In this paper-based thesis, I describe the findings of my ethnographic research conducted among the intimate partners of female sex workers and adolescent boys in Northern Karnataka. By highlighting the contradictory and relational nature of masculinity, my study aims to contribute to the larger scholarship on masculinity in South Asia. In the first manuscript, I examine the intimate partners’ perceptions and practices to shed light on the common occurrence of intimate partner violence and how local ideologies of manhood—and the social and structural conditions that shape these ideologies—perpetuate intimate partner violence. In an attempt to destabilize hierarchical gender orders, the second manuscript builds on Connell’s theory of “hegemonic masculinity” by developing the notion of incipient masculinity. From a public health perspective, the findings of these studies are expected to inform the ongoing structural interventions in Northern Karnataka that aim to prevent violence against female sex workers. / October 2016

For eighty years psychologists have investigated problems touching upon reading ability. It is the purpose of this study to determine if there is any significant difference in the reading ability of boys and girls in the third grade. If such differences are found to exist, an attempt will be made to explain the cause.

Autistic adolescents need direct, systematic training of social skills since major difficulties in communication, lack of empathy, and various changes during adolescence present major roadblocks to the acquisition of normal peer relationships and increasing independence. A case study approach was utilized to examine treatment effects of a social skills training program implemented with four autistic adolescent boys in a naturalistic setting. Findings based on objective measures and subjective reports indicated that each subject made gains in targeted social skills over the course of treatment. Treatment strategies such as modeling, coaching, roleplaying, one to one instruction, and in vivo procedures were found to be effective teaching techniques. Major benefits and limitations of the study were discussed.

"The problem of this thesis is to study the recreational interests of children in grades four through seven and to compare the interests of boys with those of girls in order to ascertain whether the interests of the two sexes begin to differ appreciably during these grades, and, if so, to determine the grade level where differences occur."--1-2.

The existence of a persistent gender gap in literacy achievement, and particularly in writing, is not in dispute: boys trail girls in every assessment at state, national, and international levels. Yet although this basic fact is not in dispute, nearly everything else concerning the gender gap in literacy achievement--its causes, consequences, and potential solutions--remains hotly contested, particularly in the public and professional discourse. Scholarly research offers insights that frequently challenge the prevailing public discourse, but this research has been conducted primarily in the U.K., Australia, and Canada, leaving the experiences of U.S. students largely unexplored. Herein lies the problem: an inadequate (or worse, inaccurate) understanding of the context, causes, and realities of boys' writing experiences can lead to proposed policy and pedagogy solutions that range from the ineffective to the potentially harmful, with unintended consequences for both boys and girls that may worsen the underlying conditions implicated in boys' literacy underachievement. Equity demands that we address, in particular, the poor writing achievement of boys of low socioeconomic backgrounds. It is important that policy-makers consider the question of "which boys," as the writing achievement gap is far more dramatic for boys from a background of poverty than for middle-class boys. This study employed qualitative methods and a phenomenological lens to explore the writing experiences, attitudes, and beliefs of 21 young men currently enrolled in four colleges and universities in two New England states, including first-year and senior-year college students. The data collected from interviews and writing samples contradicted a number of the generalizations about boys prevalent in the public discourse, and offered a more nuanced view of the role of gender in boys' writing experiences than that presented in much of the scholarly discourse. The results of this study also challenge a number of commonly held beliefs about boys' and young men's writing motivations and preferences. The study's findings can contribute toward the ultimate goal of improving educators' and policy-makers' responses to the gender gap in writing by offering a more nuanced and accurate understanding of the writing experiences of boys and young men.

Well-meaning educators often recommend more "boy" books to increase reading motivation amongst boys. This experimental mixed-methods study investigated the influence of the "boy" book/ "girl" book phenomenon on willingness to read using a researcher-designed instrument called the Textual Features Sort (TFS). The TFS measured two attitudinal constructs—gendered beliefs about texts and willingness to read—in relation to individual textual features of selected young adult novels. Data came from 50 sixth and seventh grade students at a mid-sized public school in a rural New England state. Mean scores, frequencies, and percentages were analyzed using independent samples t-tests, paired t-tests, and Fisher's exact test. Qualitative data was used to explain quantitative results. Findings indicate that boys were not more willing to read "boy" books than other books, nor less willing to read books with female protagonists. Boys were significantly less willing to read "girl" books, though individual textual features of a single novel elicited different gendered beliefs along with varying degrees of willingness to read. Girls were significantly less willing to read a novel if it was first sorted as a "boy" book. Research revealed a widespread belief in social consequences for a boy carrying a "girl" book down the hallway, that did not hold for girls. Findings suggest that sociocultural constructions of gender inhibit both boys and girls as readers, though to varying degrees, and challenge the notion that highly gendered and heteronormative assumptions about books and reading practices will increase willingness to read among young adolescent boys.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived needs of high school male adolescents and study possible implications for mentoring those of divorced parents. The researcher defines adolescents, discipleship, mentoring, needs based ministry, and the traditional home for the purpose of this study. The researcher presents a model for mentoring in studying the example Christ set in the relationship He had with His disciples. This relationship was one built within a small group that later had a large impact on others following the commands of Christ. The dissertation discusses the importance of developing relationships with others in order to influence them both now and in the future. The research also addressed the perceived needs of today's high school male adolescents. Some of these needs are relationships with other people, a desire to excel in educational achievements, and other related issues. These perceived needs have a direct impact upon the ways a young person lives his life. The research for this study was conducted in the northern suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee. The researcher surveyed high school male adolescents who attend Sunday school in three Southern Baptist churches. Once this was completed the researcher collected the surveys and tabulated the result. The study presented charts and graphs comparing the perceived needs of high school male adolescents who come from divorced homes with those who come from intact homes. The four areas being compared was one's perception of mentoring relationships, anger related issues, one's perception toward school, and relational needs. Once the information was tabulated and displayed the researcher drew conclusions related to mentoring relationships. Those who come from divorced homes had lower mean scores in all four areas. This statistical information helped to reveal that high school male adolescents who have experienced a divorce between their parents would benefit from a mentoring relationship. The research also discovered that today's high school male adolescents struggle with anger related issues and have a high perception of mentoring relationships. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

