explosividad y tendencia a la ira y autoestima negativa.· Analizar las diferencias entre los jóvenes de las tres ciudades en relación a aspectos sociodemográficos y medir su influencia en las cuatro escalas mencionadas.Es un estudio transcultural de diferencias psicológicas, no experimental y transversal. Realizado a partir de una muestra de 1.653 jóvenes de entre 20 y 30 años de Barcelona, Múnich y Milán a los que se les administró el cuestionario YAGISSP que recoge información como: datos sociodemográficos, ajuste psicológico, relaciones de pareja, relaciones con la familia de origen, etc. La explotación de los datos se ha realizado en tres fases: 1-Estudio descriptivo en el que se comparan las características sociodemográficas de los jóvenes-adultos en las tres ciudades. 2-Estudio inferencial donde se buscan rasgos comunes y diferencias en el ajuste psicológico entre los jóvenes-adultos de Barcelona, Múnich y Milán. 3-Creación de modelos jerárquicos lineales para buscar y medir qué características sociodemográficas tienen influencia en el ajuste psicológico del joven-adulto.Una vez analizados los resultados, podemos concluir que los jóvenes de Barcelona, Múnich y Milán, presentan más rasgos comunes que diferencias tanto en características sociodemográficas como por lo que se refiere a: el riesgo, la depresión, la explosividad y la autoestima negativa. También podemos concluir que la ciudad de origen es un factor que tiene influencia en los aspectos estudiados y que también tienen influencia otras variables, en diferente medida dependiente de la escala estudiada, cómo son: el sexo, la edad, el nivel educativo, el tener pareja y, en menor medida, el no vivir con los padres o estar trabajando. / The study is framed in the research European project "Young Adults in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain and Portugal" (YAGISSP) that studies the lifestyle of young-adults that are between 20 and 30 years old in Europe. The goals are:· Finding the common traits and the differences between young-adults in Barcelona, Munich and Milan relating to four scales that are: Risk Taking Behavior, Depression, Explosiveness and Anger tendency, Negative Self-Esteem.· Analyzing the differences among young-adults from the three cities relating to socio-demographic aspects and measuring their influences in the four scales mentioned before.It is a cross-cultural, non-experimental and transversal study about psychological differences. The sample is made up of 1653 young-adults that are between 20 and 30 years old from Barcelona, Munich and Milan that completed the YAGISSP questionnaire containing information about: socio-demographic data, psychological adjustment, couple relationships, relation with the family of origin, etc. The data exploration has been made in three different phases: 1- Descriptive study in which the socio-demographic characteristics of the young-adults from the three cities are compared. 2- Inferential study in which common traits and differences of the psychological adjustment of the young-adults of the three cities are searched. 3- Creation of lineal hierarchical models in order to find and measure which are the socio-demographic characteristics that influence the psychological adjustment of young-adults.After having analyzed the results we can conclude that young-adults from Barcelona, Munich and Milan present more common traits than differences in regard to socio-demographic characteristics as well as in risk, depression explosiveness and negative self-esteem. It can also be concluded that the city of origin is a factor that can influence the aspects that have been studied and also other variables in a different way depending on the studied scale, like: gender, age, cultural.

The aim of this essay is to examine what happens when Veronica Roths Divergent-trilogy is read with a lutheran theological pre-understanding. Using reader-response theory and lutheran theology written for and in a post-modern context, three lutheran figures of thought are presented as one way of understanding the trilogy. The conclusion is that it is possible to reveal lutheran ideas concerning justification, guilt, forgiveness, mercy and self-sacrificing love in the Divergent-story. / Denna uppsats undersöker Veronica Roths Divergent-trilogi ur ett luthersk-teologiskt perspektiv. Metoden som används är en text- och läsarcentrerad metod. Med hjälp av post-modern luthertolkning till största delen hämtad från projektet Luthersk teologi och etik - i ett efterkristet samhälle så byggs tre tankefigurer upp; människan och det onda, människan och det goda samt människan och vägen till frihet. Dessa tankefigurer läggs som ett raster över trilogin. Resultatet av denna process visar att det i berättelsen är möjligt att synliggöra lutherska tankefigurer rörande rättfärdiggörelse, skuld, en självutgivande kärlek, förlåtelse och nåd.

