NEET Youth in the Aftermath of the Crisis

This paper presents an overview of the situation of youth in OECD countries since the onset of the financial crisis focusing primarily on describing the characteristics and living conditions of young NEETs. It also provides data on the availability, coverage and effectiveness of income-support policies for young people, and summarises available evidence on the impact of interventions that aim at improving the social, education and employment situation of the most disadvantaged youth. Due to the paper’s explicit focus on the hardest-to-place, most disadvantaged youth, the range of policies covered is broader than in earlier studies on the same topic, including various social benefits and in-kind services targeted at this group. The paper shows that NEET rates have not yet recovered from the crisis. There are large differences in youth unemployment and inactivity across countries, and these differences were further exacerbated by the recession. Reducing NEET rates is a great challenge for governments, as youth who remain jobless for long periods typically come from more disadvantaged backgrounds, have low levels of educational attainment, and are in many cases inactive. There is substantial evidence, however, that even the most disadvantaged youth can benefit from a variety of targeted interventions, including for instance special education programmes and mentoring.Ce rapport présente un aperçu de la situation des jeunes dans les pays de l'OCDE depuis le début de la crise financière, en se concentrant principalement sur les conditions de vie et les caractéristiques des jeunes inactifs qui ne sont ni en emploi, ni scolarisés, ni en formation (NEET). Il fournit également des données sur la disponibilité, la couverture et l'efficacité des prestations sociales, et fait une synthèse de l'efficacité des interventions qui visent à améliorer la situation sociale, l'éducation et l'emploi des jeunes les plus défavorisés. Il se concentre sur les jeunes les plus défavorisés et les plus difficiles à placer. À ce titre, l'éventail des politiques visées est plus élargi que dans les études précédentes sur le même sujet, comprenant tout l’éventail des prestations sociales et un large panorama des interventions possibles, allant des services sociaux à l’emploi, en passant par l’éducation et la santé. Nous montrons que les taux de NEET n’ont pas encore retrouvé leurs niveaux d’avant la crise. Il existe cependant de grandes différences entre pays dans le chômage et l'inactivité des jeunes, qui ont été exacerbées par la récession. Réduire le taux de NEET est difficile pour les gouvernements. Les jeunes qui contribuent le plus au chômage et à l'inactivité restent sans emploi pendant de longues périodes et viennent généralement de milieux les plus défavorisés. Dans de nombreux cas ils ne recherchent pas d’emploi et ont des niveaux d'éducation faibles ou pas d’éducation du tout. Il existe pourtant des preuves que ces jeunes peuvent bénéficier d’un large éventail d'interventions ciblées, allant de programmes d'éducation spécialisée au mentorat.DOI : 10.1787/5js6363503f6-e

Physical fitness, cognitive functioning and academic achievement in healthy adolescents

Purpose: Examine the association between health-related physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness) and skill-related physical fitness (speed-agility) and both cognitive functions and academic achievement in adolescents (12–15 years). Methods: Data of 423 Dutch adolescents were analyzed (46.8% boys, age = 13.45 ± 0.43 years). Physical fitness was assessed using five subtests of the Eurofit test battery measuring cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m Shuttle Run Test), muscular fitness (Broad Jump and Sit-Ups) and speed-agility (10 × 5 m Shuttle Run Test and Plate Tapping Test). Cognitive functions were assessed by the Digit Span Task, the Grid Task and an adapted version of the Attention Network Test. Finally, academic achievement was assessed by two standardized tests assessing mathematic skills and language skills. Multilevel regression analyses were performed in MlWin to examine the relations of interest adjusting for sex and age. Results: Multilevel regression analysis showed that speed-agility was significantly related to visuospatial working memory (β = 0.159; p = 0.014), information processing and control (β = 0.238; p < 0.001) and interference control (β = 0.156; p = 0.039), but not to the other cognitive or academic achievement outcomes. Cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness were not related to any of the cognitive or academic achievement outcomes. Conclusion: The results suggest that skill-related physical fitness is related to cognitive functions and health-related physical fitness is not. Therefore it can be argued that improved levels of skill-related physical fitness may lead to improved cognitive functioning

