Urban Teenagers Research Articles

Globalization and School–Work Choices in an Emerging Economy: Vietnam

We examine the effect of increased industrial jobs on educational attainment in Vietnam, where WTO accession stimulated a massive increase in foreign direct investment. District-level intensity of jobs in foreign-invested firms is negatively associated with propensity to be in school for all urban teenagers and for rural females. High dropout rates are due in part to access to labor markets offering almost no premium for high school learning. The decision to join the workforce before completing high school will likely have long-term implications for individuals and for aggregate growth because global competitiveness depends on sustained increases in labor productivity.

ADOLESCENTS NEGOTIATING ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE, URBAN COMMUNITY

In this study we examined the negotiation of romantic relationships by urban youth, as discussed in focus groups, in a multicultural community. We compared these urban-student findings for an emergent fit with previously reported findings from more homogeneous groups of rural students. The unifying category, <em>wrestling with gender expectations</em>, which was identified in the rural studies, also emerged in the present study. A new unifying category represented urban participants’ <em>balancing cultural expectations</em> in the contexts of their families and social groups. Three categories from the former rural studies emerged in the present urban study: <em>making sacrifices</em>, <em>showing respect</em>, and <em>standing up for oneself</em>; and a new category emerged: <em>communicating</em>. While the rural students identified <em>media</em> as critical contextual conditions for romantic relationships, the current urban teens identified <em>digital and social media</em> as crucial contextual conditions in dating relationships. Together, these findings suggest the importance of considering cultural and contextual aspects of youths’ dating processes for developing a grounded theory that reflects aspects of teens’ relational lives. Implications of this emergent theory are explored, and directions for future research are suggested.

“Revolutions Happen through Young People!”

From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, thousands of black high school students in Boston protested their educational marginalization by staging school boycotts, forming student organizations, and leading demonstrations. They demanded dramatic changes in the content and delivery of education in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). They called for a “culturally relevant education” that valued black culture, to be mentored by black educators, and for collaboration between school and community. Through these arguments for the value of black culture, students rejected characterizations of their racial heritage as inadequate—in a time when theories of cultural inferiority were widespread. Black youth were key players in a decades-long movement led by black Bostonians for educational justice in the BPS. This story challenges a dominant narrative of desegregation and civil rights in Boston, which focuses on busing, white resistance, and court-ordered desegregation. This narrative portrays black Bostonians as apathetic to racial politics and blindly following court-ordered desegregation plans. The story of the black student movement highlights the vital political work performed by black youth in civil rights protest. The erasure of black youth activism from the historical record strengthens stereotypes of black urban teens as apathetic, dangerous, and culturally depraved, which served as a justification for the criminalization of black youth. Their demands for black studies courses, black educators, and the revision of student dress and disciplinary codes forced educators and city leaders to grapple with changing understandings of quality education within the nation’s diverse urban public school systems.

Time Spending Pattern for Various Media Activities of Urban and Rural Teenagers of India

Sundry media activities have paramount role in the growing pattern of today's teenagers. Degree of influence and impact of these activities on teenagers largely depends on time duration given to these different media and non-media activities like optically canvassing television, surfing internet, playing video games, computer games, heedfully aurally perceiving musical compositions on FM radio, reading newspaper/magazines and playing alfresco games. Time duration spent on mass media activities is incrementing day by day. Today teenagers mostly prefer visually examining television, playing computer games and surfing on internet and less intrigued with playing alfresco games and participation in gregarious and cultural activities. Excess of media utilization and avoidance of gregarious and cultural activities may have negative impact on teenager's demeanor and their growing pattern. They are much active on Facebook and twitter, having hundreds of friends and processing information expeditiously but very less participative in authentic society. India is a diversified country. Here population is largely divided on the substratum of urban and rural substructure. There are lot of differences in urban and rural areas regarding infrastructure, communication, media activities, inculcative facilities, information technology, life style, fashion, victualing habits and many more. Main aim of this research paper was to ascertain time spending pattern of urban and rural teenagers discretely on sundry media and non-media activities and to find out are there any consequential differences? Study concluded that time spending pattern of urban and rural teenagers was significantly different which concludes that behavioral and growing pattern of these teenagers is withal different..

