Invisible students: experiences of lesbian and gay students in social work education in Greece

This article explores through semi-structured interviews the experiences of four lesbian and two gay students from the Social Work Department in the Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Greece. The complete absence of openly out lesbian or gay students or faculty members in the Department was considered reflective of the particular social and cultural context of Greece. Participants reported that lesbian and gay issues were marginalised in the curriculum and that heteronormativity often prevailed in the classroom. Consequently, same-sex sexuality was generally invisible and, when discussed, certain faculty members and peers often appeared to be uncomfortable. Within this context, participants stressed the importance of the professors’ role regarding the climate and content in the classroom. None of the participants considered that their sexual orientation had affected negatively their academic attainment; the lesbian or gay identities sometimes had a positive effect on participants’ academic attainment level exactly because of the negative impact these identities had on their social life. Most participants felt that their studies had not prepared them adequately for gay affirmative practice. Implications for social work education are considered.     

The practice of deliberative policy analysis in the context of political and cultural challenges: lessons from Thailand

ABSTRACT

This article draws upon insight from a study of those involved in introducing deliberative policy analysis in Thailand at the city scale and presents lessons for both policy practitioners and scholars. The design of each deliberative forum differed, depending on lessons learned from previous forums and the consensus that emerged as a result of deliberation amongst forum facilitators. The underlying principle of this kind of deliberative design is to make deliberative processes authentic, by avoiding coercion, inclusive, by engaging stakeholders who bring forth different ideas, and impactful. To make these forums more exciting, deliberative practices are often linked to other attractive discourses, such as those surrounding smart cities, creative spaces and inclusive development. The case of Thailand sheds light on emerging challenges involved in the practice of deliberative policy analysis in the context of both national political regimes that are not democracies and those in the East.     

Physical health characteristics of student service members and veterans by sexual orientation

Abstract

Objective: Little is known about the health status of the diverse population of student service members and veterans (SSM/V) enrolling in higher education in great numbers. The objective of this study was to explore the differences in physical health characteristics by sexual orientation among a national sample of SSM/V. Methods: Using secondary data, a series of maximum likelihood (ML) logistic regression models were estimated to explore physical health characteristics by sexual orientation in a sample of SSM/V. Results: SSM/V that identify as lesbian or gay reported higher rates of treatment and diagnosis for some physical health matters (respiratory illness and HIV) when compared with their heterosexual counterparts. Conclusions: Our findings support the need for campus health officials and policymakers to develop services to address the physical health needs of this population that differ from their peers.     

Young people's orientations to the future: navigating the present and imagining the future

This article discusses the findings of the Imagine Sheppey project (2013–2014) which studied how young people are ‘oriented’ towards the future. The aim and approach of the project were to explore future imaginaries in a participatory, experimental, and performative way. Working with young people in a series of arts-based workshops, we intervened in different environments to alter the space as an experience of change – temporal, material, and symbolic. We documented this process visually and made use of the images produced as the basis for elicitation in focus groups with a wider group of young people. In this article we discuss young people's future orientations through the themes of reach, resources, shape, and value. In so doing, we reflect on the paths that our young respondents traced to connect their presents to what is next, what we call their modes of present–future navigation. We explore the qualities and characteristics of their stances within a wider reflection about how young people approach, imagine, and account for the future.     

Sexual Orientation Change Efforts and the Search for Authenticity

This article is based on structured interviews of a sample of 15 former participants in sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), who currently identify as gay or lesbian. The primary research question for this study was, “What was the experience of self-identified gay men and lesbians who went through some type of SOCE and eventually asserted themselves as gay or lesbian?” The research concludes that participants sometimes identified as heterosexual during SOCE, but never changed their underlying homosexual orientation, and that suppression, disconnection, and a sense of inauthenticity were significant phenomena of this process.     

创业教育的评价体系与价值导向

对某一行为进行评价是规范行为主体的目的性、保障行为过程的科学性、实现行为结果的公益性的有力手段。创业教育的评价体系需包含学校、政府与社会这三大主体和以创业教育理念为统领的九大要素。评价的价值导向是要引导并促成由单纯的就业率评价向就业结构、就业质量、创业尝试评价转向,由毕业之时的就业率评价向若干年后的社会贡献评价转向,由家长期盼的评价向学生自我评价转向,由政府主导的评价向社会主导的评价转向。     

马克思主义中国化时代化大众化整体思想论纲

中国共产党对马克思主义之于中国的认识,从标准提法上看,经历了"马克思主义中国化""马克思主义中国化、大众化""马克思主义中国化、时代化、大众化"的渐进发展历程。但从内在本质意义上讲,马克思主义中国化时代化大众化是一个统一的整体。作为一个整体思想,它具有充分的立论依据、紧密相联的基本内容和重大的综合意义。     

Assessing Politicized Sexual Orientation Identity: Validating the Queer Consciousness Scale

Building on psychological theories of motivation for collective action, we introduce a new individual difference measure of queer consciousness, defined as a politicized collective identity around sexual orientation. The Queer Consciousness Scale (QCS) consists of 12 items measuring five aspects of a politicized queer identity: sense of common fate, power discontent, system blame, collective orientation, and cognitive centrality. In four samples of adult women and men of varied sexual orientations, the QCS showed good test-retest and Cronbach’s reliability and excellent known-groups and predictive validity. Specifically, the QCS was positively correlated with identification as a member of the LGBTQ community, political liberalism, personal political salience, and LGBTQ activism and negatively correlated with right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. QCS mediated relationships between several individual difference variables and gay rights activism and can be used with both LGBTQ people and allies.     

新型城镇化背景下产城人融合的模式探索——以佛山为例

本文从国内外新型城镇化发展趋势及背景着手,以制造业名城佛山为例,分析历年来佛山城市定位和产城人融合战略的演进,并在实践中探索"1+2+5+X"城市组团模式下人与自然生态、文化科技和谐酿成的三湖模式、佛山新城模式等成功做法,揭示了产城人融合的科学选择。