Abstract Reading is a perennial educational hot topic - but now extends for beyond early literacy to the secondary level. Reading researchers are growing in our knowledge of how to reach and teach struggling adolescent readers yet too often success in literacy is measured solely by performance on standardized tests. Literacy is seen on one hand as a one-dimensional set of skills students need to possess to be successful in school and their future workplaces. A more expansive view of the importance of literacy and what it means to adolescent females' growth as individuals and members of communities is needed. This study focused on selected adolescent girls' perceptions of identity through reading, responding, and discussing literature featuring strong female protagonists. Semi-structured interviews conducted with each of the female participants at the beginning and end of the study, reader response journals in which participants composed weekly responses to their reading, transcripts of the weekly book discussions, field notes, and entries in a researcher reflective journal form the data for this study, emphasizing the focus on the meaning these individuals brought to the phenomena studied: identity exploration within literacy events. This study addressed questions of the how and why of a literary event, and involved a variety of data, thereby making a case study methodology an appropriate choice. Selected participants were the focus of individual case studies and the book club itself was the focus of an additional case study. Self-identity statements and background information gathered on each of the three case study participants helped shape portraits of these adolescent girls, whose perspectives on their own identities were both convergent and divergent. The same proved true when addressing the two exploratory questions: The participants appeared to hold identical perspectives on identity, yet stated unique, varied perspectives on environmental elements influencing their self-identity expression. All three case study participants viewed identity as a developing, evolving process highly influenced by societal standards and expectations - especially for females. The girls also saw the social environment as affecting identity in the frequent mismatch occurring between what the individual perceives as his or her self-identity being expressed and how others in the environment perceive the identity. Psychosocial theories of human development acknowledge that an individual's identity is both located within and without. The participants in the book club all shared this perception of identity as a sociocultural construct. However, the girls' diverse self-identity statements and range of perspectives indicate the need for a new model of female adolescent identity development. This new model needs to reflect girls and their sociocultural worlds of today. Finally, the experiences of the five girls in the book club study indicate the common misperceptions existing concerning the nature of adolescent identity. Again, unlike Erickson's concept of identity as undeveloped in adolescence and shifting with each storm and crisis, the girls in the study indicate the need for a different perspective. Classrooms are unfortunately often bereft of the type of space provided for the girls in the book club. Within this space the girls engaged in deep, thoughtful, critical responses to literature while expressing their self-identities and exploring other's identities. As adolescents, these five girls were provided space by and with a trusted adult to engage in what is acknowledged to be a critical element in human development: identity exploration. To meet the needs of all students, teachers should arrange discussions in both small group and whole class structures. However, successful discussions - those which offer students rich opportunities to engage with text, make connections, derive personal meaning, explore and express self-identity - these discussions will only occur when the teacher has considered not only the physical environment but also the attitudinal environment.

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are serious birth defects that affect 3,000 pregnancies in the United States annually. All women of childbearing age are recommended to consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily for the prevention of NTDs. Women aged 18 to 24 years have multiple risk factors for having an NTD-affected pregnancy and should be targeted by efforts to promote folic acid consumption. Survey data capturing folic acid awareness, knowledge, and supplementation behavior of women aged 18 to 24 years who are not contemplating pregnancy were examined to identify the relationship of folic acid awareness and knowledge to daily supplementation with folic acid in an effort to predict the effectiveness of education-only interventions. Results of the study suggested that awareness and knowledge was not consistently related to daily supplementation. An evaluation of qualitative data using the Health Belief Model offers explanations for the findings and recommendations for targeting these at-risk women.

No description available.

