National heroes or coming anarchy? Vigilant youth and the “war on terror” in Nigeria

In this article, I explore analytically how local youth vigilante groups in terror-stricken northeastern Nigeria – locally known as the Civilian Joint Task Force or yan gora (“youth with sticks”) – are responding to threats to their communities posed by the terrorism of Boko Haram and the human rights abuses of the Nigerian security forces. The article argues that vigilantism has been a way for victimised local youth to reclaim a sense of control and agency in a context of risk, radical uncertainty, powerlessness and heightened fear. While one group of victimised and angry youth (Boko Haram) in northeastern Nigeria are violently resisting the state, another group of victimised and angry youth (yan gora) from the same region are joining forces with the state to protect members of their local communities and to restore peace to their troubled region. However, growing concerns that the yan gora are a “coming anarchy” have compelled state-endorsed youth empowerment schemes geared at integrating the militia into Nigerian security service, while regulating their actions and instilling patriotism and discipline in its members. Yet, such hybrid security arrangements may end up reproducing the very insecurity they were meant to forestall.     

Leisure,business and fantasy worlds: exploring donor-funded ‘youth spaces’ in southern Kyrgyzstan

This article explores the participation of university students in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other forms of association in the city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan. While the literature tends to criticize donor interventions in the post-Soviet space, an analysis of donor-funded youth projects calls for a more differentiated evaluation. It is argued that youth-oriented associations appeal to the students of Osh because these associations have created much needed ‘youth spaces’. In some cases, however, the appeal has little to do with the missions of the projects. Whatever the blueprints prepared by foreign donors, youth-oriented clubs and NGOs provide young people with opportunities for entrepreneurship, for leisure pursuits and for experimenting with their dreams and fantasies. Offering a case study of a group of students who have joined a donor-funded NGO, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), the article then charts the students' appropriation of this NGO.     

试析青少年网络素质培养的现状、途径与方法

通过对于青少年网络素质培养的研究,找出青少年在使用网络的过程中显现出来的优点与不足,分析青少年使用网络的各项有利因素与不利因素,找出青少年网络素质培养的有效方法与途径,实现对于青少年使用网络的行为进行有效正确导向,达到培养人才的目的。     

文化自信视域下高校青年思想政治教育模式的探讨

高校青年学生思想政治教育关系国家的前途和未来,其教育模式的构建和创新直接关系教育的效果。将“红色文化”与“课程思政”、“实践活动”和“技能竞赛”相融合进行青年使命教育既符合高校教育教学特点,又坚定青年的文化自信,是全面落实全国高校思想政治工作会议精神的有益尝试。     

Children and armed conflict: looking at the future and learning from the past

Children are currently being recruited to an increasing extent by armed groups, assuming both ancillary and combat roles. Academic research on this phenomenon has grown in scope over the last few years. However, the current research lacks a comparative perspective. As a result, we presently have a very restricted perspective of the state of the art on the subject of child soldiering, making it difficult to recognise research areas that urgently require further investigation. The ambition of this article is twofold: first, to explore the existing state of child soldier studies across disciplines, and second, to encourage potential research by highlighting three relatively underdeveloped research areas.     

Dangerised youth: the politics of security and development in Timor-Leste

International organisations, the national government and civil society alike have identified youth as a potential threat to the stability of the young state of Timor-Leste over the last decade. In this article, I ask how these actors define the danger of youth and what reasons they identify for the potential threat of young citizens for the society and state. Guided by a theoretical framework of Critical Security and Development Studies, I argue that while political manipulation as reason for youth violence was a prominent part of the security discourse in the years after the crisis in 2006, the discourse on the danger of youth in very recent international and national documents has been depoliticised. Despite decreasing numbers of youth-related violence, the threat construction has not vanished; rather, the language on youth has been adapted to the existing international discourse on violent youth as a threat to successful development. In this way, international and national actors have sustained the image of a society in need of management.     

Religiosity and Alcohol Use in Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Youth and Young Adults

Despite interest in the role of religiosity in youth development and health behavior, few studies have examined these associations in sexual minority youth. Participants (n = 11,699) who were adolescents (wave 1) and young adults (wave 3) in the Add Health survey were used to examine proximal and distal religiosity by sexual identity group and to test group differences in associations between religiosity and alcohol use. Sexual minorities were less likely than heterosexuals to report a current religious affiliation. In young adulthood, heterosexual females reported significantly higher distal and proximal religiosity than heterosexual males and sexual minority young adults. From adolescence to young adulthood, religiosity in all three sexual identity groups (heterosexual, bisexual, gay/lesbian) significantly declined, with the largest effects found for the sexual minority groups. Distal and proximal religiosity scores were significantly associated with less alcohol use and less binge drinking among heterosexuals, but not among sexual minorities. Future studies of sexual minority youth and their religious contexts are suggested.

论当代青年大学生思想道德形成的规律与教育对策

当代青年大学生思想道德的形成受着多重渠道和因素的影响.诸如经济基础的决定作用;政治制度的制约机制;传统文化的熏陶;外来文化的激荡和渗透;宗教信仰的诱惑和封建迷信的误导;性文化的心理驱动;科学知识的提升、匡正;家庭教育的启蒙和奠基;学校教育的转化和塑造;社会实践的最终完善、检验和发展,等等.高校的思想工作和道德教育工作应该研究与把握青年大学生思想道德的形成规律,引导他们健康成长.     

意义世界的建构:对青年人进行人文教化的背景和心理分析

时代的贫乏就在于人文精神的缺席与不在场 ,而社会的进步恰恰是以人文精神的勃兴作为拱心石的。青年人作为未来社会的主体 ,只有在一种良性的人文教化与陶成下 ,才能真正成为历史交响曲的奏鸣者。青年人的心理动力学表明 ,其健全人格和良性交往资质的获得更需要人文精神的内在释义与理想性涵化     

再论广西沿海开发中的人才供给战略

广西具有沿海、沿江、沿边的独特区位优势 ,特别是长达 15 95公里的海岸线 ,113万亩的内海滩涂 ,海洋开发潜力巨大。在全球资源日趋紧缺 ,各国正把目光关注和角逐的焦点转向海洋的今天 ,广西在这方面扬长避短 ,发挥优势抓紧开发海洋资源的意义更显突出。现在的关键问题是 :人才供给源跟不上。本文从广西沿海开发的人才奇缺的严峻现实着眼 ,提出创办北海海洋大学的战略设想。作者认为 ,这样可以从人才供给源上解决根本问题 ,通过立足广西、面向全国招生 ,培养海洋的环境研究与保护、海洋资源的管理与开发、船舶与海运工程等广西乃至全国目前急需的相关人才。