Aristotle meets youth work: A case for virtue ethics

What ethical framework provides the best guide for contemporary youth work is the central question in this article. An account is provided of why the two dominant ethical frameworks, namely, utilitarianism and deontic ethics, are not appropriate. It is argued that virtue ethics is most relevant because it specifies the nature of social goods, and provides a relevant framework of thinking about good practice. Six key reasons are identified for why virtue ethics provides the most suitable ethical framework. They include its account of virtues expressed in our character, its focus on education to build character as a source of social transformation, its emphasis on our agential capacity to make choices, its interest in our capacity to think critically and act ethically, the connections it makes between the practice of virtues and social goods that define a good life individually or collectively, and its capacity to inform good professional judgement and good practice. What all this means for youth work is considered through a discussion about good judgement and practice - or to use the virtue ethics vocabulary, 'phronesis'. What that means in terms of the requisite skills, knowledge and dispositions is spelt out in relation to youth work practice

Reasonable limits and exemptions: Victoria's human rights charter and its implications for young people

Many people had great expectations of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities when it came fully into effect in January 2008. It was believed that the charter would provide a framework of legally enforceable human rights for groups historically subject to discrimination, such as young people. However, the charter enables both the government and other organisations to seek exemptions from its application, which has produced some anomalies. In this article, Judith Bessant asks whether the provision for seeking exemptions from the charter has undermined its capacity to effectively counter age-based discrimination and, paradoxically, permitted practices that clearly breach the basic human rights of young people

The life course design for transitional labour market research

This paper draws on research that documents the work, financial and personal benefits, and skill trajectories of trade and bachelor graduates' for the 10 years after completion of their initial education. The primary aim of the project is to better understand how people draw on their initial education and training. We suggest that while there is some value in using quantitative methods, one of our key objectives has been to develop a qualitative or interpretive research design that allows a better understanding why and how workers seek the employment they do, why they pursue promotion or acquire additional skills and why they change their occupational careers. We argue in this paper that use of an interpretive approach provides rich in-depth data that can be used to follow the decision-making steps taken by people as they proceed through their working lives. In this paper, we consider the benefits methodologically and conceptually of adopting what is referred to as a life-course research design

Search Practices for Discontinuous Innovation: Scale Development and Construct Validation

Managing innovation and particularly searching for new ideas in a steady state environment is really different than in discontinuous conditions where traditional practices and routines may prove ineffective. This paper reviews and empirically explores the field of search strategies and practices for discontinuous innovation and, for the first time, tests the validity of a "Discontinuous Innovation (DI) Search Capacity" construct. Based on a comprehensive literature review on the innovation search stage and on the evidence of more than 80 case studies reported by the Discontinuous Innovation Lab a questionnaire was developed and submitted to a 500 high tech firm sample. Four DI Search dimensions were identified, each consisting of a bundle of interrelated yet distinct practices. We empirically tested the DI Search Capacity and measured it as second-order construct by using the Structural Equation Modelling

Longevity and mortality of cats attending primary care veterinary practices in England

Enhanced knowledge on longevity and mortality in cats should support improved breeding, husbandry, clinical care and disease prevention strategies. The VetCompass research database of primary care veterinary practice data offers an extensive resource of clinical health information on companion animals in the UK. This study aimed to characterise longevity and mortality in cats, and to identify important demographic risk factors for compromised longevity. Crossbred cats were hypothesised to live longer than purebred cats. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise the deceased cats. Multivariable linear regression methods investigated risk factor association with longevity in cats that died at or after 5 years of age. From 118,016 cats attending 90 practices in England, 4009 cats with confirmed deaths were randomly selected for detailed study. Demographic characterisation showed that 3660 (91.7%) were crossbred, 2009 (50.7%) were female and 2599 (64.8%) were neutered. The most frequently attributed causes of mortality in cats of all ages were trauma (12.2%), renal disorder (12.1%), non-specific illness (11.2%), neoplasia (10.8%) and mass lesion disorders (10.2%). Overall, the median longevity was 14.0 years (interquartile range [IQR] 9.0–17.0; range 0.0–26.7). Crossbred cats had a higher median longevity than purebred cats (median [IQR] 14.0 years [9.1–17.0] vs 12.5 years [6.1–16.4]; P \u3c0.001), but individual purebred cat breeds varied substantially in longevity. In cats dying at or after 5 years (n = 3360), being crossbred, having a lower bodyweight, and being neutered and non-insured were associated with increased longevity. This study described longevity in cats and identified important causes of mortality and breed-related associations with compromised longevity

