Nancy E. Fenton

Living ethics: a narrative of collaboration and belonging in a research team

In this paper, we document and describe our collaboration on a project investigating individuals’ experiences of identity, participation, and belonging in higher education. We pay particular attention to the formal set of principles that we developed to govern collaboration, ownership and authorship within the research project and the ways that those principles are enacted in our team. Through our collaboration, we have come to acknowledge our research team as a space of belonging where all team members are accepted and welcomed. This sense of belonging provides a personal perspective on collaboration that is missing in most studies of research collaboration. We use the motif of ‘living ethics’ to capture defining qualities of the relationship deliberately cultivated between and among research team members. Through this narrative inquiry, we advance theoretical understandings of the notions of collaboration, belonging, and ethical research practices that can serve as potential models but not a blueprint for other research collaborations.

Tag, you're different: the interrupted spaces of children at risk of anaphylaxis

Several contributions to understanding the emotional aspects of everyday lives have been made by geographers. What we undertake in this research is to focus that lens on the emotional context of experiences of children at risk and in particular on anaphylactic risk-scapes, particularly within the school environment. This research attempts to go beyond the policy response by privileging the voices of the affected children (and their parents) in order to understand the emotionality of their risk experience; how it is articulated and negotiated in place, and how bodily boundaries are interrupted. Qualitative methods were used to explore childrens perceptions of, and experiences with, anaphylactic allergy in the school environment. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 children (aged 8–12 years) and 10 adolescents (aged 13–17 years) and their parents. Children were also asked to draw a picture of ‘what it was like to live with a severe food allergy’ and to then explain their illustration. Results revealed how the spaces of children at risk of anaphylaxis were interrupted; social spaces were interrupted through their bodily experiences of risk as they negotiated in and through school environments. These findings suggest allergic children contest school and policy constructions of ‘safe place’ through the interrupted spaces and bodily disruptions of emotion.

Perceptions and Knowledge of Caffeinated Energy Drinks: Results of Focus Groups With Canadian Youth

Objective: To examine use, knowledge, and perceptions of caffeinated energy drinks (CEDs) among youth. Design: Qualitative research using focus group discussions (n = 4). Setting: Two Canadian cities (Toronto and Montreal). Participants: Youth aged 12–18 years (n = 41). Phenomenon of Interest: Perceived definitions of CEDs, reasons for use, knowledge of health effects, use with alcohol, marketing perceptions, and use and understanding of cautionary statements on packaging. Analysis: Data were analyzed using a modified grounded‐theory approach. Results: Youth identified CEDs as products that provide energy and contain caffeine and sugar. Compared with mainstream CED brands and energy shots, youth were less likely to perceive Gatorade, Coca‐Cola, and a Starbucks beverage as energy drinks, despite some ambiguity. The majority of participants believed that CEDs, including mixed with alcohol, were not necessarily harmful in moderation and that marketing was targeted toward older youth and young adults. Awareness of cautionary statements on CEDs was low; cautionary statements were perceived as difficult to find and read owing to the design and small font. Conclusions and Implications: Findings suggest a need to increase public education regarding the potential risks of CED consumption, including enhancements to the mandated cautionary statements, with greater attention to the impact of CED marketing on youth.