Source Of Empowerment Research Articles

Acceptability of dried blood spot collection by primary caregivers of Filipino patients with maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) and phenylketonuria (PKU).

MSUD and PKU require lifetime management hence, regular monitoring of amino acid levels is needed to achieve good metabolic control. Ideally, plasma amino acid analysis (PLAA) is used to monitor concentrations but is expensive and not widely available in local laboratories. The newborn screening program in the Philippines uses dried blood spot (DBS) analysis as an alternative where only trained healthcare providers are allowed to perform the collection at selected facilities. With the increasing number of patients, DBS monitoring has been noted to be delayed due to multiple factors. This issue became even more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic where high-risk patients need to travel outside for blood collection. The study used a cross-sectional study design to determine the primary caregivers' perspective on DBS self-sampling for patients with MSUD and PKU and the acceptability of the samples collected. This was done through a series of collection training, pre-/post- surveys, and 10-item questionnaire, and an in-depth 1-on-1 interview for thematic analysis. The acceptability of samples was processed and evaluated by the newborn screening laboratory. At-home DBS collection by primary caregivers was found to be acceptable. The provision of knowledge and routine collection training by the medical team aids in the increase of sample acceptability as well as a source of empowerment in being equipped to take care of their child. It is highly recommended that DBS samples collected by caregivers be considered acceptable for more time and cost-saving monitoring of the patients' metabolites. This practice also promotes timely and appropriate management which can lead to better patient health outcomes.

Hiding in the shadows: a qualitative exploration of women gamers identities and perceptions of the video gaming context

Video gaming has evolved into a complex, digital landscape where gender dynamics are increasingly scrutinised. While women now constitute a significant portion of the gaming population, they face unique challenges in a traditionally male-dominated space. Despite the growing presence of women in gaming, persistent gender inequalities continue to shape their experiences and identities within gaming cultures. This qualitative study explored how women gamers conceptualise their identities and navigate their experiences in the video gaming context, focusing on motivations, well-being, and representation. Utilising a feminist theoretical perspective and social constructionist epistemology, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 international women gamers (aged 23–43, M = 28, SD = 5.51). Findings constructed through our reflexive thematic analysis highlighted how women negotiate their identities within often hostile gaming environments, revealing both challenges and sources of resilience. Participants reported using strategies such as concealing their gender and creating private gaming communities to mitigate harassment. However, they also described gaming as a source of empowerment, offering opportunities for identity exploration and stress relief. Our research contributes to understanding gender dynamics in gaming by providing nuanced insights into women’s lived experiences, challenging simplistic narratives about their identities, preferences, and behaviours. Implications for game developers, community managers, and policymakers are discussed, offering guidance for creating more inclusive gaming environments that cater to diverse players and combat gender-based discrimination.

Sonic Electromagnetism

The author describes their sound art practice, which uses the electromagnetic field (EM) to explore concepts of the body toward a feminist and pro-trans future. This practice stands in contrast to hidden consumer “black box” culture and mediated digital telepresence. Three specific art projects are explored that fuse visual design, printed circuitry, and interactivity to build critical space for participatory exploration. The author explores concepts of the body in relation to spatialized sound and queer phenomenology of sound. Lastly, the author suggests that the creative exploration of sonic electromagnetism is a larger movement by a disparate community of artists who aim to challenge existing systems of power. In their exploration of the electromagnetic field, the author argues that these artists strive to harness a new source of empowerment and spirit.

A Qualitative Investigation of Parent Perceptions of Home Exercises for Congenital Muscular Torticollis.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe parent perceptions of the home exercise program (HEP) for infants with congenital muscular torticollis (CMT), and how these perceptions evolved over a physical therapy (PT) plan of care. Twelve participants were recruited from a pediatric PT clinic, and nine completed interviews at three time points. Qualitative description and an iterative approach for thematic analysis of 27 interviews yielded three themes that corresponded to the research questions. The participants' responses were categorized into three main themes: (1) parents' perceptions of three key exercises within the HEP, (2) internal and external sources of stress, and (3) sources of empowerment and disempowerment. Regarding the HEP, parents articulated common sentiments for three frequently prescribed exercises for the management of CMT: (1) tummy time was the fast favorite, (2) ipsilateral cervical rotation was perceived as stressful, and (3) contralateral cervical lateral flexion felt uncomfortable. Additionally, participants disclosed internal and external sources of stress (guilt, uncertainty, and the demands of returning to work) and sources of disempowerment (inconsistent messaging frompractitioners, feeling overwhelmed) and empowerment (being able to see the bigger picture and clear communication and education about the diagnosis) with respect to managing their infant's CMT. These themes provide insight into the evolution of parent perceptions over a PT plan of care for CMT. Participants' insights suggest a need for consistent messaging regarding the diagnosis and evidence-based management of CMT, addressing parent stress, and modifying how exercises are taught. This study contributes updated research on parents' experiences with physical therapy and the HEP for their infant's CMT.

