Alanna Goldstein and Sarah Flicker
This paper adds to the growing body of research examining the impacts of COVID-19 physical distancing measures on the everyday lives of young people. It draws on theories of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper adds to the growing body of research examining the impacts of COVID-19 physical distancing measures on the everyday lives of young people. It draws on theories of “digital intimacies” and “relationship maintenance” to argue that young people’s reflections on COVID-19, physical distancing and online relationships expose larger gaps in sex, relationships and health education pedagogies.
Design/methodology/approach
Five semi-structured online focus groups were conducted with Canadian adolescents aged 16–19 probing their experiences of dating and platonic relationships during COVID-19. Narrative thematic analysis methods were used to develop themes outlining how physical distancing measures have affected young people’s relationship norms, expectations and values.
Findings
COVID-19 physical distancing measures and school closures appeared to create the conditions for some young people to productively reflect on the labor involved in the maintenance of their relationships in relation to considerations of proximity, reciprocity and distance. This labor was particularly articulated by female participants, many of whom expressed that life disruptions caused by COVID-19 catalyzed learning about their own relationship needs, desires and boundaries.
Research limitations/implications
Results from this research are not widely generalizable, as each participant had a unique experience with COVID-19 physical distancing measures, schooling and in-person contact. Due to anonymity measures implemented, participant narratives cannot be confidently associated with demographic surveys that hampered the ability to offer an intersectional analysis of participant experience.
Originality/value
Discussions of relationship maintenance and digital intimacies elucidate the limitations of health education’s tendency to construct adolescent relationships as existing along binaries of “healthy” and “unhealthy.” Health education might benefit from more meaningful integration of these concepts.
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Shira B. Taylor, Liviana Calzavara, Sarah Flicker, Pia Kontos and Robert Schwartz
Immigrant youth face both unique and disproportionate barriers to sexual health. Targeted sexual health education to redress these disparities requires creative and inclusive…
Abstract
Purpose
Immigrant youth face both unique and disproportionate barriers to sexual health. Targeted sexual health education to redress these disparities requires creative and inclusive approaches that consider personal and community challenges and strengths. This study piloted a novel intervention: SExT: Sex Education by Theatre, a theatre-based, culturally-relevant, participatory action research programme delivered in an immigration destination neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
Nineteen youth were trained as peer educators. They participated in theatre-based workshops on sexual health topics which culminated in a performance for local peers. Mixed methods evaluation included surveys which investigated changes in personal and social development over three time-points (pre, post, 4-month follow-up). The impact of the intervention on peer educators was explored in greater depth using qualitative peer interviews and focus groups.
Findings
Quantitative study findings indicated that peer educators experienced significant improvements in personal growth, social inclusion and social engagement after participating in SExT and these improvements were maintained at follow-up. Thematic qualitative analysis further indicates that meaningful involvement in a sex education theatre intervention may protect against adverse outcomes and promote self-actualization, connection and active citizenship.
Originality/value
This research stands out for its innovative approach to addressing sexual health disparities among immigrant youth in Toronto using culturally relevant theatre-based peer education. SExT may serve as a model for sexual health interventions for newcomer youth and other priority groups in diverse contexts.
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Ciann L. Wilson and Sarah Flicker
This paper, and the corresponding project, is motivated by the lack of qualitative research elucidating the voices of young Black women in Canada when it comes to their sexual…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper, and the corresponding project, is motivated by the lack of qualitative research elucidating the voices of young Black women in Canada when it comes to their sexual health.
Methodology/approach
This paper draws from data produced in the Let’s Talk About Sex (LTAS) project – a Photovoice process held once a week for nine consecutive weeks in the Jane-Finch community, a low-income community in Toronto, Canada. This workshop was completed by 15 young African Caribbean and Black (ACB) women in the age group 14–18. These young women used photography and creative writing to express their opinions on the barriers and facilitators to making healthy sexual decisions.
Findings
A central finding was the existence of a subculture among youth in Toronto, where the exchange of sex for material resources was commonplace. Herein, we unpack the various forms of economically motivated relationships reported, which ranged from romantic relationships to sugar daddies and brothel-like sex dens. We also reflect on the discussions at community forums where the research findings were presented. From shock and outrage to a sly smile of knowing, the responses were often gendered, generational and reflective of a trend occurring across Toronto, not just in the Jane-Finch community, and not merely among the Black youth.
Research implications
Effective interventions and youth programs should focus on the sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV risks that may result from transactional relationships, economic empowerment, and youth employment.