Sammanfattning “Boys” är en webbaserad TV-serie som lades ut på SVT play hösten 2015. Serien följer två killar i 20-årsåldern och deras jakt på kärleken, deras relation till varandra och deras sökande efter en identitet. När serien introducerades fick den motta mycket medial kritik, som förlöjligade serien och deras framställning av maskulinitet. Syftet med denna studie har således varit att undersöka porträtteringen av homosocialitet och maskulinitet i “Boys”. I förlängningen har det även lett till att undersöka relationen mellan det maskulina och det feminina, för att titta på om och hur män kan gestalta femininitet, och vad konsekvenserna av detta i så fall blir. Studien är kvalitativt innehållsanalytisk. Metoden som använts har bestått av analysverktyg från Selby och Cowderys bok “How to study television”, med fokus på narrativanalys, men även med deras termer konstruktion och publik. De huvudsakliga teorier som använts har varit Yvonne Hirdmans teori om genussystemet, Connells teori om maskulin hegemoni samt Birds teori om homosocialitet. Resultaten från studien har varit att framför allt huvudkaraktärerna i serien “Boys” till viss del avviker från den traditionella hegemoniska maskuliniteten, och därmed frivilligt feminiseras. Eftersom att det feminina och allt som kopplats till det kvinnliga könet sorteras med lägre status än det maskulina är detta dels ovanligt, men också en förklaring till varför karaktärerna blev förlöjligade i media.

This Master's thesis proposes to map the current situation of Czech boys' choirs in the marketing sphere and to compare it with boys' choirs from Central Europe. The parts of the comparing are the choirs Boni pueri (Hradec Králové) Bonifantes (Pardubice), Pueri gaudentes (Prague), Bratislavský chlapčenský zbor (Bratislava, Slovakia), Wiener Sängerknaben (Vienna, Austria) and Thomanerchor Leipzig (Leipzig, Germany). The comparison is based on the web presentations, the repertoire, concert and recording activities and cooperation with the media and organizations and institutions of the choirs. Based on the realized facts follows a chapter, that presents proposals and options how to give support to marketing activities of boys choirs. First at all in the Master's Thesis there were used comparative and analytical methods of scientific research.

The rate of adolescent unintended pregnancy in the United States is high compared to other developed countries. While past research and interventions have largely focused on young women, the role of young men in pregnancy prevention has increasingly been recognized. Studies have assessed young men’s knowledge and attitudes toward pregnancy prevention as well as their role in male-controlled methods of birth control like condoms or withdrawal. However, less is known about how young men can contribute to or participate in decision-making with female partners about contraception other than condoms. The purpose of this systematic review was to explore how young men communicate with their partners and its impact on contraception use to prevent pregnancy. A systematic review of five databases was conducted to identify English-language articles published from January 1, 2002, through July 7, 2018. The review specifically explored how male partner communication affects female partner use of contraception other than condoms among young men ages 11-24 years. The systematic review explored additional questions, including those pertaining to the timing of partner communication in a relationship, strategies employed by young men, and which dynamics of partner communication are measured in studies. Of the 15 articles identified as exploring areas of communication, five of the articles used quantitative analysis to measure any association between partner communication and contraception use, and three of those produced statistically significant findings suggesting that communication increases the use of contraception other than condoms. Three qualitative studies provided supporting narratives of how young men have communicated with partners and influenced their contraception use with female partners. The remaining seven articles explored the other research questions of timing, strategies, and dynamics identifying topics, prompts, and communication cues among young men. Measurements of both communication and contraception varied across studies. With the small number of studies identified in this systematic review, it is recommended that future research seek to corroborate the relationship between partner communication and contraception use with more robust and precise measurements of both communication and contraception.