Increasing Positive Health Behaviors in Adolescents with Nutritional Goals and Exercise

Research has documented that low-income urban youth are at risk for obesity and related health problems. Our goal was to develop a brief, developmentally informed intervention to increase positive health behaviors (e.g., diet and exercise) among low-income, minority adolescents. Our study was designed to examine the feasibility and potential impact of our single session intervention that was delivered in a primary care setting. The participants were 100 adolescents from an urban adolescent medicine clinic who were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: a) a 3–5 min goal-only session or b) a 15–20 min motivationally enhanced intervention. Health behaviors and individual characteristics (i.e., autonomous motivation, self-efficacy) were assessed at baseline and re-assessed at follow-up 1 month later with 53 % of the youth completing the follow-up assessment. Those in the enhanced intervention group were more likely to participate in the follow-up as were those who reported higher baseline motivation and self-efficacy. Both groups reported statistically significant health behavior improvements over time and older adolescents reported more improvements. The two conditions did not significantly differ in reported health improvements. Self-efficacy predicted improvements in self-reported fruit and vegetable intake at follow-up. Results support that a brief “chat” with adolescents about their personal goals and values appears to have the potential to increase their positive health behaviors and appears to be useful as a preparatory intervention for weight management efforts for urban teens. The study demonstrates the feasibility and potential efficacy of implementing this 20 min intervention into primary care settings, thereby helping urban youth focus on their individualized goals, values, and motivations for health.

Sexual Behaviour and Abuse of Drugs Among Urban Teenagers in Lagos

Sexual dependence and abuse of drugs including the abuse of sexual stimulants and abortion drugs has been observed among the urban teens. This finding was observed through personal encounters and follow-up investigations while working with teenagers in selected communities of Lagos State. Many youngsters are engaging in risky sexual activities while abusing both prescribed drugs and psychotropic substances to enhance their sexual performance. Most of these sexual activities have resulted to high risk of teenage pregnancy abortion with misuse and abuse of drugs and substances to prevent pregnancy or induce the abortion. In most cases, the male partner responsible contributes or influences the use of these drugs and substances for the prevention of pregnancy or induced abortion. This study was carried out in Lagos Urban community which revealed the risk sexual behavioral activities engaged by youngsters.

Mao's Lost Children: Stories of the Rusticated Youth of China's Cultural Revolution ed. by Ou Nianzhong and Liang Yongkang

