This research is about practising friendship as a Christian in contemporary contexts. The thesis uses methods of practical theology, explained in the first chapter, to explore three practices that are important to many young adult Christians: Facebook, friendship and faith. In Chapter 2 we attend to descriptions of Facebook and friendship practices of young adult Christians based on qualitative research conducted through fieldwork. Models are developed to organize assumptions and values of the participants and provide a framework for analysis. In Chapter 3 the practices are placed in the context of wider social/cultural dimensions in order to recognize ways the young people involved in the fieldwork are following culture and where they are being counter-cultural. In Chapter 4 we view what are interpreted as value-laden practices alongside various theologies of friendship. In the fifth chapter the social/cultural aspects of friendship practices encounter and engage with the theological perspectives. The analysis is based on an understanding of the relationship between faith practices and the ‘wider culture' that has been established by the preceding chapters. The final stage of an initial iteration of the practical theology cycle is implementation of reformed practices, illustrated by examples and conclusions in Chapter 6. This application of the practical theology cycle raises consciousness of the need for connection of personal practices and becomes a catalyst for a continuous cycle of examining and reflecting on experiences, contexts, and faith perspectives. The theological voice of young adult Christians is heard and valued in realizing friendship as a means of fulfilling a call in Christ.

Allow me to introduce you to AN ELEPHANT'S STANDING IN THERE, a whimsical story about an elephant standing in a little boy's bedroom that I wrote for my children many years ago. Though my kids have grown up themselves, I've held on to this tale because of the wonderful memories my family and I shared while reading it together. After stumbling back onto the story roughly a year ago while going through some old things, an idea popped into my head. My daughter, a lovely young lady named Kody, had heard this story many times when she was a young girl. She had also developed an exceptional talent for illustration. I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be fun if Kody illustrated our story for other families to share?" And that, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what we've done. From my family to yours, we sincerely hope you enjoy AN ELEPHANT'S STANDING IN THERE, the first in what Kody and I hope will be a long series of stories for children. --Scott / https://dc.etsu.edu/alumni_books/1030/thumbnail.jpg

Young Adult (YA) literature is widely read and published, yet few linguistic studies have researched it. With an increasing push to include YA texts in the classroom, it becomes necessary to thoroughly research the linguistic nature of the register. A 1-million-word corpus of YA fiction and non-fiction texts was created. Children's and adult fiction corpora were taken from a subset of the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) database. The study noted differences in use of modals and pronouns among children's, YA, and adult registers. Previous research has suggested that children's literature focus more on spatial relations, while adult literature focuses on temporal relationships. However, the results of this study were unable to verify such relationships. The study also found that YA varied from children's and adult literature in regards to expletives, body part words, and familial relationships. The findings of this study suggest that YA is linguistically distinct from children's and adult. This indicates that future studies should focus more on target audience age. These results could also be applied to L1 reading pedagogy.

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) ages 15-39 with cancer have experienced stagnant survival rates for the past 30 years in comparison to those older or younger diagnosed with cancer. Survival disparities for this population may be due to biologic factors, lack of consistent and effective access to care, and unique psychosocial needs of this age group, and taken together, present an opportunity for health policy intervention. Of particular interest are barriers most important to AYAs themselves, appropriate and timely clinical trial enrollment, and the ability to preserve fertility prior to initiating treatment. These barriers may be more difficult to overcome for AYAs that are from rural areas, those that may be un- or under- insured, of lower socioeconomic status or educational attainment, and other social determinant of health related-factors. In this dissertation, I examined the factors that drive the challenges encountered by AYAs with cancer and discuss potential solutions to overcome these challenges. The first aim of this dissertation establishes which challenges or aspects of the cancer experience are most important to AYAs using a mixed methods approach. The second and third aims build off of challenges identified in aim one using quantitative methods. In aim two, AYA clinical trial enrollment in the United States is examined using a nationally-representative sample with a specific focus on rural disparities. In aim three, historical utilization of fertility preservation consultations and procedures are studied among AYAs treated a single institution serving a rural population.

This contemporary young adult fantasy novel aims to challenge genre conventions around gender, race, and sexuality by having the protagonists (an assortment of young queer people) fighting not against a physically present villain, but against the driving force of “story”, which aims to reduce them to archetypal roles in order to act out familiar scenes. The Story attempts to force each of the four protagonists into roles (hero, monster, princess, witch) for which they are in some way fundamentally unsuited, and which would ultimately destroy them if they succeeded in conforming. This novel aims to call into question the motivations of archetypes in stories, and asks readers to examine how those archetypes resemble stereotypes. In this way, it also asks writers and other artists to consider their complicity in hegemonic thought through the perpetuation of stereotypes and norms in their writing and art as easy stand-ins for more complicated truth.