The Representation of People in the Ibibio Anthroponymic System: A Socio-Onomastic Investigation

In the African cultural context and beyond, personal names are not just unique forms of identifying and individuating their bearers; they also provide relevant windows that resonate with the people’s worldviews, values, and cosmology. From a socio-onomastic perspective, this article examines the representation of people and their description in the Ibibio cultural namescape, which is a source of their traditional epistemology. Personal names are symbolic linguistic resources that contain information about the Ibibio universe of meaning, where people are placed at the centre of every social relationship. Drawing on ethnographic data sourced through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 30 participants who were name-givers, name-bearers and name-users, this study reveals that the Ibibio naming tradition provides a medium for the dissemination of its traditional cultural scripts, which capture community solidarity, support, security and a sense of belonging. This article concludes that the Ibibio anthroponymic culture reflects people as sources of empowerment. People provide the foundation for understanding the past and a path for reaching one’s life goals. This study offers significant entry points into the way the Ibibio act and react to the strength of its community and reinforces the belief that for the Ibibio, people-related regime of names is an important resource used to foster a positive sense of community and well-being.

“Real queens fix each other’s crowns”: The interiorities of Black (British) girlhood in Rocks (2019)

ABSTRACT This article explores and analyses the production and representation of Black (British) girlhoods in Sarah Gavron’s film Rocks (2019), and the effects this has had on Black women and girl actors, film-makers, and audiences. Adopting a critical Black (British) girlhood framework that is rooted in Black feminist theory, it explores how Black girls’ interior worldbuilding in British screen media and beyond can be a source of empowerment and affective memory work for these groups. Centring the voices of Black girls and women, this article locates the interiorities of Black (British) girlhood within practices of resistance and self-definition, the formation and maintenance of girls’ intimate friendships, and their intergenerational solidarities. Methodologically, it analyses the film’s narrative alongside interviews from the actors and creatives, Black women’s written memories of their girlhoods, and essays from young Black girls living in Britain to reveal how Black (British) girlhood is relational, embodied, and emotionally affective.

Between the dog and the wolf: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of bicultural, sexual minority people’s lived experiences

Previous research has established that people with multiple-minority identities frequently wrestle with psychosocial dilemmas in ingroup and outgroup settings, which can impair health and impede a positive belonging. The present study explores the phenomenon of psychosocial implications found in the intersection of sexuality and ethnicity from the perspective of bicultural, sexual minority individuals in Sweden, a multiple-minority group that thus far has not received scientific consideration. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight non-heterosexual, second-generation immigrants in Sweden. Data was analyzed through a collaborative interpretative phenomenological analysis. Two overarching group experiential themes (GETs) were created: “A puzzle of identity struggles” and “Sources of empowerment.” The GETs detail experiences of bullying, misidentification, parental shortcomings, gender issues, and severe mental health challenges, as well as strengthening factors in the participants’ lived experiences, including pride in heritage, creative coping strategies and purpose in life. The lines between general stressors and minority-specific stressors were blurred, which problematizes simplified understandings of multiple-minorities. The authors advocate for advances in multiple-minority knowledge among professionals within the educational and mental health systems, to facilitate preventive and interventive work that could improve life conditions and sense of belonging among non-heterosexual, ethnic minorities.

