This paper reflects on the situational analysis and co-design phases of a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded research project named CATALYST (Co-designing and testing an Asset-based TAsk-sharing modeL for Youth mental health Services in deprived communiTies). The project, which runs from 2022 to 2026, is using participatory methods to develop service innovations that address the mental health needs of young people aged 16–25 years in deprived coastal areas of Southern England.

Phaedra C. Pezzullo

Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10462930310001635295

Population Studied

Residents of Cancer Alley (between Baton Rouge & New Orleans), and activists and Sierra Club tour participants.

RQ

How do “toxic tours” act as cultural performances that build community, politicize memory, and challenge dominant narratives?

When

Tour studied: May 2001.

Article published: July 2003 (online 2010).

Procedure

Participant observation of a Sierra Club sponsored toxic tour of “CancerAlley,” which is part of a larger ethnographic on toxic tours. Used interviews, field notes, photos, and video.

Findings

• Toxic tours expose environmental racism and corporate responsibility.

• They build solidarity between locals and activists.

• Naming the area “Cancer Alley” reframed public debate.

• Tours act as performances of resistance and community memory.

Johana Kotišová and Lonneke van der Velden conducted interviews with twenty-seven media workers reporting on the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Their research asks: What is the epistemic value of media practitioners’ emotions? How do emotional attachments shape how media professionals and open-source analysts navigate fact-finding and neutrality?

The paper was published in Digital Journalism in November 2023

• college students born in the early years of Gen-Z (undergraduates between 18-22)

• two categories of students: those studying advertising and those from other academic disciplines who considered themselves afficionados of memes and who reported spending more than one hour per day on SNSs

• "early Gen Z"

• convenience sample

• 3-10 undergraduates

• large Western US university

Research Questions:

RQ1.

How do college students born in the early years of Gen-Z regard internet memes intended as brand advertisements?

RQ2.

How, if at all, do college students born in the early years of Gen-Z use internet memes intended as advertisements to facilitate social connections?

When was the study completed and when published?

• not sure, probably conducted in 2023 and published in 2024

Procedure:

• 6 focus groups

• icebreaker question - orient participants to the topic and foster group synergy & question about current social media usage

• Questions included, “What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘meme’?” and “What are your thoughts about brands that use memes to advertise on social media?” - illustrating the baseline of their common understanding about memes & meme advertising

• prompts to probe these students’ perceptions of how brands facilitate peer-to-peer and individual-brand connections through memes: “When you share memes, who do you share them with? How do you decide which memes to share and with whom?”

• “Have you ever shared a meme with someone else that was clearly intended as an advertisement? Under what circumstances would you share an ad meme or not share one with someone else? How, if at all, does this influence your relationship with the brand or advertiser?”

• discussion about differences in taste, beliefs in brand practices

Findings:

• memetic advertising has potential for nonserious, lighthearted brands with a consistent social media presence but less potential for serious brands or brands that try to appropriate meme culture for financial gain

• importance of humor is inherent to the study

Link:

https://www.emerald.com/qmr/article/27/1/1/1228423/Advertising-to-Gen-Z-college-students-with-memes-A

This author argues for the use of textual analysis in journalism scholarship. He presents a counterargument to another academic, Greg Philo, who criticized the use of critical discourse in media and called for research to examine "mass communication as a totality." The author emphasizes the importance of text analysis and its significant role in the study of journalism. The research question argues that this theory is critical for identifying producers' motives and "audience interpretation."

RQ 

Why do adolescent girls stop playing sports or other physical activities? 

Why do adolescent girls not play as much sport/physical activity as boys? 

The research was completed in 2010 and published in 2010

Findings

The study found that adolescent girls often stopped playing sport due to boredom, lack of time, low confidence, practical barriers, and negative experiences with coaches or teammates. Beyond these, cultural pressures such as sport being seen as “uncool” or unfeminine, body image concerns, and fewer opportunities than boys were major factors driving their withdrawal from physical activity

5 min report 

The researchers conducted six focus groups with 49 adolescent girls aged 13–15 from two co-educational public high schools in Adelaide, South Australia. After obtaining parental and participant consent, the groups were facilitated by the first author in a supportive setting with snacks and open-ended guiding questions about why girls stop playing sport and why they participate less than boys. Discussions were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. The findings showed that girls often withdrew from sport due to boredom, lack of time, or low perceived competence, but also cited barriers such as poor team relationships, negative coaching, transport or financial issues, and teasing. Importantly, gendered pressures emerged strongly: girls felt that playing sport was sometimes “uncool” or unfeminine, particularly in “masculine” sports, and they worried about body image, uniforms, or being labeled “butch.” Social priorities, schoolwork, and fewer sporting opportunities also contributed to lower participation compared to boys. Overall, the study highlighted how both practical and cultural factors, especially gender norms, drive girls’ declining participation in physical activity.