Examining concepts of power and agency in research with young people

Concepts of power and agency have become increasingly prominent in the youth studies literatures and related research. A focus of the research to date has been an examination of how a better understanding of young people's lived experiences can reveal possibilities for young people's agency to emerge. Despite increased interest in the term agency, much less has been said about how the concept is defined and recognized in research with young people, including what the concept may entail but crucially, how the term is linked to and underpinned by the related concept of power. This paper seeks to contribute to our understanding of power and agency as utilized in research with young people. The discussion that follows identifies the possible ways in which different theoretical positions shape our understanding of how power and agency are investigated and how these understandings inform the ways we interpret young people's perspectives and actions as holding potential for ‘agency’. Drawing on recent empirical examples, we consider how varying interpretations of power and/or agency shape not only the ways in which young people's agentic experiences are theorized (and the related ontological and epistemological assumptions these positions imply) but also the presumed effects of that agency.     

Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the WHOQOL-BREF Using a Multitrait-Multimethod Approach

The WHOQOL-BREF is a commonly used questionnaire in quality of life research. Previous research has shown that the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental health) are highly related. Whether these high correlations reflected the true relations across the domains or the influence of common method effect; however, is still unknown. This study examines the convergent and discriminant validity of the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF by using the multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) approach to control the method effect. Two different samples, with a total of 186 and 201 adults, respectively, were used in the present study. Each participant filled out the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires using four different scaling methods (Likert-type scale, visual analogue scale, pie scale, and partner rating). The covariance matrix of the MTMM result was analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis modeling. Two models were applied, including the correlated traits-correlated uniqueness (CTCU) model and the uncorrelated traits-correlated uniqueness (UTCU) model. Results showed that the CTCU model fit the data better than did the UTCU model, suggesting that the variables tapping the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF have excellent convergent validity; the four domains have moderate correlations, indicating that the four domains are related but not identical.     

The cycle of cyberbullying: Some experience required

Findings from a survey of 1,602 middle school and high school students suggests despite heavy use of social media, adolescents believe they are less likely than peers to be victims of cyberbullying and less likely to bully others. The results suggest a cycle of perceptions and behaviors: victims of cyberbullying bully others. Adolescents who believe they are likely to be bullied acknowledge they are likely to continue bullying others and are also likely to blame victims for “bringing it on themselves.”     

The Special Historical Section of the Journal of American College Health

Abstract

Objective: To identify human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and HPV vaccine–related attitudes among college-aged women and the relationship between HPV vaccine uptake and subsequent sexual behaviors. Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Google Scholar searches were performed from 2006, the date after the first HPV vaccine became available, to present. Results: Of the 13 studies identified, most were cross-sectional. College-aged women saw HPV infection as serious and had positive attitudes toward the HPV vaccine. Barriers (ie, cost, lack of insurance coverage) existed that prevented women from obtaining the vaccine and many women did not see themselves at risk for HPV. The vaccine uptake rate, although increasing, has been slow. Conclusion: College-aged women in the United States may need unbiased information about HPV and HPV vaccine. Studies that focus on risk perception and the relationship between knowledge, attitudes, vaccine uptake, and sexual behaviors are needed to inform interventions and public health programs.     

EXACT TWO-SAMPLE MEDIAN TESTS WHEN ONE "SAMPLE" VALUE POSSIBLY FROM A DIFFERENT POPULATION

Random samples are assumed for the univariate two-sample problem. Sometimes this assumption may be violated in that an observation in one “sample”, of size m, is from a population different from that yielding the remaining m—1 observations (which are a random sample). Then, the interest is in whether this random sample of size m—1 is from the same population as the other random sample. If such a violation occurs and can be recognized, and also the non-conforming observation can be identified (without imposing conditional effects), then that observation could be removed and a two-sample test applied to the remaining samples. Unfortunately, satisfactory procedures for such a removal do not seem to exist. An alternative approach is to use two-sample tests whose significance levels remain the same when a non-conforming observation occurs, and is removed, as for the case where the samples were both truly random. The equal-tail median test is shown to have this property when the two “samples” are of the same size (and ties do not occur).     

Shaping the future of social work in end-of-life and palliative care

The second Social Work Summit on End-of-Life and Palliative Care was held from June 1 to June 3, 2005. Sixty representatives of more than 35 social work and other professional organizations with a commitment to improve care for the terminally ill, dying, and bereaved, attended and formulated key priority directions and initiatives that will further the field.     

The effects of traffic noise on tadpole behavior and development

Urban Ecosystems - Traffic noise is known to negatively affect many wildlife species by interfering with foraging behavior. Frogs often lay their eggs in roadside ditches because they are...