Behind the Headlines: Media Representation of Children and Young People in Northern Ireland:Summary of Research Findings

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council this partnership project between the Childhood, Transition and Social Justice Initiative at Queen’s University and Include Youth focuses on the negative stereotyping of children and young people and the role and responsibilities of the media in the creation and transmission of negative images. Engaging with children, young people, organisations working with children and young people and media representatives, the project uses research evidence to explore negative media representation and its consequences for children’s rights, public reaction and policy initiatives in Northern Ireland. This report represents a summary of the findings of engagement with 141 children and young people. It outlines how they feel they are presented by the media and the impacts of this. It concludes by noting ways forward in challenging negative portrayals.

A Gendered Profession

A Gendered Profession, RIBA Publications, Oct 2016

For a profession that claims to be so concerned with the needs of society, the continuing gender imbalance in architectural education and practice is a difficult subject. Difficult, because it’s been stagnant for some thirty years. This book seeks to change that.
Beyond the profession, the emergence of fourth wave feminism has broken a twenty-year drought in the discourse[1]. A new generation of feminist critique is emerging, characterised by a broader civic commitment, one fuelled by the recognition that time and again, women and minorities have been the first casualties of neo-liberalism.
Whereas after World War II the architectural profession rallied around its obligation to fulfil a social need, today architecture has all but capitulated its absolute servitude to capitalism. Recognising that feminist thinking is a meaningful response to the inequalities of capitalism, A Gendered Profession will be a forum for a discussion about the failure of our profession – one that is so explicitly concerned with the design of inclusive environments – to resolve its own inequalities. Contributions have been sought and responses elicited from all corners of the discipline to propose strategies, attitudes and solutions to this crisis in representation.
At stake is more than just the lack of female representation. Male architects suffer from the same ingrained mechanisms of gender stereotyping, obliged to place professional commitments above those to their family and children. And while three quarters of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual architects report being comfortable about being open about their sexuality in the workplace, that number drops to just sixteen per cent when on the building site.
A Gendered Profession will aim to perform a diagnostic check of the architecture profession from one end of the spectrum to the other. Whereas much has been written on feminism and architecture, the majority is produced exclusively by women. A Gendered Profession has worked hard towards gender parity in both its contributions and editorial structure and therefore does not limit its understanding of gender to an either/or analogue. The chapters featured in the book are written by artists, academics, practitioners and students.
Through its diverse authorship, this book will provide the first ever attempt to move the debate beyond the tradition of gender-partitioned diagnostic or merely critical discourse on the gender and wider inclusivity debate towards something more propositional, actionable and transformative.

Unmasking the ‘Elderly Mystique’: why it is time to make the personal political in ageing research

This article uses feminist scholarship to investigate ‘the elderly mystique’ – which contends that the potential of old age is masked by a set of false beliefs about ageing (i.e. ageism) which permeate social, economic and political life (Cohen, 1988).
The article presents a theoretical model which explores the extent to which institutionalised ageism shapes the trajectory of life after 60. The hypothesis under-pinning the model is simple: The challenge for ageing societies is not the average age of a given population but, rather, how age is used to structure economic, social and political life. An inter-disciplinary framework is used to examine how biological facts about ageing are used to segregate older from younger people, giving older people the status of “other”; economically through retirement, politically through assumptions about ‘the grey vote’ and socially through ageist stereotyping in the media and through denial and ridicule of the sexuality of older people. Each domain is informed by the achievements of feminist theory and research on sexism and how its successes and failures can inform critical investigations of ageism.
The paper recognises the role of ageism in de-politicising the lived experience of ageing. The paper concludes that feminist scholarship, particularly work by feminists in their seventies, eighties and nineties has much to offer in terms of re-framing gerontology as an emancipatory project for current and future cohorts of older people.