Reviewed by: Mao's Lost Children: Stories of the Rusticated Youth of China's Cultural Revolution ed. by Ou Nianzhong and Liang Yongkang Matt Wills (bio) Ou Nianzhong and Liang Yongkang, editors. Mao's Lost Children: Stories of the Rusticated Youth of China's Cultural Revolution. Translated by Laura Maynard. Portland: MerwinAsia, 2015. xvii, 398 pp. Hardcover $65.00, isbn 978-19-37-38568-2. Paperback $28.00, isbn 978-1-937385-67-5. Beginning in mid-1968, the Chinese government organized the systematic and widespread relocation of millions of urban teenagers and young adults. This "rusticated youth program" (上山下乡运动) sent participants, both willing and unwilling, out of the cities to live in rural regions alongside locals. There, they were expected to contribute to production tasks, continue their ideological education, and work for the benefit of the revolution. The majority only managed to return home years later after a change in government policy, making rustication a formative experience for almost an entire generation of urban youth. With the passage of time, the history of the rusticated youth program has become a topic with a healthy literature. Recent notable publications include Collected Research Essays on China's Rusticated Youth edited by Jin Dalu (金大陆) and Jin Guangyao (金光耀), and Michel Bonnin's The Lost Generation: The Rustification of China's Educated Youth (1968-1980).1 Running side-by-side with this research, former rusticated youths and scholars are collecting, preserving, and publishing the testimonies of those who were sent down. Mao's Lost Children: Stories of the Rusticated Youth of China's Cultural Revolution belongs to this latter category of work. As an anthology, it brings together a remarkable range of reminiscences by individuals from Guangdong Province who spent their years of rustication on Hainan island (lying off [End Page 88] China's south coast). The fifty-six participants in the volume were sent to Hainan between 1968 and 1971, only managing to permanently return home from the mid to late 1970s onward. Two of their number, the editors Ou Nianzhong and Liang Yongkang, synthesize the recollections of their peers into thematic sections as varied as "Becoming Iron Girls," "Living with the Li," "Bringers of Arts and Knowledge," and "Escapes, Scrapes, and Tight Spots." In doing so, the editors produce a volume that provokes reflection on the nature of the rusticated youth program and suggests new ways scholars can approach studying it. In the remainder of this review, I will share a few of my reflections. Rustication was a personal, variable, and most importantly local experience for each individual, and Mao's Lost Children captures this kaleidoscope in detail. With this in mind, the title of the volume, although engaging, is somewhat deceptive in its focus on Mao. As we read memories of eating scarce fresh fruit, toiling on rubber plantations, or performing propaganda songs, national politics and Mao Zedong often fade from view. While contributors refer to unnamed campaigns, policy changes, and Mao's cult and ideology, these are less prominent than commonplace occurrences closer to home. Moments of good fortune, actions by local bureaucrats, and the pushes and pulls of the tropical farming calendar shape the narrative of recollections more than anything happening in Beijing. Moreover, the accounts move forward chronologically at a haphazard pace, skipping easily across such recognized dividing lines as the death of Mao in 1976 or the 1978 Third Plenum. The book thus supports Gail Hershatter's methodological finding that individuals do not always structure the past according to the events most familiar to historians of modern China.2 The experiences of those sent to Hainan provide a very different set of signposts to frame the 1970s. In addition, the anthology reveals a side to the Hainan rustication program that requires significant scholarly attention: its environmental impact. As highlighted in the editors' short introduction, Hainan's geographical position and tropical climate prompted the government to use the island for cultivating a range of crops and plants. In particular, many former rusticated youth tell of "opening up" (i.e., clearing) land and jungle for rubber plantations, as well as toiling for hours at a time harvesting precious rubber to be sent elsewhere. Others worked in a "rubber propagation experimental...

Teen Culture, Technology and Literacy Instruction: Urban Adolescent Students’ Perspectives

Modern teens have pervasively integrated new technologies into their lives, and technology has become an important component of teen popular culture. Educators have pointed out the promise of exploiting technology to enhance students’ language and literacy skills and general academic success. However, there is no consensus on the effect of technology on teens, and scant literature is available that incorporates the perspective of urban and linguistically diverse students on the feasibility of applying new technologies in teaching and learning literacy in intact classrooms. This paper reports urban adolescents’ perspectives on the use of technology within teen culture, for learning in general and for literacy instruction in particular. Focus group interviews were conducted among linguistically diverse urban students in grades 6, 7 and 8 in a lower income neighborhood in the Northeastern region of the United States. The major findings of the study were that 1) urban teens primarily and almost exclusively used social media and technology devices for peer socializing, 2) they were interested in using technology to improve their literacy skills, but did not appear to voluntarily or independently integrate technology into learning, and 3) 8th graders were considerably more sophisticated in their use of technology and their suggestions for application of technology to literacy learning than 6th and 7th graders. These findings lead to suggestions for developing effective literacy instruction using new technologies.

Impact of a 4-H Youth Development Program on At-Risk Urban Teenagers

Dynamic programs that integrate science literacy and workforce readiness are essential to today's youth. The program reported here combined science literacy (gardening and technology) with workforce readiness to assess the impact of program type, prior program participation, and behavior/punctuality on knowledge gain. Findings show that past participation in a similar program positively impacted knowledge gain. Further, the results indicate that behavior/punctuality also increased knowledge gain. Of particular interest to Extension educators, this article discusses the implications of examining only mean scores to assess program effectiveness, especially where prior programs have been attended by students.

