The changing landscape of youth and young adulthood

No abstract available

The changing landscape of youth and young adulthood

No abstract available

Choice biographies and transitional linearity : re-conceptualising modern youth transitions

It has been suggested that youth transitions have become increasingly protracted and complex and that routes between school and work, which were once viewed as linear and predictable, have been replaced by a set of movements that are more fragmented. Our aim in this paper is to contextualise these changes in an attempt to capture the degree of complexity characteristic of modern transitions and to explore the implications for patterns of labour market integration. We argue that there has been a tendency to exaggerate processes of de-linearisation and that the modern tendency to regard transitional complexity as symptomatic of «choice biographies» can help mask structures of disadvantage.S'apunta que les transicions juvenils cada vegada són més llargues i complexes i que els camins entre l'escola i el treball, que abans es consideraven lineals i previsibles, actualment han estat substituïts per un conjunt de moviments que estan més fragmentats. L'objectiu d'aquest article és contextualitzar aquests canvis per tal de captar el grau de complexitat característic de les transicions modernes i explorar les implicacions que tenen en els models d'integració en el mercat laboral. Defensem que s'ha tendit a exagerar els processos de deslinealització i que la tendència moderna de veure la complexitat de les transicions com un fet simptomàtic de les «biografies d'elecció» pot contribuir a ocultar estructures de desavantatges

The Brazilianisation of youth transitions in Australia and the UK?

A central theme of Beck&rsquo;s argument in The Brave New World of Work (2000) is that labour markets in the developed world are taking on some of the core characteristics that have been associated with less developed labour markets such as employment insecurity, informality and precarity. A process he refers to as Brazilianisation. In this paper we consider whether Beck&rsquo;s thesis can help us understand changes in youth transitions in Australia and the UK by developing a comparative analysis of processes of casualisation in the youth labour markets of the two countries. We assess the extent to which precarious labour market biographies have become entrenched and represent modern forms of engagement with the labour market. While evidence is presented to suggest that young people&rsquo;s labour market experiences have been affected by a trend towards greater casualisation, we argue that the changes are having the greatest impact on those in the weakest positions: in both countries women are more likely to be affected than men and casualisation is most evident in the lowest skilled occupations.<br /

The Role and Contribution of Philanthropy to the Lives of Older People in Ireland

This paper examines the impact, since 2008, of an international philanthropic organisation on the ageing sector in the Republic of Ireland. Several methods were used in a sector-wide evaluation, including documentary analysis, one-to-one in-depth interviews, a cross-sectional survey of grant-holders, and collaborative work with Northern Ireland. There was a relative lack of strategic focus on older people before the philanthropic work began; evidence for policy and planning was limited and advocacy was small-scale and largely uncoordinated. This may have been because the Republic of Ireland had the lowest proportion of people aged ≥65 in the EU. The findings show that philanthropy has played a pivotal role in enhancing capacity, infrastructure and expertise through large-scale investment in research and training, strengthening older people’s organisations and developing centres of excellence. Important initiatives include a national longitudinal ageing study, a commitment to develop a positive ageing strategy and roll-out of the Age Friendly Counties programme. The sustainability of these notable achievements relies on a sector-wide collaborative ethos, translating evidence into practice, actively involving older people and securing support from the academic, health and government sectors. Overall, the philanthropic organisation has contributed significantly to Ireland’s efforts to develop innovative, evidence-based ageing strategies and policies

Higher and Further Education Students' Income, Expenditure and Debt in Scotland 2007-08

This report presents findings from the second study of the income, expenditure and debt of students studying higher education (HE) and further education (FE) in Scotland in 2007-08. The study was commissioned by the Scottish Government and conducted by the Scottish Centre for Employment Research at the University of Strathclyde Business School in conjunction with colleagues from the Business School and Department of Economics of the University of Glasgow. The aim of the study is to examine Scottish-domiciled higher and further education students' finances, particularly their income, expenditure, debt and savings, and their attitudes to the financing of study in Scotland. Where appropriate this data is then compared to the findings of the previous 2004-05 Scottish survey as well as a control group of young Scots who are not students

Learning from Oxfam's tiger worm toilets projects

The world is witnessing the highest levels of forced human displacement on record, leading to people being housed in urban centres and camps. Generally the sanitation needs of these people are initially met by external agencies. The long-term costs of operating and maintaining traditional sanitation systems can be unviable when communities or local authorities take over their management. Therefore Oxfam has been trialling the Tiger Worm Toilet (TWT) in peri-urban and camp settings. The aim of this paper is to review Oxfam’s TWT projects and to share the learnings, together with the innovations that have occurred. The learnings are that TWTs are not the solution to all sanitation problems, but they have been proven to work well at household level. Monitoring and documenting the trials has been an ongoing problem due to a number of issues, which are linked to short term funding, and the use of project rather than program approaches

Are ‘cultures of worklessness' passed down the generations?

This report critically investigates the idea of ‘intergenerational cultures of worklessness ’ and that there may be families where ‘three generations have never worked’. Although there is relatively little solid research evidence to support them, these ideas are said to help explain worklessness in the UK and continue to inform recent and current government policy agendas. Our study used qualitative research methods, with families in Middlesbrough and Glasgow. The report: • explores the existence of permanent worklessness across generations within families; • concludes that even two generations of extensive or permanent worklessness in the same family is a rare phenomenon; • examines whether families experiencing long-term worklessness can be described as having a ‘culture of worklessness’; • shows how the impact of complex and multiple problems, rooted in long-term experiences of deep poverty, can distance people from the labour market; and • argues that policy makers should abandon theories – and policies that flow from them – that see worklessness as primarily the outcome of a ‘culture of worklessness’, held in families and passed down the generations