The Imagined Contact Hypothesis

Imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) is a new indirect contact strategy for promoting tolerance and more positive intergroup relations. Research has shown that mentally simulating a positive interaction with an outgroup member can elicit more favorable explicit and implicit outgroup attitudes, less stereotyping, and enhance intentions to engage in future contact. This review documents the range of benefits that accrue from imagined contact, the processes through which it operates, and the conditions that limit or enhance its effectiveness. Studies have shown when, how, and why imagining contact reduces prejudice against a range of different target groups, and how it can be integrated with existing contact-based approaches to provide maximally effective strategies for improving intergroup relations. The approach is not without its critics, and this review addresses the controversies and debates stimulated by imagined contact theory and research. The review concludes with a discussion of the value that imagery techniques can bring to implementations of contact theory, and how the approach offers a new, flexible, and effective tool for practitioners and policy makers in their efforts to promote, encourage, and enhance more harmonious intergroup relations.

Perceptions of intergroup bias : the roles of social projection and meta-stereotypes

Underlying intergroup perceptions include processes of social projection (perceiving personal traitslbeliefs in others, see Krueger 1998) and meta-stereotyping (thinking about other groups' perceptions of one's own group, see Vorauer et aI., 1998). Two studies were conducted to investigate social projection and meta-stereotypes in the domain of White-Black racial relations. Study 1, a correlational study, examined the social projection of prejudice and 'prejudiced' meta-stereotypes among Whites. Results revealed that (a) Whites socially projected their intergroup attitudes onto other Whites (and Blacks) [i.e., Whites higher in prejudice against Blacks believed a large percentage of Whites (Blacks) are prejudiced against Blacks (Whites), whereas Whites low in prejudice believed a smaller percentage of Whites (Blacks) are prejudiced]; (b) Whites held the meta:..stereotype that their group (Whites) is viewed by Blacks to be prejudiced; and (c) prejudiced meta-stereotypes may be formed through the social projection of intergroup attitudes (result of path-model tests). Further, several correlates of social projection and meta-stereotypes were identified, including the finding that feeling negatively stereotyped by an outgroup predicted outgroup avoidance through heightened intergroup anxiety. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings, investigating the social projection of ingroup favouritism and meta- and other-stereotypes about ingroup favouritism. These processes were examined experimentally using an anticipated intergroup contact paradigm. The goal was to understand the experimental conditions under which people would display the strongest social projection of intergroup attitudes, and when experimentally induced meta-stereotypes (vs. other-stereotypes; beliefs about the group 11 preferences of one's outgroup) would be most damaging to intergroup contact. White participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions and received (alleged) feedback from a previously completed computer-based test. Depending on condition, this information suggested that: (a) the participant favoured Whites over Blacks; (b) previous White participants favoured Whites over Blacks; (c) the participant's Black partner favoured Blacks over Whites; (d) previous Black participants favoured Blacks over Whites; (e) the participant's Black partner viewed the participant to favour Whites over Blacks; or (£) Black participants previously participating viewed Whites to favour Whites over Blacks. In a defensive reaction, Whites exhibited enhanced social projection of personal intergroup attitudes onto their ingroup under experimental manipulations characterized by self-concept threat (i.e., when the computer revealed that the participant favoured the ingroup or was viewed to favour the ingroup). Manipulated meta- and otherstereotype information that introduced intergroup contact threat, on the other hand, each exerted a strong negative impact on intergroup contact expectations (e.g., anxiety). Personal meta-stereotype manipulations (i.e., when the participant was informed that her/ his partner thinks s/he favours the ingroup) exerted an especially negative impact on intergroup behaviour, evidenced by increased avoidance of the upcoming interracial interaction. In contrast, personal self-stereotype manipulations (i.e., computer revealed that one favoured the ingroup) ironically improved upcoming intergroup contact expectations and intentions, likely due to an attempt to reduce the discomfort of holding negative intergroup attitudes. Implications and directions for future research are considered.

Mental Health and Becoming a Teacher: A Narrative on the Experiences and Identities of Teacher Candidates

This study used narrative inquiry to shed light on the identity development of teacher candidates who experienced mental health issues during teacher education programs. The study sought to examine (a) stories that teacher candidates tell about being in a teacher education program while experiencing mental health issues; (b) identity development of teachers who have experienced mental health issues; and (c) how narratives of teacher candidates and beginning teachers challenge stereotyping and stigmatization. Through discussion and letter correspondence, the participants and I shared stories that represented our lived experiences. The study explored our stories using the 3 commonplaces of temporality, sociality, and place from a theoretical framework of narrative inquiry. Four themes emerged from the data analysis: the stigmatization of mental health issues; dealing with conflict; the need for a safe and supportive environment; and the complexity of mental health issues. This study contributes to the literature by exploring the lived experiences of teacher candidates and beginning teachers with mental health issues. The narratives inform teacher education programs, the teaching profession, and the mental health field.