Comparisons of Contraceptive Use between Rural and Urban Teens

Study ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to determine if barriers in rural areas might decrease an adolescent’s likelihood of obtaining effective contraception. Previous studies have reported mixed results in comparisons of rural and urban contraception use. DesignElectronic survey. SettingMidwestern Public University. ParticipantsUndergraduate and graduate women. InterventionsQuestionnaire. Main Outcome MeasuresParticipants retrospectively recalled their contraceptive use and barriers to contraceptive use between the 9th and 12th grades. ResultsA Barriers to Contraception Use Scale was created using exploratory factor analysis and yielded 31 questions with 1 underlying factor: barriers. Participants were identified as rural or urban using the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definition and the participant’s self-identification. Overall, rural participants endorsed more barriers to accessing contraceptives than urban participants using the OMB definition (χ2 (2; n = 388) = 2.04; P < .05), and self-identification (χ2 (2; n = 398) = 2.37; P < .05). However, no differences were found in contraception use according to the OMB definition, t (380) = −1.90; P = .06, or self-identification, t (380) = −2.11; P > .05. The Barriers to Contraception Use Scale total score predicted whether an individual would have a prescription for contraceptives 70.5% of the time compared to the base rate of 54.1%. ConclusionAlthough no rural–urban differences in actual contraception use were found, rural participants reported more barriers to accessing contraception, and those who endorsed more barriers were less likely to obtain contraceptives while in high school. Pregnancy prevention programs should thus take these barriers into account when developing future interventions.

The Mental Health Needs of Low-Income Pregnant Teens

While the rates of teen childbearing have declined in the United States, adolescents who become pregnant and decide to bear and rear their babies are often from low-income, highly stressed families and communities. This article will describe the psychosocial problems of pregnant urban teens and how exposure to interpersonal trauma and current mental health problems may affect their prenatal health behavior, a vulnerable arena that has significance for infant development. It will discuss nurse home visiting as a preventive intervention with proven effectiveness in enhancing maternal prenatal health and behavior and the health and development of children born to mothers at risk, and how a nurse–family collaboration with social workers can facilitate this mission. By providing collaborative care that addresses psychosocial, health, and mental health concerns, interventions like home visiting can reach their full potential.

Working Class Zombies and Men in Burqas: Temporality, Trauma, and the Specter of Nostalgia in Zibahkhana

2007 saw the release of the film Zibahkhana (dir. Omar Ali Khan), an independent production billed as “Pakistan’s first extreme horror film.” Combining prominent nods to classic Hollywood horror films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead with plenty of references to Pakistani horror and action cinema, it foregrounds issues of social class, conflicting ideologies of Islam, globalization, and public sanitation. Featuring a vanload of privileged urban teenagers, a mob of zombie villagers, Pakistan’s own Dracula, and a deranged family of killers including a large male figure in a burqa, film is not a simplistic critique of current socio-political issues in Pakistan; rather this article seeks to understand how its narrative and visual elements create powerful, temporal, and moral ambiguities that resist such superficial interpretation. Through a variety of narrative and visual techniques, Zibahkhana rejects simple dichotomies (e.g., “Islamic radicalism versus kind and gentle Sufism”) and instead uses blurred temporalities, fleeting allegorical moments, and the invocation of a rather ominous nostalgia to offer a sophisticated critique of the relationship between cinema and the nation-state.

