Spanning the period from the early years of the Cold War to the early twenty-first century, Crossing Out argues that medical theories of gender variance which emerge in the middle of the twentieth century are bound by the Cold-War–era discursive limits within which they were articulated, and that the ideological content of those theories persists into late-century research and treatment protocols. I parallel these analyses with interrogations of literary representations of transgendered subjects. What emerges most powerfully from this analysis of literary works is their tendency to signify in excess of the medical foreclosures, even when they seem consistent with medical discourse. By reading these two discursive systems against each other, the dissertation demonstrates the ability of literary discourse to accommodate multifaceted subject positions which medical discourse is unable to articulate. Literature thus complicates the stories that medical culture tells, revealing complex and multivariate possibilities for transgendered identification absent from traditional medical accounts. In tracing these discursive intersections the dissertation draws on and extends Michel Foucault’s theory of subjugated knowledges and Judith Butler’s writings on the formation of gendered subjects. Chapter One establishes the Cold War context, and argues that there are significant continuities between 1950s theories of intersexuality and Cold War ideology. Chapter Two extends this analysis to take in theories of transsexualism that emerged in the same years, and analyzes the discursive excesses of a 1950s pulp novel representation of a transsexual. Chapter Three establishes that the ideological content of the medical theories remained virtually unchanged by the 1990s, and argues that multivalent literary representations of transgenderism from the same decade promise the emergence of unanticipated forms of gender identity that exceed medical norms. Chapter Four is concerned with transgendered children, as they are represented in medical writing and in young adult and children’s literature. Interrogating fiction which negotiates between established medical discourse and an emergent transgender discourse, the chapter argues that these works at once invite and subvert a pathologizing understanding of gender-variant children while simultaneously providing data that demands to be read through the lens of an emergent affirmative notion of trans-childhood.

Shared custody has risen to the fore as one of the most contentious issues facing family law justice systems. Ongoing efforts to implement or contemplate legislative reforms to prescribe a rebuttable presumption for shared custody have been central. Drawing on in-depth, retrospective qualitative interviews with 28 young adults between 18 and 25 years of age, this researcher conducted a thematic analysis and examined children’s perspectives and motivations regarding transitions into and out of shared custody, relationships with parents, and their sense of fairness around decision-making. The dissertation research is presented in a ‘publications format’ and contains an introduction, three self-contained journal-ready publications and an overarching discussion. The introduction provided an overall review of the literature and presented a developing model for tying together the complex strands of existing theoretical and empirical literature. Paper one focused how and why transitions into and out of shared custody happen. Drawing on the metaphor of alchemy, the analysis illustrated that shared custody is not a short-cut to a successful custodial arrangement or parent-child relations. Shared custody blends together complex interactions among elements related to the child’s living situation, maturation and changing notions of fairness, flexibility, the push and pull of relationships, and in some instances, rigid enforcement. The second paper highlighted how participants’ utilized the business strategy of “managing-up” and illustrated how children are active agents in navigating post-separation family relations finding ways to exert their agency to help and protect siblings, manage parental conflict, maintain shared custody to shield their parents and siblings from emotional hurt and initiate contact to maintain parent-child relationships. Including children’s voices in custodial decision-making is predicated on a rights-based doctrine that children ought to have input on decisions that affect their best interests. Participants felt that young children (13 years or less) should have input in how their arrangements were constructed, but not the final say about the type of custodial arrangement. There was general consensus that adolescents (about age 14), should have considerably more input. A final overarching discussion chapter integrated the three papers with the model presented in the introduction and suggests implications for policy and practice.

