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International audience ; Recent UK media reports and government responses evidence a rising concern over irresponsible dog ownership, particularly the use of so-called status or weapon dogs. Youth criminal and antisocial behaviour using these dogs has been widely reported in urban areas and associated with street-based youth groups, in particular, the growing phenomenon of UK youth gangs. This article reports on the findings and implications of a small-scale study, comprising interviews with 25 youths and seven animal welfare and youth practitioners, which aimed to identify the nature of animal use and abuse in youth groups and gangs. It found that over half of the youths belonged to a youth gang and the remainder a youth group, with the majority owning an animal which was most often a 'status' dog (e.g., bull breed/type). Analysis revealed that dogs were used mainly for socialising and companionship, protection and enhancing status. More than 20 types of animal abuse were described by youths and practitioners.

Objective. To examine the prevalence of and the association between comorbid disorders and race/ethnicity in the United States. Methods. Using cross-sectional data from the 2012 National Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System [N=45,207,844], we examined comorbidity of psychological distress with self-reported diagnosis of diabetes, angina, and with history of heart attack and stroke. Logistic regression was used to examine between group differences by race/ethnicity. Results. Unadjusted results indicate that American Indian [OR 4.01, 95%CI: 1.78, 9.04] and Hispanic [OR 1.55, 95%CI: 1.04, 2.33] participants were more likely to have psychological distress and history of heart attack in comparison to Whites. American Indians were more likely to have psychological distress with angina [OR 3.82, 95%CI: 1.92, 7.63], and with history of stroke [OR 4.25, 95%CI: 2.16-8.26] in unadjusted results when compared to White participants. Conclusions. Our results suggest that racial/ethnic minority groups are more likely to suffer from comorbid mental health and medical conditions, which may be a result of stress arising from discrimination and historical oppression of these populations.

Critical media literacies can help nurture students' creative agencies and engender positive, sustained change in local communities. Kellner and Share (2005) have noted that students do need to develop faculties with digital technologies but that they must also participate in critical readings of cultural artifacts and discriminate between various multimedia sources. It is important for youth to conceptualize language as perpetuating different kinds of ideologies, for viewpoints are "connected to negotiable, changeable, and sometimes contested stories, histories, knowledge, beliefs, and values encapsulated into cultural models (theories) about the world" (Gee, 2008, p. 29). Semiotic meanings are in constant flux due to individual interests, community dynamics, and sociohistorical contexts, and students need to develop critical stances to better distinguish between authentic narratives, purported truths, and the in-between gray areas of discursive communications. The proliferation of digital and mobile applications expand academic and political boundaries, for within a critical media literacies framework, reading is a collective transaction, learning is a generative act, and political engagement is an accessible and possible achievement. This paper thereby provides an overview of several significant studies that have interrogated the possibilities of critical media pedagogies in youth spaces. The following sections chart ways in which students can engage with critical media literacies — namely by 1) affording the production of meaningful and authentic autoethnographies, 2) facilitating hospitable connections with near and distant others, and 3) encouraging imaginative self-constructions of identities within virtual communities.