Keine Angst vor der Muttersprache – vor den (anderen) Fremdsprachen aber auch nicht! Überlegungen zum Verhältnis von Einsprachigkeit und Zweisprachigkeit im Fremdsprachenunterricht

Die heute vorliegenden Forschungsergebnisse erlauben einen differenzierteren Blick auf die Rolle der Muttersprache bei der Aneignung einer fremden Sprache. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird versucht, dieses differenzierte Bild nachzuzeichnen und die Rolle der Muttersprache aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven auszuleuchten: Welche Erkenntnisse zur Sprachverarbeitung und zum Spracherwerb und welche vermittlungsmethodische Einsichten erlauben uns, die Rolle der Muttersprache zu bestimmen? Welche Bedeutung haben dabei der Bezug zur außerunterrichtlichen Realität der Lernenden und die dem scheinbar gegenüber-stehende natürliche Künstlichkeit des Fremdsprachenunterrichts? Was bedeutet dies alles für den Umgang mit Sprachen im fremdsprachlichen Klassenzimmer und im bilingualen Sachfachunterricht? Recent research allows a more nuanced view of the role of the mother tongue in acquiring a foreign language. In this paper, an attempt is made to trace this differentiated image and illuminate the role of the mother tongue from different perspectives: What helps us to determine the role of the mother tongue given findings on language processing, language acquisition and (foreign language) teaching methods? How do these results relate to the extracurricular realities of learners and the seemingly opposing natural artificiality of language teaching? What are the implications of this when dealing with languages in the foreign language classroom and CLIL

Hindernis oder Brücke? Der Beitrag der Angewandten Linguistik zur Erforschung des Lehrens und Lernens von Fremdsprachen. Obstacle or bridge? The contribution of Applied Linguistics to the study of the teaching and learning of foreign languages

There is no doubt that Applied Linguistics has firmly established itself as an independent scientific field. However, there are thematic overlaps in some areas concerning other disciplines. Language Teaching Research is a prime example of how linguistic features can be applied in an instructional context. In a first step, the author investigates both the similarities and differences of Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching Research, before dealing with related topics such as second language acquisition, multilingual didactics, mediation, competences, and sensitivity regarding (foreign) language use. Finally, a response is formulated to the question of whether the field of Applied Linguistics functions as a bridge or an obstacle

The Adoption of Web 2.0 in Corporations: A Process Perspective

Widely discussed in the media, Web 2.0 systems have drawn the attention of corporations, many of which now seek to adopt Web 2.0 technologies and transfer its benefits to their organizations. Organizations often struggle with the adoption of information systems, and Web 2.0 systems are certainly no exception. As an empirical foundation, we studied three organizations that successfully adopted Web 2.0 systems. We conducted a narrative analysis of the case study material to produce a process theory for Web 2.0 system adoption. Finally, we compare it to the enterprise system experience cycle of Markus and Tanis (2000). Our results indicate that the adoption of Web 2.0 systems differs from larger enterprise system adoption projects. This is rooted in the lower implementation and maintenance costs as well as lower technical complexity of Web 2.0 systems. Furthermore, its voluntary characteristics lead to an adoption process that focuses mainly on convincing users of its benefits

Catalytic dehydrogenative Si-N coupling of pyrroles, indoles, carbazoles as well as anilines with hydrosilanes without added base

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.A base-free, catalytic protocol for the dehydrogenative Si–N coupling of weakly nucleophilic N–H groups of heteroarenes or aryl-substituted amines with equimolar amounts of hydrosilanes is reported. Cooperative Si–H bond activation at a Ru–S bond generates a silicon electrophile that forms a Si–N bond prior to the N–H deprotonation by an intermediate Ru–H complex, only releasing H2.DFG, GRK 1143, Komplexe chemische Systeme: Design, Entwicklung und Anwendunge