title: Youth gang membership: Factors influencing and maintaining membership

authors: Campbell, Sarah Michelle

subjects: Youth gang

abstract: The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of young people who were actively engaged in youth gangs. This included developing an understanding of the factors that both influenced and maintained their desire for youth gang membership. This was achieved by carrying out seven semi-structured interviews with young people aged between sixteen and twenty-three who were residing in the city of Hamilton, New Zealand. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim to ensure the experiences of these young people were accurately recorded. A thematic analysis of the data was then carried out, highlighting both the themes and subthemes across the data set.

Five primary themes were identified within this data set to highlight the factors that both influenced and maintained a desire for youth gang membership. This included the influence of friends, the availability of money, and a desire to participate in antisocial behaviours within the gang. Participants also explained the importance of their neighbourhood surroundings in facilitating youth gang membership. While these overarching themes have been previously reported within literature (Goldstein, 1991; Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte, Smith & Tobin, 2003), the young people in this study offered their subtly unique experiences and journey into the gang lifestyle. The final theme highlighted the negative evaluation that these young people perceived to experience from others which influenced and maintained their desire to pursue the gang lifestyle. This finding is not as prevalent in the existing youth gang literature, but is discussed within the social psychology literature as the "self-fulfilling prophecy".

One of the main findings of this study was that these young people were engaged in the youth gang lifestyle from as young as nine years of age. Once accepted into the gang, participants explained that they then began to withdraw from school and other mainstream activities to pursue their life in the gang. It then became difficult to present these young people with an alternative to their chosen lifestyle as they had access to the support, tangible goods and respect that was desired. They were also accepted into a group of like-minded friends who existed as a substitute family. Further research is needed to better understand the variety of experiences that young people in New Zealand have when joining a youth gang.

text: Youth gang membership: Factors influencing and maintaining membership The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of young people who were actively engaged in youth gangs. This included developing an understanding of the factors that both influenced and maintained their desire for youth gang membership. This was achieved by carrying out seven semi-structured interviews with young people aged between sixteen and twenty-three who were residing in the city of Hamilton, New Zealand. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim to ensure the experiences of these young people were accurately recorded. A thematic analysis of the data was then carried out, highlighting both the themes and subthemes across the data set.

Five primary themes were identified within this data set to highlight the factors that both influenced and maintained a desire for youth gang membership. This included the influence of friends, the availability of money, and a desire to participate in antisocial behaviours within the gang. Participants also explained the importance of their neighbourhood surroundings in facilitating youth gang membership. While these overarching themes have been previously reported within literature (Goldstein, 1991; Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte, Smith & Tobin, 2003), the young people in this study offered their subtly unique experiences and journey into the gang lifestyle. The final theme highlighted the negative evaluation that these young people perceived to experience from others which influenced and maintained their desire to pursue the gang lifestyle. This finding is not as prevalent in the existing youth gang literature, but is discussed within the social psychology literature as the "self-fulfilling prophecy".

One of the main findings of this study was that these young people were engaged in the youth gang lifestyle from as young as nine years of age. Once accepted into the gang, participants explained that they then began to withdraw from school and other mainstream activities to pursue their life in the gang. It then became difficult to present these young people with an alternative to their chosen lifestyle as they had access to the support, tangible goods and respect that was desired. They were also accepted into a group of like-minded friends who existed as a substitute family. Further research is needed to better understand the variety of experiences that young people in New Zealand have when joining a youth gang.

year: 2011

title: Drivers use of in-vehicle information systems and perceptions of their effects on driving

authors: Starkey, Nicola J.

