Young feminists online: political and social participation and feminist activism

There are well-established historical trends that show that new and emerging forms of media are able to disrupt and then transform political and social opinion and discourse and have the capacity to break down social hierarchies in order to challenge dominant socio-cultural and political norms. Social media or “new digital media” are part of this trend and influence a reshape of socio-cultural and political norms, practices and discourses through awareness-raising, activism, and debate. Recent research has found that social media have considerable potential to engage, empower and activate young women in particular. These online spaces are often women-only and explicitly feminist (‘safe spaces’) and central to political and social activism in terms of women’s rights. The question remains, however, about how that effect evolves, and intersects with more traditional forms of activism, and ‘how and under what conditions these new digital platforms relate to citizen activism and protest politics’ (Valenzuela, 2013, p. 921). Drawing on historic accounts of women-led spaces and public activism as generative of feminist movement, as well as accounts of contemporary online activism drawn from our current research in Manchester and Ireland, this paper explores how online spaces are mobilised for political and social activism and perspectives on the impacts of such spaces on political and social change

Young women online: political and social participation and activism

There are well-established historical trends that show that new and emerging forms of media are able to disrupt and then transform political and social opinion and discourse and have the capacity to break down social hierarchies in order to challenge dominant socio-cultural and political norms. Social media or “new digital media” are part of this trend and influence a reshape of socio-cultural and political norms, practices and discourses through awareness-raising, activism, and debate. Recent research has found that social media have considerable potential to engage, empower and activate young women in particular. These online spaces are often women-only and explicitly feminist (‘safe spaces’) and central to political and social activism in terms of women’s rights. The question remains, however, about how that effect evolves, and intersects with more traditional forms of activism, and ‘how and under what conditions these new digital platforms relate to citizen activism and protest politics’ (Valenzuela, 2013, p. 921). Drawing on historic accounts of women-led spaces and public activism as generative of feminist movement, as well as accounts of contemporary online activism drawn from our current research in Manchester and Ireland, this paper explores how 'safe enough spaces' are mobilised for political and social activism and perspectives on the impacts of such spaces on political and social change

Recognition, inclusion and democracy: learning from action research with young people

This paper draws upon learning from three action research projects conducted as part of a Europe-wide project exploring young people’s social and political participation. Challenging dominant discourses about what ‘counts’ as participation and what does not, the paper explores how, through the action research projects, young people engaged in knowledge democracy in ‘new democratic arenas’. Building upon experiential knowing and creating knowledge and learning through practice, the young people explored their own democratic knowledge production, communication and engagement within a context of shifting discourses of participation, democratic engagement and active citizenship. The increasing preference of young people for more informal forms of participation as lived practice reflects a shift to young people constructing their own modes of participation and ‘remaking democracy’ in their own vision and according to their own needs. By working outside of the confines of normative assumptions of democratic practice and participation, young people exercised their own ‘political’ agency in response to their own priorities, interests and concerns and, in doing so, illustrated that new forms, understandings and practices of knowledge democracy can emerge that reflect the promise of inclusive democratic societies more meaningfully

Starting to Stop: Young Offenders' Desistance from Crime

This paper explores the complexities of the interplay between structural and agentic changes in 21 young offenders' lives as they start to stop offending. The young people's ability to desist from crime was dependent upon their engagement with a 'hook for change', their development of prosocial relationships and 'knifing off' of elements of their offending past, the extent of their identity change, and their confidence about desistance. Desistance was less likely in the absence of a 'hook' and where offenders were running a 'condemnation script'. The study challenges previous research that argues that desistance from crime in adolescence is unlikely

Chlorhexidine versus povidone–iodine skin antisepsis before upper limb surgery (CIPHUR) : an international multicentre prospective cohort study

Introduction Surgical site infection (SSI) is the most common and costly complication of surgery. International guidelines recommend topical alcoholic chlorhexidine (CHX) before surgery. However, upper limb surgeons continue to use other antiseptics, citing a lack of applicable evidence, and concerns related to open wounds and tourniquets. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of different topical antiseptics before upper limb surgery. Methods This international multicentre prospective cohort study recruited consecutive adults and children who underwent surgery distal to the shoulder joint. The intervention was use of CHX or povidone–iodine (PVI) antiseptics in either aqueous or alcoholic form. The primary outcome was SSI within 90 days. Mixed-effects time-to-event models were used to estimate the risk (hazard ratio (HR)) of SSI for patients undergoing elective and emergency upper limb surgery. Results A total of 2454 patients were included. The overall risk of SSI was 3.5 per cent. For elective upper limb surgery (1018 patients), alcoholic CHX appeared to be the most effective antiseptic, reducing the risk of SSI by 70 per cent (adjusted HR 0.30, 95 per cent c.i. 0.11 to 0.84), when compared with aqueous PVI. Concerning emergency upper limb surgery (1436 patients), aqueous PVI appeared to be the least effective antiseptic for preventing SSI; however, there was uncertainty in the estimates. No adverse events were reported. Conclusion The findings align with the global evidence base and international guidance, suggesting that alcoholic CHX should be used for skin antisepsis before clean (elective upper limb) surgery. For emergency (contaminated or dirty) upper limb surgery, the findings of this study were unclear and contradict the available evidence, concluding that further research is necessary

A Phenomenological Approach to Care Leavers’ Transition to Higher Education

Previous research conducted in the UK has highlighted issues with the educational experiences of care leavers in general and has suggested that life transitions affect care leavers’ later experiences. However, the participation and achievement of care leavers in education particularly care leavers’ experiences of transitions in education, remains under-researched. This research investigated the educational experiences of nine care leavers studying in their first or second year, at universities across the Greater Manchester and Yorkshire areas of Northern England. Each participant took part in a semi-structured interview relating to their transition to university. Adopting a phenomenological approach, interview transcripts were analysed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three main themes emerged; ‘care leaver identity’, ‘lack of positive care leaver role models’, and ‘corporate versus normal parenting’. The first theme ‘care leaver identity’, investigates what impact being a care leaver has on the participant personally and within their education. The second theme ‘lack of positive care leaver role models’ explores, what effect role models have on care leavers within their educational pursuits, and the final theme ‘corporate versus normal parenting’, investigates care leavers’ perception of what ‘parenting’ means and the nature of the parenting they receive

True story! The new world order and young offenders’ narratives of change

This paper explores the narratives of 21 “persistent and serious young offenders” as they move through the youth justice process and attempt to stop their offending behaviours. Drawing upon Maruna’s (2001) work in “Making Good”, the paper discusses the ways in which young offenders construct complex and evolving narratives about their pasts, presents, and desired futures; employ common narrative devices to make sense of their stories; and follow similar narrative forms in which redemption and identity change are central to their process of desistance. The paper also explores the system in which these narratives are embedded and argues that the increasingly punitive, managerial and control-based “new penology” (Feeley and Simon, 1992) of the young justice system is incongruous with, and neglectful of, the narratives of the young people in its charge. Finally, the paper questions the place (if any) of young offenders’ narratives and changing identities within a “culture of control” (Garland, 2001), and considers discourses of “normality”, and dominant narratives around “acceptable” behaviour, alongside the dynamic, revisable and contextual narratives of young offenders