Šiuo magistriniu darbu siekiama ištirti paauglių ir jaunų suaugusių žmonių internete papasakotas meilės istorijas. Meilės istorijos yra priskiriamos asmeninės patirties pasakojimams – istorijos, žmogaus dėl tam tikrų priežasčių prisimenamos ir pasitaikius progai pasakojamos kitiems. Pagrindinis tyrimo tikslas - atskleisti internetinių meilės istorijų įvairovę, dėmesį telkiant į autorius, socialinę ir kultūrinę meilės istorijų veikėjų gyvenamąją aplinką bei tekstų formavimo ypatumus. Kokybinė tekstų analizė atliekama remiantis psichologijos, ypač raidos psichologijos, mokslo laimėjimais bei žiniomis iš tautosakos. Dėl meilės istorijų gausos, analizei buvo pasirinktas http://www.svajos.com internetinis puslapis. Meilės istorijose analizuojamos trys pagrindinės temos: informacija apie meilės istorijų pateikėjus, pavyzdžiui, jų amžius, lytis, asmenybė; socialinė ir kultūrinė pateikėjų gyvenamoji aplinka – šeima, draugai, laisvalaikis, emigracija, skaistumas, mirties motyvas; bei istorijų pasakojimo formų įvairovė – išplėtoto ir neišplėtoto siužeto, istorijos su laimingomis ir nelaimingomis pabaigomis, bei tokios formos kaip trumpi nesiužetiniai tekstai, laiškai ir svajonės. Internetinių meilės istorijų pateikėjų amžiaus analizė atskleidė, jog, be to, jog retais atvejais savo amžių nusako patys pateikėjai, tai galima nustatyti ir iš tam tikrų užuominų. Gilinantis į internetinės meilės istorijas lyties aspektu, atsiskleidė tam tikri merginų ir vaikinų rašytų tekstų skirtumai –... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This master‘s thesis aims to investigate love stories by teenagers and young adults published on the Internet. Love stories are included into stories of personal experience. They are stories that people for some reason remember and tell others as opportunity offers. The main aims of the paper are to establish characteristics of love stories on the Internet, their similarities and differences from more casual love stories – written or told, moreover, to analyse what and how much does a love story on the Internet tell about the storyteller and his environment. Qualitative analysis of these texts is based on findings in psychology and especially developmental psychology and knowledge from folklore. For the analysis purpose http://www.svajos.com website was chosen because of a great amount of love stories it contains. Three main topics are analysed in love stories, namely, information about the love storytellers, for example, their age, gender, personality; their social and cultural environment such as family, friends, leisure, emigration, virginity, death; variety of forms of love stories, for example, explicated and non-explicated content, stories with happy endings and unfortunate endings and other forms such as short texts with no plot, letters and dreams. Analysis of the love stories on Internet from the age perspective showed that sometimes the age is given by presenters themselves and sometimes it can be established from certain clues. Analysis of the love stories on... [to full text]

Exploring Urban Spaces in the Young Imagination makes the case for taking seriously children's and young adult fiction as a topic worthy of scholarly analysis beyond a purely didactic focus. The recent explosion of interest in this literature among adult readers and the blurring of boundaries between adult and youth media demonstrate that it has become a powerful influence on popular culture and has captured the collective imagination. As the future inhabitants of urban spaces, paying close attention to children’s and youth perspectives can provide fresh lenses, with which to view the cultural construction of cityscapes. This dissertation examines post-millennium children’s and YA fiction and film. Drawing on theories of the spatial turn, my research provides five case studies on a variety of topics related to the contemporary metropolis – ranging from cognitive disability to environmental concerns. Specifically, it pays close attention to the inherent connections between the developing perceptions of metropolises and the various protagonists’ processes of identity formation. Beginning with Berlin, as portrayed in Andreas Steinhöfel’s popular Rico-und-Oskar-trilogy, my analysis explores the protagonist’s shifting perceptions of his urban surroundings while overcoming the limitations of his learning disability. Furthermore, my research shows how Steinhöfel’s Der mechanische Prinz utilizes the cityscape as a mirror for the protagonist’s psyche and how his knowledge of the Berlin subway system contributes to his self-healing. In contrast, China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun explores the ecocritical implications of London’s urban ‘other’, UnLondon. Katherine Marsh’s The Night Tourist and its sequel The Twilight Tourist illustrate the literary construction of New York City as a ‘mediascape’ and modern myth. Finally, I focus on alternative family structures and their connection to urban spaces, specifically Venice in Cornelia Funke’s Herr der Diebe, and Paris in Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The study concludes with an examination of these novels’ filmic versions and their respective romanticisations of Venice and Paris. The dissertation contributes to the fields of child and youth studies and urban geographies by exposing the manifold symbiotic constructions of cityscapes and youth in post-2000 children’s and YA fiction that shape identities and spaces alike. / Thesis (Ph.D, German) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-02 16:56:36.507

