Athletes\u27 Substance Abuse and Mental Health

The physical and emotional pressures experienced by competitive athletes are challenging. Research shows that 52% of professional football players have admitted to opioid use (Cottler et al., 2011), while up to 89% of college athletes have reported using alcohol as a response to injuries or feelings of pressure (Anderson et al., 1991). In addition, about 33.2% of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes reported having experienced episodes of depression (Debonis, 2019). This paper will examine the reasons why so many athletes’ careers result in drug abuse and how the mental health of these athletes plays a role in substance abuse within the athletic community

Queering Asexuality: Asexual-Inclusion in Queer Spaces

Discussions about emerging sexual identities are prevalent in today’s society. As our recognition of the diversity of sexual identities grows, so does our need to define these identities and to better understand how they represent the human experience. One such identity is asexuality, which is defined by the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) as a “person who experiences no sexual attraction” (“Overview” n.d.). In this research, I will analyze the debate over whether asexual individuals should be considered “queer.” This analysis will examine previous research that focuses on identity, discourse, and boundaries between identities. The goal of this research is to enrich our understanding of how people use language to make identity statements, and to negotiate and navigate boundaries between identities by answering the following questions: 1.) Why might boundaries exist between identities? 2.) How does discourse vary, based on a group’s status within a conversation? 3.) Why is the conversation surrounding asexual inclusion important

No cause for celebration: the rise of celebrity news values in the British quality press

In their study of news values in in the British press Harcup and O’Neill (2001) noted that celebrity was one of the redefinitions of the ‘taxonomy of news values for the twenty-first century’. At the time, Harcup and O’Neill made no judgement about the changes in news values in their redefinition, nor did their research focus on the relative importance and potency of certain news values in the hierarchy of news. Using celebrity case studies from recent decades in the British ‘quality’ press, this article seeks to do just that, demonstrating that the pervasiveness and volume of coverage of celebrity has risen exponentially over 30-plus years. Celebrity/entertainment news values would appear to have risen much higher up the hierarchy of news, guaranteeing extensive coverage if combined with other news values such as surprise and bad news. The findings give rise to a wider debate and concerns about the colonisation of celebrity news and dumbing down in so many areas of British journalism, and the implications for the public and educators

Young Children’s Behaviors During Favorite-Music Repertoire And Other-Music Repertoire

To gain understanding regarding early childhood music repertoire selection, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine young children’s music behaviors demonstrated in response to their favorite-music repertoire and other-music repertoire performed in informal early childhood music classes. My guiding research questions were (a) what was the favorite-music repertoire of young children, and (b) what did parents, Alli (an early childhood music teacher), Kat (an early childhood music teacher), and I notice about behaviors young children demonstrated during performances of their favorite-music repertoire and other-music repertoire during our informal music classes? I purposefully sampled three young children and asked their parents, my coteacher and another early childhood music teacher to participate as observers. I participated as a complete participant observer. My co-teacher and I facilitated 10 weeks of Music Play classes based on Gordon’s (2013) Music Learning Theory for Newborn and Young Children and Valerio, Reynolds, Taggart, Bolton, & Gordon’s (1998) Music Play. I gathered data from parent questionnaires, video-recorded Music Play classes, written observations and reflections, audio-recorded individual think-aloud interviews. I transcribed all data for subsequent analysis. I coded that data and created a taxonomic analysis to organize cultural domains. Three themes emerged. Young children repeatedly demonstrated specific patterns from their favorite-music repertoire. Young children demonstrated related behaviors during favorite music and other music. Young children demonstrated unrelated behaviors during favorite music and other music. I provide preliminary definitions and thick, rich descriptions of the behaviors young children demonstrated during favorite-music repertoire and other-music repertoire. Though I may not make generalizations based on this study, childhood music teachers may consider selecting young children’s favoritemusic repertoire to elicit young children’s rhythm pattern behaviors and tonal pattern behaviors that may provide the basis for increased young children’s rhythm pattern and tonal pattern vocabulary development and learning or to engage young children’s positive emotions during music classes