L'Islande et sa musique représentées dans le documentaire : entre lieu, scène et insularité

Ce mémoire de maîtrise s’intéresse à la scène musicale islandaise à travers le documentaire. La notion de scène désigne généralement un contexte spatial au sein duquel différents acteurs (musiciens, producteurs, promoteurs, amateurs de musique, etc.) partagent des intérêts à l’égard de la musique. Dans ce mémoire, elle est conceptualisée en combinant d’une part l’approche de Straw (1991) qui met l’accent sur l’aspect interactionnel et réticulaire de la scène et souligne le potentiel d’adaptation au changement de cet espace de sociabilité ; et d’autre part, celle de Bennett et Peterson (2004) qui insistent sur les différences d’échelles auxquelles se déploient les réseaux d’interactions que constituent les scènes locales, trans-locales et virtuelles. L’auteure y intègre aussi une réflexion géographique destinée à problématiser le caractère insulaire de l’Islande en tant qu’élément productif de la scène musicale qui s’y déploie. Pour ce faire, elle a recours aux propositions théoriques de Massey (2005) concernant l’espace comme construit à travers un ensemble hétérogène de trajectoires, des « stories-so-far » dont la co-présence et la simultanéité conférerait au lieu que serait, en l’occurrence, la scène islandaise, sa spécificité. Ce questionnement fait l’objet d’une exploration empirique à travers une série de documentaires s’intéressant, selon des modes différents (Nichols, 2001 ; 2010), à différents visages de la musique locale en Islande. Les représentations visuelles et auditives de l’Islande et de la musique islandaise que produisent ces documentaires constituent le discours qui fait l’objet de l’analyse. Inspirée de la perspective de Hall (1994 ; 1997), le discours est abordé en tant qu’unité significative socio-historiquement ancrée et composée d’énoncés. La démarche méthodologique adoptée consiste à examiner un corpus de documentaires pour en dégager les énoncés et, sur cette base, reconstituer les différentes trajectoires constitutives de la scène musicale islandaise ainsi mise en discours. L’analyse met en évidence cinq trajectoires (Monde ; Affinités ; Filiation ; Stéréotypie et authenticité ; Territorialité) ainsi que les différentes modalités de leur co-occurrence, points de rencontre ou de distanciation, à différentes échelles. Ce sont ces points de (non) rencontre qui constituent le lieu de la scène islandaise.

Redefining U.S. borders : a reading of Sandra Cisneros’s Caramelo, Cristina Garcia’s The Agüero Sisters, and David Plante’s The Family and The Native

Cette thèse propose une redéfinition de la notion de frontière dans le contexte américain, avec pour point de départ les romans de trois voix littéraires issues de trois minorités ethniques : Sandra Cisneros (Caramelo), Cristina Garcia (The Agüero Sisters) et David Plante (The Family et The Native). Je conceptualise la frontière comme fluctuation entre mouvement et immobilité, entre porosité et imperméabilité. Dans le premier chapitre, je fournis des repères sur la théorie des frontières et j'analyse les avancées de ce champ d'étude, du concept de terre frontalière (“Borderland Theories”) jusqu'aux récits d'immigration. Je propose un cadre conceptuel que j'appelle « Écrire la frontière à partir de la perspective de la frontière », lequel permet une lecture neuve des récits de frontière, et une redéfinition de la notion elle-même. Prise comme perspective, la frontière est une dynamique vivante, ce qui la rend plurielle et impossible à fixer définitivement; aussi les récits de frontière présentent-ils une grande variété d’expériences, toutes liées à des moments et à des points de vue uniques. Dans le second chapitre, j’analyse la porosité des frontières dans le contexte géopolitique contemporain, en mettant en lumière comment la colonisation, la mondialisation économique et l’immigration sont autant de mécanismes de transgression des frontières qui suivent des orientations transnationales, dénationales et postnationales. Dans le troisième chapitre, j’étudie la résurgence des frontières dans la vie des immigrants qui habitent aux États-Unis. J’identifie l’insécurité capitaliste ainsi que la marchandisation de l’espace et de l’ethnicité comme étant à l'origine du renforcement des frontières délimitant les quartiers ethniques; génératrices de stéréotypes négatifs, ces divisions physiques deviennent une technologie d’exclusion et d’injustice sociale. Le dernier chapitre présente une lecture des aspects esthétiques de la frontière, voyant comment ils peuvent contribuer à écrire la frontière à partir de la perspective de la frontière. Dans les textes à l'étude, j'examine de près la problématisation du concept de représentation, la multiplicité des points de vue narratifs, l’inaccessibilité du réel, et la partialité de la médiation. Mots clés : Théories et écrits sur les frontières, minorités ethniques aux États-Unis, multiculturalisme, culture, immigration, mondialisation, espace, place, territoire, état-nation, nationalisme, histoire, langue et langage, représentation, communauté, justice sociale, citoyenneté

