As part of a longitudinal study that examines early and late adolescent girls' interpretations of mainstream teen magazines, this research focuses on how the African American audience's interpretive frame enables them to critique and distance themselves from selected aspects of a consumption object with which they regularly engage. The results were drawn from in-depth interviews with 16 African American girls, ages 13 -18, who are regular readers of one of the top three teen titles: Seventeen, YM, or 'Teen. In this article, consumption is conceptualized not only as purchase, but acceptance of and aspiration to the ideals employed by the beauty industry to sell goods and services, e.g., a thin body type, EuropeanAmerican facial features, and a preference for a "made-up" appearance. Conversely, anti-consumption is rejection, subversion or negotiation of those same ideals, although such critical stances do not preclude voluntary, regular exposure to the texts conveying these ideals. The analysis illustrates the importance of cultural relevance in promoting consumers' aspiration to mediated ideals; in particular, the article explores African American consumers' criticism of Euro-centric feminine ideals as not real. While White girls actively sought out the magazines' alternate, improved version of reality, African American girls compared the fictional work to their real world experience and not only denied the veracity of the ideal, but preferred their reality to it. As predicted by racial identity

This qualitative study examines culture as a mitigating factor in adolescents' media uses and gratifications. Middle-class African-American and White female readers of the three most popular teen magazines were interviewed for their interpretations of the feminine ideal presented in these texts. While Black girls in this study sought out mainstream teen magazines for what they saw as relatively generic content on topics like social issues and entertainment, these girls were largely uninterested in teen magazines' beauty images because they conflict with African-American standards of attractiveness. Featured brands of makeup and hair care products--as well as advice on their use-were also seen as being specifically intended for Whitegirls, who consequently invest more authority in the magazines' counsel and images. The magazines are a one-way mirror through which Black girls observe and critique White beauty culture. White girls were generally unaware of any racial bias in the magazines.

Early adolescent girls' interaction with textual images of femininity were assessed through in-depth interviews with ten participants, ages twelve and thirteen, who are regular readers of Teen, Seventeen, Sassy, and YM magazines. The two primary findings represent different dimensions of the same phenomenon: girls' use of outside authorities in formulating personal standards— in this case, standards of behavior and appearance. In particular, girls relied heavily on the reports of boys' voices regularly featured in the magazines for counsel on how to attain male approval and negotiate romantic relationship. Also, girls' readings centered on images of beauty; specifically the “ideal” feminine body. Participants routinely ignored or rejected the magazines' fashion formulations and advice on hair and makeup. However, girls seemed ill equipped to critically analyze magazines' images of the feminine physique, even when they recognized these images did not accurately reflect the girls they know.

How can employees take the lead in innovation?Julian Birkinshaw and Lisa Duke went in search of employee‐led innovation and found some inspiring examples.

BackgroundWith an increased emphasis on patient‐centred outcomes and research, investigators seek to understand aspects of health care that are most important to patients. Such information is essential for developing report cards that present health‐care quality information for consumers, which many states are adopting as a strategy to promote consumer choice.ObjectiveThis study examined the processes that women in Medicaid follow for selecting health plans and explored their definitions of ‘good’ and ‘poor’ quality health care.DesignWe conducted focus groups with Medicaid beneficiaries in four Texas communities, using quota sampling to ensure representation of different racial/ethnic, eligibility and geographic groups.ResultsWe conducted 22 focus groups with 102 participants between October 2012 and January 2013. In a free‐list exercise, ‘doctors’ represented the most important aspect of health care to participants, followed by cost, attention, coverage and respect. Discussions of health‐care quality revealed an even mix of structural factors (e.g. timeliness) and interpersonal factors (e.g. communication), although few differences were observed by beneficiary characteristics. Participants linked themes in their overall framing of ‘quality’ – revealing processes of care that affect health outcomes (e.g. discontinuity of care resulting from poor communication with providers) and which were often mediated by advocate providers who assisted patients experiencing barriers to services.Discussion and conclusionsFindings support other studies that highlight the importance of the patient–provider relationship. Patient‐centred definitions of health‐care quality can complement predominant provider‐centred conceptual frameworks and better inform initiatives for public reporting of quality measures in these populations.