Older opposite-sex romantic partners,sexual risk,and victimization in adolescence

This study examined how age gaps among opposite-sex romantic partners related to sexual risk-taking and victimization by partners among 201 at-risk adolescents (60.2% female). We examined three questions: (a) is younger partner age, age gap between partners, or a combination of these two factors most strongly related to negative outcomes; (b) do age gaps relate to negative outcomes differently for male versus female adolescents; and (c) why do age gaps relate to negative outcomes? Results revealed that the wider the age gap between partners, the more likely adolescents were to engage in sex and the less likely they were to use protection against pregnancy and STIs. Wider age gaps were also associated with more frequent emotional and physical victimization and higher odds of unwanted sexual behavior. Findings did not differ significantly by gender or younger partner age. Analyses revealed that the wider the age gap, the more likely both partners were to engage in risky lifestyles (i.e., substance use and delinquency), and risky lifestyles – rather than poor negotiation or decision-making equality – helped to explain associations between age gaps and engagement in sexual intercourse and victimization experiences. Results suggest that relationships with age gaps tend to involve two partners who are engaging in deviant lifestyles overall, further corroborating the need to identify and provide services to these youth. Results also support movements toward considering partner age gaps rather than relying on a set age of consent when determining adolescents’ legal competency to consent to sex.     

“I love foreigners’ attitudes towards life”: Reproducing lifestyles in an Iranian English language teaching context

An important aspect of learning a foreign language is encountering the sociocultural orientations associated with it. The present qualitative study focuses on an Iranian setting of English language teaching (ELT) to explore the potential reflection and reproduction of certain cultural attitudes and lifestyles in this context. A total of 200 hours of 10 ELT classes with 62 students were observed and/or recorded in 4 months, and 20 teachers and students were interviewed. Based on a grounded theory approach, the bodies of data were explored through coding procedures and the emerging thematic structure was used to illustrate aspects of the possible reproduction of lifestyles. The context of concern appeared to provide a potential arena of naturalising aspects of imported lifestyles associated with the foreign language. Although students show various extents of adherence to their own culture, prolonged involvement in ELT discursive practices may contribute to the subtle alteration of their lifestyle orientations.     

A cultural map of the United Kingdom, 2003

This paper employs Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) to map cultural participation and taste in the UK. It constructs what Bourdieu calls a space of lifestyles from evidence collected in a national random sample survey of the British population in 2003. MCA constructs the space relationally on the basis of similarities and differences in responses to questions about a large number of cultural items in several sub‐fields including music, reading, TV and recreational activity. These items are mapped along two axes and their clustering indicates affinities between tastes and practices across sub‐fields. The cultural patterns are described. We then superimpose socio‐demographic variables, including class, educational qualifications and age, the distribution of which indicates tendencies for certain categories of person to have shared tastes. The analysis reveals meaningful, socially differentiated patterns of taste. The space of lifestyles proves to be structured primarily by the total volume of capital (resources) held by respondents and by age. Strong oppositions are revealed. An older, educated middle class shares ‘legitimate’ established cultural preferences. The repertoire of a younger middle class group contains more contemporary and ‘popular’ items. Less well‐educated, working class groups are characterised often primarily by lack of cultural participation, but also, especially among the young, by an aversion to ‘legitimate’ culture.     

从生活方式的视角细分住宅市场的研究

随着经济发展,人们对于住宅的要求越来越高,如何更准确地把握消费者需求,是每个房地产企业都在探索的事情。回顾我国住宅市场各种细分的方法,阐述了利用生活方式来细分住宅的优势,并提出了一个具体的细分方案和结果,这为我国住宅市场细分提供了一个好的视角。