Matching Items (5)
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- All Subjects: Youth
- Creators: Etheridge Woodson, Stephani
- Creators: Mean, Lindsey
- Resource Type: Text
Description
Why is it that soccer, the world's most popular sport for almost a century, has yet to become established in the world's most ethnically diverse nation? This question is especially relevant today given the recent U.S. Men's National Team (ranked 28th in the world) loss to the lowly Trinidad & Tobago (ranked 99th), thus failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986. This represents a huge disappointment for the USMNT since they compete in CONCACAF, arguably the easiest region to succeed. The Icelandic National Team, on the other hand, recently secured their World Cup spot despite having a population of 330,000 and competing in UEFA, which is debatably the hardest region to qualify. This disastrous shortcoming by the USMNT represents the fact that the American system is flawed, and I painstakingly wanted to know why. I reasoned that good teams are made up of good players; good players must stem from a good foundation, which leads to my topic. Because the soccer development landscape differs across continents, this thesis contains a macro-level analysis of the youth models in Europe vs. America and explains how the U.S. can improve. Elite European bodies tend to be more established organizationally, have an abundance of resources, and is surrounded by a culture that praises the sport. While soccer in America is relatively new, often lacks proper resources, and competes in a society that favors multiple other sports. This thesis will elaborate on these differences through the example of the FC Barcelona Youth Academy representing Europe, paralleled to what many consider the best American program: FC Dallas Academy. An assessment will also be included regarding the Icelandic model of player development due to the recent success of their National Teams. Through this smaller comparison representing the larger issue, I will address the opportunity in this moment and how the U.S. can improve. This report will also focus on the men's game because the incredible success of American women at soccer is a very different story that warrants a whole other project. I gathered a majority of my project findings through the use of various books, online resources, academic journals, and data reports. This research has led to the conclusion that there are many factors that determine whether a group is successful at soccer. In the short term, American players should compete abroad if possible in order to train among the world's best. But in an effort to improve at a grassroots level, the United States should focus on providing the basic necessities, promoting an effective sophistication of soccer, and addressing issues that stem from pay-to-play. All of these subjects will be discussed at great lengths below.
ContributorsBeddor, Elliot Nolan (Author) / Jackson, Victoria (Thesis director) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This research study examines the interaction between youth queer narratives and young people through examining my core research question, How do young people engage, interpret, and respond to queer narratives? Applying a feminist narrative analysis to examine the qualitative data, I propose a methodological research shift where the voices of youth are valued as content experts; an artistic shift that moves content-creation away from a top down traditional media model and towards a youth-centered new media approach for art making; an aesthetic shift away from over-used stereotypes, tropes, and stale representations and instead innovate to represent intersectional, spectrum-based diversity of the LGBTQ+ experience.
This qualitative research study utilizes questionnaires, focus groups, and case study interviews, to engage adolescent perceptions of queer narratives. The youth, ranging in ages from 15 to 18 years old and living in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area, explore and examine LGBTQ+ themes, characters, plots in traditional and new media.
My dissertation examines youth interactions with queer narratives through three chapters. These address themes of: character, identity, and representation; plot and the search for accuracy; and the symbiotic exchange between narrative and community. Throughout the dissertation, young people analyze narratives, reflect on their own lives, and envision the future of youth queer narrative. The youth describe a move away from traditional media and towards new media platforms with user-created content, social network interaction, and the sharing of common experiences with peers. Finally, I examine the implications of both the research findings and the methodology on the future of youth-engaged qualitative research, as well as the performing arts.
This qualitative research study utilizes questionnaires, focus groups, and case study interviews, to engage adolescent perceptions of queer narratives. The youth, ranging in ages from 15 to 18 years old and living in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area, explore and examine LGBTQ+ themes, characters, plots in traditional and new media.
My dissertation examines youth interactions with queer narratives through three chapters. These address themes of: character, identity, and representation; plot and the search for accuracy; and the symbiotic exchange between narrative and community. Throughout the dissertation, young people analyze narratives, reflect on their own lives, and envision the future of youth queer narrative. The youth describe a move away from traditional media and towards new media platforms with user-created content, social network interaction, and the sharing of common experiences with peers. Finally, I examine the implications of both the research findings and the methodology on the future of youth-engaged qualitative research, as well as the performing arts.
ContributorsWaldron, Andrew (Author) / Etheridge Woodson, Stephani (Thesis advisor) / Hunt, Kristin (Thesis advisor) / Saldana, Johnny (Committee member) / Hughes, Erika (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Using arts-informed ethnographic approaches, theatrical techniques and a feminist/performance studies lens, this study analyzes the construction of US girlhood from the perspective of girls ranging in age from fourteen to seventeen by examining their original artistic creations and performances. Placing the artifacts of girl-created culture and the girls' representations, which I view as a performative practice, at the heart of my study, I connect girlhood studies to Butler's gender performance theories and to the larger field of performance studies. Rather than strictly analyzing these original works myself, I involve the girl participants as co-theorists in the analysis of the resulting artistic creations as a performance of girlhood. Through our theory building sessions, we aim to discover a nuanced understanding of girlhood and how gender identity can be performed by adolescent girls, as well as how artistic and theatrical practices can serve to assist youth in exploring complex issues. The adolescent female participants serve as active writers and performers of girlhood and through their writing and performances demonstrate their understanding of what it means to be a girl in contemporary US society. In viewing the girls as theorists, I demonstrate their capabilities while honoring their experiences and knowledge, an approach I believe should be more often employed in academia and in everyday life. Specifically, my study's central research question asks: how do US girls consume mass media representations of girlhood and reproduce or subvert these representations? In what ways do girls perform their understandings of their own identities and what it means to be a girl in contemporary US society through their creations of original art and literature, live theatrical pieces, and digital cultural practices? These works include theatrical performances, creative writing, self-portrait sculptures, and blogs/journals. Additionally, I conduct and analyze both solo and group interviews. I assert the importance of creative space and theatrical/artistic practices as tools with which girls can examine and challenge girlhood and gender discourses.
ContributorsMinarsich, Teresa (Author) / Etheridge Woodson, Stephani (Thesis advisor) / Saldana, Johnny (Committee member) / Melo, Carla (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This ethnographic study contributes to the literature on Latin@ youth in the US by focusing on the experiences of Latin@ youth in Arizona and their identity management practices. The data from 9 months of field observations and 11 unstructured interviews provides a vivid picture of the youth's daily encounters. Using a thematic analysis this study reveals the youth's experiences in occupying predominantly white spaces, managing privilege, and managing negative stereotypes. The youth's involvement at El Centro, an Arizona nonprofit organization, provided them a safe space in which they created a familial environment for themselves and their peers.
ContributorsTerminel Iberri, Ana (Author) / Mean, Lindsey (Thesis advisor) / Téllez, Michelle (Thesis advisor) / Gruber, Diane (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Building on research on family communication and forgiveness, this study seeks to understand how families communicate the value and practice of forgiveness. Through semi-structured interviews, the study asks participants to recall their formative conversations and experiences about forgiveness with their family members and to discuss how those conversations influenced their current perspectives on forgiveness. Interviews from five female undergraduate students yielded seven main themes from where individuals learn how to forgive: 1) Sibling conflicts, 2) Family conversations about friendship conflicts, 3) Conversations with Mom, 4) Living by example, 5) Take the high road, 6) “Life’s too short”, and 7) Messages rooted in faith and morality.
ContributorsPrivatsky, Madysen Mae (Author) / Edson, Belle (Thesis director) / Kloeber, Dayna (Committee member) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05