abstract: In recent years the number of cars on the road with manufacturer installed in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) has increased dramatically, and with smartphones connecting directly to these systems drivers can access a wide range of applications on the move. Some IVIS features are designed to improve safety (e.g., speed and collision warnings) but access via an IVIS to all apps on a smartphone has the potential to distract drivers and increase crash risk. We undertook this study to find out what IVIS features and apps drivers use and to ask about their effects on driving. An online survey completed by 1,017 drivers (50% female, 16–85 years) revealed the most common activity drivers engaged in was listening to music, followed by listening to directions. Fewer than half of the drivers reported conversing on a hands-free phone and 25% reported texting/sending emails or using social media. Frequency of engagement in secondary tasks decreased with age. Using hand-held mobiles was rated as having the greatest negative impact on driving, with drivers attempting to mitigate the risk by carrying out the activity in slow moving traffic or at traffic lights. Females rated the risk of most of the secondary tasks as greater than males. Almost half of the sample had access to speed warnings systems but only a small proportion had experience of lane departure, dangerous curve or intersection warning systems. Of those with access to driver safety systems, 50–70% never used them despite rating the system as useful and as having safety benefits. As the number of vehicles with manufacturer installed IVIS continues to increase on the road, drivers' engagement with them while driving is also likely to increase. To address this, there is a need for a multi-agency approach to educate drivers on the safe use of these systems and apps in their vehicles. Incentives for drivers to use the safety-related features may also be worth considering.

text: Drivers use of in-vehicle information systems and perceptions of their effects on driving In recent years the number of cars on the road with manufacturer installed in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) has increased dramatically, and with smartphones connecting directly to these systems drivers can access a wide range of applications on the move. Some IVIS features are designed to improve safety (e.g., speed and collision warnings) but access via an IVIS to all apps on a smartphone has the potential to distract drivers and increase crash risk. We undertook this study to find out what IVIS features and apps drivers use and to ask about their effects on driving. An online survey completed by 1,017 drivers (50% female, 16–85 years) revealed the most common activity drivers engaged in was listening to music, followed by listening to directions. Fewer than half of the drivers reported conversing on a hands-free phone and 25% reported texting/sending emails or using social media. Frequency of engagement in secondary tasks decreased with age. Using hand-held mobiles was rated as having the greatest negative impact on driving, with drivers attempting to mitigate the risk by carrying out the activity in slow moving traffic or at traffic lights. Females rated the risk of most of the secondary tasks as greater than males. Almost half of the sample had access to speed warnings systems but only a small proportion had experience of lane departure, dangerous curve or intersection warning systems. Of those with access to driver safety systems, 50–70% never used them despite rating the system as useful and as having safety benefits. As the number of vehicles with manufacturer installed IVIS continues to increase on the road, drivers' engagement with them while driving is also likely to increase. To address this, there is a need for a multi-agency approach to educate drivers on the safe use of these systems and apps in their vehicles. Incentives for drivers to use the safety-related features may also be worth considering.

year: 2020

title: What do New Zealand picturebooks tell us about New Zealand national identity?

authors: Daly, Nicola

abstract: Jeffries (2004, p. 4) defines national identity as ' ... a shared sense of belonging of a group of people that depends on a common area of named place, a common set of beliefs and values, and positive feelings for a specific named geographical area'. In her examination of how New Zealand culture is portrayed in picturebooks published between 2000 and 2005, McNeur (2006) suggests that the visual and textual messages in children's picturebooks are an important contributor to the development of children's national identity. This paper describes the process of choosing a collection of 22 New Zealand children's picturebooks (known as the New Zealand PictureBook Collection) to reflect and represent diversity in New Zealand national identity, and analyses what these books tell us about the New Zealand national identity.

text: What do New Zealand picturebooks tell us about New Zealand national identity? Jeffries (2004, p. 4) defines national identity as ' ... a shared sense of belonging of a group of people that depends on a common area of named place, a common set of beliefs and values, and positive feelings for a specific named geographical area'. In her examination of how New Zealand culture is portrayed in picturebooks published between 2000 and 2005, McNeur (2006) suggests that the visual and textual messages in children's picturebooks are an important contributor to the development of children's national identity. This paper describes the process of choosing a collection of 22 New Zealand children's picturebooks (known as the New Zealand PictureBook Collection) to reflect and represent diversity in New Zealand national identity, and analyses what these books tell us about the New Zealand national identity.

year: 2016