Security and the liberal-democratic state : criminalizing young people’s politics

The years following the 2008 global recession saw many liberal-democratic states respond to the economic crisis by introducing austerity policies. In turn, this provoked widespread dissent and social movement activism involving large numbers of young people. In response, governments of many different political persuasions moved to suppress these actions by criminalizing political dissent. The article inquiries into state and institutional moves to suppress social movement activism like the ‘Maple Spring’ student strikes in Quebec, Canada, and the Indignados movement in Spain. While Canada can be described as a ‘mature liberal-democracy’ and Spain might be better described as an ‘emergent liberal-democracy’, both criminalized young people exercising their democratic and constitutionally guaranteed rights to free expression and assembly by engaging in various forms of political protests. While some of this can be explained by reference to contradictions inherent in liberal democracies, we consider if it also reflects certain longstanding prejudices directed at young people. Young people have traditionally attracted disproportionate attention from police and legal systems when they are involved in ‘conventional’ criminal conduct. What role if any did the ‘youthful’ face of protest play in government moves to criminalize dissent in 2011-12? An account of the ‘civilizing offensive’ highlights the influence of ageist assumptions that ‘young people’ require close management. This provides some insight into state responses to young people’s engagement in politics when it goes beyond the conventional mode of ‘youth participation’ prescribed by states committed to managing electoral party politics

France's #Nuit Debout Social Movement: Young People Rising up and Moral Emotions

Set against a backdrop of austerity and neoliberal policies affecting many young people adversely, the Nuit Debout protest movement in France began in March 2016 when people gathered in public spaces to oppose the Socialist government's plan to introduce neoliberal labour legislation. Like other post-2008 movements, Nuit Debout was leaderless, non-hierarchical, and relied on social media for political communication and to mobilise participants. The Nuit Debout was also a movement inspired by powerful moral-political emotions such as righteous anger and hope. In this article, the authors address two questions. First, what features of Nuit Debout distinguished it from earlier social movements in France? Second, what role did moral emotions play in mobilising people to act as they did? Drawing on interviews with young protestors and their own testimonies, we argue that Nuit Debout was a distinctive form of protest for France. One distinguishing feature was the way young people-the "precarious generation"-were motivated by a strong sense of situated injustice, much of which related to what they saw as the unfairness of austerity policies, being deprived of a decent future and the feeling they had been betrayed by governments

Listening and learning : the reciprocal relationship between worker and client

The relationship between worker and client has for the best part of 100 years been the mainstay of probation, and yet has recently been eroded by an increased emphasis on punishment, blame and managerialism. The views of offenders are in direct contradiction to these developments within the criminal justice system and this article argues that only by taking account of the views of those at the 'coal face' will criminologists, policy makers and practitioners be able to effect real change in crime rates. The article thus focuses on the views of a sample of previously persistent offenders in Scotland about offending, desistance and how the system can help them. It explores not only their need for friendship and support in youth but also the close association between relationships and the likelihood of offending. It also demonstrates the views of offenders themselves about the importance of the working relationship with supervising officers in helping them desist from crime. The article concludes that the most effective way of reducing offending is to re-engage with the message of the Probation Act of 100 years ago, namely, to 'advise, assist and befriend' offenders rather than to 'confront, challenge and change' offending behaviour

OSPACS: Ultrasound image management system

Ultrasound scanning uses the medical imaging format, DICOM, for electronically storing the images and data associated with a particular scan. Large health care facilities typically use a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) for storing and retrieving such images. However, these systems are usually not suitable for managing large collections of anonymized ultrasound images gathered during a clinical screening trial

Accounting for future generations: Intergenerational equity in Australia

Australian governments have published three intergenerational reports since 2002. In line with a general international trend these reports pointed to a problem said to arise from an ageing population which exposes Australia to the risk of a future major fiscal crisis. In this article we argue that by failing to use a generational accounting framework, the reports privilege the elderly at the expense of young people. Added to this, they fail to engage any discussion of intergenerational equity defined as distributive fairness and justice. In this article we explore the value of various approaches to intergenerational justice, focusing on the Principle of Intergenerational Neutrality derived from Rawls' theory of justice. We argue that this does not work as well from a policy point of view as Sen's freedom-as-capabilities approach. We conclude that linking Sen's approach to justice to a generational accounting will enable governments to address future issues of equity