EMPOWERING AND ADDRESSING AGE-RELATED CONCERNS AMONG OLDER WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV

Abstract There are currently over 100,000 older (ages 50+ years) women living with HIV/AIDs in the United States. Older women living with HIV (OWLH) face unique psychosocial challenges with HIV prevention and care, including intimate partner violence, gender discrimination, ageism, and caregiving responsibilities. These factors can impede self-care and contribute to increased mental, emotional, and physical burdens. Little is known about the resources OWLH draw upon to help manage psychosocial stressors and their perspectives of aging with HIV. This qualitative study identified sources of strength and self-care among OWLH, as well as their concerns about aging with HIV. We recruited participants through HIV clinics and community support groups. We conducted one-on-one, semi-structured in-depth phone interviews with OWLH. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Following a Grounded Theory approach, two coders performed open coding then thematic coding. Participants (N = 23) were on average 60 years old (range 51 – 68) and had been living with HIV for an average of 23.7 years. We found that a desire to self-educate, community activism, and engagement with other OWLH reduced participants’ internalized stigma and were sources of empowerment. However, concerns about aging with HIV persists, including pervasive HIV stigma, comorbidities, shrinking caregiver networks, long-term effects of treatment, and lack of HIV research and programs focusing on older women. These findings suggest that while OWLH are empowered agents in their own HIV care journey, structural interventions (e.g., inclusion of older women in HIV trials) are still needed to address the unique concerns of this population.

Persephone at Mid-Life: Revisiting Feminist Archetypal Theory in a Personal Journey Through Menopause

This article suggests that feminist archetypal theory provides a helpful and empowering framework through which to understand embodied change as experienced in contemporary times. A mainstream approach associated with second-wave feminism, it has fallen victim to poststructuralist critiques and is rarely used, despite a renewed popularity of goddess archetypes in broader lay culture. I argue that this framework deserves revisiting as, in generating positive images and plots, it can serve as a source of empowerment and strength for women and especially so where hegemonic contemporary discourses are overwhelmingly negative and medicalised, as in the case of menopause. Using auto-ethnographic methods, I illustrate this with reference to my own lived experience of menopausal transition. Finally, and just as importantly, I show how this approach configures a different and more holistic kind of knowledge that recognises connection, relationality and communion of self, others and world, rather than separation and domination.

Seed credit model in Uganda”: Participation and empowerment dynamics among smallholder women and men farmers

Seed is life and can be a source of empowerment and disempowerment for women and men farmers. In this study, to close the gender gaps in seed, the Community Enterprises Development Organization, the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT and the National Agricultural Research Organization developed a seed credit model available to men and women belonging to farmer groups. A mixed method was used to collect information from two districts in central Uganda on how the seed credit model reconstructed access, use, control and resulting benefits. Results showed that the provision of the seed credit model was considered a blessing even though it had many nuances. As a result of the seed credit model, we saw increased productivity in women's fields, increased income and decision making over income incurred from the sale of their crops. Their social status has been enhanced, and they now occupy a place of respect in their communities and households, where they can make decisions and get assets like houses and land. While it increased productivity, income and enhanced food and nutrition security needs of the family, it also changed power dynamics within the household as women become more empowered. To maintain power relations, men limited women's access to fertile land and family labor, which defined the quantity of seed gotten from the seed credit model. Women's participation and involvement in the seed credit model decreased over time as they were expected to pay their spouses' seed loans. Men's participation decreased because they were no longer entrusted with seed loans as their payment rate was very low. As we reap positive benefits, we have to ensure we don't ‘do harm’ when empowering our beneficiaries.

Nutrition research and practice with transgender and gender non-conforming populations.

The purpose of the present article is to describe the current state of sex and gender data collection in nutrition science research, discuss the effects of flawed data collection practices, highlight considerations for transgender and gender non-conforming populations and propose a sex- and gender-informed approach to human subjects research. Sex and gender are separate constructs that are often conflated in nutrition research and practice. Current nutrition surveillance programmes in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland do not accurately capture sex and gender data, which undermines the accuracy of the analyses and excludes gender minorities. Transgender and gender non-conforming populations have distinct clinical and psychosocial nutrition considerations that require further research to inform nutrition policy and practice, such as anthropometric and biochemical changes with hormone therapy, eating disorders, food insecurity and nutrition as a source of empowerment or expression of gender identity. Researchers can apply a sex- and gender-informed approach to human subjects research by treating sex and gender as separate, relevant demographic data, appreciating gender as a fluid construct, and approaching data collection on gender minorities with sensitivity to privacy and confidentiality.