La ambigüedad, las creencias y los estereotipos que rodean a lo que hoy en día se conoce como terrorismo: Una revisión de literatura

El terrorismo en la actualidad es considerado como uno de los conceptos más controversiales en los campos social, académico y político. El término se empieza a utilizar después de la Revolución Francesa, pero recientemente, a raíz de los atentados del 11 de septiembre de 2001, ha tomado suma relevancia y ha motivado numerosas investigaciones para tratar de entender qué es terrorismo. Aunque a la fecha existen varias revisiones sistemáticas, este trabajo tiene como propósito revisar, agrupar y concretar diferentes teorías y conceptos formulados por los autores que han trabajado sobre el concepto de “terrorismo” con el fin de entender las implicaciones de su utilización en el discurso, y cómo esto afecta la dinámica interna de las sociedades en relación con la violencia, las creencias, los estereotipos entre otros elementos. Para lograrlo, se revisaron 56 artículos, publicados entre los años 1985 y 2013; 10 fuentes secundarias entre noticias y artículos de periódicos correspondientes a los años 1995-2013 y 10 estudios estadísticos cuyos resultados nos aportan a la comprensión del tema en cuestión. La búsqueda se limitó al desarrollo histórico del terrorismo, sus diferentes dimensiones y el concepto social de la realidad de terrorismo. Los hallazgos demuestran que la palabra “terrorismo” constituye un concepto que como tal es un vehículo lingüístico que puede ser utilizado con fines, estratégicos movilizando al público conforme a través del discurso e intereses políticos, destacando la necesidad de estudiar las implicaciones psicológicas y sociales de su uso.

"Racism in a Melting Pot...?" Trinidadian mid-life transnational migrants' views on race and colour-class on return to their homes of descent

This paper deals with second-generation, one-and-a-half generation and ‘‘prolonged sojourner” Trinidadian transnational migrants, who have decided to ‘return’ to the birthplace of their parents. Based on 40 in-depth interviews, the paper considers both the positive and critical things that these youthful transnational migrants report about returning to, and living in, this multi-ethnic plural society and the salience of racial and colour-class stratification as part of their return migration experiences. Our qualitative analysis is based on the narratives provided by these youthful returnees, as relayed ‘‘in their own words”, presenting critical reflections on racism, racial identities and experiences as transnational Trinidadians. It is clear that it is contexts such as contemporary working environments, family and community that act as the reference points for the adaptation ‘‘back home” of this strongly middle-class cohort. We accordingly encounter a diverse, sometimes contesting set of racial issues that emerge as salient concerns for these returnees. The consensus is that matters racial remain as formidable legacies in the hierarchical stratification of Trinidadian society for a sizeable number. Many of our respondents reported the positive aspects of racial affirmation on return. But for another sub-set, the fact that multi-ethnic and multi-cultural mixing are proudly embraced in Trinidad meant that it was felt that return experiences were not overly hindered, or blighted by obstacles of race and colour-class. For these returnees, Trinidad and Tobago is seen as representing a 21st century ‘‘Melting Pot”. But for others the continued existence of racial divisions within society – between ethnic groups and among those of different skin shades – was lamented. In the views of these respondents, too much racial power is still ascribed to ‘near-whiteness’. But for the most part, the returnees felt that where race played a part in their new lives, this generally served to advantage them. However, although the situation in Trinidad appears to have been moderated by assumptions that it remains a racial ‘Melting Pot’, the analysis strongly suggests that the colour-class system of stratification is still playing an essential role, along with racial stereotyping in society at large.

