Youth enterprise: the role of gender and life stage in motivations,aspirations and measures of success

‘Enterprise’ has increasingly become part of the United Kingdom’s political grammar and efforts to develop entrepreneurial traits and activities in young people have been a key strand of this policy focus. As the 2008 economic recession saw a curtailed youth labour market, enterprise emerged as an appealing policy ‘solution’ to youth unemployment. Traditional measures of enterprise chart the numbers of new businesses and their survival rates. This article argues these measures tell us little about new business owners: who they are, their motivations, experiences or, own definitions of success. Further, and crucially, such measures ignore the structural constraints surrounding enterprise and the range of social factors that may determine the extent of ambition, and willingness or capacity to take risks. This article argues that although gender and life stage were contributing factors, the young people’s structurally disadvantaged positions emerge as the most significant feature of why the move into self-employment did not tend to increase their economic stability as promised. This provides an important insight into the real-life experiences of young people who are engaging in enterprise activities in the contemporary economic context, as well as the role of third sector organisations in overseeing the transition from education to work.     

Academic Functioning and Peer Influences: A Short‐Term Longitudinal Study of Network–Behavior Dynamics in Middle Adolescence

In this study, the associations between peer effects and academic functioning in middle adolescence (N = 342; 14–15 years old; 48% male) were investigated longitudinally. Similarity in achievement (grade point averages) and unexplained absences (truancy) was explained by both peer selection and peer influence, net of acceptance, and connectedness. Friendships were formed and maintained when adolescents had low levels of achievement or high levels of truancy. Friends influenced one another to increase rather than decrease in achievement and truancy. Moreover, friends’ popularity moderated peer influences in truancy in reciprocal friendships but not in unilateral friendships, whereas friends’ acceptance moderated peer influences in achievement in both unilateral and reciprocal friendships. The findings illustrate the dynamic interplay between peer effects and academic functioning.     

Adolescent sexual offender recidivism: success of specialized treatment and implications for risk prediction

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the success of specialized community-based treatment for reducing adolescent sexual reoffending and explore the predictive utility of variables assessed regarding sexual and nonsexual recidivism. METHOD: Recidivism data (criminal charges) were collected for 58 offenders participating in at least 12 months of specialized treatment at the SAFE-T Program. Data were also collected for a comparison group of 90 adolescents who received only an assessment (n = 46), refused treatment (n = 17), or dropped out before 12 months (n = 27). Follow-up interval ranged from 2 to 10 years (M = 6.23, SD = 2.02). Offenders completed a battery of psychological tests to provide standardized data regarding social, sexual, and family functioning. RESULTS: Recidivism rates for sexual, violent nonsexual, and nonviolent offenses for treated adolescents were 5.17%, 18.9%, and 20.7%, respectively. The Comparison group had significantly higher rates of sexual (17.8%), violent nonsexual (32.2%), and nonviolent (50%) recidivism. Sexual recidivism was predicted by sexual interest in children. Nonsexual recidivism was related to factors commonly predictive of general delinquency such as history of previous offenses, low self-esteem, and antisocial personality. CONCLUSIONS: Results support the efficacy of treatment for adolescent sexual offenders and are consistent with the notion that sexual recidivism is predicted by unique factors unrelated to general (nonsexual) reoffending.     

The Comprehensive Childhood Maltreatment Inventory: early development and reliability analyses

OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to develop a reliable measure of childhood maltreatment that could be used to evaluate retrospective memories among adults across a broad range of potentially abusive caregiver behaviors. METHOD: These behaviors were organized into 31 items that query age at onset, frequency across 4 developmental periods, relationship of the perpetrator(s), and respondents' perception of the experience. Additional factors directly relevant to each of the individual 4 categories of childhood maltreatment were also queried. RESULTS: Preliminary data collected from 95 college students, find the measure to have excellent test-retest reliability, and 2 of 4 subscales to possess adequate internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: Reasons for low internal consistency for the Physical Maltreatment and Physical Neglect categories and the relative importance of test-retest reliability as compared to internal consistency in a questionnaire of this type are discussed.     

Controversy and the state: lord ARPA and intelligent computing

This is a study of a well-known controversy in computer science, between artificial intelligence and neural networks researchers. It examines claims made by participants in the field that the controversy was triggered, shaped and finally resolved in connection to activities of state research agencies, particularly the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). In contrast to these claims, this account concludes that, although ARPA's relations to the controversy among researchers were important, they were indirect. This study thus beings the analytical resources of studies of scientific controversy to bear on a domain which has so far gone largely unexamined in studies of 20th-century controversies - namely, state research policy and management. The account is based on contemporary documents, historical literatuare, and interviews with researchers and ARPA officials.     

The sexual victimization of male children: a review of previous research

The evidence available at this time indicates that male children are more likely to be abused by nonfamily rather than family members. Residing in a neglectful home or a mother-headed household and having previous homosexual contact tend to heighten risk for sexual abuse by nonfamily members. Familial sexual abuse appears related to residence in a home where other siblings are being abused, where the father was a victim of sexual abuse as a child, and where parents suffer myriad personal and social adjustment difficulties. Effects of male child sexual abuse appear to be serious and long lasting. The scant writings available at this time imply that the sexually abused male child experiences a range of adjustment and self-esteem problems as an adult and may be at heightened risk to become a child sexual abuser.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of buckling in rectangular steel plates with groove-shaped cutouts

Steel plates are widely used in various structures, such as the deck and bodies of ships and bridges, and in the aerospace industry. In many instances, these plates are subjected to axial compression loads that predispose the sheets to instability and buckling. In this study, we investigate the buckling and post-buckling behaviors of steel plates having groove-shaped cutouts of various dimensions and angles using finite element method (FEM) (by ABAQUS software) and experimental tests (by an Instron servohydraulic machine). Boundary conditions were clamped by supports at upper and lower ends and free supports at the other edges. The results of both numerical and experimental analyses are compared, which show a very good agreement between them. Finally, based on the experimental findings, formulas are presented for the determination of the buckling load of such plates.     

Benefits of extracurricular participation in dissection in a prosection‐based medical anatomy program

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extracurricular cadaveric dissection program available to medical students at an institution with a modern (time‐compressed, student‐centered, and prosection‐based) approach to medical anatomy education. Quantitative (Likert‐style questions) and qualitative data (thematic analysis of open‐ended commentary) were collated from a survey of three medical student cohorts who had completed preclerkship. Perceived benefits of dissection included the hands‐on learning style and the development of anatomy expertise, while the main barrier that limited participation was the time‐intensive nature of dissection. Despite perceived benefits, students preferred that dissection remain optional. Analysis of assessments for the MD2016 cohort revealed that dissection participation was associated with enhanced performance on anatomy items in each systems‐based unit examination, with the largest benefits observed on discriminating items that assessed knowledge application. In conclusion, this study revealed that there are academic and perceived benefits of extracurricular participation in dissection. While millennial medical students recognized these benefits, these students also indicated strong preference for having flexibility and choice in their anatomy education, including the choice to participate in cadaveric dissection. Anat Sci Educ 11: 294–302. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.