Community Management

Community Management Jennifer deWinter Keyword Essay Community literacy often engages with literacy practices—written, oral, visual, technological, social, and so forth—that occur and are scaffolded outside of traditional educational institutions. The writing done in community literacy projects, according to Peck, Flower, and Higgins, works to promote action and reflection while enabling people to work collaboratively and productively. In recognition of the multiple forms of literate practices and the types of community support that are needed and developed, a number of universities in the US have created community literacy programs. Carnegie Mellon University’s Community Literacy Center, a notable example of this type of program, organizes the purposes and structural collaboration thusly: “At the Community Literacy Center (CLC) urban teens and adults, with the support of their Carnegie Mellon student mentors, use writing and public dialogue to take action and to address the dreams and problems of our urban neighborhoods. CLC writers produce powerful texts—petitions, plans, proposals, and newsletters” (“Hands On”). The benefit to both university students and community members is a collaborative workgroup dedicated to place-specific social action. Non-profit organizations have also formed, providing literacy support to particular communities, from Community Literacy Centers, Inc, which teaches adults to read, to Chicago’s Open Books, which runs a volunteer bookstore and provides reading and writing programs. In the above examples, the underpinning definition of community is spatially defined; thus, community literacy programs belong to a particular city, neighborhood, or group of people. The challenge is attending to opt-in communities that are not geographically defined—communities that form in large part because of Internet access and continuous involvement in online, virtual spaces rather than material locations. Centers, then, are replaced by forums, wikis, and avatar-mediated conversations, and in this environment, community center teachers and organizers are replaced by community managers, those people who work at the intersection between IP holders and players, mediating literate practices, mentoring new people, and working with players to effect changes to the system. Community managers, as the title indicates, emerge from the business world in attempt to build and maintain brand loyalty through cultivating a dedicated community through social media and live social events. In discussing the evolution of the community manager, Michlmayr writes, “The benefits of communities and the need to facilitate and manage them have given rise to the community manager position. [… The community manager] ensures that there is a healthy community around [End Page 110] the project, interacts with users, developers and other stakeholders, and facilitates organizational aspects of the project” (23). This suggests that community managers are shills for the business world; however, as Bacon explains in The Art of Community: Building the New Age of Participation, “community managers may well need to step outside the traditional boundaries of the business world. For a community manager to really build a rapport with the community, he needs to fundamentally be a member of that community and exhibit the culture of that community” (471). And in her Forbes article, Jennifer Grayeb defines the four pillars of community management as growth, engagement, listening, and improvement. The growth of the community is the growth of the brand, but aside from that, the latter three pillars are familiar to us in community literacy, for they are concerned with the sustainability of an engaged community. In Massive Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) communities, in particular, community managers have a prominent role because the number of members makes the environment potentially too large and alienating. According to Humphreys, the community manager position answers the particular challenges of online community sustainability. He writes: “The creation of subscription based virtual game worlds has generated the creation of communities. How are these communities to be managed? Do game participants hold all the rights of an ordinary offline citizen—the right to the same protections and freedoms? Is a publisher under any obligation to treat the game world community fairly?” (14). World of Warcraft, for example, is often cited as a community-building game, which accounts for its financial success and longevity. This is evidenced in numerous places: In “An Online Community as a New Tribalism: The World of Warcraft,” Brignall and Van Valey argue, “Online communities offer individuals...

Asthma medication adherence among urban teens: a qualitative analysis of barriers, facilitators and experiences with school-based care

Objective: Teens with persistent asthma do not always receive daily preventive medications or do not take them as prescribed, despite established clinical guidelines. The purpose of this study was to understand urban teens’ experiences with asthma management, preventive medication adherence and participation in a school-based intervention. Methods: Teens (12–15 years) with persistent asthma, and prescribed preventive medication, participated in a pilot study that included daily observed medication therapy at school and motivational interviewing. Semi-structured interviews occurred at final survey. Qualitative content analysis enabled data coding to identify themes. Results: Themes were classified as “general asthma management” or “program-specific.” For general management, routines were important, while hurrying interfered with taking medications. Forgetfulness was most commonly linked to medication nonadherence. Competing demands related to school preparedness and social priorities were barriers to medication use. Independence with medications was associated with several benefits (e.g. avoiding parental nagging and feeling responsible/mature). Program-specific experiences varied. Half of teens reported positive rapport with their school nurse, while a few felt that their nurse was dismissive. Unexpected benefits and barriers within the school structure included perceptions about leaving the classroom, the distance to the nurse’s office, the necessity of hall passes and morning school routines. Importantly, many teens connected daily medication use with fewer asthma symptoms, incenting continued adherence. Conclusions: Teens with asthma benefit from adherence to preventive medications but encounter numerous barriers to proper use. Interventions to improve adherence must accommodate school demands and unique teen priorities. The school nurse’s role as an ally may support teens’ transition to medication independence.

