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1. An assets-based design approach to promote digital equity for Latino youth and their communities.

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4317906  

   Ahumada-Newhart, V; Hernandez, M.J. (October 2020, The 23rd ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW))

   Digital technologies have recently shaped the way in which individuals and communities interact. This paper examines the unique social contexts of Latino youth and their use of digital technologies to support access to health information and extend social support. The design and use of digital health tools are complex and should not take a one-size-fits-all approach. In order to better understand community assets and systemic issues of power, this paper explores interactions between developmental, contextual, and technological factors that may empower Latino youth to use digital tools to support their wellbeing, especially in the era of COVID-19 (C-19). Therefore, we first review the nuances of culture and behaviors of Latino youth to highlight opportunities for strength identification support. Next, we review traditional co-design processes and how they might be refined to support an assets-based approach. Finally, we present an assets-based approach and framework to be used as a lens through which designers can gain better understanding of Latino youth and their use of digital technologies to navigate unique challenges. Through this approach, designers may avoid amplifying structural inequities and discriminatory processes in marginalized communities. 

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2. A Dramaturgical Approach to Online Activism within Youth Empowerment Organizations

   Irannejad Bisafar, Farnaz; Foucault Welles, Brooke; Parker, Andrea G (January 2020, Proceedings of the ACM on humancomputer interaction)

   Social Networking Sites (SNS) offer youth activists and youth empowerment organizations (where adults help youth address community issues) opportunities for civic action. Impression management is critical to youth empowerment organizations’ work online, as they attempt to influence the opinions of their audience. However, there is a dearth of research characterizing online impression management in the context of youth empowerment organizations. To address this research gap, we conducted a qualitative study investigating the use of SNS in a youth empowerment organization. Using Goffman’s dramaturgical model, we characterized how youth tried to hack SNS algorithms, and their desire to better identify their audience. Our findings reveal how youth use SNS to create authentic images and connections with their audience. On the other hand, we discuss adults’ desire to convey a curated organizational image and challenges that arose. We conclude with design implications for tools that support impression management online for youth activists. 

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3. Science Identity Work and Persistence from an Intensive Family Workshop Series

   Siegel, Debbie; Byrd, Scott; Corin, Elysa (March 2024, National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST))

   This research project focuses on understanding the immediate and long-term impacts of an intensive workshop series for rural families with youth aged 8-11 years old at two science museums. Families spent six hours on six Saturdays with their children learning about wildlife and marine ecology. Our research focuses on how youth and family science identity work is constructed within and beyond the workshops ultimately supporting family persistence in science. Through survey and interview analysis we found two broad themes related to the building of science identities and persistence. First, through these intensive workshops families, including youth, develop science identities directly as well as broader, more accessible views of science and scientists. The design of the programming around families rather than just youth pointed to the important role of family learning in shaping youth science learning, identity, and participation. And, second, that families and youth begin viewing science as all around them and not just in the lab. There was an increase in their own sense of science identity and confidence as someone who knows about and can engage in science. They benefited from being scientists, using scientific tools, and meeting different types of science professionals. 

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4. Are synchronous chats a silver lining of emergency remote instruction? Text-based chatting is disproportionately favored by women in a non-majors introductory biology course

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273301  

   Robnett, Rachael D.; Ballen, Cissy J.; Fagbodun, Sheritta; Lane, Kelly; McCoy, Sophie J.; Robinson, Lecia; Weems, Ebony I.; Cotner, Sehoya (October 2022, PLOS ONE)

   Nayyar, Anand (Ed.)

   The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a reimagining of many aspects of higher education, including how instructors interact with their students and how they encourage student participation. Text-based chatting during synchronous remote instruction is a simple form of student-student and student-instructor interaction. The importance of student participation has been documented, as have clear disparities in participation between those well-represented and those under-represented in science disciplines. Thus, we conducted an investigation into who is texting, what students are texting, and how these texts align with course content. We focused on two sections of a large-enrollment, introductory biology class offered remotely during Fall 2020. Using an analysis of in-class chatting, in combination with student survey responses, we find that text-based chatting suggests not only a high level of student engagement, but a type of participation that is disproportionately favored by women. Given the multiple lines of evidence indicating that women typically under-participate in their science courses, any vehicle that counters this trend merits further exploration. We conclude with suggestions for further research, and ideas for carrying forward text-based chatting in the post-COVID-19, in-person classroom. 

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5. Supporting Youth Activists’ Strategic Use of Social Media: A Qualitative Investigation of Design Opportunities

   Irannejad Bisafar, Farnaz; Foucault Welles, Brooke; D’ignazio, Catherine; Parker, Andrea G. (January 2020, Proceedings of the ACM on humancomputer interaction)

   Social Networking Sites (SNS) provide a platform for engaging youth in activism (e.g., by helping mobilize civic action). While youth typically employ casual approaches to online activism (i.e., quick actions, such as broadcast posts to advertise social justice events), more strategic practices (i.e., those that are more creative and informed) can increase the likelihood of successful online campaigns. However, little work has examined how youth activists can be supported to use SNS more strategically. To address this research gap, we conducted interviews with youth activists, exploring how youth made sense of social network visualizations and their perspectives on how such tools could support their activism efforts. Our findings characterize how participants made inferences about followers’ identities based on their hashtag use, and how they used those inferences in outreach decisions. We conclude with design implications for future research in this area. 

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