New Approaches
Centering Young Voices in the Creation of a Generation Enhanced Network: Creating a Collaborative Intergovernmental and Community Model for Change View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jen Westmoreland, Dominique Pierre Toussaint
This poster details the creation of a network to address systemic inequities and resource gaps for young people in a racially and economically diverse community in the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota, USA. Using a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) model, the Generational Enhanced Network (GEN) team created the framework for an intergovernmental (city, schools, county) and community-based collaborative structure to address the real (not imagined) needs of young people and ensure they are in the driver's seat of systemic change in their community and beyond.
Identity and Language on Instagram
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Irina Ustinova
The focus of the research is the language of Instagram as one of five most popular social networks in the world with 1.221 billion active users, 70% of them are young people under the age of 35. Frequent usage of slang, jargon, abbreviations, curse language, informal contractions, as well as the usage of emojis and symbols instead of words are typical in the language of young generation all over the world. The use of Global English in the Instagram sociolinguistic setting can be observed in the speech of native and non native speakers of English. The reasons of English code-mixing with other languages on Instagram can be explained by multiple reasons from catching users’ attention to low level of English language proficiency, or from expressing the opinion faster to additional creativity. The English usage on the Instagram is a sign of prestige and novelty, especially for younger generation’s identity.
The Paralympics: Superheroes with Superpowers View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Karen Sebesta
The Paralympics (Summer + Winter) are the pinnacle of sports excellence for athletes with a variety of physical disabilities. The first Paralympic Games took place in Rome in 1960 with 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then, every four years following the Olympic Summer Games, the Paralympics take place. As the years progressed, more and more athletes participated but the world WASN'T watching. While television brought hours and hours of Olympic coverage to households around the world, the Paralympics got a few small stories in newspapers and the odd highlight package on TV. But when London, England got the rights to the Games in 2012...things changed. The Organizing Committee decided to make a commitment to bring 580 hours of game coverage via the internet and more broadcasting partners promised to air more hours on television than ever before. It was a record breaking moment! The athletes were superheroes with superpowers and their stories were compelling, engaging and inspiring! Words like handicapped, disabled and physically challenged seem ridiculous to use when describing these athletes and their ABILITIES!
Creating Home: The Impact of Technology and Gender on Immigrants and Refugees View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Shirley Wade McLoughlin, Eugenia Arvanitis
The number of immigrants and refugees tasked with making a home space away from their native country continues to grow at an alarming rate. Critical to the effective transitioning to new countries and living in a new culture is the successful creation of home. While the notion of home can be examined from both a conceptual and concrete manner, factors that impact these constructs vary widely, and are dependent upon many factors. We interview immigrant and refugee high school students on their ideas about home, both in their native countries and in their new countries. We specifically focus upon the role of gender and the role technology have played with regards to their creation of new home and how these two factors have impacted these students in their new country. We also examine differences between their ideas of home in their native country as compared to that in the United States.