What Makes a Teen Get Tested? A Case of Urban Based Sample of Adolescents.

Urban teens disproportionately impacted by HIV may not seek HIV testing. The objectives of this study are to determine factors that impact HIV testing among sexually active and non-sexually active teens seeking care in an urban academic setting; whether teens with high levels of self-efficacy are more likely to receive HIV testing; and whether an teen's ability to cope impacts positive attitudes toward testing. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 228 HIV negative adolescent and young adult participants age 12-21 who received care in an academic urban primary care clinic in Baltimore, Maryland. Most youth reported being sexually active (N=146, 64%) and reported having been tested at that day's visit (N=135, 85%). Provider recommendation was significantly associated with higher odds of testing among sexually active teens (OR 3.5, 95%CI 1.07-11.7) and those with no prior sexual history (OR 5.89, 95%CI 1.40-24.9), while high HIV stigma was associated with lower odds of testing (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.04-0.77) among youth with no prior sexual history. Sexually active teens with a positive attitude toward HIV testing were more likely to be older (late: 6.3 [1.0-40]), report intention to be tested in 6 months (OR 7.11, 95% CI 1.48 - 34.2), and have higher HIV coping self-efficacy (OR 1.12, 95%CI 1.00-1.26). Provider recommendation may be the most important independent factor for testing in teens, regardless of sexual history, while HIV-related stigma may be an important factor for teens with no prior sexual history and thus may be perceived to have little or no risk for HIV acquisition. In sexually active youth, older age, intention to be tested for HIV and the ability to cope with a positive diagnosis likely dictates adolescent attitudes toward engagement in HIV testing, although it may not directly correspond with HIV testing behavior.

Economic Hardship, Parent Positive Communication and Mental Health in Urban Adolescents Seeking Outpatient Psychiatric Care.

Economic hardship and poor parenting behaviors are associated with increased risk for mental health problems in community adolescents. However, less is known about the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) and parenting behaviors on youth at elevated risk for mental health problems, such as teens seeking outpatient psychiatric care. This study examined whether family SES and parent positive communication were directly and indirectly associated with mental health symptoms six months later in urban teens seeking outpatient treatment, after accounting for baseline levels of symptoms. At baseline, adolescent participants (N = 346; 42% female; 61% African-American) ages 12 to 19 years old (M = 14.9; SD = 1.8) and their primary caregivers reported on SES and teen internalizing and externalizing symptoms and engaged in a videotaped discussion of a real-life conflict to assess parent positive communication. At 6-month follow-up, 81% (N = 279) of families were retained and teens and caregivers again reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized models with a sample of 338, using the full information likelihood method to adjust for missing data. For parent-reported externalizing symptoms, SEM revealed support for the indirect association of SES with follow-up externalizing symptoms via parent positive communication and externalizing symptoms at baseline. For parent reported internalizing symptoms, there was a direct association between SES and follow-up internalizing symptoms, but not an indirect effect via parent positive communication. Youth-reported symptoms were not associated with SES nor with parent positive communication. Current findings extend prior research on adolescent mental health in a diverse sample of urban youth seeking outpatient psychiatric care. These families may benefit from interventions that directly target SES-related difficulties and parent positive communication.

Reconnecting with urban youth enrolled in a randomized controlled trial and overdue for a 12-month follow-up survey

