阿布哈兹人的生育习俗和礼仪

同孩子的生命(包括孩子出生)有关的习俗和礼仪跟结婚仪式一样,在民族学著作中通常被看成是一系列特殊的家庭礼仪,这些仪礼只有一个目的,即保障社会新成员平安出世及生活顺利。目前还没有描述阿布哈兹人生儿育女的一系列习俗和礼仪的专门著作。本文在某种程度上填补了这个空白。它是在作者对阿布哈兹人的日常生活进行多年观察的基础上写出来的,同时还利用了1982年收集到的实地考察资料。孩子出生在阿布哈兹人家里被看作是极为重要的事情。特别高兴的是生了儿子,人们把他看作是     

阿萨姆的微型泰人共同体

一泰人在印度东北部,特别是在阿萨姆的历史上曾经起过重要作用。其重要性主要表现在,他们是公元1228年从东北部发动入侵,取得成功,并在印度土地上建立起一个存在了很长时间的王国的唯一民族。从最早时期,直到莫卧尔人出现,所有其他入侵都来自西北部。泰人王国——阿霍姆(Ahom)王国——的出现,在阿萨姆历史上是如此之重要,以致那里的中世纪时期的开端即从这一时刻算起。确实,早期不列颠行政官员也认为,阿萨姆的历史只能从阿霍姆人的入侵开始。     

萨满服饰的象征意义

西伯利亚萨满服饰根据S·沙什科夫近一个世纪前的研究,每一位西伯利亚萨满都必须有:1.上面悬挂着圆铁盘和神话动物形象的卡夫坦式长袍;2.一副面具(在塔迪贝-萨莫耶德人那里是一块手帕,萨满用它蒙上眼睛,这样可以借助自己的灵光进入神灵世界);3.一副铁制的或铜制的胸饰;4.一顶帽子,作者认为它是萨满的主要特征之一。在雅库特人的长袍的背部中央,有代表“太阳”的圆盘,其中有一个穿     

在公共服务递送中运营共同生产：服务蓝图的贡献

本文认为,公共服务应从以产品为主导的逻辑转向服务途径。通过采取服务导向,公共服务递送的经验性、组织间和系统性,以及作为共同生产者的服务使用者角色,将一同被考虑。论文将通过服务蓝图的应用,解释共同生产如何操作。并介绍了高等教育中的一个案例。在这一案例中,蓝图的创建将师生汇聚在一起,专注于学生入学的设计,从而改善学生体验,并支持共同生产。      

Opportunities for woman-initiated HIV prevention methods among female sex workers in southern China

Rapid changes in China over the past two decades have led to significant problems associated with population migration and changing social attitudes, including a growing sex industry and concurrent increases in STIs and HIV. This article reports results of an exploratory study of microbicide acceptability and readiness and current HIV prevention efforts among female sex workers in two rural and one urban town in Hainan and Guangxi Provinces in southern China. The study focused on these women's knowledge and cultural understandings of options for protecting themselves from exposure to STIs and HIV, and the potential viability and acceptability of woman-initiated prevention methods. We report on ethnographic elicitation interviews conducted with women working within informal sex-work establishments (hotels, massage and beauty parlors, roadside restaurants, boarding houses). We discuss implications of these findings for further promotion of woman-initiated prevention methods such as microbicides and female condoms among female sex workers in China.     

Contraceptive use patterns within females' first sexual relationships: the role of relationships, partners, and methods

This study used the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to assess whether characteristics of females' sexual partners, relationships, and choice of contraceptive methods were associated with contraceptive use patterns within their first sexual relationship. White, black, and Hispanic females under age 25 (N=915) provided retrospective information on sexual activity and contraceptive use for first sexual relationships that occurred between 1991 and 1995. Females with older sexual partners and with same race/ethnicity partners (among Hispanics) had reduced odds of ever using contraception and/or uninterrupted use. Longer sexual relationships were associated with higher odds of ever using contraception but lower odds of uninterrupted use. Females who were older at first sex, who used hormonal methods (among whites), or who switched to more effective methods during their first sexual relationships had higher odds of ever using contraception and/or uninterrupted use. In contrast, switching to less effective methods during a first sexual relationship was associated with reduced odds of uninterrupted use.     

Effects of a single-lesson tobacco prevention curriculum on knowledge, skill identification and smoking intention

One in five students report experimenting with tobacco before the age of 13 and most prevention efforts take place in the school setting. This study measures the effect of a single-lesson tobacco prevention curriculum, conducted by a health education center, focusing on knowledge of tobacco, ability to identify refusal techniques, and intent not to smoke. Data were collected, via electronic keypads, from students visiting a non-school, health education center in Michigan (n = 704 intervention and 85 comparison). Contingency table Chi-squared tests and t-tests demonstrated that a single lesson can improve general knowledge and ability to identify appropriate refusal techniques. Improvement in intent not to smoke was not significant because both groups had very high intent prior to implementation. Similar to results from other programs, multivariate logistic regression of gender, general knowledge, and skill identification revealed that only the skill variable was associated with intent not to smoke at pretest. Recommendations are given for further research and for designing more effective curricula or programs.