“Our Pain Makes Us Family”: March For Our Lives and the constitutive role of gun violence trauma in youth publics

This essay examines the dynamics of diverse youth public formation through analysis of the 20 student speeches delivered at the 2018 March For Our Lives rally. I argue that the collective identification as youth survivors of gun violence trauma functions to constitute this diverse youth public. I trace how the speakers’ shared gun violence trauma enabled them to form a racially integrated coalition while not discrediting their differently positioned identities and disparate gun violence experiences. In doing so, I forward a conceptualization of how youth publics negotiate gun violence trauma, asserting that youth publics are characterized by both present constraints and a future-oriented agency, members of youth publics must account for tensions across racial differences in their gun violence prevention advocacy, and gun violence trauma functions as a shared basis for political participation. My analysis of the students’ gun violence prevention discourse complicates this framework to reveal how gun violence trauma as a shared basis for youth public membership threatens their source of empowerment: ownership over their futures. Contributing to scholarship on the formation of publics, this essay demonstrates the significance of youth publics at the intersections of race, trauma, and gun violence.

The Codex is Always on Crip Time: ADHD(ness) and Reading

ABSTRACT This article aims to explore motives around the topic of reading within ADHD online communities from a book studies perspective. Such reflections must account for neuro-ableism in educational institutions and resulting hermeneutical injustices, as well as decades of pathologizing research about ADHD(ers) in favor of medical models of disability. Ultimately, the article argues that a deeper knowledge of book history might be a source of empowerment, especially for ADHDers struggling with reading or picking up a book at all. For example, the invention of the codex originally gave way to discontinuous and interruptible reading practices, and the novel as a genre to be read alone, silently, and from cover to cover is in many ways a peculiarity. Furthermore, books are three-dimensional material objects and therefore an “antilibrary” can very well be reinterpreted as consisting of stimming or fidget tools.

Sources of empowerment and mental health among retired men and women: An ecological perspective

Aims The overarching goal of the present study was to examine the contribution of various sources of empowerment to mental health during retirement with an added emphasis on gender differences. The empowerment sources that were examined corresponded with three distinct ecological systems: (1) Chronosystem—resource gains from the pre- to post-retirement period and satisfaction with the prior working period; (2) Microsystem—marital power dynamics (measured by the division of household labor and decision-making in the marital relationship) and the presence of a confidant; (3) Ontogenetic system—a sense of meaning in one’s life during the retirement period and an assessment of absolute resources. Method The research sample consisted of 160 Israeli retirees (78 women and 82 men) who had retired within the previous eight years. Data were collected by the Panels Research Institute in Israel using the institute’s database of members. Participants completed an online questionnaire accessible via a website link. Statistical processing was performed using ANOVA and hierarchical regression analysis. Results The results indicated that retirees’ reports of resource gains after retirement, their sense of meaning in life, their satisfaction with their working period prior to retirement, and their perceived level of absolute resources were all associated with mental health. Additionally, the more participants (both men and women) rated that the husband was involved in household labor, the better retirees reported their mental health to be. Gender differences were found in regard to some empowerment sources during retirement: retired women reported lower levels of mental health and prior work satisfaction compared to retired men, and men’s assessments of their participation in household labor and decision-making were higher than women’s assessments of their husbands’ involvement. The proportion of men who reported that their wives were their confidants was higher than the proportion of women who reported that their husbands were their confidants. Summary and conclusions Overall, men experienced more sources of empowerment than women during retirement, but findings suggest that men’s emotional dependence on their wives is greater than women’s emotional dependence on their husbands. Based on the study’s findings, recommendations are offered to professionals who work with retirees.

Marginalize or Valorize: A Two-Case Study of Parental Essentialism and Fathers’ Social Location

The idea that children need a mother and a father to thrive is a hegemonic ideology of parenting, yet research finds that children do equally well in families with two parents of any gender. Prior research has not addressed how social location shapes parents’ engagement with gender essentialist ideologies of parenting. Filling this gap, we analyze ethnographic and interview data based on the experiences of poor fathers of color and mostly white, wealthy gay fathers. This two-case study uniquely reveals how class, race, and sexuality shape fathers’ relationships to parental essentialism. Fathers experience it as either a source of empowerment that valorizes them as worthy parents or a source of marginalization that denies their ability to raise healthy children. We theorize how this dual response reveals the salience and dangers of essentialist discourses in spaces where men grapple with gendered and heteronormative ideologies of masculinity, fatherhood, and families.