Retention of study participants in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is crucial to study validity. We analyzed the results of four retention strategies used to reconnect with urban teens enrolled in a school-based RCT and overdue for a 12-month follow-up survey. Traditional retention strategies used to reconnect with teens categorized as 'unable to contact' were weekly redials of nonworking telephone numbers and mailings to the student's home. Nontraditional retention strategies were obtaining assistance from school administration and performing outreach on Facebook. Of the 422 students enrolled, 125 (29.5%) were overdue for a 12-month follow-up survey, but had no working telephone number (unable to contact). We made 196 attempts to contact these 125 students, of which 82 attempts (41.8%) were successful in 'reconnecting' with the student. Using 'mailed reminder letters' as the referent category, odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for the association between the strategy used and reconnecting were 4.60 (1.8-11.8), 1.94 (1.01-3.73), and 2.91 (0.58-14.50), respectively, for telephone number redials, Facebook outreach, and school administration assistance. Of the 422 students, 380 (90%) ultimately completed the 12-month follow-up survey. Retention strategies were not applied hierarchically or systematically. We were unable to determine student preference for a particular strategy. Findings are likely only applicable to similar study populations. A mix of traditional retention strategies and more contemporary methods was effective in reconnecting with urban teenagers enrolled in a school-based RCT and in controlling attrition during the 12-month follow-up survey period.

SOCIO-STRUCTURAL INNOVATIONS IN INDONESIA’S URBAN SUFISM: The Case Study of the Majelis Dzikir and Shalawat Nurul Mustafa

Sufi tradition has grown significantly in the modern Muslim world, including Indonesia. Currently, Sufism has been not only practiced by villagers, peasants, and non-educated people, but also practiced by urbanites, national elites, and educated people. Moreover, it has experienced significant innovation in terms of its practices and organization. This article takes an in-depth look at the innovationof Sufi tradition socially and structurally in Indonesia. It argues that majelis dzikir and s h alawat in Indonesia, like Nurul Mustafa, has represented a new Sufi group that arises out of tarekat group, a group that has been considered as ‘official institution’ in implementing Sufism. The Majelis Nurul Mustafa has strong basis in urban society, rises from urban majelis taklim, introduces Sufi teaching to its jamā`ah that mostly urban teenagers and youths uses popular methods to attract the interest of those groups to attend its ritual as the complementary of its activity.

Urban, Suburban, and Rural: Adolescents’ Use and Preferences for Fitness Promotion Technologies across Communities

Introduction. An understanding of adolescents' use of technology across ages and communities could allow for future targeted obesity intervention strategies. Methods. Focus groups of adolescents from rural, suburban, and urban cities in three states were conducted. Focus groups were led by a trained facilitator to explore how participants used technologies and whether they applied them for fitness purposes. All focus groups were audio recorded and manually transcribed. Analysis was conducted by three investigators using an iterative process. Results. Five focus groups included adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years (20 females and 8 males.) Three themes were derived from our data. First, we found age differences regarding technology applied to fitness. Younger participants described technology as a complement to fitness; older participants viewed technology as a motivator for fitness. Second, differences in fitness approaches existed between rural and urban adolescents. Adolescents in rural communities reported focusing on the outdoors for fitness, while urban adolescents relied on fitness-oriented video games. Both rural and urban teens related having a lack of fitness-focused resources in their communities. Conclusions. Our findings indicate differences in adolescents' application of technology for fitness. Despite adolescents' differing uses of technology across communities, a common need exists to expand their resources.

Web-Based Asthma Management for Urban Teens

Joseph CLM, Ownby DR, Havstad SL, et al. Evaluation of a web-based asthma management intervention program for urban teenagers: reaching the hard to reach [published online ahead of print September 27, 2012]. J Adolesc Health; doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.07.009[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2] Investigators from multiple institutions in Michigan and Georgia sought to determine whether using Puff City,1 a web-based asthma intervention developed by the authors and aimed at African American teenagers, improves asthma outcomes. Students in grades 9 through 12 were recruited from 6 public high schools for the study if they had a diagnosis of asthma made by a health care provider, current symptoms, and use of asthma medications. Students without a formal asthma diagnosis were also included if they had symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of intermittent asthma or more severe asthma (based on the International Survey of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire). ### PICO Question: Among urban African American teenagers with asthma, does a tailored, web-based asthma management program improve clinical outcomes? Question type: Intervention Study design: Randomized controlled At enrollment, participants were randomized to the intervention (Puff City) or … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJ%2BAdolesc%2BHealth%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1016%252Fj.jadohealth.2012.07.009%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.07.009&link_type=DOI