Thesis (M.A.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 20, 2007). "Specialization: Communication and Writing"--T.p. Includes bibliographical references.

This study examines the contextual factors influencing polytobacco use behavior, or the concurrent use of two or more forms of tobacco, among young adult South Asians. Fifteen in-depth and qualitative case studies of South Asian college students were conducted in order to illuminate and understand the intrapersonal, social, cultural, and environmental determinants of polytobacco use. Results from the study highlight the dynamic and diverse nature of tobacco use, as patterns of consumption were found to be profoundly influenced and differentially distributed across lines of gender, socioeconomic status, age, nationality, situational context, and ethnic identity. Participants used two to five forms of tobacco, with 60% using more than two. In addition to cigarettes, several alternative tobacco forms, predominantly hookah, spliffs, and dokha, emerged as popular modes of tobacco consumption among this population. South Asian college students use multiple products intermittently in community settings, where use is normalized as a component of a social activity. The current cigarette-centered model for tobacco control must be adjusted to account for the variety of tobacco forms now accessible to and utilized by young adult South Asians, whose choice of product and frequency of usage is guided by the contextual factors identified in the case studies. Tobacco intervention efforts and cessation programs must develop cultural sensitivity that is attuned and responsive to unique patterns of polytobacco use in order to effectively combat the current tobacco epidemic.

The novel Bifocal, a fictional young adult novel that examines the racist backlash that occurs at a high school after a male Muslim student is arrested on terrorism charges, was published in 2007 and has received wide critical acclaim for its portrayal of issues of racism. Working from an anti-racist framework, this research interviews two teachers who have used the novel in their classrooms, and considers the value and limitations of the book as an anti-racist teaching tool. Through discussions about specific themes in the novel and its overall presentation of racism, I argue that, while Bifocal presents some useful interventions, it also reflects a simplistic and individualistic perspective on racism and how racism can be addressed. I also examine the ways that Bifocal – and young adult literature in general – can be read in order to encourage more critical discussions about systems of racism and privilege.

The novel Bifocal, a fictional young adult novel that examines the racist backlash that occurs at a high school after a male Muslim student is arrested on terrorism charges, was published in 2007 and has received wide critical acclaim for its portrayal of issues of racism. Working from an anti-racist framework, this research interviews two teachers who have used the novel in their classrooms, and considers the value and limitations of the book as an anti-racist teaching tool. Through discussions about specific themes in the novel and its overall presentation of racism, I argue that, while Bifocal presents some useful interventions, it also reflects a simplistic and individualistic perspective on racism and how racism can be addressed. I also examine the ways that Bifocal – and young adult literature in general – can be read in order to encourage more critical discussions about systems of racism and privilege.

This dissertation offers the term “narrative intimacy” to refer to an implicit relationship between narrator and reader that depends upon disclosure and trust. By examining contemporary American fiction for adolescent women by critically- and commercially-successful authors such as Sarah Dessen, Stephenie Meyer, and Laurie Halse Anderson, I explore the use of narrative intimacy as a means of reflecting and reinforcing larger, often contradictory, cultural expectations regarding adolescent women, interpersonal relationships, and intimacy. Specifically, I investigate the possibility that adolescent women narrators construct understandings of the adolescent woman reader as a friend, partner in desire, or “bibliotherapist,” which in turn allow the narrator to understand the reader as a safe and appropriate location for disclosure. At the same time, the novels I discuss offer frequent warnings against the sort of unfettered disclosure the narrators perform in their relationships with the reader: friendships are marked as potential sites of betrayal and rejection, while romantic relationships are presented as inherently threatening to physical and emotional health. In order to interrogate the construction of narrative intimacy, I rely upon a tradition of narrative and reception theory concerning the roles of narrator and reader. I also turn to other cultural representations of adolescent women and their relationships, from films, television, and magazines to the self-help and nonfiction literature that provides insight into current psychological, sociological, and anthropological understandings of adolescent womanhood. Ultimately, I argue, the prevalence of narrative intimacy in fiction for adolescent women reflects a complex system that encourages adolescent women to seek intimate interpersonal relationships even as it discourages the type and degree of disclosure that is ostensibly required in the development of intimacy. The narrator thus turns to the reader because the “logical gap”—to borrow a term from Peter Lamarque—between fiction and reality allows for a construction of the reader as a recipient of disclosure who cannot respond with the threats of criticism, judgment, or rejection that may be presented by other characters within the text. The reader, in turn, may come to depend upon narrative intimacy as a space through which to vicariously explore her own understanding of intimacy.