‘Queen of the world’: experiences of ‘at-risk’ young people participating in equine-assisted learning/therapy

There is a significant body of research into the benefits of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) but less into the fields known as equine-assisted learning and therapy (EAL/EAT) where horses are incorporated in therapeutic and learning interventions. This paper explores the experiences of seven ‘at-risk’ young people who participated in a therapeutic horsemanship (TH) programme. The study followed a practice-near approach seeking to capture the young people's experiences within a participative ethnography. Themes related to the risk and resilience literature such as self-confidence, self-esteem, self-efficacy and a sense of mastery, empathy and the opening of positive opportunities are explored in this paper.     

提升工科专业青年教师教育能力的若干途径

本文分析了工科专业青年教师队伍现状和特点,论述了工科专业青年教师教育能力存在的主要问题,提出工科青年教师应从教学、实践、科研以及学生非专业素质培养等方面提升自身教育能力。     

新形势下高校教师思想政治工作困境及对策研究

师德师风建设是高校教师思想政治工作的核心内容。当前高校教师思想政治工作还面临一些现实困境：工作重心转移, 方法手段单一且落后,教师人格养成的后现代嬗变,市场本位导向下的思想政治工作主体地位嬗变。创新思想政治工作,就必 须进行观念创新,以高校青年教师为主要对象,以师德师风建设为主要内容,充分占领网络制高点,注重实效,以机制构建和路 径创新为核心,增强高校教师思想政治工作实效。     

农村幼儿早期阅读现状及解决对策

早期阅读是学前时期幼儿通过绘画、文字、色彩、倾听等多种方式认知、探索世界的重要学习方式之一。通过阅读幼儿能够了解、认知世界,开阔幼儿的视野,对幼儿口头表达能力、记忆力、观察力、思维力有很大的提高。同时,为幼儿社会生活适应能力打下一定的基础。在与农村幼儿园教师、家长的长期接触中发现：家、园对于阅读并不是太过注重,只是作为一些环节补充,可有可无,这种不利局面应该得到关注及改善。本文对农村幼儿早期阅读现状进行了解,分析出幼儿早期阅读易出现的误区表现为：阅读方式的不合理、阅读过程的不科学、阅读内容的不全面等问题。应营造阅读氛围、引起阅读兴趣、培养幼儿阅读技能、养成良好阅读习惯、贴近生活,注重延伸及时鼓励表扬幼儿等是解决对策。     

青年流失对农村文化建设的消极影响

当前农村青壮年农民过度流失严重影响社会主义新农村建设,也成为农村文化建设的桎梏。必须改善农村的谋生环境和生活环境,对农村劳动力转移的适度性和合理性加以宏观的调控,这是繁荣农村文化的基础。     

“To get the word out”: LGBTQ+ Young adults’ motivations for participating in qualitative research studies

Understanding why socially marginalized individuals, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ+) people, participate in research can improve qualitative research designs, as well as social services and policies. In providing a participant-centered foundation, we interviewed 65 LGBTQ+ young adults and asked “Why are certain LGBTQ+ young adults motivated to engage in qualitative social science studies?” Many LGBTQ+ young people said they were committed to enacting social change and promoting advocacy. Participants also highlighted supporting scientific research and knowledge production. Finally, LGBTQ?+ participants engaged with research to introspectively analyze their identity development processes. These findings can facilitate access to socially vulnerable and underrepresented groups through a methodological focus on participant benefits.     

‘Becoming’ a possible threat: masculinity,culture and questioning among unaccompanied young men in Sweden

A debate on masculinity and immigration rose across Europe in 2015 after an incident with sexual harassments taking place in Cologne, Germany. The incident refuelled a debate positioning unaccompanied young men as a possible threat. This article is based on a research project where we during this time ethnographically followed 20 young men, having arrived in Sweden as ‘unaccompanied’ minors. The aim is to examine how the young men themselves talk about, reflect on and negotiate masculinity and gender during this period. The article concludes that masculinity cannot be approached as something stable easily being inherited or transferred from one’s origins. One difference for ‘unaccompanied’ young men is how conflicts or tensions emerging in relation to issues of gender and masculinity tend to be interpreted differently, and publicly, putting the young men in a ‘gendered situation of questioning’.     

The relationship between Black and gay community involvement and HIV-related risk behaviors among Black men who have sex with men

Black gay men must navigate identities and stigmas related to being gay and Black, and report higher HIV incidence relative to their White male counterparts although they report lower rates of drug use and risky sexual behaviors. This study examined whether closeness to the gay or Black community correlated with HIV-related risk and protective behaviors. Data were drawn from uConnect, a population-based cohort study of young Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) on Chicago's South Side. The sample consists of 618 Black MSM ranging in age from 16 to 29. Cross-sectional measures for this study include Black and gay community closeness, drug use, sexual risk behaviors, HIV testing, and health promotion behaviors. Closeness with the gay community was associated with greater pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) knowledge as well as participating in health promotion programs along with higher rates of transactional sex and having sex under the influence of substances, and increased odds of self-reported HIV seropositivity. Involvement in the Black community was associated with lower odds of reporting being HIV positive. Findings suggest that programs and initiatives are needed to help promote the positive aspects of the Black and gay communities, while minimizing the negative correlates of such involvements.