Psychometric properties of the Transitions from Foster Care Key Leader Survey

This study summarizes the development and piloting of the Transitions from Foster Care Key Leader Survey (TFC-KLS), an instrument designed to measure change in systems serving young people transitioning from foster care to adulthood. The Jim Casey Youth Opportunity Initiative’s logic model was used as a basis for instrument development. The instrument was piloted with 119 key leaders in six communities. Seven of eight latent scales performed well in psychometric testing. The relationships among the 24 measures of system change were explored. A CFA testing overall model fit was satisfactory following slight modifications. Finally, a test of inter-rater reliability between two raters did not find reliable reporting of service availability in a supplemental portion of the survey. The findings were generally positive and supported the validity and utility of the instrument for measuring system change, following some adaptations. Implications for the field are discussed.     

青春文学的崛起

＂青春文学＂的崛起是新世纪以来中国文坛最靓丽的景观之一。以＂80后＂为主体的青春文学作家,创作了一大批风靡国内的、以青少年为消费群体的文学作品,并在文学市场上取得令前辈作家侧目的成绩。从崛起到分化,再到逐渐成熟,青春文学走过了一段波澜壮阔的历程,成为和＂纯文学＂并峙的文学种类。尽管青春文学还显稚嫩,但随着青春文学作家的成长,我们有理由相信他们能写出无愧于时代的作品。     

Young people's views of the outcomes of non-formal education in youth organisations: its effects on human,social and psychological capital,employability and employment

This article aims to contribute to a better understanding of the role of youth organisations in enhancing the employability of young people through the development of different forms of capital: human, social and psychological. Instead of asking questions about who access extra-curricular activities that may provide young people with positional advantages in the labour market and the class biases that arise in access, the article explores whether the benefits obtained from participation vary by socio-economic background. We make use of the Youth organisations and employability (YOE) database, which contains data from over 1000 young people in more than 40 European countries on the effects of involvement in youth organisations on different forms of capital: human, social and psychological. We find positive effects of involvement on all three forms of capital. The analysis suggests that the characteristics of the involvement in youth organisations are better predictors of its outcomes than are personal characteristics, and find no significant effects of socio-economic background on the reported benefits of participation in our sample. Policy implications are derived from these findings, calling for greater policy support to increase opportunities for the involvement of young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds in youth organisations and for better informing young people of the benefits of sustained involvement with youth organisations.     

清代棚民问题侧论

农民背井离乡,到山间开垦并种植山地,开发种种山林资源,以谋生存,被称为棚民.清代棚民,数量庞大.政府为了维持社会稳定,对棚民采取安辑的政策.棚民对山地等山林资源的开发,严重破坏了生态环境,造成了严重的后果.对社会维稳和生态维护的两难选择,包世臣的应对策略,很有意义.     

浙江农村青年创业小额贷款项目在基层的实施效果研究———以乐清市为例

浙江农村青年创业小额贷款项目自推出以来受到浙江基层创业青年广泛关注,该项小额贷款制度申请程序简便、担保形式灵活、政府扶持力度逐年加大,已逐步发展成为基层创业青年融资的主要途径之一.近年来,在浙江“两创”总战略鼓励下,农村青年创业小额贷款项目发展前景广阔、发展势头良好,同时在担保、风险控制、贷款覆盖面等方面也不乏矛盾和困惑     

Stop the Beat: Quiet Regulation and Cultural Conflict1

This article explores a recent conflict over the youth phenomenon known as “raving” in the City of Chicago. By interviewing participants involved in the conflict, I set out to understand the extent to which the crackdown on raves in Chicago was similar to earlier social reactions to jazz, comic books, rock and roll, and Dead Head culture, as well as to more recent conflicts over punk, rap music, and raves in other cities. While most previous research on cultural conflict has focused on moral crusades, campaigns, and panics, the Chicago conflict represents an example of “quiet regulation.” Opponents refrained from highly visible, morally charged attacks; instead, in the absence of media hype and visible public discourse, public officials justified the crackdown in highly bureaucratic terms—avoiding risk, collecting taxes, enforcing codes. Nonetheless, they also drew on cultural schemas that linked raves and raving with drugs, sex, and deviance. As a result, officials selected a course of regulation that criminalized DJs and discredited the artform. In the absence of a highly visible moral campaign, the rave participants were unable to mobilize and resist the regulation and defend their lifestyle. Sociologists must move beyond highly visible campaigns and crusades and pay greater attention to quiet regulation, both because such regulation is likely to increase in the future and because it has significant consequences for power, cultural expression, and identity.     

‘You Get More Respect,’ Reasons for Sex Among African American High School Youth: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

African American adolescents continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and unanticipated pregnancies. In-depth, face-to-face interviews among a convenience sample of 32 African American adolescents (16 male and 16 female) were used to explore the reasons why some adolescents decided to engage in sex while others chose to delay sexual debut. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Among the overall sample, psychological motivations, external pressure, physical pleasure seeking, and relationship-related motivations were the major themes cited for engaging in sex by participants and their friends. External support, motivation to avoid negative consequences, not feeling ready or lacking interest in sex, and having negative views about sex were among the major reasons for delaying sex. Several of the emergent themes showed gender differences. Suggestions for future research include the need for sexual education, and STI/HIV prevention programs that are gender sensitive and flexible enough to accommodate multiple factors related to sexual debut.     

The Making of COBRS 2.0

Abstract

Recently introduced advances in microcomputer technology offer opportunities for improving child welfare agencies' access to powerful case assessment and program evaluation tools. This paper discusses the process of fitting a child behavior outcome measurement system to a menu driven microcomputer program. Traditional strategies for measuring outcome effectiveness, managerial priorities and operational constraints are examined in terms of their bearing on the introduction of new microcomputer technology. The developmental process is traced to show how these factors influenced the addition of a number of user options to the basic program to enhance its adaptability to specific agency needs. Initial user feedback indicated general satisfaction with the basic program and the applicability of its output, little or no experimentation, as yet, in adapting the system, and, a minor need to adjust the sequencing of operator activities to better fit the realities of agency work rhythms.     

社会主义荣辱观教育对青年教育的诉求

荣辱观是中国道德体系的核心和基础.在社会转型期,随着青年社会作用和地位的凸显,他们既需要社会主义荣辱观的引导,又对荣辱观深入人心起着积极的示范效应;青年教育通过时积极价值观的选择,对消极价值观的遏制及其灵活多变的途径应成为有效进行荣辱观教育的必然诉求.