A beer a minute in Texas football: Heavy drinking and the heroizing of the antihero in Friday Night Lights

This article applies a qualitative framing analysis to the first three seasons of the television series Friday Night Lights, focusing particularly on its incorporation of heavy drinking into narrative representations of the player whose character is most consistently central to the game of football as fictionally mediated in small-town Texas over the course of those three seasons. The analysis suggests that over the course of that period Friday Night Lights embeds nuanced social meanings in its framing of alcohol use by that player and other characters so as to associate it with multiple potential outcomes. Yet among those outcomes, the most dominant framing works to, in effect, reverse a progression through which media representations historically evolved from a heroic model toward an antihero model, with heavy drinking central to that narrative process of meaning-making in such messages.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Collaborative working in health and social care: Lessons learned from post‐hoc preliminary findings of a young families’ pregnancy to age 2 project in South Wales, United Kingdom

Children of young and socially disadvantaged parents are more likely to experience adverse outcomes. In response to this, a unique young families’ project in Swansea, UK, was created, which drew together a team of multi-agency professionals, to support people aged 16–24 from 17 weeks of pregnancy throughout 1,001 days of the child's life. The aim of the JIGSO (the Welsh word for Jigsaw) project is for young people to reach their potential as parents and to break the cycle of health and social inequality. This evaluation analysed routinely collected data held by the project from January 2017 to December 2018 exploring health and social outcomes, including smoking and alcohol use in pregnancy, breastfeeding, maternal diet and social services outcomes. Outcomes were compared to local and national averages, where available. Data relating to parenting knowledge and skills were available via records of 10-point Likert scales, one collected at the start of the JIGSO involvement and one around 4–6 months later. Findings showed higher than average levels of breastfeeding initiation and lower smoking and alcohol use in pregnancy. Parents also reported enhanced knowledge and confidence in their child care skills, as well as improved family relationships. Parents with high levels of engagement with JIGSO also appeared to have positive outcomes with Social Services (their child's name was removed from child protection register or their case was closed to social services). This was a post-hoc evaluation, not an intervention study or trial, and thus findings must be interpreted with caution. Despite this, the findings are promising and more prospective research exploring similar services is required

Stenstrom, Kevin

Kevin Stenstrom was a marathon runner and a Naval Flight officer who, during a routine physical, was diagnosed with melanoma. After several surgeries and months of cancer therapy, Kevin founded team Miles 4 Melanoma, a program that provides runners with coaching and individual training plans, all the while raising money to support the Melanoma Research Foundation.Seize the Days, Inc

Burkhart, Robert

Robert Burkhart was a bitter man who was estranged from his family for many years before being diagnosed with lung cancer. Now that's all changed.Seize the Days, Inc

Everett, Elaine

Elaine Everett survived a stage one breast cancer diagnosis. She has been a volunteer with the Johns Hopkins Breast Center for eleven years. She says the disease left her with a gift–being part of the Johns Hopkins family as a volunteer. Elaine now raises funds for research and helps other women–including the underprivileged–face the challenges of their disease. ”I would not be involved with any of this if I had not had breast cancer. So that’s the gift it gave me. And for that, I’m very thankful.”.Seize the Days, Inc

Singer, Laurie

Leroy Sievers was a journalist who traveled the world covering wars, invasions and other conflicts. In 2005, he began a battle of his own against colon cancer. A producer for ABC’s Nightline, Leroy was a gifted communicator. During his illness he appeared in a Discovery Channel documentary with Ted Koppel and wrote a blog for National Public Radio called “My Cancer” - a project Leroy called the most meaningful of his career. Laurie Singer, Leroy’s wife and caretaker, saw first hand how much the blog empowered Leroy and how intimately it connected him to the worldwide cancer communitySeize the Days, Inc

Thomas, Julia

Julie Thomas’s connection with breast cancer began in the late 1980s when her friend was diagnosed. That friend survived, but when she lost another friend to the disease in the early 1990′s, Julie decided to take action. She started by participating in Komen events and Avon walks but she wanted to do more. Recently, with the help of Johns Hopkins, she has given her own breast tissue for use in cancer research. ”If you connect with people, then you connect with them and their pain and in their suffering,” she says. “That’s what led me, certainly, to do something about this disease.”Seize the Days, Inc

Palmer, Jennifer E.

Chris is a three-time cancer survivor. He and his wife Jenny founded "Romance for a Cure," an organization that raises money for cancer research by selling cookies, cakes and other treats every Valentines Day. Or, as Chris calls it, "a bake sale on steroids." Click below to hear more.Seize the Days, Inc

Potepan, Frank

Frank Potepan fought lymphoma in the 1990s, and for the last several years has been involved in developing a local hospice program. For Frank and his wife, Ellen, it's a chance to show their gratitude and a rewarding and meaningful way to support the cancer care community.Seize the Days, Inc