This article is based on research among a group of Muslim youth living in the west of Ireland as part of a study on “social belonging” and identity. One part of the research involved designing a youth centered, participatory research method, in the form of a blog site, to investigate what young people say and do when they are asked to talk about themselves and their relationships, with minimal researcher involvement. Participants were presented with a “blank virtual canvas” where they determined what became discussed. Twenty-two teenaged Muslims—comprising close friends as well as fellow students of the same school and living in the same West of Ireland town—contributed to a time limited, closed blog site over a four month period. The blog site offers interesting snippets of Muslim identification, and how they choose to present themselves to others. In the process of contributing to this exercise, we can also observe subtle means through which inclusion and exclusion co-exist online, refracting young people’s offline worlds. The blog affords an opportunity to consciously “do” friendship by presenting to each other images, symbols and statements of friendship that invoke both cohesion and closure. The research unravels certain gendered patterns in online performances. In demonstrating this evidence, we argue that the study of online interactions of youth can provide an alternative window in exploring relationships, identification and social positioning.
Blog site; online friendships; Muslim youth; gender; identity performance; participatory research
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Indigenous research frameworks are key to enhancing cultural safety for participants, while facilitating capacity building for Indigenous researchers. Indigenous frameworks can address and balance out the potential harms of western research methods. This methodology article describes the experiences of an Indigenous research team in Western Australia (WA) and the developed…
Donna LM Kurtz, Julianne Barry, Peter Hutchinson, Karlyn Olsen, Diana Moar, Rosanna McGregor, Edna Terbasket, Carol Camille, Arlene Vrtar-Huot, Mary Cutts, Kelsey Darnay, Haley Cundy, Mariko Kage, Nikki McCrimmon, Cal Albright, Charlotte Jones
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Indigenous methodology is a living methodology of doing research in a good way that honours respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities in which knowledge is co-created and ownership is shared. Guided by Indigenous methodologies, the Urban Indigenous Collective Governance Circle was co-developed for urban Indigenous health research. The Collective…
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Historically, research partnerships between Indigenous communities and academic institutions were often harmful for communities; wise ways of achieving more balanced and just relationships are emerging. This project focuses on the research partnership between Grandmother’s Bay and the University of Saskatchewan with the objectives of providing knowledge on initiating Indigenous community-based…
Ranjan Datta, Teena Starlight (Tsuut’ina First Nation), Daniel Craig Mistaken (Kainai First Nation)
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In this article, we explore the importance of incorporating Indigenous Elders’ perspectives in developing solutions to climate change. Following relational land-based theoretical frameworks, we learn from Indigenous Elders how they foster a strong sense of community and collective responsibility. Indigenous Elders prioritize inclusivity, social cohesion, and the interconnectedness of humans…
Robyn Williams (Noongar), Francine Eades (Noongar), Justine Whitby (Noongar Yamatji), Katiska Davis (Noongar), Christopher McKay (Wiradjuri), Lina Gubhaju, Sandra Eades (Noongar)
2024 | Australia
Indigenous research frameworks are key to enhancing cultural safety for participants, while facilitating capacity building for Indigenous researchers. Indigenous frameworks can address and balance out the potential harms of western research methods. This methodology article describes the experiences of an Indigenous research team in Western Australia (WA) and the developed…
Donna LM Kurtz, Julianne Barry, Peter Hutchinson, Karlyn Olsen, Diana Moar, Rosanna McGregor, Edna Terbasket, Carol Camille, Arlene Vrtar-Huot, Mary Cutts, Kelsey Darnay, Haley Cundy, Mariko Kage, Nikki McCrimmon, Cal Albright, Charlotte Jones
2024 | Canada
Indigenous methodology is a living methodology of doing research in a good way that honours respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities in which knowledge is co-created and ownership is shared. Guided by Indigenous methodologies, the Urban Indigenous Collective Governance Circle was co-developed for urban Indigenous health research. The Collective…
Adrian Teare, Anne Mease, Claudia Madampage, Alexandra King, Malcolm King
2024 | Canada
Historically, research partnerships between Indigenous communities and academic institutions were often harmful for communities; wise ways of achieving more balanced and just relationships are emerging. This project focuses on the research partnership between Grandmother’s Bay and the University of Saskatchewan with the objectives of providing knowledge on initiating Indigenous community-based…
Ranjan Datta, Teena Starlight (Tsuut’ina First Nation), Daniel Craig Mistaken (Kainai First Nation)
2024 | Canada
In this article, we explore the importance of incorporating Indigenous Elders’ perspectives in developing solutions to climate change. Following relational land-based theoretical frameworks, we learn from Indigenous Elders how they foster a strong sense of community and collective responsibility. Indigenous Elders prioritize inclusivity, social cohesion, and the interconnectedness of humans…
