Adolescents, sexting and consent; a discursive approach

Sexting is the interpersonal exchange of sexually suggestive, self-produced pictures/videos/texts. The present thesis employs a critical discursive psychology approach to explore the discursive constructions of the key stakeholders associated with adolescent sexting; adolescents, parents/carers and teachers. The first study explores how adolescents construct sexting in relation to relationships, gender and consent/coercion. The study employs focus groups of 18 adolescents, aged 16-18. The findings indicate that sexting is constructed as a contested category. I initially introduce the interpretative repertoire (IR) of sexting as normal. However, adolescents also construct sexting as an ideological dilemma concerning power and popularity and open different positions regarding gender and sexuality. This study introduces the constructions regarding sexting consent/coercion, and the emerging ideological dilemmas in relation to justification of coercion. The second study explores parental constructions of sexting regarding gender and consent, as well as parental monitoring. It employs 15 dyadic interviews with parents/carers of adolescents. I introduce the IR of adolescents as immature which entails constructions of sexuality and agency. This study showcases the antithetical positions that open in relation to gender. Moreover, it introduces the repertoire of sexting as victimisation and the dilemmic positions adolescents are interpellated to occupy regarding victimhood and gender. The discursive constructions of sexting consent constitute an ideological dilemma. Monitoring produces conflicting repertoires, such as liberal and strict parenting. Finally, parents/carers constructed adolescents’ engagement with sexting as an indicator of good/bad parenting. The third study explores teachers’ constructions of sexting and consent in relation to gender, and how teachers frame sexting education and monitoring practices. For this study, I conducted 30 individual interviews with educators of adolescents. Sexting is constructed both as a threat and an ideological dilemma. Varying positions opened regarding gender. Teachers framed adolescents as naïve and parents and schools as co-responsible for adolescent sexting. Here, I present the conflicting repertoires that emerged regarding consent, and the repertoire of sexting as a sign of times. Finally, I discuss the construction of sexting education as insufficient. The present thesis contributes to knowledge by offering critical insight on the differences in the discursive constructions among the three key stakeholder groups. It offers a holistic understanding of sexting by situating it in a socio-political and historical context. The thesis discusses potential theoretical and practical implications of the findings

An in-and-out-the-lab Raman spectroscopy study on street art murals from Reggio Emilia in Italy

The street art murals ‘The Big Mother’ by Gola Hundun, the ‘Big Sacral Bird’ by Kenor, the ‘Oriental Carpet” by H101 and “The Economy Subdues You” by Zosen, belonging to the Cooperative Popular Houses of Mancasale and Coviolo in Reggio Emilia (Italy), were investigated by the use of various mobile Raman spectrometers coupled to different lasers and by micro-Raman spectroscopy on selected samples. The study was made necessary by the evident fading of many colours, despite the young age of the paintings, realized in 2010. The first step of the investigation, realized by the on-site campaign, was the identification of the materials, and in particular of the dyes. The main chromophores were identified as polycyclic, monoazo- and disazo- organic pigments, with inorganic compounds as bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) together with the extensive presence of rutile (TiO2). The second step was devoted to the study of the degradation mechanism affecting the colourful layers of the murals. It required the use of laboratory micro-spectrometers and was carried out on a reduced set of samples, selected during the in-situ campaign. This combination of on-site and laboratory Raman spectroscopy allowed the obtaining of the complete identification of the palette used by the different artists in a single day of measurements, in a complete non-destructive day. In addition, it was possible to minimize the number of samples required for the study of the degradation process. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

A Chaperone Trap Contributes to the Onset of Cystic Fibrosis

Protein folding is the primary role of proteostasis network (PN) where chaperone interactions with client proteins determine the success or failure of the folding reaction in the cell. We now address how the Phe508 deletion in the NBD1 domain of the cystic fibrosis (CF) transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein responsible for cystic fibrosis (CF) impacts the binding of CFTR with cellular chaperones. We applied single ion reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (SRM-MS) to quantitatively characterize the stoichiometry of the heat shock proteins (Hsps) in CFTR folding intermediates in vivo and mapped the sites of interaction of the NBD1 domain of CFTR with Hsp90 in vitro. Unlike folding of WT-CFTR, we now demonstrate the presence of ΔF508-CFTR in a stalled folding intermediate in stoichiometric association with the core Hsps 40, 70 and 90, referred to as a ‘chaperone trap’. Culturing cells at 30 C resulted in correction of ΔF508-CFTR trafficking and function, restoring the sub-stoichiometric association of core Hsps observed for WT-CFTR. These results support the interpretation that ΔF508-CFTR is restricted to a chaperone-bound folding intermediate, a state that may contribute to its loss of trafficking and increased targeting for degradation. We propose that stalled folding intermediates could define a critical proteostasis pathway branch-point(s) responsible for the loss of function in misfolding diseases as observed in CF

Adolescents, sexting and consent; a discursive approach

Sexting is the interpersonal exchange of sexually suggestive, self-produced pictures/videos/texts. This dataset supports a PhD thesis that employs a critical discursive psychology approach to explore the discursive constructions of the key stakeholders associated with adolescent sexting; adolescents, parents/carers and teachers. 6 subsets of data are recorded from 3 studies, each with one of these groups, and contain either the audio files or anonymised transcripts from each study. The first study explores how adolescents construct sexting in relation to relationships, gender and consent/coercion. The study employs focus groups of 18 adolescents, aged 16-18. The findings indicate that sexting is constructed as a contested category. I initially introduce the interpretative repertoire (IR) of sexting as normal. However, adolescents also construct sexting as an ideological dilemma concerning power and popularity and open different positions regarding gender and sexuality. This study introduces the constructions regarding sexting consent/coercion, and the emerging ideological dilemmas in relation to justification of coercion. The second study explores parental constructions of sexting regarding gender and consent, as well as parental monitoring. It employs 15 dyadic interviews with parents/carers of adolescents. I introduce the IR of adolescents as immature which entails constructions of sexuality and agency. This study showcases the antithetical positions that open in relation to gender. Moreover, it introduces the repertoire of sexting as victimisation and the dilemmic positions adolescents are interpellated to occupy regarding victimhood and gender. The discursive constructions of sexting consent constitute an ideological dilemma. Monitoring produces conflicting repertoires, such as liberal and strict parenting. Finally, parents/carers constructed adolescents’ engagement with sexting as an indicator of good/bad parenting. The third study explores teachers’ constructions of sexting and consent in relation to gender, and how teachers frame sexting education and monitoring practices. For this study, I conducted 30 individual interviews with educators of adolescents. Sexting is constructed both as a threat and an ideological dilemma. Varying positions opened regarding gender. Teachers framed adolescents as naïve and parents and schools as co-responsible for adolescent sexting