The understanding that Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) commonly persists into adulthood has not been widely accepted until recently. Accordingly, less is known about diagnostic and treatment prevalence or health and social outcomes of ADHD in adulthood. The objectives of this study were to: determine lifetime prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and treatment for Manitoba young adults, investigate whether a socioeconomic gradient exists within Manitoba young adults with a lifetime diagnosis of ADHD, and investigate the relationship between ADHD in Manitoba young adults and health service utilization. Using the Manitoba Population Health Research Data Repository, this cross-sectional analysis used 24 years of data (1984/85-2008/09) and included all Manitoba adults aged 18-29 during 2007/08-2008/09 with a lifetime diagnosis of ADHD. Crude prevalence was calculated for ADHD diagnosis and psychostimulant prescriptions, in addition to several demographic variables. The presence of a socioeconomic gradient in lifetime ADHD diagnosis was investigated using Poisson and negative binomial regression. Relationships between young adults with lifetime ADHD diagnosis and health service utilization for several health and social outcome variables were explored using a matched cohort design with two comparison groups and GEE regression models. In relation to previous Manitoba research on childhood ADHD, the socioeconomic gradient for ADHD diagnosis was found to dissipate into young adulthood. However, when region of residence was accounted for, a small inverse gradient in the urban population and a direct gradient in the rural population were evident. Individuals from the highest income quintile were significantly less likely to be diagnosed before age 18 than all other income quintiles. Depression, anxiety, personality disorders, conduct disorder, substance abuse, multiple types of injuries, receipt of income assistance, and reduced high school graduation were significantly correlated with lifetime ADHD diagnosis. Given the high lifetime prevalence of ADHD in Manitoba young adults, significant socioeconomic correlates for diagnosis, and multitude of adverse health and social outcomes in this population, further investigation into the trajectory of this relatively unexplored population is recommended. Furthermore, continued measurement of the provision and success of additional resources will ultimately be necessary for enhancing the health status of all Canadian adults living with ADHD.

According to Kotler and Armstrong (2004: 259), “a product‟s position is the way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes”. Knowledge of these attributes, and more specifically, which attributes “attract customers to stores is more important than ever” (Paulins and Geistfeld 2003: 371). Furthermore, it is important to note that the attributes which constitute consumers‟ perceptions of value may be of different importance to different groups of consumers (Ziethaml 1988: 14 cited in Sweeney and Soutar 2001: 204), hence justifying the need to study Generation Y independently. According to Sweeney (2006: 6), it is important to study this specific age cohort as “Millennials are very different from previous generations at the same age” and many of their key behaviours and preferences “are likely to remain part of their lifelong culture” and adult buying behaviour. Consequently, it is vital to satisfy and capture this market now in order to secure a committed clientele for the future. Yarrow and O‟Donnell (2009: 2) also describe Generation Y as “potentially one of the most powerful and influential generations ever” (Yarrow and O‟Donnell 2009: 2), as well as being known for its unprecedented purchasing power “of which two-thirds goes on clothing” (Ebenkamp 1999: 4). The research objectives for this study were: 1. To identify the most patronised stores according to a sample of male and female Generation Y consumers. 2. To determine the relative importance of the attributes that Generation Y consumers apply when choosing between clothing retailers. 3. To determine the relative importance of the attributes that Generation Y consumers apply when purchasing various garments and pieces of clothing. 4. To identify the determinant attributes that influence clothing store selection among Generation Y consumers. 5. To determine whether a significant difference exists between the attributes of the male and female Generation Y respondents with regard to clothing store selection. The study involved a two-stage triangulated research design, with a qualitative focus group stage preceding a quantitative survey stage. The data obtained from the focus groups was analysed and subsequently used to formulate and refine the survey to be used in stage two of the triangulation. Purposive quota sampling was utilised during stage two of the research, which resulted in 380 sufficiently completed questionnaires, the findings from which enabled the researcher to achieve the research objectives. The key findings of the study revealed that Mr Price, Edgars, Woolworths and Identity were the most frequently patronised by the UKZNP student respondents. The attributes found to be of the most importance with regard to influencing clothing store selection were: High Quality Merchandise, Value for Money, Uniqueness of Merchandise, Fashionable Merchandise, Store Cleanliness, Wide Selection of Merchandise and Low Prices. The clothing attributes which were identified as the most important to the sample of Generation Y respondents when choosing clothing to purchase, were: Good Fit, Comfort and Quality. The results of the Discriminant Analysis, combined with the mean importance ratings of the clothing store attributes, revealed three determinant attributes influencing clothing store selection among the Generation Y respondents, namely: Low Prices, Fashionable Merchandise and Uniqueness of Merchandise. Finally, an Independent Samples T-Test, as well as a Mann-Whitney U-Test, were run to determine whether a significant difference exists between the attributes of the male and female Generation Y respondents with regard to clothing store selection. The results revealed that female Generation Y respondents in this study place greater importance on the attributes of Convenient Location, Low Prices and Appealing Advertising, when choosing between clothing retailers, while the male Generation Y respondents perceived High Quality Merchandise as being more important and influential. Lastly, numerous recommendations were made regarding how to target and satisfy the Generation Y consumer market, with particular reference to each of the clothing retailers. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Problem behaviours occur in approximately 10 to 15% of individuals with intellectual disabilities and these behaviours most often include aggression and self-injury. Families who support young adults with multiple disabilities and problem behaviour at home often experience costs to their psychological, physical, financial and emotional wellbeing. Respite care evolved to allow families short breaks from care giving and to support families in looking after their family members at home. Furthermore, problem behaviour severely limits opportunities for individuals with multiple disabilities to interact adaptively with their environments and develop positive behaviour skills that increase the possibility of living independently in their adult years. The present study aimed first to demonstrate the utility of functional analysis of problem behaviour in respite care, and then, to reduce food stealing and pica exhibited by a young adult with multiple disabilities attending a respite care centre. Following a functional analysis that indicated food stealing and pica had the probable function of hunger reduction, two positive behaviour support plans were developed. These interventions, conducted at the respite centre three days a week by centre staff, involved strategies to teach the participant to sign “eat” in New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) to gain access to food and increase accessibility of food in the environment to reduce pica. The results showed that introducing the NZSL sign reduced food stealing to near zero within three weeks and pica was eliminated following the combined approach of functional communication training and antecedent manipulation. Use of the communicative sign was maintained at follow-up and food stealing remained at near zero, while pica remained at zero one-month following the intervention.