Power, Narrative, and Magical Realism in Hudā Ḥamad’s Sindrīllāt Masqaṭ

Abstract This article examines the narrative and literary techniques employed in Hudā Ḥamad’s Sindrīllāt Masqaṭ to draw on Omani women’s experiences of writing and speaking as sources of empowerment and narrative identity. Marking a shift from the dominant realistic and historical fiction often associated with male writers, Ḥamad experiments with magical realism, the carnivalesque, intertextuality, and metafiction to reconfigure the novelistic genre beyond the national prescriptions of literary production. Through the voice of the narrator, alongside the voices of other ordinary women, the novel underscores the significance of women’s symbolic practices within the societal and cultural boundaries of Oman. In an allegory of writing—a major thread running throughout the novel—the narrator/writer seeks to combine the composite, multiple, and fictional fragments of various women’s stories into a single readable text that preserves oral and cultural memory. Thus, on the one hand, this article explores the writer’s experimentation with narrative and storytelling within the context of the Omani literary tradition. On the other hand, it examines modes of women’s empowerment that work through articulative and enunciative practices in the face of linguistic frustration.

"A source of empowerment and well-being": Experiences of a dance and yoga intervention for young girls with functional abdominal pain disorders.

Functional abdominal pain disorders are common among children and adolescents worldwide and effective treatments are needed to alleviate suffering for these children and their families. This study aimed to explore the experience of participating in a combined dance and yoga intervention from the perspectives of girls aged 9-13 years with functional abdominal pain disorders. A randomized controlled trial called Just in TIME (Try, Identify, Move and Enjoy) recruited 121 girls aged 9-13 years with functional abdominal pain disorders. The eight-month intervention combined dance and yoga twice a week, focusing on enjoyment, socialization and playful creativity in an undemanding and non-judgemental environment. The intervention group comprised 64 girls, of whom 25 were purposefully selected for this qualitative interview study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. The girls' experiences of the Just in TIME intervention can be described as "A source of empowerment and well-being which facilitated personal growth and new ways of engaging in life". The main category was derived from six generic categories: "A sense of belonging", "Joy and emotional expression through movement", "Relief from pain", "More self-confident", "More active in daily life" and "A sense of calm." Regular participation in an eight-month intervention with combined dance and yoga in a supportive and non-judgemental atmosphere can ease pain and strengthen inner resources, resulting in empowerment, well-being and a more active life for girls with functional abdominal pain disorders. The Just in TIME study is available online at clinicaltrials.gov, ID: NCT02920268.

In search of children's best interest

In search of children's best interest

Enacting resilience at multiple levels during the COVID-19 pandemic: exploring communication theory of resilience for U.S. undocumented college students

ABSTRACT During the COVID-19 pandemic, college students faced a number of stressors that threatened their health and well-being. Undocumented college students faced similar stressors and additional ones that were unique to their immigration status. Drawing from communication theory of resilience, we conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with Mexican-origin undocumented college students in California. Our findings extended past research on the communication theory of resilience by identifying triggers that motivated undocumented students to enact resilience at multiple levels. Undocumented students reported (a) individual, interpersonal, institutional, and policy-level constraints that constantly threatened their health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic; (b) how they enacted resilience at those multiple levels; and (c) how their undocumented status was a source of stress but also a source of empowerment.

Political entanglements between Pakistan and Kuwait: the transnational figuration of migration, development and charity

This article examines interactions between Pakistan and the Gulf region with a focus on a case study of mobilities between the southern part of Gilgit-Baltistan (Baltistan), in north-eastern Pakistan, and the state of Kuwait. Moving away from state approaches, this study examines a transnational figuration formed by migrants and religious leaders from Baltistan and members of the Kuwaiti merchant class as a way to ground an understanding of this transnational engagement and its transformative character, mainly for Baltistan but also for Kuwait. Gilgit-Baltistan is a disputed territory and state presence is marginal. The relative absence of the state creates a situation in which people feel the need to fend for themselves. In this context, foreign development and charity work can become a source of empowerment. The Gulf, and concretely, Kuwait exercises an influence in Baltistan via migration, development and charity work.The study of this transnational figuration unfolds how social norms (in terms of a political culture), status, power and social capital help to shape politics in this region of north-eastern Pakistan. Indirectly, this figuration reveals the relatively influential role exercised by the Gulf and, in this case Kuwait, in other regions through a soft diplomacy of development and charity work, but one that has results in political empowerment of this border area of Pakistan. It also shows that this ‘foreign’ activity of Kuwaiti actors responds to forms of seeking political empowerment at home.