Ce mémoire porte sur les raisons qu’ont de jeunes adultes québécois de discuter ou non de politique sur Internet. Il s’inscrit dans le contexte général de l’avènement du Web 2.0 et dans le contexte particulier des élections canadiennes de mai 2011. Au niveau théorique, nous avons mobilisé la théorie de l’agir communicationnel du philosophe allemand Jürgen Habermas ainsi que sa conception de la sphère publique. Du point de vue méthodologique, nous avons étudié un échantillon composé de jeunes adultes québécois, hommes et femmes, âgés de 19 à 30 ans, qui habitent à Montréal et dans ses environs. Ces jeunes citoyens ont été interrogés dans le cadre de quatre focus groups. Les données recueillies ont été analysées selon une méthode d’extraction des arguments en accord avec la méthodologie de la reconstruction rationnelle. Les résultats ont permis d’exposer plusieurs raisons qu’ont avancées les jeunes adultes interrogés pour expliquer leur degré de participation à des discussions politiques sur Internet. Celles-­‐ci ont été regroupées en quatre thèmes: le manque de connaissances et l’aspect public; la conscientisation et l’obtention de feedback; la réaction par rapport au contenu, la composition du réseau et la valeur de l’information; le face à face, l’anonymat et les sujets controversés. Ces résultats ont été discutés en considérant ceux obtenus par d’autres chercheurs afin de faire ressortir les apports de cette étude au domaine de la communication. La discussion a également permis d’adopter un point de vue théorique critique pour explorer ce que les résultats de ce mémoire révèlent sur l’état de la sphère publique québécoise. / This master thesis deals with the reasons some young adult Quebecers have to be or not to be involved in political discussions on the Internet. It was written within the general context of the rise of Web 2.0 and within the specific context of the Canadian elections of May 2011. At the theoretical level, we have worked with German philosopher Jürgen Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action along with his conception of the Public Sphere. From a methodological standpoint, we have studied a sample made up of young adult Quebecers, both men and women, aged between 19 and 30, living in Montreal and its surroundings. These young citizens were questioned throughout four focus group sessions. The collected data was analysed with an argument extraction method in accordance with the rational reconstruction methodology. The results allowed us to expose many reasons that could explain the questioned young adults' level of involvement in online political discussion. These reasons were regrouped in four themes: the lack of knowledge and the public aspect; awareness and feedback; reaction based on content, the nature of the network and the value of information; face-­‐to-­‐face conversation, anonymity and controversial topics. In order to highlight the contributions of this study to the field of communication, the results were discussed while considering those obtained by other researchers. The discussion also allowed us to adopt a critical and theoretical point of view to explore what the results of this thesis reveal on the state of the Public Sphere in Quebec.

Is there a low-risk drinking level for youth? The likelihood of engaging in risk behaviors (e.g. drinking and driving) as a function of alcohol use was examined in 540 youth from the Victoria Healthy Youth Survey, age 16-23 (M=19.5; 245 Males, 294 females). Logistic regression revealed that both the frequency and quantity of alcohol use matter in terms of determining one’s risk. Quantity of consumption in excess of the recommended ≤2 drinks/occasion (CAMH guidelines) substantially increases ones risk of harm; as does consumption >once a week. However, for those consuming at low quantity (≤ 2 drinks/occasion) and low or moderate frequency levels (≤ once a week) the risk did not exceed that experienced by abstainers and may be considered “low-risk”. It is suggested that youth require a special set of drinking guidelines that focus on quantity consumed/occasion followed by clear limits on the number of drinking days (frequency).

Ce mémoire porte sur l’efficacité des campagnes sociales sur Internet afin d’encourager les jeunes adultes à voter. La constatation du déclin de la participation électorale des jeunes adultes nous a poussés à vouloir comprendre quels sont les enjeux qui touchent à cette problématique et comment les campagnes sociales incitatives au vote peuvent répondre à un certain besoin. La campagne électorale des élections générales canadiennes du 2 mai 2011, durant laquelle plusieurs outils Internet ont été développés pour inciter la population à voter, le plus connu étant la Boussole électorale, a constitué un contexte clé pour nous permettre d’explorer le sujet. À l’aide des théories sur l’influence des médias et de celles de la persuasion, nous allons mieux comprendre les possibilités qu’offre le Web pour la mobilisation sociale. Deux cueillettes de données ont été faites, soit une première quantitative par questionnaire pour voir le niveau de pénétration de ces outils Internet ainsi que leur appréciation, soit une deuxième qualitative par groupe de discussion afin d’approfondir la problématique de la désaffection politique et d’analyser la pertinence des campagnes sociales incitatives au vote. La mise en commun des résultats nous a permis de comprendre, entre autres, que les campagnes sociales sur Internet peuvent constituer un outil de conscientisation politique dans certaines circonstances et qu’elles peuvent bénéficier des réseaux sociaux comme Facebook et Twitter. Toutefois, le besoin d’éducation civique demeure une solution récurrente lorsqu’on parle d’encourager les jeunes adultes à voter. / This master thesis analyses the effectiveness of social campaigns on the Web that attempt to motivate youth to vote. Political apathy among young adults led us to try to understand how social campaigns reach their public and what stakes are involved in the process. The 2011 Canadian elections were a perfect opportunity to analyse such campaigns given that Internet tools were created to encourage Canadians to vote, the most notable being the Vote compass. With theories on the influence of medias and theories of persuasion, we will trace a portrait of how the Internet can help social mobilization. First, a survey allowed us to understand to what degree young adults were familiar with these Internet tools and if they appreciated them. Then, focus groups were conducted for a better understanding of political apathy and to evaluate the relevance of such social campaigns to motivate youth to vote. Results allowed us to conclude that social campaigns on the Internet could be used as educational tools to foster solid awareness of citizenship issues and that they can profit from social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.