The focus of this thesis is how fanfiction, an underground subculture of web literature written about popular books, films, television shows, and comics, treats the original works it derives from. In this study I will examine the ways in which fans reshape the original stories of the works they write about, and the ways in which they do not, and speculate the reasons they have chosen to do so. This project examines fanfiction surrounding three young adult novels: Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter. I examine each of these works and their respective fanfiction in order to highlight important themes in each work and problems inherent in each story to account for the changes fanfiction writers make in their literature. I have chosen one overarching theme in the fanfiction in each fandom and will explore why fanfiction authors have overwhelmingly chosen to change the source material to suit that theme.

Young adult novels are undeniably popular and yet they are simultaneously dismissed as inconsequential or light – conventionally deemed low literature, these novels are generally not considered worthy to be discussed in the same spaces as the less popular, more traditional high literature. If a genre of young adult novels were given a place within literary history, it would not only legitimize these novels as more than guilty pleasures or the provinces of adolescent readers who will come to grow out of them, but it would also open up the possibility for other forms of literature to be similarly recognized as worth reading or thinking about. The Bildungsroman, also known as the “novel of formation” or the more colloquial “coming-of-age” novel, is a genre grounded in the traditions of multiple literary histories and is commonly understood to be high literature. Marianne Hirsch models the European Bildungsroman, which is useful for both American novels due to the predominance of European and particularly English canon. This paper is interested in determining how contemporary young adult dystopian novels, examined through the Scott Westerfeld's Uglies and Veronica Roth's Divergent, both work within and depart from the conventions of the traditional Bildungsroman.

Little is known about the unique experiences of Indigenous people in their work life journeys. In particular, there has been very little research with young males on this topic. In this qualitative study, eight young Indigenous men shared their stories regarding their search for and engagement in work, and completed an exploration of their Possible Selves. The research question was "what are the supports, challenges, and obstacles experienced as you search for and maintain work?" Thematic analysis identified four meta-themes related to their work life experiences: relational supports; work experiences; education; and culture and work. The results have important implications for theory, research and practice in regards to work and career development with young Indigenous men. / Graduate / 0525