Originality/value
This is a novel arts-based study on youth engaged inthe exchange of sex for money, which has nuanced differences from survival sex.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify studies which have investigated arson or firesetting in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify studies which have investigated arson or firesetting in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic PRISMA review was conducted.
Findings
The present review highlighted the relatively little research that has been conducted to date exploring firesetting or arson in individuals with ASD. In sum, 11 papers were identified in the present review study: 6 were case studies and 5 were empirical studies. The case studies identified in the review highlighted some of the ASD symptomology which may contribute to this type of criminal behaviour. Also, the empirical studies indicate that there is a higher prevalence of individuals with ASD who engage in such criminal behaviours.
Research limitations/implications
There is an urgent need for further empirical research in this area and for there to be an increased awareness and understanding of how ASD can contribute to arson and firesetting in both a legal and clinical context.
Originality/value
This is the first review, to the author’s knowledge, to explore the literature on firesetting or arson in individuals with ASD.
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Sarah Semon, Nicholas Catania, Danielle Lane and Jessica Hinton
A story of my time in Damascus and falling in love.
Sarah Quinton and Nina Reynolds
The purpose of this chapter is to situate how the digitalized research environment is changing the roles of researchers and participants, and how these changes lead to more…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to situate how the digitalized research environment is changing the roles of researchers and participants, and how these changes lead to more complex and less discrete ethics challenges. Incorporating contemporary examples from the social sciences, we outline the core challenges of the changing research landscape that embrace both research actors (researcher, participant, and research users) and data issues. The ethical implications related to research actors’ roles are discussed by considering how data is accessed, how people can now participate in research, and issues related to accessing participants. Digital data and associated ethical issues are explored through examining authorship and ownership, how digital data is produced, and how research transparency can be achieved. Following on from this consideration of research actors and data issues, we suggest which challenges have been re-contextualized by the digital environment, and which are novel to the digital research context, outlining six practical yet reflective questions for researchers to ask as a way to navigate ethics in the digital research territory.
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This chapter seeks to compare and contrast two compelling portrayals of the bisexual or ‘gender-blind’ vampire: The Hunger (1983) and American Horror Story: Hotel (2015). These…
Abstract
This chapter seeks to compare and contrast two compelling portrayals of the bisexual or ‘gender-blind’ vampire: The Hunger (1983) and American Horror Story: Hotel (2015). These texts present a number of notable differences. They were released over 30 years apart and they also diverge markedly in form: Hotel is a 12-episode television serial, whilst The Hunger is a tight 97-minute-feature film. Whilst these differences highlight shifts in the format of horror more broadly, they also facilitate the reflection on whether the portrayal of the bisexual vampire has dramatically shifted alongside these changes. Such a reflection is ripe with potential given that in addition to their differences, both texts also share significant aesthetic and narrative similarities. Both Hotel and The Hunger foreground performativity and feature female protagonists who defy heteronormative understandings of gender and sexuality. Undoubtedly, Hotel can be read as an aesthetic homage to The Hunger. However, whether Hotel also echoes some of the more conservative aspects of the earlier film’s politics is a more complex question. Focusing on the ways that these female vampire protagonists, as well as a selection of their lovers and victims, are gendered, this chapter will illuminate a number of developments and lingering issues in the ways that horror depicts (or circumvents) complex facets of the relationship between bisexuality and gender.
Elodie De Boissieu and Damien Chaney
The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific characteristics of consumers’ lived experience in a brand museum within a luxury context. While previous research has…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific characteristics of consumers’ lived experience in a brand museum within a luxury context. While previous research has investigated this experience through the lens of brand heritage, the unique attributes and prestigiousness of the luxury field have not yet been examined. The authors argue that these distinctive features may alter the brand heritage experience in significant ways.
Design/methodology/approach
To understand the dimensions of a brand heritage experience in a luxury context, the authors applied a qualitative method using reflexive introspection. Specifically, the authors used 89 reflective introspections of 29 visitors of nine different luxury brand museums.
Findings
The findings indicate that a brand heritage experience in luxury is based on four dimensions: aesthetic, authentic, scientific and mythic. The data also reveal the heterogeneous aspect of the experience, which varies according to the level of consumers’ brand familiarity as well as whether the museum visit is led by a guide or not.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the literature by emphasizing a new dimension of a brand heritage experience in luxury: a mythic dimension. This study also unveils the impact of contextual factors on the brand heritage experience.