Disabled characters in plays

In attempting to answer the question ‘How is disability represented in plays?’ two approaches are considered, one semiotic and literary and the other concerned with notions of stereotyping drawn from disability studies. The five plays on which the discussion is based are school examination set texts, raising questions about classroom discourse and interpretation. Pilot study data drawn from students’ work in examinations are offered to suggest possible answers to those questions.

Nontraditional employment: the careers of temporary workers

This chapter focuses upon the careers of temporary workers. Temporary employment for many workers presents a route to permanent employment. Other workers, however, get trapped into temporary employment or cycle between unstable jobs and spells of unemployment. Predictors of such transitions are multiple. We selected two broad categories, namely perceived employability from the area of career research and health and well-being from the area of occupational health and well-being research. The overall conclusion is that the association between temporary employment and both perceived employability and health and well-being is inconclusive. This suggests that there are boundary conditions that may make some temporary workers successful and others not. Risk factors include dynamics related to the dual labor market, including lower job quality, lower investments on the part of employers, and negative stereotyping of temporary workers as second-class citizens. On the positive side, many temporary workers have learned to manage their careers in the sense that they invest in training and in continuous job search.

Från generell bild till individuellt ansikte : att hantera oförståelse och stereotypt bemötande i fyra lågstatusyrken

From general images to individual features: managing lack of understanding and stereotypes in four low-status occupations Individuals shape an image of themselves and their surroundings in relation to how they assume that others regard them. In these situations occupation is essential. Categorizations, valuations and rewards associated with occupations are among the most fundamental instruments used for domination in the social world. Hence it is interesting to study how groups and individuals who experience low occupational status manage their social positions. This article, based upon interviews with workers in food industry, waitresses/waiters, storesmen and dustmen, analyzes how the interviewees handle low respect, here expressed as lack of understanding and stereotyping. Three different positions are distinguished, arguing that one of them implies a stronger identification with the occupation than do the other two, which to a greater extent agree with stereotyped images. In the first position, the workers disagree with stereotypes of low-status jobs as apathetic, heavy or simple, and assert that their occupation has specific values such as self-development, qualifications or advantage to society. In the second position, low recognition is avoided through little identification with the occupation. The interviewees separate themselves and who they are from their jobs, and find it ridiculous to speak about it in terms of self-development or qualifications when so many are able to do the job. In the third position, the interviewees emphasize that their own place of work is less heavy than the job in general. Through the third strategy their particular tasks are seen as exceptional and their identification with the occupation is local rather than embedded in a wider occupational identity.

Race as political strategy by US presidential candidates: a case study

Race has played an important part in US presidential politics in contemporary history. Different political parties and candidates have followed covert strategies playing on the prejudices of white voters both cognitively and emotionally by linking racerelated issues to the majority's individual and group interests. This elite discourse carried to the public by the mainstream media, along with media's practices of stereotyping, priming, framing and agenda setting, help to justify racial prejudice, discrimination against minorities and their marginalized status, while maintaining the status quo. Taking the social constructionist position, this case study examines the opinions expressed by a sample of undecided voters selected from different geographic locations at various stages of the 1992 US presidential campaign under the themes 'Candidates' racial prejudice' and 'Race is used as political strategy by candidates.'

Who speaks on footballers and sexual assault? A gender analysis of sports reporting

The recent spate of sexual assault allegations made against Australian Football League (AFL) players has generated intense media scrutiny and public concern. Following from similar highly publicised allegations directed at the National Rugby League, these incidents have engendered significant debates around sexism and football culture in the popular press. It is the media’s response to allegations of sexual assault made against AFL footballers that will be analysed here. This study offers a content analysis of articles from the sport sections of two major Australian newspapers, The Age and the Herald-Sun, with the aim of assessing the prevalence of women’s perspectives on the issue of player misconduct and whether the gender of the reporter has any bearing on gender stereotyping in sport reporting. By assessing how the phenomenon of player misconduct has been covered in sport news, this paper evaluates the media’s role in changing dominant attitudes and perceptions of gender relations in Australian society.